# SOPRANO TOURNAMENT (By Request): Spani vs Tebaldi



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Hina Spani, Argentina, 1896-1969






Renata Tebaldi, Italy, 1922-2004






'Elsa's Dream' from Wagner's _Lohengrin_.

Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I enjoyed both versions of this aria, strange though it is to hear it sung in Italian. Both sopranos have very beautiful voices. Tebaldi's is probably the richer sound, but Spani's slimmer, purer, sound is also very appealing and she sounds as if she had a fair amount of cutting power. Very difficult to make a choice, but ultimately I think I'll go for Spani, as I found her version just communicated a little more, for all that she was in the studio whilst Tebaldi was live on stage.

Another interesting contrast in this aria might be afforded by comparing to Elisabeths singing in German, Grümmer and Schwarzkopf.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tebaldi could have been very successful in Wagner's medium-weight soprano roles: Elsa, Elisabeth, Sieglinde, Senta. I won't say she sounds completely idiomatic here, which is a matter partly of the language and partly of a certain _je ne sais quoi_ in her articulation of the notes, but she sings beautifully and gets the general sense of the piece.

Spani is another matter. In this performance, as in the last one we heard from her in rather different repertoire, she displays a precise, incisive, superbly disciplined voice, and a musical genius that transcends idiom and makes the music both magnificently itself and uniquely her own. This aria is Elsa's vision of a supernatural being, a knight in shining armor who will save her from the evil which has engulfed her existence, and Spani projects this so well I was taken out of the real world listening to her. Her vibrant, excitable voice responds to the subtlest changes of mood, and her musical instincts are of the first order; she gives us, among other things, a lesson in the tasteful use of portamento. Listening to the nuances of this, it shouldn't surprise us that she claimed to love singing song repertoire even more than opera.

Champagne versus cognac - no, Coca-Cola. Heh heh.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I've just listened to them both again and now think Spani is well ahead. What at first attracted me to Tebaldi's version was the sound of that voice as she started the aria, such a firm, rich instrument of the sort we rarely if ever hear these days, but Spani is clearly the more interesting interpreter. She doesn't just sing the notes but really brings them alive.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I listened to Spani again too, and I don't think my little Callas reference is far-fetched. Their singing is both insightful and musically impeccable, and they share a great clarity of expressive intention, nothing generalized or vague. This is really uncommon. I wonder whether Spani was also a fine actress onstage.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I find it extremely difficult to attempt to compare two voices that are not singing the same aria.
Although I tend to agree with Tsaraslondon's #4 assessment which kind of matched my own I don't prefer her voice to that of Tebaldi's and decided that Renata deserved at least 1 vote.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> I find it extremely difficult to attempt to compare two voices that are not singing the same aria.
> Although I tend to agree with Tsaraslondon's #4 assessment which kind of matched my own I don't prefer her voice to that of Tebaldi's and decided that Renata deserved at least 1 vote.


I'm not sure what you mean by this. They are singing the same aria, and they are both singing it in Italian translation.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Where did my post go? It has vanished. 
I said I didn’t like operas in the “wrong” language, but that I listened patiently to these videos. Voices like this are a thing of the past (pun intended)! 
Miss Tebaldi’s voice is the most immediately appealing, but comparing them is like the champagne and cognac quote. I eschew the Coca-Cola addition. Miss Spani sounds the more virginal portrait, the lighter, brighter voice adding to that impression. She is a singer you want to listen to, despite the primitive sound.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'm not sure what you mean by this. They are singing the same aria, and they are both singing it in Italian translation.


OMG!! It sounds exactly like two different arias. This is what happens when I am completely unfamiliar with the German repertoire presented of late.
Of course I can still listen to their voices and choose on the basis of which I feel has the more appealing sound even if I am not aware of how the work is supposed to be done.
And I do agree with your opinions stated even if I did choose the other soprano.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Spani, by a mile! She perfectly balances between the powerful/vulnerable states while with Tebaldi I cannot decide if she even sings the same aria. She projects from the stage just fine, but for me this is little more than glorious noise with not much meaning behind it, at least I fail to catch any.


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## Operasinger (May 28, 2021)

nina foresti said:


> …and decided that Renata deserved at least 1 vote.


I totally get your sentiment here.. I love Tebaldi! 
But Spani is truly an idol for me. How she tackled all this great rep and at the same time gave premieres to so many new pieces.
And I love how she sings here, yes every detail every moment is thoroughly delivered as part of her bigger concept of the role and this moment in it.


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