# Do you like Norman jessye ?



## asiago12 (May 2, 2019)

She is one of the best 10 "soprano" in the last 35 years...

And she can sing blues very well also..


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I'll say this: I enjoy her singing much more than I do her autobiography which I thought was one of the worst books I have ever read on the subject of opera and singing.
She spoke little of the art and instead plastered her book with anger of bigotry and racism, and religious upbringing and happenings in church.
Not for me.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I don't mind listening to her, but would not consider seeing her name on the cover of a CD as a special recommendation.


----------



## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

Although I'm grateful that her voice was so rich and warm, I actually find quite a lot of her records pretty dull. 

If we check out the Philips compilation the cover is from, I'm most interested in the opera arias which include Corsaro, Figaro, Carmen, Ariadne and Dido. I think Ariadne is by some way the best and her voice is exciting there. 

In each, she is vocally secure but the result is often a bit heavy. The performances are detailed but there is not much danger of them sounding spontaneous, excitable and vibrant.

I'd guess that her best work was more likely to be Wagner, Strauss (incl. Ariadne) and Berlioz in Les Troyens. 

Her contemporaries made some excellent records of these arias which provide tough competition
Corsaro - Montserrat Caballe / not much earlier was Callas in 1969 with raw tone but like a real character
Figaro - Kiri Te Kanawa, Gundula Janowitz
Carmen - Shirley Verrett, Tatiana Troyanos, Marilyn Horne, Teresa Berganza
Ariadne - Leontyne Price, Margaret Price, Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Dido - Janet Baker, Tatiana Troyanos

If we are talking "the best 10 "soprano" in the last 35 years..." I would suggest Julia Varady for some of this rep - including Figaro, Ariadne and her Verdi arias album. I really enjoyed her Santuzza with Pavarotti: I can't say that Norman and Giacomini really grabbed my attention the same way.

Cheers, David


----------



## crispi (Jun 14, 2018)

I’m not much of an expert, but I’ll say this much: her German accent is impeccable.


----------



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

not particularly. nothing against her (other than some very obvious neck tension which shows in the voice and a tendency to sacrifice technique and clarity for "musicality"), but not particularly


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

^^^^
Pretty much the same as BalalaikaBoy I've seen her a couple of times but never impressed me really and the hype surrounding the four last songs I never understood .
Second: why on earth did she recorded Carmen.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Rogerx said:


> ^^^^
> Pretty much the same as BalalaikaBoy I've seen her a couple of times but never impressed me really and the hype surrounding the four last songs I never understood .
> Second: why on earth did she recorded Carmen.


There is no "hype surrounding the four last songs." Her performance is a fine one which some people like very much. I'm not a big fan of hers, but I find that recording one of her most satisfying.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I heard her live quite a few times, and I was always slightly underwhelmed; the voice never seemed to take off. That said, I've reassessed her Four Last Songs recently. I didn't like it when it first came out, but now I do rather, even if it wouldn't be my absolute favourite.

I also recently came across a live recording of her singing the soprano part in the Verdi Requiem, under Muti and it's absolutely stunning, particularly in the _Libera me_, which is urgently dramatic.


----------



## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

One of my favourite mezzo/sopranos in the repertory I'm listening to. I've been liking many things I've heard from her, and I own her four last songs which are my third favourite after Janowitz and Studer.



nina foresti said:


> I'll say this: I enjoy her singing much more than I do her autobiography which I thought was one of the worst books I have ever read *on the subject of opera and singing.*
> She spoke little of the art and instead plastered her book with anger of bigotry and racism, and religious upbringing and happenings in church.
> Not for me.


Maybe editors fooled you and she never intended to write mainly about her profession in an *autobiography.*


----------



## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> There is no "hype surrounding the four last songs." Her performance is a fine one which some people like very much. I'm not a big fan of hers, but I find that recording one of her most satisfying.


I think that she's fine on the VLL recording; my reservations relate to Masur's prosaic conducting and the slow tempi, particular for Im Abendrot. I wish that she'd recorded the songs with a more assertive conductor.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I heard her live quite a few times, and I was always slightly underwhelmed; the voice never seemed to take off. That said, I've reassessed her Four Last Songs recently. I didn't like it when it first came out, but now I do rather, even if it wouldn't be my absolute favourite.
> 
> I also recently came across a live recording of her singing the soprano part in the Verdi Requiem, under Muti and it's absolutely stunning, particularly in the _Libera me_, which is urgently dramatic.


That's extraordinary, and should silence niggling criticism (of which I've probably done as much as anyone). All singers have flaws or limitations, but if artists are to be judged by their best work, Norman has to be considered one of the great singers of our time.

As for her_ Four Last Songs_, she's the only singer I've heard who makes me accept an extremely slow "Im Abendrot." Her majestic tone and fine phrasing fill it out admirably, as lyric sopranos don't.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

wkasimer said:


> I think that she's fine on the VLL recording; my reservations relate to Masur's prosaic conducting and the slow tempi, particular for Im Abendrot. I wish that she'd recorded the songs with a more assertive conductor.


I guess I know what you're saying, but she steers that majestic voice so sensitively and keeps me so riveted to her that any shortcomings of Masur just don't register. The voice and articulation seem to fill out the tempi and make them work. It's an extreme take on the songs, maybe, but not an unattractive extreme as Renee Fleming's first recording was, where slowness provided an arena for mannerism. I haven't heard Fleming's second go, but supposedly it's better.


----------



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Revitalized Classics said:


> *If we are talking "the best 10 "soprano" in the last 35 years..." I would suggest Julia Varady for some of this rep - including Figaro, Ariadne and her Verdi arias album.* I really enjoyed her Santuzza with Pavarotti: I can't say that Norman and Giacomini really grabbed my attention the same way.
> 
> Cheers, David


YES! So much guts, real chest voice, versatility of rep. A criminally underrated soprano.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!! AWFUL book.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I was obsessed with her for years, less so now. I was not as impressed with the voice after she lost 100 pounds. The top was not there like before. It was in her prime a big, dark, warm voice with the best lower register of any soprano/ mezzo I ever heard. Her chest voice was a haunting and enormous sound. She could carry this huge, dark sound full voice up to about a Bb. Her top B and A were lyric soprano in sound. I liked her best in the Four Last Songs which was a miracle. Ariadne and Sieglinde were great. Her Wagner excerpts CD was great and her Immolation Scene on it was one of the best of all times. Unfortunately when she sang it after the weight loss on PBS and Youtube at the opening of the Seattle Benaroya Hall, she adroitly transposed any note above a G because that was the very top of her range at this point. No longer a soprano. I thought her Makrapolis Case was fantastic . Her Berg lieder the best I ever heard. Her perfection in the Marriage of Figaro was beyond question....most opulent and sublime of any performance of this role ever !!! Her voice was at it's absolute prime here: 



. I greatly enjoyed Salome for her huge, great voice even though she was NOT the right voice for the role. Her Brahms Requiem was THRILLING and the high A there was one of the biggest notes I've ever heard ( very very dark/ mezzoish). Her Schubert Death and the Maiden and the Erlkonig display her enormous, cavernous low notes better than almost anywhere else.I loved ALL of her spirituals and she was one of the most charismatic performers in this repertoire. Her Brahms and Strauss lied were PERFECTION. She was wonderful in anything Berlioz and her voice was perfect for his long, opulent lines. Some of her very best singing is the coloratura singing she does in Euranthe. She recorded Oedipus Rex twice. I used to have a live version when she was big as a house where she sang THE BIGGEST RICHEST low notes I have ever heard ( even more so than Ewa Podles) but in the one from the Met when she was slender and pretty all of that had vanished. I recently did a Toastmaster talk about her I put on Youtube:



. 
I think she can be amazingly grand looking and I like the sound of her speaking voice, but get tired of her pretentiousness. I never heard her live except with a piano. She had a huge instrument but people said it did not always project well over an orchestra. I can't speak to that. It sounded huge to me.
Here is one last thing everyone must hear ( I doubt anyone has) of her singing incredible coloratura in an obscure Haydn aria:



. It is so unlike anything else in her repertoire and indicates a versatility not expected in such a vast instrument. John


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Here is one last thing everyone must hear ( I doubt anyone has) of her singing incredible coloratura in an obscure Haydn aria:
> 
> 
> 
> . It is so unlike anything else in her repertoire and indicates a versatility not expected in such a vast instrument. John


The Haydn opera recordings under Antal Dorati were made early in her career when the voice was a bit lighter. Rehearing this, though, I hear a mezzo capable of singing soprano rep. The high notes, which aren't really high, have a "lid" on them: you don't feel she can go higher, or that you'd want her to.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> The Haydn opera recordings under Antal Dorati were made early in her career when the voice was a bit lighter. Rehearing this, though, I hear a mezzo capable of singing soprano rep. The high notes, which aren't really high, have a "lid" on them: you don't feel she can go higher, or that you'd want her to.


I totally agree. She was much more of a mezzo than a soprano, but I think liked top billing like you get as a soprano. It worked for some soprano roles like Ariadne which lies high but doesnt go very high. Woodduck, the interesting thing is yes the voice is lighter but her lower voice was at it's biggest at this point in career, based on live recordings I've heard. Strange.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I guess I know what you're saying, but she steers that majestic voice so sensitively and keeps me so riveted to her that any shortcomings of Masur just don't register. The voice and articulation seem to fill out the tempi and make them work. It's an extreme take on the songs, maybe, but not an unattractive extreme as Renee Fleming's first recording was, where slowness provided an arena for mannerism. I haven't heard Fleming's second go, but supposedly it's better.


My problem with the Norman VLL is the speed. It starts slow and just gets slower until it almost grinds to a halt and, for me, no amount of glorious rich vocals quite makes up for it.

Fleming's second account with Thielemann is mostly very good, but occasionally she indulges in some of those jazzy swoops and slides which annoy me.


----------



## asiago12 (May 2, 2019)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I totally agree. She was much more of a mezzo than a soprano, but I think liked top billing like you get as a soprano. It worked for some soprano roles like Ariadne which lies high but doesnt go very high. Woodduck, the interesting thing is yes the voice is lighter but her lower voice was at it's biggest at this point in career, based on live recordings I've heard. Strange.


I agree with you 95%...


----------



## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

nina foresti said:


> I'll say this: I enjoy her singing much more than I do her autobiography which I thought was one of the worst books I have ever read on the subject of opera and singing.
> She spoke little of the art and instead plastered her book with anger of bigotry and racism, and religious upbringing and happenings in church.
> Not for me.


And I cant stand Te Kanawa's autobiography - awful

same with Nilsson, Sutherland and Berganza

dont know how to write

ugh!


----------



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

I will say this: her Dido is spectacular. Not just tragic, but _haunting_


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> I will say this: her Dido is spectacular. Not just tragic, but _haunting_


How interesting. I find it richly sung but, as so often with Norman, generic - a sort of one size fits all emotional outpouring. I prefer something more specific, as we get in the singing of Janet Baker and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> How interesting. I find it richly sung but, as so often with Norman, generic - a sort of one size fits all emotional outpouring.


Thank you, this sums up my opinion of Norman perfectly, I just wasn't sure how to put it into words. I also agree with those who hear a mezzo trying to be a soprano when listening to her recordings.

N.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

To my mind, and ears, her VLL is supreme. It’s the one I listen to most often, and I used to collect them all!
I was fortunate to see her twice: once at the Metropolitan Opera in Les Troyens (I don’t remember the date). She was supposed to sing Cassandre. Tatiana Troyanos was “souffrante,” and Norman took over the Didon as well. In the first act, her voice overwhelmed the orchestra, rich golden tones pouring out of her, the words sung out with great authority. Her aria “malhereux roi!” rolling majestically from her throat. As Didon, she was every inch and every note a queen. In the duet with Eneé, her ethereal pianissimi flew into the auditorium and shimmered toward our grateful ears. Unfortunately, the tenor singing Enee’, one Edward Sooter was having a lot of problems and almost spoiled everything, his beefy and constricted tones contrasting with her dulcet voice. 
The second occasion was a recital in San Francisco. As an usher, I had to be there 1-1/2 hours before the performance. When I arrived, she was rehearsing on stage. I think the piece was part of “Chansons Madecasses,” or “Sheherazade,” - both were on the program, I think, and I was unfamiliar with them. She was singing a phrase of an almost unearthly beauty, her voice a gossamer thread of silky tone, a pianissimo bouquet of delicate notes. I was transfixed. I found out later that she was just marking, holding back. But it was the most beautiful singing that I’d ever heard. Her unusual repertoire forbade her from being a favorite singer, but on those two occasions, Jessye Norman won my heart.❤


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> To my mind, and ears, her VLL is supreme. It's the one I listen to most often, and I used to collect them all!
> I was fortunate to see her twice: once at the Metropolitan Opera in Les Troyens (I don't remember the date). She was supposed to sing Cassandre. Tatiana Troyanos was "souffrante," and Norman took over the Didon as well. In the first act, her voice overwhelmed the orchestra, rich golden tones pouring out of her, the words sung out with great authority. Her aria "malhereux roi!" rolling majestically from her throat. As Didon, she was every inch and every note a queen. In the duet with Eneé, her ethereal pianissimi flew into the auditorium and shimmered toward our grateful ears. Unfortunately, the tenor singing Enee', one Edward Sooter was having a lot of problems and almost spoiled everything, his beefy and constricted tones contrasting with her dulcet voice.
> The second occasion was a recital in San Francisco. As an usher, I had to be there 1-1/2 hours before the performance. When I arrived, she was rehearsing on stage. I think the piece was part of "Chansons Madecasses," or "Sheherazade," - both were on the program, I think, and I was unfamiliar with them. She was singing a phrase of an almost unearthly beauty, her voice a gossamer thread of silky tone, a pianissimo bouquet of delicate notes. I was transfixed. I found out later that she was just marking, holding back. But it was the most beautiful singing that I'd ever heard. Her unusual repertoire forbade her from being a favorite singer, but on those two occasions, Jessye Norman won my heart.❤


I have heard that she was at her absolute best in Les Troyens at the Met. Some think she reached her apex in those performances. I am jealous you saw her then. She looked like a great float moving across the stage with a voice to match.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

This aria from Eurayanthe early in her career is likely different from most things you've heard her do and one of her most beautiful. She sings some very beautiful coloratura, several ascents up to high C and runs where she decends from soprano to gorgeous chest register. It is an aria that could elevate the mood of a widow. I have played it hundreds of times, every time just as great as the last.


----------



## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

PlaySalieri said:


> And I cant stand Te Kanawa's autobiography - awful
> 
> same with Nilsson, Sutherland and Berganza
> 
> ...


I have yet to read a decent singer autobiography.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I have heard that she was at her absolute best in Les Troyens at the Met. Some think she reached her apex in those performances. I am jealous you saw her then. She looked like a great float moving across the stage with a voice to match.


Seattleoperafan, yes she was enormous then and, as you say, at her peak. She sang Cassandre barefoot, and as she descended a couple of steps, I could see her feet which were not delicate, but strong and powerful. She had great presence and an Amazonian demeanor, and moved majestically, a Trojan princess indeed and a queen to her fingertips. I was very lucky to have been in New York that week and as sorry I was not seeing Troyanos, you can imagine I was very happy to have seen double Jessye!


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

wkasimer said:


> I have yet to read a decent singer autobiography.


I quite enjoyed Maggie Teyte's "Star on the Door" and Galina Vishneskaya's "Galina: A Russian Story" makes quite compelling reading.

I'd like to read Mary Garden's too, which is apparently very entertaining, though she plays fast and loose with the truth. Maybe that's why it's entertaining!


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> Seattleoperafan, yes she was enormous then and, as you say, at her peak. She sang Cassandre barefoot, and as she descended a couple of steps, I could see her feet which were not delicate, but strong and powerful. She had great presence and an Amazonian demeanor, and moved majestically, a Trojan princess indeed and a queen to her fingertips. I was very lucky to have been in New York that week and as sorry I was not seeing Troyanos, you can imagine I was very happy to have seen double Jessye!


She did not move like most large women move. She floated.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

wkasimer said:


> I have yet to read a decent singer autobiography.


I enjoyed Nilsson's but I am a huge fan. Have any of you read Varnay's. It was very interesting. Traubel's was an unusual and remarkable story. Not your typical diva's tale at all. Norman's I got through 2 chapter and FORGET IT!!!!!!


----------



## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

I highly admire Norman's _Libestod_ in concert with Von Karajan, her Four Last Songs with Masur, her Siegliende with Levine and the Met, and her Cassandra in the Met's 3-act version of Berlioz' _Les Troyens_. I think her voice is an arresting instrument especially in the upper register, though her _Im Abendrot_ is, for me, untouchable . I agree that her German is very fine and her diction as well. Her Salome with Ozawa seems not much on first listenings, but it has grown in my opinion, though not my favorite by any means. I feel she is definitely a singer who has left her unique, artistic mark internationally - I don't know about top 10, but quite possibly.


----------



## mjr70 (Oct 28, 2020)

I’m just curious to those who commented that she is only meteocre at best in her performance, who are some singers that are excellent and extraordinary in your opinions? I think her work may have been presented from a different prospective including her literary accomplishments but are still outstanding.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

mjr70 said:


> I'm just curious to those who commented that she is only meteocre at best in her performance, who are some singers that are excellent and extraordinary in your opinions? I think her work may have been presented from a different prospective including her literary accomplishments but are still outstanding.


Do you mean among her contemporaries or overall?

It depends on the rep. I like her in the Philips Corsaro recording and she was wonderful in Troyens. However, I prefer Caballe in the Corsaro arias and there are a number of people who have sung Cassandre as well as her. Anna Caterina Antonacci and Marie Nicole Lemiux to name just a couple. For Four Last Songs I would look to Schwarzkopf, Janowitz or Studer for superior versions and Schwarzkopf or Janowitz would be my top choice for Ariadne were it an opera I like.

I think part of the problem is that Norman was a mezzo, but wouldn't admit it and whilst she had a certain amount of talent, she wasn't a great artist.

N.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> I'll say this: I enjoy her singing much more than I do her autobiography which I thought was one of the worst books I have ever read on the subject of opera and singing.
> She spoke little of the art and instead plastered her book with anger of bigotry and racism, and religious upbringing and happenings in church.
> Not for me.


Worst book EVER


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

mjr70 said:


> I'm just curious to those who commented that she is only meteocre at best in her performance, who are some singers that are excellent and extraordinary in your opinions? I think her work may have been presented from a different prospective *including her literary accomplishments but are still outstanding*.


You cannot be serious with those last 8 words. That book was nothing but a guise to show her anger (of which I surely do not blame her) for all the bigotry and prejudice against Blacks. She just never came to grips with it and instead of writing a book about herself as an opera singer, she chose to expound on her anger of bigotry and worship of church and her religion instead.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The Conte said:


> Do you mean among her contemporaries or overall?
> 
> It depends on the rep. I like her in the Philips Corsaro recording and she was wonderful in Troyens. However, I prefer Caballe in the Corsaro arias and there are a number of people who have sung Cassandre as well as her. Anna Caterina Antonacci and Marie Nicole Lemiux to name just a couple. For Four Last Songs I would look to Schwarzkopf, Janowitz or Studer for superior versions and Schwarzkopf or Janowitz would be my top choice for Ariadne were it an opera I like.
> 
> ...


I was very very lucky indeed to have witnessed her Cassandre *and* Didon at the Metropolitan Opera when Troyanos canceled. Norman's Cassandra was imperious, her upper register thrilling, swordlike. The Didon was ravishing, feminine; the voice silky and caressing in the duet with Enee. Later, it's filled with grief, cavernous in its chest utterances, dark and vibrant, majestic and opulent, even in _pianissimi_.

I don't think she was a mezzo, though I concede it was a difficult voice to categorize, especially since her repertoire was out of the ordinary. From high _pianissimi_, to sumptuous lower voice, a semingly inexhaustible range, it was suited to a vast range of roles and styles. _Jocasta_in *Oedipus Rex*? Sure. _Sieglinde_ in *Die Walkure*? Of course! _Cassandre_ *and* _Didon_ in *Les Troyens*? You bet! *Erwartung*, *Bluebeard's Castle*, *Dido and Aeneas*, *Le Nozze di Figaro*, *Aida*, *Tannhäuser* (as _Elisabeth_), *L'Africaine*, a sensational *Ariadne auf Naxos*, *La Voix Humaine*, *The Makropulos Case* were in her repertoire

Later, the center of the voice shifted, I don't know when, but she started doing mezzo roles, and more and more Lieder. I always thought her voice more suited to monumental roles, not because of her size, but because of the vocal endowment - goddesses, queens, and the mythic.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

mjr70 said:


> I'm just curious to those who commented that she is only meteocre at best in her performance, who are some singers that are excellent and extraordinary in your opinions? I think her work may have been presented from a different prospective including her literary accomplishments but are still outstanding.


I'm not sure who those people are who think Jessye Norman was only mediocre. Admittedly she wasn't a particular favourite of mine when she was at the height of her powers (though I've come to appreciate her more with the passing years) but I always thought of her as a major artist. The voice was absolutely gorgeous.My problem with her (and I heard her live quite a few times) was that there was very little specific about her art. She sang, as I pointed out in an earlier post, with a sort of one size fits all emotional generosity, rarely illuminating anything specific in the music.

Nevertheless she was "excellent and extraordinary" in her own way. I can't comment on her "literary accomplishments" as I haven't read anything, but comments from others haven't encouraged me to.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'm not sure who those people are who think Jessye Norman was only mediocre.
> 
> ...
> 
> My problem with her (and I heard her live quite a few times) was that there was very little specific about her art. She sang, as I pointed out in an earlier post, with a sort of one size fits all emotional generosity, rarely illuminating anything specific in the music.


I'm the one who thinks she was only mediocre! Your description of her is exactly what I think of as a mediocre artist. (Although I admit I'm being harsh.) She did have a generally gorgeous sound and so perhaps mediocre is too strong a word, but her singing never spoke to me (I also have to admit that I have only heard her on recordings.)

As to whether she was a mezzo or not, it's not the repertoire someone chooses to sing that makes one a particular voice type, but rather the tone colour (and to a lesser extent the range) of their natural voice. The fact that Norman was such an accomplished Cassandre and Didon signals that she was a mezzo and there is nothing wrong with mezzos singing soprano parts from time to time.

N.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I'm the one who thinks she was only mediocre! Your description of her is exactly what I think of as a mediocre artist. (Although I admit I'm being harsh.) She did have a generally gorgeous sound and so perhaps mediocre is too strong a word, but her singing never spoke to me (I also have to admit that I have only heard her on recordings.)
> 
> As to whether she was a mezzo or not, it's not the repertoire someone chooses to sing that makes one a particular voice type, but rather the tone colour (and to a lesser extent the range) of their natural voice. The fact that Norman was such an accomplished Cassandre and Didon signals that she was a mezzo and there is nothing wrong with mezzos singing soprano parts from time to time.
> 
> N.


Live was a different experience in my opinion. Her voice was very grand in size which recordings can't fully capture and she had a commanding presence onstage that outshone her interpretation. She was very beautiful like a great queen. The three concerts I saw her in were epic. I just wished I had seen her when she was fat and the voice was at it's peak. I think she was a mezzo who was better at navigating the soprano range before she lost weight. In the Four Last Songs she sounded like a mezzo except at the very top of her range. She never sang the two of the Four Last Songs that went up to A and B after she slimmed down.


----------

