# Round 2: Pace Pace Mio Dio: Tebaldi, Price, Muzio



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Muzio logically goes with the historic singers but there are too many of them for one contest. She is timeless, though. Enjoy


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Sad to say that the famous Tebaldi rendering which I have always liked, even with an adequate amount of passion and nuance, was too slow and lost a certain urgency. 
I was convinced that Price's voice was so rich with fine chest tones that no one could come up to her performance.
Silly me! Then came a bombshell of a performance from Muzio that stood out in every possible way but one (and you all know what I am about to say!) She excuted that aria with such passion, finesse and heartbreak and was a clear winner for me, but where the hell were the "maladiziones"??? How could they cut that off? 
Well, she gets my vote anyway. It was a painting wrapped in beauty.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Sad to say that the famous Tebaldi rendering which I have always liked, even with an adequate amount of passion and nuance, was too slow and lost a certain urgency.
> I was convinced that Price's voice was so rich with fine chest tones that no one could come up to her performance.
> Silly me! Then came a bombshell of a performance from Muzio that stood out in every possible way but one (and you all know what I am about to say!) She excuted that aria with such passion, finesse and heartbreak and was a clear winner for me, but where the hell were the "maladiziones"??? How could they cut that off?
> Well, she gets my vote anyway. It was a painting wrapped in beauty.


Since you voted for her anyway I found a version of the complete aria with Muzio. Sorry I didn't catch that.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I was disappointed with the Price recording - did her voice always have a surfeit of overtones, her high notes that shuddering vibrato, the high B_b _of the last _maledizion! _that much of a narrowing effect? Sure, the voice is still beautiful, the shimmer is still there, the high note astonishing, but I recall something different than what I heard when seen “live.”

Surprisingly, I did not connect with Muzio in this recording, or she didn’t seem to connect with what she was singing; there is an element of the perfunctory on some of the passages and in the first _Pace! _she didn’t attempt a _messa di voce, _just a slight _decrescendo. _I suppose not everyone can do it.

The Tebaldi is from my favorite *Forza *performance from Naples, 1958 with Corelli, Bastianini, Dominguez, Christoff. An unbeatable cast. Tebaldi even manages a good _diminuendo _on the last _pace _with just a very slight flatting before she straightens it out. The high B_b _is spot on. Her voice is in wonderful shape, and the ideal weight in my mind for the part.
Tebaldi for me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I have the feeling that no matter what tempo Tebaldi's conductor set, she would want to slow it down still further. The voice, too, seems a bit heavy and lazy, the vibrato slowish. I suspect she's done better performances.

Price did nothing to annoy me, and nothing to excite me. This sounds like typical Price to me, but I'll trust MAS when he says she sounded even better live. Many singers do.

Muzio, after disappointing me with her opening "Pace" (no < >), gave an expressive but rather fast-paced performance. Whenever we sense excessive speed in recordings of that vintage we have to keep the "78 side problem" in mind, so I'm sure that in live performance she would have given the music a little more breathing room and been still more expressive. This isn't one of Muzio's best efforts, but the greater liveliness in her voice and manner gives her the edge over Tebaldi.

I think none of these fine singers is doing her very best here. All things considered, I'll go with Muzio.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I have the feeling that no matter what tempo Tebaldi's conductor set, she would want to slow it down still further. The voice, too, seems a bit heavy and lazy, the vibrato slowish. I suspect she's done better performances.
> 
> Price did nothing to annoy me, and nothing to excite me. This sounds like typical Price to me, but I'll trust MAS when he says she sounded even better live. Many singers do.
> 
> ...


Muzio sounded better in the first version I posted but Nina noticed it lacked the very end and this was the only version that contained it. I think the other version was later.
Tebaldi had slower sounding vibrato than I'm used to hearing from her. This version was recommended to me.
Price sounded much better live. She came to Seattle a lot in recitals and I heard her last concert live at 70 and she sounded so much better in the house than in the CD. The surfeit of overtones in recordings sound so rich and beautiful in a house and even at 70 her high notes sounded incredible. Her smoky timbre sounded much brighter in the house. She got more beautiful with age I think. She got sassy with me one on one. I said we were both refugees from Mississippi and she said " I neva left Miss-sippi!" I didn't point out to her that she was beloved by her state as it's greatest star, didn't live there now, and wasn't gay like me and had to "get out of Kansas" to blossom. Up close at 70 she looked 50. I loved the fact that although her English was always perfect she always sounded like she was from Laurel, MS.I have lost much of mine from living away from there for much of my life now, but a Miss. accent is so beautiful to my ears.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I expected Tebaldi to walkaway with this, as this is from the famous Naples performance which also starred Corelli and Bastianini, but it's awfully slow and Tebaldi doesn't seem that involved. The voice is in reasonable shape but I don't find the performance particularly illuminating in any way. The top Bb (not a C) on the last _maledizion _isn't actualy flat, but it somehow sounds as if it threatens to do so. I was just a tad disappointed, I'm afraid.

I liked Price better. Youtube tells us that this is from her earlier complete recording of the opera, though the collection featured in the photo doesn't actually clarify that. (I have it and the documentation is sketchy to say the least.) Her final top Bb rings out with more conviction, but the vibrato is more intrusive than I would have expected for 1965, when the Schippers recording was made. As I often find with Price, the performance itself is rather generalised. She rarely does anything to illuminate the text.

Which leaves Muzio. Disappointingly she doesn't attempt the _mesa di voce _Verdi asks for on the first note, and, no doubt because of the exigencies of 78" sides, the aria is taken rather fast, and no doubt faster than she would have sung it in performance. Still, even within this faster speed, she makes more of the words and sings with greater feeling than either Tebaldi or Price, which puts her well ahead of the competition here.


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

Leonora was one of Tebaldi’s greatest roles, and she sings this aria brilliantly in 1953 at the Teatro Communale, and in 1955 at La Scala. This version comes rather late in 1958, and the voice is quite stiff, lacking it’s early radiance. Also, Tebaldi keeps dragging an already slow tempo, and unusually for her, the phrasing is lax and impersonal. Of course, her legato is still fine, and she manages the opening messa di voce and pianissimo b flat as well. Her final b flat however is dissapointing, a little tight and not so secure whereas in her previous performances it used to be magnificent. I would have voted for Tebaldi if not for Muzio, who although, as others have noted, couldn’t execute the opening messa di voce, phrases with much sensitivity and vulnerability despite the faster tempo. I also prefer greater use of chest voice to Tebaldi’s. Her pianissimo is wonderful too. Her final note isn’t dramatic enough for my preference, but it‘s fine. So Muzio it is.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

OMG!! I am totally appalled. I was first, so I was the only person who got to listen to the first Muzio without the "malediziones". You all heard the second version which included the "malediziones". There is simply no comparison between the 2 Muzios and I am frankly sad that you didn't get to hear the Muzio that I heard.
Maybe, John my love, you might consider at least addding the original for all those who only heard the second version, in order to hear what I heard.
I'd be most interested in the opinions of the first one.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Looks like this new format has done away with changes to the texts for spelling, content, etc.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Looks like this new format has done away with changes to the texts for spelling, content, etc.


Click on the three dots in the right hand corner.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> OMG!! I am totally appalled. I was first, so I was the only person who got to listen to the first Muzio without the "malediziones". You all heard the second version which included the "malediziones". There is simply no comparison between the 2 Muzios and I am frankly sad that you didn't get to hear the Muzio that I heard.
> Maybe, John my love, you might consider at least addding the original for all those who only heard the second version, in order to hear what I heard.
> I'd be most interested in the opinions of the first one.


I think this is the one.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Click on the three dots in the right hand corner.


Aha!! My hero!!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I think this is the one.


That’s the Muzio I have in my head!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> That’s the Muzio I have in my head!


When I heard this version I thought you judges would love it but would disqualify it for being incomplete. after finding out it lacked the last important phrase.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> …The top Bb (not a C) on the last _maledizion _


Thanks for that, corrected on my post above.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> I have the feeling that no matter what tempo Tebaldi's conductor set, she would want to slow it down still further. The voice, too, seems a bit heavy and lazy, the vibrato slowish. I suspect she's done better performances.
> 
> Price did nothing to annoy me, and nothing to excite me. This sounds like typical Price to me, but I'll trust MAS when he says she sounded even better live. Many singers do.
> 
> ...


Tebaldi had a tendency toward pushed, muscly singing, often not singing with enough head voice release into the top third of her voice and causing strain. Muzio wins this round for me.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

)


Seattleoperafan said:


> When I heard this version I thought you judges would love it but would disqualify it for being incomplete. after finding out it lacked the last important phrase.


As you can tell, Muzio’s lack of _messa di voce _did not disqualify her.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Here I can't vote against Tebaldi. This performance impressed me like first time I've watched it.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

ColdGenius said:


> Here I can't vote against Tebaldi. This performance impressed me like first time I've watched it.


I wish we had a singer like Tebaldi around today even with her shortcomings. At times it was like you could hear heaven coming out of her throat.


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