# Round 2: Di tanti palpiti: Podles and Caballe



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

See post below as I can't cue up here. The Caballe entry is from her early recital disc.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)




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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

I think Caballe is handicapped here by the tempo being set. She's racing through the aria as though she's just desperate to get it finished. I really didn't like this interpretation, so Podles gets it by being 'least bad'.

My personal favourite for this is Kasarova, but the only version I can find of her on Youtube is a very poorly recorded extract taken from a rehearsal.

Edit: This got me searching for decent Youtube of Kasarova and I finally found one:






It would be great (for me anyway) if you could add her to a future round please!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Caballé is not from her Rarities recital disc, which uses a slightly slower tempo (see below) but from an early live recital with piano from 1967. The voice is in prime condidtion and I rather like the joyfully fast tempo. It's amazing she gets round the notes so well at that tempo, but she mostly does and the voice itself is so beautiful she easily wins for me.

I didn't really like the darker sounding Podles version and it now occurs to me that I perhaps don't much like the sound of her voice, as I haven't much liked any of the arias we've had so far.

Here's the Caballé version from her Rossini Rarities disc, which was issued in 1968, the year after the live recital and is obviously with orchestra.






PS There's something slightly odd about the Kasarova video. Audio and visual don't seem to match and it almost looks as if the audio was added later. I didn't like the singing that much either. It seemed to me that she kept artificially darkening her voice and I preferred the clear, forwardly produced sound of Caballé's voice.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

Tsaraslondon said:


> PS There's something slightly odd about the Kasarova video. Audio and visual don't seem to match and it almost looks as if the audio was added later. I didn't like the singing that much either. It seemed to me that she kept artificially darkening her voice and I preferred the clear, forwardly produced sound of Caballé's voice.


I'd agree it's not as good as the CD version with Abbado, but I can't find that one on Youtube! Possibly not helped by the fact that it's a concert performance; I suspect it's harder to really portray a character when you're hopping between different roles in a concert than it is when performing a complete work. The recording with Abbado is (IMHO) one of the best Tancredis available.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> The Caballé is not from her Rarities recital disc, which uses a slightly slower tempo (see below) but from an early live recital with piano from 1967. The voice is in prime condidtion and I rather like the joyfully fast tempo. It's amazing she gets round the notes so well at that tempo, but she mostly does and the voice itself is so beautiful she easily wins for me.
> 
> I didn't really like the darker sounding Podles version and it now occurs to me that I perhaps don't much like the sound of her voice, as I haven't much liked any of the arias we've had so far.
> 
> ...


I couldn't find that Caballe. I wore those recitals out 30 years ago.
Mas encouraged me to take my risks in the contest. I took a chance on Sutherland a year after the Art of the Prima Donna and failed and Podles may be in the junk heap as well. As in many other instances I may be the only person to love Podles, but I love an androgenous sound and she has that more than any other contralto i know of. Live her voice was truly titanic with solid C6's and even D's. It was much bigger than Marilyn Horne's voice ( who I heard live) with a more secure top. Speight Jenkins worshipped her and had her here twice and the audience here was blown away. But Seattle is not London. Oh, well, most of my contests work.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I couldn't find that Caballe. I wore those recitals out 30 years ago.
> Mas encouraged me to take my risks in the contest. I took a chance on Sutherland a year after the Art of the Prima Donna and failed and Podles may be in the junk heap as well. As in many other instances I may be the only person to love Podles, but I love an androgenous sound and she has that more than any other contralto i know of. Live her voice was truly titanic with solid C6's and even D's. It was much bigger than Marilyn Horne's voice ( who I heard live) with a more secure top. Speight Jenkins worshipped her and had her here twice and the audience here was blown away. But Seattle is not London. Oh, well, most of my contests work.


I'd say they all work. They are designed to get a response from people and that's what they get. After all, and as John Lydgate once said,

*“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”*


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

Seattleoperafan said:


> As in many other instances I may be the only person to love Podles, but I love an androgenous sound and she has that more than any other contralto i know of. Live her voice was truly titanic with solid C6's and even D's. It was much bigger than Marilyn Horne's voice ( who I heard live) with a more secure top. Speight Jenkins worshipped her and had her here twice and the audience here was blown away. But Seattle is not London. Oh, well, most of my contests work.


You're certainly not the only person to love Podles - I have several of her recordings that I thoroughly enjoy. I'm just not convinced by this particular recording as much as I thought I would be, but still prefer it in this particular comparison.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I do wish people would stop adding their own videos and just vote for one or the other contestants! 
I was ready to vote for Podles, but was astonished by Caballe’s rendition, fearless and fluid, though somewhat aspirated (both singers indulge in this).


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Aerobat said:


> You're certainly not the only person to love Podles - I have several of her recordings that I thoroughly enjoy. I'm just not convinced by this particular recording as much as I thought I would be, but still prefer it in this particular comparison.


NICE TO HEAR! I have one for a contest with her that may dazzle. We'll have to wait and see. Or la tomba. She hits one of the most spectacular high notes I've ever heard after a show stopper of an aria. Coming up. This is not my favorite aria of hers but there are not that many outstanding artists in this repertoire to choose from in my opinion. There used to be wonderful one of the countertenor Cencic when he had his hair and looked like a movie idol in his early 20's in a concert but that video is gone.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Rossini's bouncy, florid arias are not much to my taste. As far as I'm concerned they could all be from the same opera, and in fact a number of Rossini's arias and overtures were recycled and used to express different things in different contexts, which suggests that they don't express much of anything beyond the pleasure a singer might convey in getting the notes out with facility and enthusiasm. I get more of the latter quality from Caballe here. I can imagine how impressive Podles would sound live, but here her cavernous mezzo-basso only makes me wonder what this music is supposed to express. Oh, right...


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Good gracious, where was Montsy running to? And the recording itself sounded strange and tinny. I never heard her sing so light.
Podles is not a favorite with her strong suit being those deep throat tones, but what's a person to do?
How strange to attempt to choose between a soprano and contralto with the same aria.
I'm stumped. Podles by default I guess.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

MAS said:


> I do wish people would stop adding their own videos and just vote for one or the other contestants!
> I was ready to vote for Podles, but was astonished by Caballe’s rendition, fearless and fluid, though somewhat aspirated (both singers indulge in this).


I only added the other Caballé clip because John had said the one in the competition was from her early recital disc, which it isn't. It's from an even earlier live recital with piano.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

Woodduck said:


> Rossini's bouncy, florid arias are not much to my taste. As far as I'm concerned they could all be from the same opera, and in fact a number of Rossini's arias and overtures were recycled and used to express different things in different contexts, which suggests that they don't express much of anything beyond the pleasure a singer might convey in getting the notes out with facility and enthusiasm. I get more of the latter quality from Caballe here. I can imagine how impressive Podles would sound live, but here her cavernous mezzo-basso only makes me wonder what this music is supposed to express. Oh, right...


I have to confess to a love of variety in my listening. Sometimes I’m in the mood for Parsifal and other times a light hearted Rossini Opera such as Cenerentola or The Barber is exactly what I need!

In terms of Tancredi, when you consider that Rossini was just 21 when he wrote it, I think it’s quite an impressive piece of work. Yes, he re-used arias throughout his career, but much of his work was commissioned to very short deadlines - Cenerentola for example was created in three weeks and under pressure ahead of the opening night.

As a side-note, I think William Tell shows that he also had a more serious side, devoid of the bouncy style that doesn’t appeal to everyone.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Aerobat said:


> I have to confess to a love of variety in my listening. Sometimes I’m in the mood for Parsifal and other times a light hearted Rossini Opera such as Cenerentola or The Barber is exactly what I need!
> 
> In terms of Tancredi, when you consider that Rossini was just 21 when he wrote it, I think it’s quite an impressive piece of work. Yes, he re-used arias throughout his career, but much of his work was commissioned to very short deadlines - Cenerentola for example was created in three weeks and under pressure ahead of the opening night.
> 
> As a side-note, I think William Tell shows that he also had a more serious side, devoid of the bouncy style that doesn’t appeal to everyone.


I like it all. Maybe I'm shallow but some Rossini I very much love. Bel raggio is one of my favorite arias of all time with Sutherland or Callas singing it and Callas singing Armida is like drinking hideously expensive wine. I love some of his group scenes very much. Some of his stuff is very beautiful. If you are looking for heavy drama you must go elsewhere... though I am unfamiliar with most of William Tell. I even have a Youtube speech on Rossini and my speaking club enjoyed it.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I like it all. Maybe I'm shallow but some Rossini I very much love. Bel raggio is one of my favorite arias of all time with Sutherland or Callas singing it and Callas singing Armida is like drinking hideously expensive wine. I love some of his group scenes very much. Some of his stuff is very beautiful. If you are looking for heavy drama you must go elsewhere... though I am unfamiliar with most of William Tell. I even have a Youtube speech on Rossini and my speaking club enjoyed it.


I read some of the English critics disparage Rossini’s music as “not to be taken seriously,” or some such conclusion. Or maybe most Italian music was so considered at one time.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I only added the other Caballé clip because John had said the one in the competition was from her early recital disc, which it isn't. It's from an even earlier live recital with piano.


Never heard that particular recording, she was on fire!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

MAS said:


> I read some of the English critics disparage Rossini’s music as “not to be taken seriously,” or some such conclusion. Or maybe most Italian music was so considered at one time.


It's not an attitude I've come across. Rossini has always been a mainstay of the repertoire at Glyndebourne and was almost as highly regarded as Mozart. Admittedly, the preference was at one time for his comedies, but attitudes towards _bel canto_ in general started to change post Callas. 

I don't know about critics, but quite a few German conductors were pretty disparaging about _bel canto_ even then. Legge relates a story of taking Klemperer to see Callas in *La Sonnambula *and leaving at the interval because Klemperer couldn't stand the opera. On the other hand it was considered quite a coup when Karajan decided to conduct *Lucia di Lammermoor *with Callas.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> It's not an attitude I've come across. Rossini has always been a mainstay of the repertoire at Glyndebourne and was almost as highly regarded as Mozart. Admittedly, the preference was at one time for his comedies, but attitudes towards _bel canto_ in general started to change post Callas.
> 
> I don't know about critics, but quite a few German conductors were pretty disparaging about _bel canto_ even then. Legge relates a story of taking Klemperer to see Callas in *La Sonnambula *and leaving at the interval because Klemperer couldn't stand the opera. On the other hand it was considered quite a coup when Karajan decided to conduct *Lucia di Lammermoor *with Callas.


I think Gergiev, with all my respect, slightly disdains belcanto, with unexplainable exclusion for Lucia.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

I can't believe it, I've voted against Montserrat! Though there are few people in the world who loves her as I do and I'm ready to forgive her everything. 
But in this particular case I prefer a low voice and Eva Podles, whom l like so much, sings it perfectly. I don't really care if she sounds "boyish" or "girlish", or others in roles like that do. It's all about the beauty of the voice and ability to sing this. 
Rossini may seem light-headed and too commercial in his creative endeavors, but it doesn't spoil his music much, and there are not so many who could be compared to him in depicting joy of life. So in my opera house I rarely watch his operas, they are rarely staged and sung by non-Rossinian singers. But I've attended some very nice productions. It would be not right if the world opera consisted only of Wagner's oeuvres.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Thank you, Aerobat, for Kasarova's recital. I hope for another round with her too.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

ColdGenius said:


> Thank you, Aerobat, for Kasarova's recital. I hope for another round with her too.


I'm glad somebody liked it .


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Aerobat said:


> I'm glad somebody liked it .


I put it in a new round.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I put it in a new round.


Excellent! Thanks for this. I'll be very interested in the opinions on this one. I suspect there are many who won't like her that much, but her recording of Tancredi is my favourite of those that I own.


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