# Special Round: “Ah! Perfido” ON FILM: Studer, Nilsson, Cruz-Romo



## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

Special edition of the “Ah! Perfido” surveys, this time around of renditions captured on film. Two deliver more restrained, Teutonic renditions (restrained in body language, that is), which I prefer, while the other makes something of a soap opera of the piece, complete with the occasional raised eyebrow, arm-stretching and other old-fashioned conventions. But beautiful in its own way and valid, too. One of the three reaches Gold Standard status for reasons that should become more than evident. Hope all of you find this new survey interesting and enjoyable. Discuss.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

Interesting to observe no participation thus far in this round. Does it upset the conventional narrative? Or is it that only SOF’s rounds are deemed legitimate?


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

You have a certain amount of reading. Writing demands time.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

ColdGenius said:


> You have a certain amount of reading. Writing demands time.


What do you mean? You more likely meant “You have a certain amount of _hearing_. _Hearing_ demands time.” No?


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

ColdGenius said:


> You have a certain amount of reading. Writing demands time.


Adding that in innumerable rounds of equal or similar length, it hasn’t stopped the crowd from participating in about 5 minutes.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

I meant the number of views, forgive me my English. So, people obviously watched your videos.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Currently you have more than 250 views.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

ColdGenius said:


> I meant the number of views, forgive me my English. So, people obviously watched your videos.


We are obviously talking apples and oranges.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Although I very much liked Studer's rendition and she does have a beautiful voice which I like, however, I liked Cruz Romo's even better. She added some pathos that got to me and so I am giving her my vote.
(I find Nilsson wrong for this aria.)


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

ALT said:


> We are obviously talking apples and oranges.


I guess what does this botanical or meal idiom mean, but don't care much about it.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Indeed I like all three videos. All the singers are different both in vocal and dramatic sense, and it becomes a base of their individuality.
Studer is gorgeous, her voice is nice and classy, and facial expressions are touching, as if she hadn't such a fun since a long time.
Nilsson is one I adore and every time I vote against her I feel guilty. Maybe it's not her genuine repertoire and she isn't a born actress, but the power of her voice and stage presence undoubtedly act.
Gilda Cruz became a discovery for me, with such a beautiful and consistent voice. She hadn't any recording contract and her videos are undeservingly sparse, but had an impressive carrier, I mean, she sang all those big roles and was accepted well. Her dress of a color of a frightened nymph's hip is a special attraction. But it's not why I voted for her, of course.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

ColdGenius said:


> Indeed I like all three videos. All the singers are different both in vocal and dramatic sense, and it becomes a base of their individuality.
> Studer is gorgeous, her voice is nice and classy, and facial expressions are touching, as if she hadn't such a fun since a long time.
> Nilsson is one I adore and every time I vote against her I feel guilty. Maybe it's not her genuine repertoire and she isn't a born actress, but the power of her voice and stage presence undoubtedly act.
> Gilda Cruz became a discovery for me, with such a beautiful and consistent voice. She hadn't any recording contract and her videos are undeservingly sparse, but had an impressive carrier, I mean, she sang all those big roles and was accepted well. Her dress of a color of a frightened nymph's hip is a special attraction. But it's not because I voted for her, of course.


Cruz-Romo was also a surprise. As I wrote, her old fashioned operatic posturing is not my cup of tea and reminded me of Aprile Millo. It is an outmoded body language that just doesn’t speak to me and which can give opera a bad reputation as it sometimes appears like a stereotype. And although she sings beautifully, she is not so consistent vocally. At some point she turns hoarse and there was also a clear register break that sounded jarring to me. Some will notice that she holds on to the railing, if you will, behind the conductor’s podium à la a certain-someone in her Hamburg concert. 🙂 Nilsson’s no nonsense posture is more to my liking but her intonation is poor. She goes flat and sharp too often. And sometimes even short of breath. She was obviously captured too late in the work. Finally, the Gold Star (Standard) goes to Studer, here in her full prime and impeccable in her delivery. The contrast and control between the lyrical and the dramatic are simply astonishing and without sacrificing an ounce of absolute exquisite beauty. And then having Claudio Abbado and his Berlin Philharmonic supporting her only adds to the polish and sheer magic of this performance.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

As for old-fashioned operatic gestures, I find them nice and even charming. We rarely see it now in opera productions, but recitals and concert performances leave it for the artist's sake. Guleghina worked this way too. I saw her several times, when she was still in good form. When she sang as she sang, all these throwing up hands should be forgiven, as should be forgiven selfishness, because it's incurable. (It was a loose quote of Jane Austen). Studer also uses this kind of tricks: her head turn, hands holding frills, serene smiles like in Rosalba Carriera's pastels, but all this helps the performance rather than spoil it.
I wish Isabelle Huppert could sing as Jessy Norman, for example, but we go to the cinema, to the opera or to the museum for common but at the same time different purposes.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

ColdGenius said:


> As for old-fashioned operatic gestures, I find them nice and even charming. We rarely see it now in opera productions, but recitals and concert performances leave it for the artist's sake. Guleghina worked this way too. I saw her several times, when she was still in good form. When she sang as she sang, all these throwing up hands should be forgiven, as should be forgiven selfishness, because it's incurable. (It was a loose quote of Jane Austen). Studer also uses this kind of tricks: her had turn, hands holding frills, serene smiles like in Rosalba Carriera's pastels, but all this helps the performance rather than spoil it.
> I wish Isabelle Huppert could sing as Jessy Norman, for example, but we go to the cinema, to the opera or to the museum for common but at the same time different purposes.


Those old fashioned body gestures could be charming indeed but I am afraid that train left the station long ago. Anyone attempting anything close today would be ridiculed and not without reason. At the end of the day the acting and the gesturing must happen with the voice. That’s where it counts, ultimately.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

ColdGenius said:


> Studer also uses this kind of tricks: her h[e]ad turn, hands holding frills, serene smiles like in Rosalba Carriera's pastels, but all this helps the performance rather than spoil it.


Well, perhaps. But more than anything it comes to show that a performer doesn’t need to prop him/herself with (faux) Grand Imperial airs (e.g., Cruz-Romo here but also think of Jessye Norman) to come across as a Total Class act or to help their performances or to get into and project their characters. Hope this makes sense.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

deleted


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

BBSVK said:


> deleted


So, BBSVK, what exactly did you delete?


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

ALT said:


> So, BBSVK, what exactly did you delete?


That 4 contestants are too many :-D


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

BBSVK said:


> That 4 contestants are too many :-D


Excuse me? First, there are only three contestants here (the C-R performance is split in two videos). Second, since when is three contestants too many? Would you prefer if I created a new poll with only two? Would be my pleasure.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

ALT said:


> Excuse me? First, there are only three contestants here (the C-R performance is split in two videos). Second, since when is three contestants too many? Would you prefer if I created a new poll with only two? Would be my pleasure.


You were asking what exactly I deleted :-D

Edit: If it were'nt stupid, I wouldn't have deleted it, right ?


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

BBSVK said:


> You were asking what exactly I deleted :-D


Understood. It is strange that most of the contributions to this poll are around procedure and not on substance. As I remarked earlier on, the excellence of the Studer probably disrupts the conventional narrative. And few are willing to stick out their necks to admit it.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

My, we lost a great when Abbado died! I'm glad that we get to hear Studer in this, she has everything to make this work and this version has to be one of the better ones we've heard. She's totally committed to making drama in music. It's a wonderful recording that is as white hot as it touching in terms of emotion without passing the rubicon of bad taste.

It's interesting how many Leonoras (Beethoven's) have sung this aria as it's a different beast altogether, even though the opening is a little similar to "Abscheulicher!". Nilsson is out of tone from the start and it's an uncomfortable listen. She shouldn't be a contender in this contest, this doesn't suit her (at least at this stage in her career).

Cruz-Romo you say? She's a singer I know more by name than voice. This is very fine and she can sing the aria at least. It's a bit overblown. The echo doesn't do her any favours. Her voice is a little threadbare in places, but she is better than many of the others we have heard in these contests.

Studer wins easily.

N.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

ALT said:


> Excuse me? First, there are only three contestants here (the C-R performance is split in two videos). Second, since when is three contestants too many? Would you prefer if I created a new poll with only two? Would be my pleasure.


This seems needlessly confrontational, I'm sure it wasn't meant as an insult to you.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

The Conte said:


> My, we lost a great when Abbado died! I'm glad that we get to hear Studer in this, she has everything to make this work and this version has to be one of the better ones we've heard. She's totally committed to making drama in music. It's a wonderful recording that is as white hot as it touching in terms of emotion without passing the rubicon of bad taste.
> 
> It's interesting how many Leonoras (Beethoven's) have sung this aria as it's a different beast altogether, even though the opening is a little similar to "Abscheulicher!". Nilsson is out of tone from the start and it's an uncomfortable listen. She shouldn't be a contender in this contest, this doesn't suit her (at least at this stage in her career).
> 
> ...


Well stated.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

Op.123 said:


> This seems needlessly confrontational, I'm sure it wasn't meant as an insult to you.


Nothing confrontational at all about defending against an inane and unnecessary charge: “_that_ _4 contestants are too many_”. I mean, since when? And again, 3 contestants, not 4. It would help if folks stopped to count or think before going hysterical.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

One reason this contest may have attracted less interest than some of the others is because it has come up at the same time as all the other Ah! Perfido rounds and it was a bit too much for people to comment on so many versions (across the totality of the threads). When I have put forward other singers, I've done it a few weeks after the original contest.

N.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

The Conte said:


> One reason this contest may have attracted less interest than some of the others is because it has come up at the same time as all the other Ah! Perfido rounds and it was a bit too much for people to comment on so many versions (across the totality of the threads). When I have put forward other singers, I've done it a few weeks after the original contest.
> 
> N.


Maybe. Maybe not. Notice that the cascade of polls/contests continues apace with active participation and with no one complaining that there are too many of them or too many contestants under one poll. And so on and so forth. Bottom line is folks just cannot bear to admit that a Studer selection may be superior to one by (the studio-bound) Schwarzkopf or one by Baker or by, god forbid, Callas. Or whoever. But at least the testament is there.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

ALT said:


> Maybe. Maybe not. Notice that the cascade of polls/contests continues apace with active participation and with no one complaining that there are too many of them or too many contestants under one poll. And so on and so forth. Bottom line is folks just cannot bear to admit that a Studer selection may be superior to one by (the studio-bound) Schwarzkopf or one by Baker or by, god forbid, Callas. Or whoever. But at least the testament is there.


You're going down the wrong road. If you don't like the responses, look at yourself for the cause. Unfortunately, you have an agenda with this thread, and the members who initiate a poll or game should never have any agenda.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

I want to participate, but I dislike this aria . Anyways, I like both Nilsson and Studer here.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Bulldog said:


> the members who initiate a poll or game should never have any agenda.


O RLY? I create a poll only when I have an agenda.








How many of these excerpts are music by Mozart?







www.talkclassical.com


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

hammeredklavier said:


> O RLY? I create a poll only when I have an agenda.


Yes, I know that.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

Bulldog said:


> Unfortunately, you have an agenda with this thread, and the members who initiate a poll or game should never have any agenda.


If you believe that initiating a thread on the LvB concert aria that includes one of the finest (if not the finest, arguably) renditions of the piece constitutes an agenda, then SO BE IT. Because rest assured that it can’t and won’t be ignored. Ignoring, excluding or dismissing it, in fact, constitutes an agenda in and of itself, particularly in light of the other inferior selections we have been offered by SOF. By the by, while we are grateful for his untiring generosity, he neither owns the forum nor does he have exclusive rights to initiate polls. I would argue that it would benefit the forum for others to do the same if and when they so desire. After all, aren’t many here into the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion bandwagon? For those who are, then, cherry-picking would constitute a violation of its spirit, wouldn’t it? Because you can’t have your cake and eat it too.


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