# Christine Goerke As A Dramatic Soprano



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I heard her 15 odd years ago in Norma before she was a dramatic soprano and her voice held her own with Ewa Podles both in volume and dexterity, which is no small feat. Her only shortcomings were occasional flat high notes. Her D was ginormous. Still, I am curious what her voice is like now that her voice has grown in size supposedly by leaps and bounds. One listener heard her in Turandot in the upper balcony and said the orchestra drowned her out. Others say it is is startlingly huge. I hope her flat high notes have vanished. I know Jessye Norman had a really huge voice but it was so dark and not sufficiently forward placed that orchestras could defeat it. I only heard her with piano. Is Goerke just sufficiently large or a real Nilsson contender. Sadly one thing I am almost ashamed to say about her is that , just like Eileen Farrell, she truly has a face made for radio. I know dramatic sopranos are not usually great beauties, but Goerke is hard to watch on video, even though she is a great performer.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I heard her 15 odd years ago in Norma before she was a dramatic soprano and her voice held her own with Ewa Podles both in volume and dexterity, which is no small feat. Her only shortcomings were occasional flat high notes. Her D was ginormous. Still, I am curious what her voice is like now that her voice has grown in size supposedly by leaps and bounds. One listener heard her in Turandot in the upper balcony and said the orchestra drowned her out. Others say it is is startlingly huge. I hope her flat high notes have vanished. I know Jessye Norman had a really huge voice but it was so dark and not sufficiently forward placed that orchestras could defeat it. I only heard her with piano. Is Goerke just sufficiently large or a real Nilsson contender. Sadly one thing I am almost ashamed to say about her is that , just like Eileen Farrell, she truly has a face made for radio. I know dramatic sopranos are not usually great beauties, but Goerke is hard to watch on video, even though she is a great performer.


Like some other dramatic sopranos, Goerke has a limited top; the sound tightens up there rather than opening out, and she can go flat. This was bothersome in her _Elektra,_ where there are a lot of high-lying climaxes. We baby boomers have been spoiled by Birgit! I'm not really fond of Goerke; the intense vibrato bothers me a bit, but at least it isn't a wobble, and she seems to have a strong middle and low voice and plenty of power.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

> Her D was ginormous


I'm sure it was quite....a penetrating D.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Like some other dramatic sopranos, Goerke has a limited top; the sound tightens up there rather than opening out, and she can go flat. This was bothersome in her _Elektra,_ where there are a lot of high-lying climaxes. We baby boomers have been spoiled by Birgit! I'm not really fond of Goerke; the intense vibrato bothers me a bit, but at least it isn't a wobble, and she seems to have a strong middle and low voice and plenty of power.


I was afraid of that. She could transition to mezzo easily I think. Soprano is where the big bucks are, though.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Is Goerke just sufficiently large or a real Nilsson contender.


I've heard her several time, with the BSO and at the Met. Her voice is more than adequate for the roles that she sings. There's a lot more to singing than volume. I never heard Nilsson live, and I'm quite sure that her top notes were more brilliant and penetrating than Goerke's, but I prefer a better balanced sound like Goerke's.



> Sadly one thing I am almost ashamed to say about her is that , just like Eileen Farrell, she truly has a face made for radio.


Hmmph. I don't find her unattractive.



> I know dramatic sopranos are not usually great beauties, but Goerke is hard to watch on video, even though she is a great performer.


She's not there for the cameras, she's there for the live audience. Dramatic voices don't come in lyric bodies - have you ever seen photos of Flagstad or Traubel?


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> Like some other dramatic sopranos, Goerke has a limited top;


It's not "some" - virtually ALL dramatic sopranos struggle with their top ranges. Flagstad's top notes were a lot thinner than the rest of her voice, and Traubel omitted high notes altogether, just to give two examples. Nilsson was an aberration - most sopranos with high notes who essay dramatic roles crap out early because they're not really dramatic sopranos - look at Debbie Voigt and Hildegard Behrens if you need examples.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I can't say I'm a fan, but then again I haven't seen her often.

I much prefer Evelyn Herlitzius in the Goerke rep.

N.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

The Conte said:


> I can't say I'm a fan, but then again I haven't seen her often.
> 
> I much prefer Evelyn Herlitzius in the Goerke rep.
> 
> N.


I like Herlitzius, but I haven't heard her live just yet. She's an electric performer


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

wkasimer said:


> It's not "some" - virtually ALL dramatic sopranos struggle with their top ranges. Flagstad's top notes were a lot thinner than the rest of her voice, and Traubel omitted high notes altogether, just to give two examples. Nilsson was an aberration - most sopranos with high notes who essay dramatic roles crap out early because they're not really dramatic sopranos - look at Debbie Voigt and Hildegard Behrens if you need examples.


I have to disagree slightly about Flagstad. In her prime her high notes were full and huge. Start this at about 8:21:






This was 1948, when she was already 53. I don't hear anything thin and I don't hear a struggle; it's a virtual wall of sound from bottom to top. True, she couldn't go on up from there as Nilsson could, and she did start omitting some of her high Cs as she aged. Traubel is another story; she skipped high Cs routinely and didn't even get along well with Bs. This "ho-jo-to-ho" is transposed down a whole tone (start at 0:30):






A great voice, but I never really felt she was a soprano. I'm on the fence about what Goerke ought to be singing; the numerous high outbursts in her Elektra were often very uncomfortable to hear, at least on the radio.


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## Scott in PA (Aug 13, 2016)

I found that her voice changes character as she gets into the upper register and the sound (frankly) is not very attractive. I noticed this a lot with her Elektra last year.

I just listened to the two excerpts that Bonetan posted from the Met's website:

Goerke's Hojotoho:

https://www.metopera.org/discover/vi...=6017868929001

Goerke Act 3:

https://www.metopera.org/discover/vi...=6018138706001

The Hojotohos are actually quite decent. But in the Act 3 scene the same problem of changes to vocal coloration occur as she ascends the scale, and here we are talking F, F# and G, not exactly taxing high notes. The excerpt stops mercifully just short of Brunnhilde's _Der diese Liebe_ (where she holds an E on "Liebe"). This is right in that tricky passagio area. Admittedly, this is tricky for most sopranos.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> I'm on the fence about what Goerke ought to be singing; the numerous high outbursts in her Elektra were often very uncomfortable to hear, *at least on the radio.*


I try never to judge a singer's vocalism on the basis of anything except a live performance. On more occasions than I can count, I've been lukewarm about a singer's recordings and broadcasts, and been bowled over when I later hear them live. This is particularly true of larger voices, which are almost never well served by recordings and especially broadcasts. The latter almost invariably exaggerate a big voice's worst characteristics. I've also been surprised by voices that sounded great on recordings, but were an utter disappointment in the flesh.

As for Goerke - I've been listening to her for a couple of decades, since a Donna Elvira in Boston when she was in her 20's and virtually unknown. I've heard her more recently in a couple of "Nilsson roles", the Färberin in FroSch (Met) and Elektra (concert version in Boston). She had no difficulty filling out either of those roles - it's a big, attractive sound, and I certainly didn't hear any trouble with her upper range. The wide and prominent vibrato that someone commented about, which is exaggerated on her broadcasts, is not a problem when she's heard live. I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing her Brünnhilde at the Met in a few weeks - she's one of the major reasons I bought tickets (that, and the fortuitous coincidence that there's a professional meeting in midtown Manhattan the week of Cycle 2).


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I love and adore Christine Goerke. Not just her wonderful voice, but her committed acting where she gets to the depths of a character. I heard her in a Met interview the other day. She is a bright, interesting and fun human being to talk to. 
I am astounded at the negative responses on this thread from some very bright listers.
I guess it just continues to prove that everyone hears things differently and no one is wrong nor everyone right.
I am looking forward to her Met Turandot in October. She will be wonderful. I urge anyone on the fence to give her one more chance and see the HD on Saturday, Oct 12 at your neighborhood theater.
You won't be sorry.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> I love and adore Christine Goerke. Not just her wonderful voice, but her committed acting where she gets to the depths of a character. I heard her in a Met interview the other day. She is a bright, interesting and fun human being to talk to.
> I am astounded at the negative responses on this thread from some very bright listers.
> I guess it just continues to prove that everyone hears things differently and no one is wrong nor everyone right.
> I am looking forward to her Met Turandot in October. She will be wonderful. I urge anyone on the fence to give her one more chance and see the HD on Saturday, Oct 12 at your neighborhood theater.
> You won't be sorry.


She appears to be one of the best actresses out there. I wish I could hear the mature Goerke live in a house. I doubt she'll ever come all the way out to Seattle anymore.


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## marceliotstein (Feb 23, 2019)

Seattleoperafan said:


> She appears to be one of the best actresses out there. I wish I could hear the mature Goerke live in a house. I doubt she'll ever come all the way out to Seattle anymore.


I agree - I've seen her Elektra and now her Brunnhilde. As the latter, she sure has stage presence. She's a real actress, and whenever she was on stage everybody else might as well have been in their dressing rooms.

Just an aside: I don't know if it's typical for all the Valkyries to have "big hair" (as we called it in the 1980s) but they all do in this Met production and it's quite a stunning vision. I think she looks great.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> She appears to be one of the best actresses out there. I wish I could hear the mature Goerke live in a house. I doubt she'll ever come all the way out to Seattle anymore.


You mean you don't have any movie theaters near you that show the Met in HD on a Saturday afternoon? It's LIVE. It is happening at the same time as the actual Met performance -- usually at 1 pm DST or EST. They are priceless and cheap.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

nina foresti said:


> You mean you don't have any movie theaters near you that show the Met in HD on a Saturday afternoon? It's LIVE. It is happening at the same time as the actual Met performance -- usually at 1 pm DST or EST. They are priceless and cheap.


I've been to a few HD Met presentations over the years. While they're better than nothing, they're a very poor substitute for the "real thing".


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

wkasimer said:


> I've been to a few HD Met presentations over the years. While they're better than nothing, they're a very poor substitute for the "real thing".


I respectfully disagree.
The excitement of watching how they strike the sets backstage during intermission is worth the price of the ticket. Fascinating. I also happen to enjoy the interviews with the singers, directors, designers etc. -- most of whom I understand actually enjoy participating in. Those who do not can certainly reject it and go to their dressing room or whatever.
On the other hand, nothing takes the place of seeing the entire venue up close and personal -- a special treat when the chandeliers go up -- and viewing a stage as it is meant to be seen rather than some unappealing tonsil-like close ups of singers. One also misses facial reactions of one singer to another which, for me, is more important than a camera landing on one face alone, but I'll still take the experience as a positive one because for less than $30 one gets to sit in a GOOD seat where they can see from anywhere in the theater without paying over $200 a ticket in a majority of cases.
Of course it goes without saying that it allows a vast number of people to get to see an opera as it is actually being performed live when they could normally neither afford such a thing nor live close enough to enjoy this gift that goes around the entire world.
Finally, it has brought an epiphany to some new young blood who never either heard of opera nor cared to be a part of it in the past.
(And they can now have their popcorn and eat it too!)


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

nina foresti said:


> I respectfully disagree.
> The excitement of watching how they strike the sets backstage during intermission is worth the price of the ticket. Fascinating. I also happen to enjoy the interviews with the singers, directors, designers etc. -- most of whom I understand actually enjoy participating in. Those who do not can certainly reject it and go to their dressing room or whatever.
> On the other hand, nothing takes the place of seeing the entire venue up close and personal -- a special treat when the chandeliers go up -- and viewing a stage as it is meant to be seen rather than some unappealing tonsil-like close ups of singers. One also misses facial reactions of one singer to another which, for me, is more important than a camera landing on one face alone, but I'll still take the experience as a positive one because for less than $30 one gets to sit in a GOOD seat where they can see from anywhere in the theater without paying over $200 a ticket in a majority of cases.
> Of course it goes without saying that it allows a vast number of people to get to see an opera as it is actually being performed live when they could normally neither afford such a thing nor live close enough to enjoy this gift that goes around the entire world.
> ...


I think they mean in terms of a singer's vocal abilities. In that case there is no substitute for hearing them in the house...


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## marceliotstein (Feb 23, 2019)

Bonetan said:


> I think they mean in terms of a singer's vocal abilities. In that case there is no substitute for hearing them in the house...


This brings up another point I've thought about: it seems to me that many opera critics and aficionados go too far in reducing the enjoyment of opera to the enjoyment of opera singing. For me, this is only one part of the overall experience. I enjoy opera for the stories they tell ... for the back stories about the origins and histories of each opera, which are often more exciting than the stories in the opera ... for the sets, the costumes, the dancing, the acting. Not that singing isn't also important. But I agree that watching an opera on a broadcast or even on YouTube can be a great experience, even if we don't get to hear the voices live, because all of these other aspects are still there for us to enjoy.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Bonetan said:


> I think they mean in terms of a singer's vocal abilities. In that case there is no substitute for hearing them in the house...


That's exactly what I meant.

There are certainly advantages to Met HD:

1) Tickets are $22.
2) I don't have to spend money on a train and hotel.
3) Parking is both easily available and free.
4) Popcorn.
5) No bathroom lines.
6) Great sightlines.
7) No trouble hearing puny-voiced singers.

All of these are great - but there's no substitute musically for hearing a performance in the house.


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## sharkeysnight (Oct 19, 2017)

I had the awesome pleasure of seeing her perform Elektra here in Toronto and while I definitely can't speak on details regarding the sound, I thought she sounded absolutely incredible. She totally absorbed the role and filled the house, flying right over the massive orchestra.

Also, I think it's crazy to suggest that she's so ugly that she's "hard to watch on video". She has an amazingly expressive face!


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I also saw Christine Goerke as Elektra, here in San Francisco. I saw it twice from the orchestra, and once each from the dress circle and balcony, and there was never any problem hearing her over the 95-person orchestra. What I wrote after the first performance:



mountmccabe said:


> I saw the opening of _Elektra_ at the San Francisco Opera.
> 
> Christine Goerke was dominant from the moment she opens her mouth. It was room-filling sound, and for this first performance I was under the overhang more than is ideal. She was an absolute force as Elektra and gave a thrilling performance, with close attention to the emotional flow and the text. I am really excited to see more in the coming performances. She also really committed to this production; when you walk into the theater the curtain is up and the museum set is visible, with visitors milling around. We see Goerke viewing the exhibits, entranced. We see her companions, who will become her siblings in the opera.


I think she's great. I was thrilled by her singing in the audio broadcast of the _Die Walküre_ earlier this week, and I'm considering going to Chicago next April to catch one of their Ring cycles.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

wkasimer said:


> That's exactly what I meant.
> 
> There are certainly advantages to Met HD:
> 
> ...


Although I agree about voices live, by this time I have seen them live often, and in many cases can even identify their voices and names blindfolded. So I don't really consider it a deficit thanks to the so many advantages afforded by HD, and couldn't care less if I don't happen to hear the voice in-house when there is HD available. 
For the productions where there is no HD available, you will find me in-house glorifying at the sound of the music and singers in person. 
So for me it is a win-win situation.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

mountmccabe said:


> I also saw Christine Goerke as Elektra, here in San Francisco. I saw it twice from the orchestra, and once each from the dress circle and balcony, and there was never any problem hearing her over the 95-person orchestra. What I wrote after the first performance:
> 
> I think she's great. I was thrilled by her singing in the audio broadcast of the _Die Walküre_ earlier this week, and I'm considering going to Chicago next April to catch one of their Ring cycles.


I fear I may never hear her unless she comes to Seattle in concert someday. I am dependent on people like you to give me a feeling of her live performances. What I see of her live on TV shows you forget her and are immersed in the character she creates. She does have great charisma and her height looks great on stage. She looked lovely onstaga in Norma in Seattle years ago.


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## kineno (Jan 24, 2015)

I had the great pleasure of accompanying her on the organ a few Easters back; she sang the Easter Hymn from Cavalleria at my church. What a thrill... and what a huge, huge sound! I’ve been a groupie ever since.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Seattleoperafan: Am I to understand that in your neighboring area there are no movie theaters that offer a LIVE (yes I said LIVE) performance in HD of Metropolitan operas? These performances are happening at the very same time as they are being presented onstage at the Met in NY and they are sent all over the world to different theaters. 
I should think Seattle would certainly have several of these theaters available. They take place at 1 pm usually on certain scheduled Saturday afternoons. And the price is under $30 a ticket. 
What could be better than having your chosen seat, popcorn in hand, and Goerke up close and fabulous so you can find out once and for all for yourself on Saturday, October 12 how powerful her voice really is?


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> What could be better than having your chosen seat, popcorn in hand, and Goerke up close and fabulous so you can find out once and for all for yourself on Saturday, October 12 how powerful her voice really is?


...subject to multiple layers of audio technology starting with the microphone setup and mixing at the Met and ending with the quality of the sound reproduction and acoustics in the movie theater.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Becca said:


> ...subject to multiple layers of audio technology starting with the microphone setup and mixing at the Met and ending with the quality of the sound reproduction and acoustics in the movie theater.


yeah, I don't think one can get any gauge of how powerful a voice truly is from these broadcasts, or any recording for that matter...


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Seattleoperafan: Am I to understand that in your neighboring area there are no movie theaters that offer a LIVE (yes I said LIVE) performance in HD of Metropolitan operas? These performances are happening at the very same time as they are being presented onstage at the Met in NY and they are sent all over the world to different theaters.
> I should think Seattle would certainly have several of these theaters available. They take place at 1 pm usually on certain scheduled Saturday afternoons. And the price is under $30 a ticket.
> What could be better than having your chosen seat, popcorn in hand, and Goerke up close and fabulous so you can find out once and for all for yourself on Saturday, October 12 how powerful her voice really is?


I can't get excited about fthe Live Met Broadcasts, though they are a great resource for many. They are live, but nothing beats the way a voice sounds in a good opera house. I have been to a few.


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