# SOPRANO TOURNAMENT: (Round 1, Match 8): Gheorghiu vs Rethberg



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Angela Gheorghiu, Romania, 1965-






Elizabeth Rethberg, Germany, 1894-1976






Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

An easy decision for me:

Gheorghiu: her usual highly expressive performance, clear diction, and a lovely open relaxed voice

Rethberg: nowhere near as expressive to my ears, less clear (but that could be the recording), and a voice that at times sounded constricted.

Gheorghiu it is.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This one's a tricky one for me and I enjoyed both versions very much. Gheorghiu perhaps gives us a touch more character, but Rethberg phrases so naturally that she is effective in a different way. Both have very beautiful voices. Both are much more natural than Fleming in the previous pairing.

Incidentally, Aerobat, I hear absolutely no constriction in Rethberg's voice (indeed it's one of the most naturally produced voices I know), nor did I hear any harshness in Sayao's, but I suppose we all hear voices differently.

Ultimately I'm going for Gheorghiu for that extra degree of characterisation, but on another day I might just as well have chosen Rethberg.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Hey! What happened to Rethberg's final few notes? They're missing! The lack of the familiar ending disappointed me.
That aside, they both did an admirable job.
They both expressed with feeling and they kept the "simple and plain" simple and plain in Mimi's monologue.
But sometimes even a gorgeous voice can get it right with the drama and depth of a performance rather than the histrionics too often displayed by some (Fleming?) and this I grant to the vulnerable quality -- so captivating in a Mimi-type character -- to Angela Gheorghiu.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

We have heard four good versions of this aria, all four of them were _sung_ well. The main difference between them is the characterisation and whether the expression is that of Puccini's Mimi or would be better suited for other roles. There was something artificial to the version by Fleming and so Sayao won that contest. Rethberg sounds too old for Mimi in places, despite the absolute gorgeousness of her shapely lines.

Gheorghiu is something else though. She instinctively conjures up all the simplicity, vulnerability and femininity of Puccini's seamstress.

N.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

nina foresti said:


> What happened to Rethberg's final few notes? They're missing! The lack of the familiar ending disappointed me.


They were probably cut so that the rest of the aria did not have to be rushed.

The recording quality narrows Rethberg's sound a little (if you listen to her live or electric recordings you can hear the bloom better) but there's still a lot of beauty in what we get here. I find Rethberg's voice better balanced and more beautiful and it's able to do little subtle things that make the singing extremely natural. For example, on "quelle cose" at 1:21 you can hear a slight crescendo and then diminuendo on the high note, which is the sort of effect that, as executed here, sounds unplanned, and makes a performance as a whole spontaneous throughout. It gives me the sense that I'm hearing a character and not a singer giving an interpretation. But the voice has to absolutely free and capable of the slightest variation in registration without any effort. Same for the rubato on "vivo sola soletta". That adds a lot of piquancy to that line, especially with the a tempo right after. It throws light on the line, which is generally tossed off. She likes her life and can find poetry even in the small ordinary things that she has adorned it with, but she's alone. Puccini gave this opportunity to the soprano to find the contrast in the one note "vivo sola soletta" and the cheerier, more tuneful "la in una bianca cameretta etc." Rethberg takes it, and it's the kind of thing that makes the singing of these masters so impactful. This is why I love bel canto singers in Puccini (Rethberg being at the very outer edge of that tradition, and with a foot in two worlds), because their sensitivity to the text and fluidity of tonal production means that they find these little moments of light and shade (and I do think that in this case they are there to find, and not just added (which is why Fleming's additions are so unnecessary)) that many verismo tradition singers, for all their admirable intensity, just don't. There are many other such moments of rubato and dynamic fluidity throughout Rethberg's performance. Gheorghiu does very well, but Rethberg is a master in my opinion.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I'm not very familiar with either lady. Gheorghiu is sort of standard on the emotional connection. Where she shines is in that glorious, resonant tone in the upper part of her voice. It is so beautiful.
Rethberg was a revelation to me. The combination of a very very sweet, perfectly beautiful sound and complete involvement in the emotions of the text knocked this one out of the ballpark for me.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Rethberg's voice is cleanly produced, the tone purer. Gheorghiu's has so many overtones, it seems harder to hear the line. 
The style of singing has changed quite a lot over the years. I suppose if Rethberg sang as overtly (as Gheorghiu) in her day, she would be accused of gilding the lily. On the other hand, Gheorghiu can't be accused of simplicity, as there are so many fussy details in her version. Both are not singing in their own language so expression is slightly hampered - this is more apparent in Rethberg's version, where it affects how well the words are inflected. 
Gheorghiu's recording is, of course, more modern, and so, much clearer and of higher fidelity, though Rethberg's is not occluded and her diction seems impeccable. 
The palm goes to Gheorghiu, she seems more girlish, as Rethberg is more regal and grand, which is not Mimi.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

MAS said:


> Both are not singing in their own language so expression is slightly hampered - this is more apparent in Rethberg's version, where it affects how well the words are inflected.


This does give Gheorghiu a slight advantage. Romanian is a romance language (admittedly with the odd word adopted from German & Russian), and quite close to Italian in many ways. Most Italians would be able to read a book written in Romanian without too much difficulty.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

MAS said:


> The style of singing has changed quite a lot over the years. I suppose if Rethberg sang as overtly (as Gheorghiu) in her day, she would be accused of gilding the lily.


Well, I'm here today, in this day, and I'm going to accuse her of gilding the lily. I voted for Rethberg. I mean, even Schwarzkopf realised this ought not to be too mannered and fussy.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Gheorghiu just nails this aria. Emotionally charged, vulnerable, brittle. That's damn fine interpretation, I hear a bit of Magda (La Rondine) in this as well, it was Gheorghiu that made me fall in love with this Puccini rarity. Hands down I am voting for her.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I listened to Rethberg first and thought she sang beautifully. Then I listened to Gheorghiu and thought she too sang beautifully, and I thought that maybe I liked her voice a little more in the role of Mimi than Rethberg's. I recalled how fine she is in _La Rondine_, and I felt warm and happy not to feel like a old curmudgeon. Then I went back and listened to Rethberg, and I heard beautifully controlled little shadings that didn't register the first time. I would like, for once, to pick a recent singer over one from long ago, but - sad to say - I'm not doing it this time either.


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