# Your favorite Thaïs?



## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

What are yours?

Mine used to be Renée Fleming. Her voice with its luscious timbre, secure lower and glowing upper registers seems to fit the vocal demand better than Sills's and Moffo's (Moffo basically lost her voice at the time her recording was made).

...Until I discovered *Renée Doria* (another Renée)

http://www.amazon.com/Massenet-Thais-Jules/dp/B0000YJ06Q

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Hers is a thin (but not soubrettish) voice, with rather fast (but not obtrusive) vibrato-- typical old "French style". It is true that Doria doesn't sound as erotic as Fleming in Act 1, and one may find the hysterical mocking laughs sweeping to high D suit Fleming's full voice better, but Doria wins Act 2 onward. She sings with so much simplicity, self-abandonment and transcendence to portray the character's ecstasy in her new religion.

Here she floats a long vibrant, ethereal pianissimo:






And the joyous and ecstatic death scene:






Robert Massard is more stylish than Hampson in Fleming recording.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Can you please fix the dead scene , it's not working.:tiphat:

Anyway, I am sure it can beat this one;

​Massenet: Thaïs


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

silentio said:


> What are yours?
> 
> Mine used to be Renée Fleming. Her voice with its luscious timbre, secure lower and glowing upper registers seems to fit the vocal demand better than Sills's and Moffo's (Moffo basically lost her voice at the time her recording was made).
> 
> ...


I love the Fleming recording, and think it one of the best things she's done on disc. Not one of my favourite Massenet operas (I find all that quasi-religious hokum a bit kitsch) but it's enjoyable enough.

You've piqued my curiosity though. I've known about the Renee Doria recording for a long time, but never got round to hearing it. Maybe I should.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Indeed, Fleming's recording is gorgeous. Beautiful singing, I had also the opportunity to watch her singing the role live. However, for some people she is a little bit too bland, for the character.

The other Renée, Doria, is more idiomatic, and her singing is very precise. Very french, as mentioned above. 

Incidentally, I do like a couple of another French's Thaïs: Jacqueline Brumaire, and Andrée Esposito.


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## Templeton (Dec 20, 2014)

Please reassure me that I am not the only one who has zoomed in on this for all the wrong reasons. The shame


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I don't really know the opera, I just know _of_ it -- and for beauty of voice at least Fleming would seem to be the ideal Thais.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bellinilover said:


> I don't really know the opera, I just know _of_ it -- and for beauty of voice at least Fleming would seem to be the ideal Thais.


Believe me, she is, even years later on DVD she is stunning in voice and appearance :tiphat:


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

This is not an opera I know well, I've only heard the Renee Fleming recording a couple of times.

I liked that recording. Massenet is possibly my least favourite opera composer and I find all of his operas uneven to some degree. I find the story fascinating (two people who are diametrically opposed, but then a meeting between the two results in them slowly evolving and exchanging their situations with each other). I think the reason why I prefer it over a few of Massenet's other operas that I know is that there are some stunningly beautiful moments in the music and it gave Massenet a chance to create some interesting pseudo-oriental sound worlds.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Two tries in the past, and I just couldn't get into this opera. Not nearly in a class with _Manon_ or _Werther_. Maybe I'll try again and let Renee Fleming seduce me. Till then the "Meditation" will have to do. It seems to be the only tune anyone remembers anyway, and Massenet was smart enough to quote it several times. Would the opera even be performed if it weren't there?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Two tries in the past, and I just couldn't get into this opera. Not nearly in a class with _Manon_ or _Werther_. Maybe I'll try again and let Renee Fleming seduce me. Till then the "Meditation" will have to do. It seems to be the only tune anyone remembers anyway, and Massenet was smart enough to quote it several times. Would the opera even be performed if it weren't there?


Yes, seeing as Renee Fleming recorded it twice with enormous success :tiphat:


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Two tries in the past, and I just couldn't get into this opera. Not nearly in a class with _Manon_ or _Werther_. Maybe I'll try again and let Renee Fleming seduce me. Till then the "Meditation" will have to do. It seems to be the only tune anyone remembers anyway, and Massenet was smart enough to quote it several times. Would the opera even be performed if it weren't there?


I doubt you'd enjoy it. It's a load of sentimental, quasi-religious twaddle really, but it does have some gorgeous music, which La Fleming sings quite gorgeously.

I did try the Renee Doria recording above, and there is a certain amount of pleasure to be derived from a very French version of the opera, diction of all the singers noticeably better than anything you will hear on the Decca recording, but Doria's white, very French, pallid tone begins to grate after a while. It's also quite extensively cut, which you might think increases its appeal :lol:

That said, I rather preferred Robert Massard on the earlier recording to Thomas Hampson on the Decca, but Fleming is undoubtedly in a class of her own.


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