# SOPRANO TOURNAMENT: (By Request): Norman vs Fuchs



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Jessye Norman, USA, 1945-2019






Marta Fuchs, Germany, 1898-1974






Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I have the feeling that Fuchs is a little past her prime here. She clearly knows what she's doing, and the interpretation is fine, but the voice sounds a little worn. If the recording had been made five or ten years earlier she would probably be my pick, but as it is I have to choose Norman, who nevertheless takes the aria too slowly. i mean, this isn't _Parsifal._


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Being unfamiliar not only with the aria but with Fuchs as well, I found it hard to make a choice, so I went back and forth with one particular section and decided on the basis of it that Norman delivered nuance and a bit more sensitivity of sound.
So my vote goes to Norman.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Norman's low notes are basically inaudible. I've also always found Norman somewhat shrill, and that impression remains here. I think Norman does a good job interpreting the piece intellectually, and so it's well phrased and has dynamics but her singing is monochromatic because of her tone production. Fuchs isn't at her absolute peak, but she still sounds fresher than Norman to me because of the smoothness of her tone production. Her low notes are audible and solid and therefore the phrases don't feel like they drop out at the bottom. Her tone production in the upper middle register, especially at mezzo piano and piano, was always very special, and the smoothness of her delivery of "das bis in den Tod getreu ihm auf Erden!" is really something. That creamy texture is to my mind an example of ideal coordination, and I've only heard it in the greatest singers like Flagstad and Traubel. Fuchs' voice seems simultaneously more coherent and more varied.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I have the feeling that Fuchs is a little past her prime here. She clearly knows what she's doing, and the interpretation is fine, but the voice sounds a little worn. If the recording had been made five or ten years earlier she would probably be my pick, but as it is I have to choose Norman, who nevertheless takes the aria too slowly. i mean, this isn't _Parsifal._


What he said.

N.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Ohh this is a very hard one.
Norman is much more free with her high notes while Fuchs definitely have problems handling them especially in the lyrical passages (check around 2:15 - 2:27 for example).
On the other hand, Fuchs is more musical to my ears, meaning she tells a compelling story (I have to confess Traft ihr das Schiff isn't my favorite aria by a nautical mile ) which is a big plus.
I still cannot decide how to cast my vote in this case.

p.s. Fuchs it is. Musicality over confidence


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I've gone for Norman's version despite it being much too slow. The voice is in magnificent shape here where Fuchs, as others have pointed out, is past her best. Basically I'm agreeing with Woodduck and Conte.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Jessye with 1000 Km. Her voice is so perfectly shaped. High and low the woman is nightingale.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Dimace said:


> Jessye with 1000 Km. Her voice is so perfectly shaped. High and low the woman is nightingale.


yes agreed! If you like great singing and a beautiful voice then Norman every time as she had one of the great voices of all time. Of course, it is unfair to compare the two as Fuchs is recorded in comparatively poor sound so we don't quite know what she may have really sounded like in modern sound. Her voice does sound somewhat taxed at times whereas Norman is effortless.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I found Fuchs's voice quite clean and focused, vis a vis Norman's more soft grained vocal production. I love Jessye's voice, which is why I'm surprised that I prefer Fuchs's _singing_ in this aria. I feel she knows this piece better.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I would pipe in but I am not crazy about this aria. Don't hate me.


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