# How big was Renata Scotto's voice?



## gsdkfasdf (11 mo ago)

I always hear that she started out as a lyric coloratura and moved into heavier rep. Mostly wondering how and about the size of her voice because on record it sounds... sufficient? Her voice sounds a bit lighter than what I'd expect of a soprano who tackles her later rep (Gioconda, Amelia, Adriana, Leonora).

Anyone who's familiar with her voice? Thanks!


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I only heard her once live - at the Barbican Hall in London, already quite late in her career. She was singing a Mozart programme, which is repertoire not usually associated with her. I think it would have been Vitellia's _Non piu di fiori_ (she sang the role at the Met in 1984) and _Exsultate Jubilate_, as well as maybe some concert arias. I can't quite remember. I do remember that the voice sounded quite large in the hall, but this might have been more down to the fact that it had great penetration and sounded as if it would cut through much heavier orchestration.


----------



## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

What an interesting question. So used to mentioning size slightly more generally but not quite this specifically. But it caught my eye because as she got older I can remember being struck by how much sound she made. I heard her four times, all I'm sure, in the 70's....possibly early 80's. Both roles in Boheme, Adrianna and Don Carlo. The voice seemed to feel larger as the years went by, in a way out of proportion to any sort of natural growth, to whatever degree that actually happens. She wasn't young when I first heard her.The best sound was earlier, Mimi. In Don Carlo I remember being quite struck by just how big the voice sounded and it was still attractive and, of course, well used dramatically. At the end, it seemed she couldn't buy a NY review, in terms of the sound, so this sense of bigger - not laser-like, fairly round - has always been associated in my mind by a less than successful approach.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I think you can make a voice big by pushing it, like Netrebko has with consequences. Eaglen, Podles and Blythe all had voices that were default full and easy to hear over an orchestra always. Renee Fleming could make a big sound, but was sparing with that gear and it served her well as she ended her career with a still healthy voice just recently after a long career.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I think you can make a voice big by pushing it, like Netrebko has with consequences. Eaglen, Podles and Blythe all had voices that were default full and easy to hear over an orchestra always. Renee Fleming could make a big sound, but was sparing with that gear and it served her well as she ended her career with a still healthy voice just recently after a long career.


Well that is the problem. Push too hard and you end up ruining your voice. Schwarzkopf talks about how to make an essentially small voice, which is what she had, project over a large orchestra. I can't remember her exact words but it certainly didn't involve pushing the voice. She was very wise in her choices of course. She never sang Ariadne on stage for example, but she did sing the Verdi *Requiem* as well as the Marschallin and Countess Madeleine.


----------



## gsdkfasdf (11 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I only heard her once live - at the Barbican Hall in London, already quite late in her career. She was singing a Mozart programme, which is repertoire not usually associated with her. I think it would have been Vitellia's _Non piu di fiori_ (she sang the role at the Met in 1984) and _Exsultate Jubilate_, as well as maybe some concert arias. I can't quite remember. I do remember that the voice sounded quite large in the hall, but this might have been more down to the fact that it had great penetration and sounded as if it would cut through much heavier orchestration.


That sounds like it was an incredible experience! I would have liked to see her live. The other part of this question is that Scotto doesn't seem to possess a lot of physical qualities typical of dramatic/spinto sopranos - as far as I'm aware most of the physically short sopranos are the coloraturas. Scotto I think was 5'2 or shorter, and she did start her career doing coloratura rep.

Currently listening to her Trovatore - what a voice! There's definitely depth to her sound and I think her strength was her ability to produce a distinct sound from the orchestra. I also think that maybe some of the roles she chose didn't require strict "loud" voices but voices that had a sort of dark sound. I don't know if I'm right in my hypothesis though.


----------



## gsdkfasdf (11 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I think you can make a voice big by pushing it, like Netrebko has with consequences. Eaglen, Podles and Blythe all had voices that were default full and easy to hear over an orchestra always. Renee Fleming could make a big sound, but was sparing with that gear and it served her well as she ended her career with a still healthy voice just recently after a long career.


What kind of soprano would you consider Netrebko to be? I'm also curious to if you've heard her live because I've only heard her on recordings so far, and that probably distorts things quite a bit.

And Stephanie Blythe is absolutely a powerhouse!


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

gsdkfasdf said:


> What kind of soprano would you consider Netrebko to be? I'm also curious to if you've heard her live because I've only heard her on recordings so far, and that probably distorts things quite a bit.
> 
> And Stephanie Blythe is absolutely a powerhouse!


Blythe had the biggest voice I ever heard when she did Amneris. She did a lot of Handel which was restrained.
Netrebko had a lovely lyric voice. I think it grew some but not enough for many of the roles she is doing. It is not beautiful like it was when she was in her heyday 20 years ago.


----------



## gsdkfasdf (11 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Blythe had the biggest voice I ever heard when she did Amneris. She did a lot of Handel which was restrained.
> Netrebko had a lovely lyric voice. I think it grew some but not enough for many of the roles she is doing. It is not beautiful like it was when she was in her heyday 20 years ago.


I've definitely heard from a lot of people that Blythe's voice is absolutely huge - I need to see her live _at least_ once (argh covid!)

Any recording of Netrebko's that you'd absolutely recommend? I actually don't listen to her much sooo but I guess I liked her Musetta.


----------



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Definitely somewhere in lyric soprano/coloratura territory. Hard Agree.

She still sounds a little pushed, but much better than in, say, the Verdi Requiem or various verismo rep.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

gsdkfasdf said:


> I've definitely heard from a lot of people that Blythe's voice is absolutely huge - I need to see her live _at least_ once (argh covid!)
> 
> Any recording of Netrebko's that you'd absolutely recommend? I actually don't listen to her much sooo but I guess I liked her Musetta.


Blythe is no longer a mezzo. She is a tenor and does one woman shows as a male drag character. Her voice is still gorgeous and healthy but she has lost all the upper register and gained an octave below
Pick an early video of Netrebko where you can see how gorgeous she was.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> …
> Netrebko had a lovely lyric voice. I think it grew some but not enough for many of the roles she is doing. It is not beautiful like it was when she was in her heyday 20 years ago.


Such as this one?


----------



## marlow (11 mo ago)

MAS said:


> Such as this one?


I have this one - and 'Don Pasquale'. She is absolutely brilliant in both. Light lyric soprano at the time. In addition to her voice she has an electrifying stage presence. Has she moved into heavier roles they have taken a toll on the voice I think and you really need to see her act as well as hear her. Of course at the moment she is persona non grata. But of course she only did what other light Sopranos like Scotto and Freni have done


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

marlow said:


> I have this one - and 'Don Pasquale'. She is absolutely brilliant in both. Light lyric soprano at the time. In addition to her voice she has an electrifying stage presence. Has she moved into heavier roles they have taken a toll on the voice I think and you really need to see her act as well as hear her. Of course at the moment she is persona non grata. But of course *she only did what other light Sopranos like Scotto and Freni have done*


Singers have always eyed heavier roles, wishing they had the equipment for them, and often trying them on for size. Nellie Melba famously attempted the _Siegfried_ Brunnhilde, promptly lost her voice (temporarily), and admitted she'd been a fool. Beverly Sills joked that she was born with the voice of Beverly Sills and the mind of Birgit Nilsson, and although it shortened her career to take on Donizetti's queens and other dramatically satisfying parts, she and her audiences had no regrets. Netrebko's audiences seem happy too; those who can't tolerate what she's done to her voice are probably not paying to sit in those audiences. All of which leads up to pointing out that, although Freni and Scotto moved into what's considered spinto roles with essentially lyric voices, they had a better sense of their limits than Netrebko, who seems not to acknowledge any limits when she takes on Turandot and Isolde (I'm not sure whether she's sung the whole of Isolde yet, but her dreadful Liebestod is on YouTube). Scotto's voice gradually became strident on top, but she had the artistic sense not to turn herself into a wobbling foghorn like Netrebko.


----------



## gsdkfasdf (11 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> Singers have always eyed heavier roles, wishing they had the equipment for them, and often trying them on for size. Nellie Melba famously attempted the _Siegfried_ Brunnhilde, promptly lost her voice (temporarily), and admitted she'd been a fool. Beverly Sills joked that she was born with the voice of Beverly Sills and the mind of Birgit Nilsson, and although it shortened her career to take on Donizetti's queens and other dramatically satisfying parts, she and her audiences had no regrets. Netrebko's audiences seem happy too; those who can't tolerate what she's done to her voice are probably not paying to sit in those audiences. All of which leads up to pointing out that, although Freni and Scotto moved into what's considered spinto roles with essentially lyric voices, they had a better sense of their limits than Netrebko, who seems not to acknowledge any limits when she takes on Turandot and Isolde (I'm not sure whether she's sung the whole of Isolde yet, but her dreadful Liebestod is on YouTube). Scotto's voice gradually became strident on top, but she had the artistic sense not to turn herself into a wobbling foghorn like Netrebko.


Quick question - would for Sills, say, the challenge be projecting over denser orchestra or just conveying the dramatic intensity? I'm inclined to think it's a combination of both, but I've also heard slightly, slightly different things from pros.

Would you say between Elena (Vespri), Maria Stuarda, and Norma, how would they be ordered in terms of heaviness? I'm trying to get a sense of how these work since I've never heard any of it live, so I just have to make do with recordings and other things for now. Fingers crossed that I'll get to see live opera soon!

I agree though - I'm not partial to Netrebko's Turandot or Isolde (I don't think she's done any productions of Isolde yet). Or her husband. I quite liked her Musetta and Mimi as well as some of the other lyric stuff she's done, but not the Turandot or the dramatic stuff. Would her vibrato now be a wobble? (Hesitant to call it so but it sounds like it to me)


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

gsdkfasdf said:


> Quick question - would for Sills, say, the challenge be projecting over denser orchestra or just conveying the dramatic intensity? I'm inclined to think it's a combination of both, but I've also heard slightly, slightly different things from pros.
> 
> Would you say between Elena (Vespri), Maria Stuarda, and Norma, how would they be ordered in terms of heaviness? I'm trying to get a sense of how these work since I've never heard any of it live, so I just have to make do with recordings and other things for now. Fingers crossed that I'll get to see live opera soon!
> 
> I agree though - I'm not partial to Netrebko's Turandot or Isolde (I don't think she's done any productions of Isolde yet). Or her husband. I quite liked her Musetta and Mimi as well as some of the other lyric stuff she's done, but not the Turandot or the dramatic stuff. Would her vibrato now be a wobble? (Hesitant to call it so but it sounds like it to me)


Sills could always convey strong emotion but it would get lost over a big orchestra or singing high notes over a chorus. Netrebko has a wobble now.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

marlow said:


> I have this one - and 'Don Pasquale'. She is absolutely brilliant in both. Light lyric soprano at the time. In addition to her voice she has an electrifying stage presence. Has she moved into heavier roles they have taken a toll on the voice I think and you really need to see her act as well as hear her. Of course at the moment she is persona non grata. But of course she only did what other light Sopranos like Scotto and Freni have done


I have heard a lot about Netrebko's superior acting skills, but I'm not sure I'd agree. Admittedly I've only seen her on video, but in much of what I've seen, I find her a tad vulgar. She moves well, to be sure, and in opera that goes a long way, but I don't always think what she does is right for the character she is playing. Her Anna in *Anna Bolena* has no royal bearing, her Violetta no vulnerability. I once read a review about how she tried to make her Violetta more modern and assertive, which just reveals to me a lack of real understanding of the music and the character Verdi created with his music.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I have heard a lot about Netrebko's superior acting skills, but I'm not sure I'd agree. Admittedly I've only seen her on video, but in much of what I've seen, I find her a tad vulgar. She moves well, to be sure, and in opera that goes a long way, but I don't always think what she does is right for the character she is playing. Her Anna in *Anna Bolena* has no royal bearing, her Violetta no vulnerability. I once read a review about how she tried to make her Violetta more modern and assertive, which just reveals to me a lack of real understanding of the music and the character Verdi created with his music.


I can't comment much here, but I enjoyed Netrebko immensely in the Met's _Don Pasquale_. She's definitely a stage animal and in comedy she's clever and fun to watch. In the famous "clock _Traviata_" from Salzburg we had a regie revision of Verdi which I found annoying in several respects and don't blame Netrebko for. She never appeared in anything but good health, and how do you die in bed when there is no bed? In both productions she was still singing properly and hadn't succumbed to the lure of becoming Astrid Varnay. I haven't had the privilege of watching her roll around on the floor as Lady Macbeth, but I think I'll settle for second-hand accounts. I don't envision much Netrebko in my future, unless it's to review something from her best years.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

gsdkfasdf said:


> Quick question - would for Sills, say, the challenge be projecting over denser orchestra or just conveying the dramatic intensity? I'm inclined to think it's a combination of both, but I've also heard slightly, slightly different things from pros.


I never heard Sills live, so I don't know how audible she was.



> Would you say between Elena (Vespri), Maria Stuarda, and Norma, how would they be ordered in terms of heaviness? I'm trying to get a sense of how these work since I've never heard any of it live, so I just have to make do with recordings and other things for now. Fingers crossed that I'll get to see live opera soon!


What do you mean by "heaviness"?



> I agree though - I'm not partial to Netrebko's Turandot or Isolde (I don't think she's done any productions of Isolde yet). Or her husband. I quite liked her Musetta and Mimi as well as some of the other lyric stuff she's done, but not the Turandot or the dramatic stuff. Would her vibrato now be a wobble? (Hesitant to call it so but it sounds like it to me)


Yes, Netrebko is now a wobbling foghorn.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

gsdkfasdf said:


> I always hear that she started out as a lyric coloratura and moved into heavier rep. Mostly wondering how and about the size of her voice because on record it sounds... sufficient? Her voice sounds a bit lighter than what I'd expect of a soprano who tackles her later rep (Gioconda, Amelia, Adriana, Leonora).
> 
> Anyone who's familiar with her voice? Thanks!


SCOTTO
I've seen her a few times (*Madama Butterfly*, *Adriana Lecouvreur*, *La Gioconda*) and she was audible at all times, her voice being penetrating instead of "big." She was strident at the top and pushed to make a big sound whenever her own caliber was insufficient. Her stage deportment was good and, once she slimmed, attractive. To focus her voice, she started projecting out of the side of her mouth and she could be plenty loud and sometimes delicate.

SILLS
I've heard Sills often in San Francisco in the '70s, in *Manon*, *Lucia di Lammermoor*, *La Traviata*, *La Fille du Régiment *, *Thaïs*, and *I Puritani* and she was always audible. In fact, she found out she could be heard clearly with her back to the audience, and she used that trick as much as she could. Though I've never been a fan of her tremulous tone, she was a huge star when I first heard her. In her early days, she even sang *Aida* and in the '50s, she sang some Wagner (Gerhilde), no doubt singing very high notes (_ho jo to_!)


----------



## marlow (11 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I have heard a lot about Netrebko's superior acting skills, but I'm not sure I'd agree. Admittedly I've only seen her on video, but in much of what I've seen, I find her a tad vulgar. She moves well, to be sure, and in opera that goes a long way, but I don't always think what she does is right for the character she is playing. Her Anna in *Anna Bolena* has no royal bearing, her Violetta no vulnerability. I once read a review about how she tried to make her Violetta more modern and assertive, which just reveals to me a lack of real understanding of the music and the character Verdi created with his music.


Interesting as to me she created a very real character in the Violetta. Of course the 'clock' production was not to traditional tastes and certainly not without faults but the character she created moved me more than any other Violetta I've seen. Of course she was vulgar but then she was playing a prostitute, albeit a highclass one.


----------



## marlow (11 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> I never heard Sills live, so I don't know how audible she was.
> 
> What do you mean by "heaviness"?
> 
> Yes, Netrebko is now a wobbling foghorn.


I must confess I was amazed and dismayed at Anna's decision to go for Turandot and Isolde. Her Lady Macbeth came off on stage due to the stage presence but the Isolde is frankly embarrassing. I dunno what drives singers (Ricciarrelli, Caballi, etc) to attempt these killer roles.
Sills of course wrecked her voice by the end. Sad!


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

marlow said:


> I must confess I was amazed and dismayed at Anna's decision to go for Turandot and Isolde. Her Lady Macbeth came off on stage due to the stage presence but the Isolde is frankly embarrassing. I dunno what drives singers (Ricciarrelli, Caballi, etc) to attempt these killer roles.
> Sills of course wrecked her voice by the end. Sad!


Ricciarelli at least had the good sense not to attempt Turandot on stage. If anything, her repetoire choices were all for more lyrical fare as she got older - Donizetti and Rossini, especially. Caballé did sing Turandot on stage and the San Franciso performance with Pavarotti is actually pretty good. She didn't make a habit of it though.

Some singers are tempted into heavier repertoire but then are intelligent enough to know if it's for them or not. Gedda once sang Lohengrin on stage, in Stockholm in 1966. There is an excellent recording and those who heard him were apparently very appreciative. However he wisely decided that Wagner wasn't for him and might permanently damage his voice, so never sang another Wagner role again either on stage or on record.


----------



## gsdkfasdf (11 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> I never heard Sills live, so I don't know how audible she was.
> 
> What do you mean by "heaviness"?
> 
> Yes, Netrebko is now a wobbling foghorn.


I mean from a purely vocal persepctive, which of these roles would require the largest voice. Hope this helps!


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

gsdkfasdf said:


> I mean from a purely vocal persepctive, which of these roles would require the largest voice. Hope this helps!


Roles don't really require voices of specific sizes. You have to be audible, obviously, and you don't want to have to overexert to achieve that, but once that hurdle is cleared other qualities in the voice are more important than sheer volume. Roles are sung effectively by voices of different sizes, and the roles you mention are no exception.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Roles don't really require voices of specific sizes. You have to be audible, obviously, and you don't want to have to overexert to achieve that, but once that hurdle is cleared other qualities in the voice are more important than sheer volume. Roles are sung effectively by voices of different sizes, and the roles you mention are no exception.


Studer didn't have a really big voice but she effectively sang some roles like Salome, Elsa and the Santo di Patria role effectively by virtue of the fact that her projection was so excellent. One of the great things about Flagstad was she could use full vocal dynamics over a full orchestra instead of always singing in 5th gear because her projection of her sound was almost supernatural. it wasn't size that gave the effect described whereby when she sang it sounded like she was standing right in front of you.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

What singers need most in a big hall is the art of projecting the voice - how else was Bidu Sayao easily heard in the same house that frequently heard Helen Traubel, Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior?


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

MAS said:


> What singers need most in a big hall is the art of projecting the voice - how else was Bidu Sayao heard in the same house that frequently heard Helen Traubel, Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior?


YES! There's a difference between size of voice and projection. (Small voices that carry would be a good subject for a thread.)

N.


----------



## toasino (Jan 3, 2022)

gsdkfasdf said:


> I always hear that she started out as a lyric coloratura and moved into heavier rep. Mostly wondering how and about the size of her voice because on record it sounds... sufficient? Her voice sounds a bit lighter than what I'd expect of a soprano who tackles her later rep (Gioconda, Amelia, Adriana, Leonora).
> 
> Anyone who's familiar with her voice? Thanks!


Saw Scotto many times at the Met, IMO, she had a full lyric voice that was easily heard throughout the House. However, she took on too many roles for which her voice was not suited which shortened her operatic career. In the sixties she had a nice, if not beautiful sound, She was never one of my favorite sopranos. She was a committed performer though, who gave her all for a complete performance, vocally and dramatically.


----------



## toasino (Jan 3, 2022)

Woodduck said:


> I never heard Sills live, so I don't know how audible she was.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sills was very audible throughout the House. She was a great Lucia, Maria Stuarda and Manon at the NYC opera. She was just past her prime when she finally came to the Met, but still very good for a few years. I have been listening to many Netrebko performances since she came back from her firing by the Met, and IMO, sounds better than ever getting rave reviews and enthusiastic responses from European audiences and critics.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

toasino said:


> Saw Scotto many times at the Met, IMO, she had a full lyric voice that was easily heard throughout the House. However, she took on too many roles for which her voice was not suited which shortened her operatic career. In the sixties she had a nice, if not beautiful sound, She was never one of my favorite sopranos. She was a committed performer though, who gave her all for a complete performance, vocally and dramatically.


Scotto was born in 1934 and made her operatic debut at the age of eighteen. Her final operatic performances were in the mezzo role of Klytemnestra in 2002. That's a 50 year career, which seems pretty long to me.

I only heard her live, singing in a Mozart concert at the Barbican in London. It would have been quite late in her career but her voice, even then, had great cutting power.


----------



## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

I have seen a blog, where Scotto was mentioned as a wortwhile Norma. However, I could barely hear her above orchestra or ensenbles on a recording of Norma that youtube offered me. Was it a bad recording ? (I had the same problem with Cerquetti)


----------



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

I never find it much help when people say such-as-such was audible throughout the house. To be merely audible doesn’t take much, unless you’re a little deaf almost all singers will be audible throughout the house to some extent. To come immediately and cleanly to the ear is another thing. To me a better test is, does the voice sound significantly closer to you than it actually is and if you had your eyes closed would you be unable to pinpoint the exact source of the sound.


----------



## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

BBSVK said:


> I have seen a blog, where Scotto was mentioned as a wortwhile Norma. However, I could barely hear her above orchestra or ensenbles on a recording of Norma that youtube offered me. Was it a bad recording ? (I had the same problem with Cerquetti)


Scotto's Norma at the Met was a famous disaster. It must have been an awful experience for her based on what I've read. I'v never had an issue hearing Cerquetti. What little there is of her suggests (to me) a magnificent singer.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> Scotto's Norma at the Met was a famous disaster. It must have been an awful experience for her based on what I've read. I'v never had an issue hearing Cerquetti. What little there is of her suggests (to me) a magnificent singer.


Cerquetti for some reason only had a very short career. I like her a lot.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

The Conte said:


> YES! There's a difference between size of voice and projection. (Small voices that carry would be a good subject for a thread.)
> 
> N.


Can you say Jussi?


----------



## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Cerquetti for some reason only had a very short career. I like her a lot.


I have her Gioconda and like her there.


----------



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Cerquetti for some reason only had a very short career. I like her a lot.


Cerquetti was a very good soprano with a beautiful voice. Her career was short but I don't think it was anything to do with any vocal problems; she was asked to return to the stage many times. She didn't like to use chest voice, thinking it vulgar, but she did on occasion and even when she didn't had a well produced lower register that didn't sound at all mushy or forced. I don't like her Gioconda as much as some other things, I prefer Milanov and Callas in that role, but her Elisabeth from Don Carlo is excellent, as is her Elvira from Ernani.


----------



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

Seattleoperafan said:


> *Cerquetti for some reason only had a very short career.* I like her a lot.


"Miss Cerquetti, who was just 26, had already impressed opera lovers in the United States, making her debut with the Chicago Opera in 1955, singing the role of Amelia in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” But while replacing Callas thrust her to a new level, it also took a toll.

For a time, Miss Cerquetti pulled off an unlikely twin billing — alternating standing in for Callas in Rome and performing the role in Naples, more than 100 miles away. In mid-January, suffering from what a psychiatrist called “nervous exhaustion,” she backed out of Bellini’s “The Pirate,” at the Palermo Opera. A psychiatrist, citing her heavy workload, prescribed sedatives and 20 days of rest.

She went on to noted performances at La Scala in Milan and elsewhere, and on Italian radio broadcasts, but just three years after those tumultuous days at Teatro dell’Opera, she abruptly retired and all but disappeared.

This time, it was Miss Cerquetti who faced questions. Had her voice failed? Did she have neurological issues? Heart problems? She blamed fatigue.

“I was very tired because I couldn’t sleep at night and during the day I sang,” Miss Cerquetti said in a 1996 interview with Stefan Zucker, president of the Bel Canto Society, an organization devoted to the history of opera singing. “It got to the point where I had absolute need of physical rest. Above all, I needed to sleep. This was from stress. But, thank God, my vocal cords remained intact and have remained so until today. This is the truth.”

She added: “So many things were said, understandably, because I had left my career at its most beautiful moment. It’s only natural that people asked why. And since everyone needed a reason, each one invented his own.”

Critics praised her natural talent but saw room for refinement, pointing out what at times was noticeably heavy breathing.

“Miss Cerquetti’s recorded performance of arias by Verdi, Bellini, Spontini and Puccini leaves no doubt that her voice is a remarkable instrument,” John Briggs wrote in The New York Times in 1957 in a review of “Operatic Recital by Anita Cerquetti,” one of a small number of commercial recordings she made. “Whether it is being used with skill is another question.”



https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/arts/music/anita-cerquetti-opera-fill-in-who-soared-dies-at-83.html



Note: the first time that you try to access the article above, a nag box will appear asking you to subscribe in order to continue reading. Just refresh the page and the article will appear.


"But in 1961, after a so-so performance of Verdi’s _Nabucco, _she dropped out of sight and was never seen or heard on an operatic stage thereafter. For decades, the rumors spread that she had lost her voice due to inadequate training and over-exposure, singing roles too heavy for her too soon and too often. Cerquetti herself stayed silent most of the time, but occasionally issued public statements that this wasn’t altogether true, that she was under heavy emotional stress at the time because her father was dying (which was true) and that she chose not to return to the stage because she didn’t like many of the newer “conceptual” productions which she found distasteful. But of course, this didn’t satisfy the legions of Cerquetti fans who just wanted her to sing again, period, regardless of the cost to her.

Eventually, decades later, she revealed the whole story. Around the time her father died, she had married and had a daughter. By the time her daughter was four years old, her voice had returned to its former glory. But because she had been so young and perhaps because so much was expected of her due of the extraordinary quality of her voice, she was very self-critical. “After a performance,” she said, “I would go back to my hotel room and relive the whole day over again. Did I warm up properly, or enough? What did I do right in the performance? What did I do wrong, and why did it go wrong? How could I prevent that from going wrong in the next performance? It was all very stressful. After 1965, I was offered many chances to return. A few times, I almost gave in. But then I thought to myself, To return under the gun? Enough! (Basta!)”









Anita Cerquetti: The Legend Continues


Italy in the 1950s and very early 1960s was a testing-ground for the kind of operatic programming that neither they nor any other country has done before or since, a mixture of standard repertoire …




artmusiclounge.wordpress.com


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Shaughnessy said:


> "Miss Cerquetti, who was just 26, had already impressed opera lovers in the United States, making her debut with the Chicago Opera in 1955, singing the role of Amelia in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” But while replacing Callas thrust her to a new level, it also took a toll.
> 
> For a time, Miss Cerquetti pulled off an unlikely twin billing — alternating standing in for Callas in Rome and performing the role in Naples, more than 100 miles away. In mid-January, suffering from what a psychiatrist called “nervous exhaustion,” she backed out of Bellini’s “The Pirate,” at the Palermo Opera. A psychiatrist, citing her heavy workload, prescribed sedatives and 20 days of rest.
> 
> ...


Makes a lot of sense. A career onstage singing demanding opera is not for sissies. It is very demanding work. I do not handle stress well myself and had I had the voice and training my sister had I would not be able to handle an operatic career the way she did. Little Toastmaster speeches to no more than 50 is about my speed. I wonder if she was able to teach. She did not reveal any thing about that. I am frankly surprised we don't have more nervous breakdowns in singers. Maybe we do and don't hear about them. Even the great Callas supposedly had lots of problems with nerves later in her career.


----------



## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Shaughnessy said:


> "Miss Cerquetti, who was just 26, had already impressed opera lovers in the United States, making her debut with the Chicago Opera in 1955, singing the role of Amelia in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” But while replacing Callas thrust her to a new level, it also took a toll.
> 
> For a time, Miss Cerquetti pulled off an unlikely twin billing — alternating standing in for Callas in Rome and performing the role in Naples, more than 100 miles away. In mid-January, suffering from what a psychiatrist called “nervous exhaustion,” she backed out of Bellini’s “The Pirate,” at the Palermo Opera. A psychiatrist, citing her heavy workload, prescribed sedatives and 20 days of rest.
> 
> ...


What a sad story! I had no idea. I hope her decision was happy.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Shaughnessy said:


> "Miss Cerquetti, who was just 26, had already impressed opera lovers in the United States, making her debut with the Chicago Opera in 1955, singing the role of Amelia in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” But while replacing Callas thrust her to a new level, it also took a toll.
> 
> For a time, Miss Cerquetti pulled off an unlikely twin billing — alternating standing in for Callas in Rome and performing the role in Naples, more than 100 miles away. In mid-January, suffering from what a psychiatrist called “nervous exhaustion,” she backed out of Bellini’s “The Pirate,” at the Palermo Opera. A psychiatrist, citing her heavy workload, prescribed sedatives and 20 days of rest.
> 
> ...


Streisand didn't sing concerts out of fear for twenty five years at least. After she discovered anti anxiety medications she made a huge return to singing with the most expensive ticket prices in history. Horowitz didn't leave his apartment for many many years only to have a big return to the stage later in life. The great Ponselle quit singing at 40 when she was at her peak out of increasing anxiety singing in public. Luckily she did not stop recording.


----------



## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Streisand didn't sing concerts out of fear for twenty five years at least. After she discovered anti anxiety medications she made a huge return to singing with the most expensive ticket prices in history. Horowitz didn't leave his apartment for many many years only to have a big return to the stage later in life. The great Ponselle quit singing at 40 when she was at her peak out of increasing anxiety singing in public. Luckily she did not stop recording.


It must feel like a blood sport for some singers. Like they're going into battle in the Roman Coliseum rather than singing on an opera stage. I don't know how they take the pressure. I could never do it.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> It must feel like a blood sport for some singers. Like they're going into battle in the Roman Coliseum rather than singing on an opera stage. I don't know how they take the pressure. I could never do it.


Or great singers like Callas and Tebaldi who had to deal with claques in the audience in Italy!!!! My sister never had stage fright singing and I never did speaking till my last speech which was to a very cold crowd that wasn't with me and it was a lot of work and I was nervous for the first time. Speaking in public is the number one fear in America and I would think singing Verdi and Bellini would add a great burden to that for many singers. Corelli had enormous self doubt and crippling stage fright before performances I've read.


----------

