# Round One Soprano: Boito's L'altra notte by L. Price and M. Caballe



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

This aria from Boito's Mephistofele is one of my favorite arias, especially as it calls for a secure chest register more so than most other arias. I love a good chest voice. I fell in love with it around 14 years of age on Leontyne Price's Prima Donna Vol 2 album. Price has I believe the most impressive use of chest voice of anyone who sings this aria. I think this is one of her very best arias as it really shows off her range. Of note is that on the low lying passage Price says " di me pieta" and the vowels lend themselves to better use of chest voice than Callas who says" pieta di me" instead. Caballe makes it her own. We might have as many as 8 contestants on this. We'll see how the interest goes. I have two historic performances and some we have not had in any contest before. I have always felt cheated as I would have loved to have heard Jessye Norman and Ponselle sing this with their great chest registers.The singing begins about a minute in the video on Price and 2 minutes in on Caballe.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Price sounds uncomfortable both in high and low registers, there are a couple of unstable passages and a hint of hoarseness on top (around 4:53). I also much prefer Caballe's velvety chest tone as well, although she does less with this aria where Price offers more dramatically charged approach.
I think Caballe wins this with her refined performance.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I would not think of either singer for Margherita, though both offer a sincere effort at being "dramatic." Caballe suprised me by using a soft trill of sorts during the "_vola _" portions of the aria. I like the _diminuendo_ she gives us at the second "_vola_" variations, on the _acuto. _ The last notes on _pietà_ disappears. She uses her chest sparingly in contrast with Price, who plunges into it with _gusto_. Price doesn't lighten her voice at all during the passages demanding any agility (can she?). It sounds rather clumsy to me.

Nevertheless, of these two videos, I prefer Price's take.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Too bad you didn't use this one. Hands down the best IMO>

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=l'altra+notte+olivero (click on the first one)

My vote goes to Caballe who had a delicious trill (not an easy one to do in this aria.)


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Too bad you didn't use this one. Hands down the best IMO>
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=l'altra+notte+olivero (click on the first one)
> 
> My vote goes to Caballe who had a delicious trill (not an easy one to do in this aria.)


If there is an interest I have many artists yet to play in this aria contest. Price, who is from my home state, used to be held in very high regard in my formative years of opera but she has decidedly fallen out of favor in the 21st Century. God, she was chosen to open the New Met. Now she is way down on people's list. I had planned to include her in another contest but I think she is wasted on this crowd ;-) The next will be video performances.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I don't know what Price thinks this aria is about, but she communicates nothing particular to me beyond a generalized distress. She mostly blasts through it with that covered, hooty, dusky, gospelish voice I really can't stand (I do enjoy Price's earlier recordings in which, as in Joan Sutherland's early work, her voice was clear and bright.) Her coloratura sounds labored, and her high notes are rather strained. Not a pleasant experience overall.

Caballe not only has the more focused sound and the necessary agility, but she is far more alert to the dramatic situation and expresses Margherita's plight through an admirably varied articulation of words and notes.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Youtube states that Leontyne Price's version is taken from her _Prima Donna_ Vol. 2 album, which was recorded in 1967, though, to be honest, it sounds a lot later than that. I always thought that suky, gospel voice Woodduck talks about crept in much later. I have the CD box set RCA issued of all five volumes. The range of composers and periods covered is vast but the interpretive range is not. Price sings Handel in much the same way she sings Verdi and for the most part has very little specific to say about any of the pieces she addresses. It often sounds as if she went into the studio, sang through the aria once, pronunced herself happy with the result and moved on; and so it is here. She has nothing to say about Boito or Margherita.

However Caballé doesn't just win by default. This version is, I believe, taken from the complete recording under Rudel, with Domingo and Norma Treigle and that no doubt makes a difference too. She has much more to say about the character and the music. I loved her soft trills and the mounting intensity at the end. She is in her best voice and on her best behaviour. I also preferred this version to the one with Olivero that Nina Foresti posted. That to me sounded over-inflected, sort of the aural equivalent of a silent movie actress.

Caballé wins easily.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

First off a couple of versions I hope you will include in this aria:

De los Angeles
Mirella Freni
Magda Olivero

However, please also include the historic singers as I am all up for discovering new voices/recordings. (Did Muzio record it, that should be included too if so.)

AND, I'm also a big Price fan, but like Tsarras, I'm not convinced by most of her singing on the Prima Donna albums. Her Verdi is a wonder and I like her Carmen and much of her Puccini, but a lot of her other recordings do little for me. Then if you can sing the two Leonoras, Aida and Elvira as lusciously as she did, you don't need to be able to sing anything else.

In this aria I choose Caballe, but neither voice is quite right for Marguerite. I look forward to the future rounds of this one.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> First off a couple of versions I hope you will include in this aria:
> 
> De los Angeles
> Mirella Freni
> ...


What should a Margherita voice sound like? The sopranos you want to include have little in common vocally.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> First off a couple of versions I hope you will include in this aria:
> 
> De los Angeles
> Mirella Freni
> ...


Muzio did record it. So did Callas, of course and both versions are very hard to beat.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Muzio did record it. So did Callas, of course and both versions are very hard to beat.


Yes! My two most favorite versions. Callas and Serafin make one feel that Margherita is lulling and caressing her dead baby in confusion, while Muzio portrays Margherita's derangement like no other (The way she slightly pauses and accentuates in "_L'aura è fredda , Il carcer fosco, E la mesta anima mia, Come il passero del bosco_..." is genius).

I am a die-hard fan of Muzio but I think I would avoid including her in this contest. Her version has no trills and she does sound a bit uncomfortable on the highest notes (we all know that her health was declining when she was making the Columbia discs). Still, I would prefer her over anyone else easily.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> First off a couple of versions I hope you will include in this aria:
> 
> De los Angeles
> Mirella Freni
> ...


Nice to hear from you. I like your comments on Price a lot. I think she is better with an audience.I am somewhat tempted to do a Zweite Brautnacht contest with her at 64 that was mind boggling! She sang one of her last recitals at 70 here and was still surprisingly wonderful. I grew up in the Baptist church so I don't mind the gospel influence that developed in her voice like Woodduck does.
I have 4 but I might need to do 5 rounds. Is that too many?I was not aware of De los Angeles. Nina introduced Olivero already in the first round . I will do her in another contest.. I was going to pair Freni with Marton, who is quite really quite wonderful in her video, but I just discovered Gheorgieu who most definitely blew me away and I will pair her with Marton instead. Both are very dramatic but also very different in their videos. They are I think good representatives of more recent artists. Perhaps I should do Angeles and Freni together as an additional round.I love this aria and lots of singers recorded it. I approach this music differently than many of you, my betters, do as I don't know the opera nor the language. But I am an enthusiastic listener to the music. LOL


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Nice to hear from you. I like your comments on Price a lot. I think she is better with an audience.I am somewhat tempted to do a Zweite Brautnacht contest with her at 64 that was mind boggling! She sang one of her last recitals at 70 here and was still surprisingly wonderful. I grew up in the Baptist church so I don't mind the gospel influence that developed in her voice like Woodduck does.
> I have 4 but I might need to do 5 rounds. Is that too many? I was not aware of De los Angeles. Nina introduced Olivero already in the first round . I will do her in another contest.. I was going to pair Freni with Marton,in , who is quite really quite wonderful in her video, but I just discovered Gheorgieu who most definitely blew me away and I will pair her with Marton instead. Both are very dramatic but also very different in their videos. They are I think good representatives of more recent artists. Perhaps I should do Angeles and Freni together as an additional round.I love this aria and lots of singers recorded it. I approach this music differently than many of you, my betters, do as I don't know the opera nor the language. But I am an enthusiastic listener to the music. LOL


There can never be too many of these contests for me. Remember quite a few people vote without commenting, so I would just post all the rounds you want (and five isn't that many) and ignore the odd complaint that it isn't an aria by Wagner, Mozart or Verdi!

And please post more rare Leontyne, or rare recordings by any singer. The overwhelming majority of us love finding new recordings.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> There can never be too many of these contests for me. Remember quite a few people vote without commenting, so I would just post all the rounds you want (and five isn't that many) and ignore the odd complaint that it isn't an aria by Wagner, Mozart or Verdi!
> 
> And please post more rare Leontyne, or rare recordings by any singer. The overwhelming majority of us love finding new recordings.
> 
> N.


Thanks!!! I think there are a lot of people who follow here and enjoy the contests but don't feel confident making comments. Lots of hidden voters in this round because there were twice the voters as there were commenters. I have some unusual arias planned. If you want a tenor or baritone group of contestants private me. I try but they aren't my specialty. I know female singers best. I sometime despair that no one will vote but people come in late to the action.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The Conte said:


> First off a couple of versions I hope you will include in this aria:
> 
> De los Angeles
> Mirella Freni
> ...


There was a film called *Aria* in which several directors made a short film to the sound of an operatic aria. I think all of the arias were recordings from L. Price's Prima Donna series.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> What should a Margherita voice sound like? The sopranos you want to include have little in common vocally.


Oooops! You've found me out! I find Freni and De los Angeles quite similar vocally, but Olivero was decidedly different from those two, I agree. The reason I don't think that Price sounds right is because her voice is too dark and smoky, whereas Caballe has too much metal in her voice. However, Caballe's brighter tone is closer to _my_ mental sound image of the character. To be fair it's more the case that she doesn't quite convince me due to her singing in this recording, she seems somewhat cautious.

On reflection, an ideal Marguerite would have the same type of voice as a Mimi with the dramatic potential to carry off the role of Butterfly. All the singers I have suggested (plus Muzio and Callas who deliver in this aria) were superb Butterflys (although Freni only performed it in the studio). I guess Olivero didn't _really_ have the right voice for the role either, but she feels more like a fish in water in this aria than Caballe does in the above example.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> Oooops! You've found me out! I find Freni and De los Angeles quite similar vocally, but Olivero was decidedly different from those two, I agree. The reason I don't think that Price sounds right is because her voice is too dark and smoky, whereas Caballe has too much metal in her voice. However, Caballe's brighter tone is closer to _my_ mental sound image of the character. To be fair it's more the case that she doesn't quite convince me due to her singing in this recording, she seems somewhat cautious.
> 
> On reflection, an ideal Marguerite would have the same type of voice as a Mimi with the dramatic potential to carry off the role of Butterfly. All the singers I have suggested (plus Muzio and Callas who deliver in this aria) were superb Butterflys (although Freni only performed it in the studio). I guess Olivero didn't _really_ have the right voice for the role either, but she feels more like a fish in water in this aria than Caballe does in the above example.
> 
> N.


I am shallow and I like a soprano who can work those low notes, because there are so few opportunities in the soprano repertoire to show off down there other than Suicidio. But then for me it is all about the sound as I don't know languages. You are better than me in this regard. I never heard the opera, only the aria. Alas.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> There was a film called *Aria* in which several directors made a short film to the sound of an operatic aria. I think all of the arias were recordings from L. Price's Prima Donna series.


I saw it in a theater in one of the last ice ages. It would have been better with more of a variety. The best was Ken Russell's Nessun Dorma from Turandot. I highly recomment this strange video!



!!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> Oooops! You've found me out! I find Freni and De los Angeles quite similar vocally, but Olivero was decidedly different from those two, I agree. The reason I don't think that Price sounds right is because her voice is too dark and smoky, whereas Caballe has too much metal in her voice. However, Caballe's brighter tone is closer to _my_ mental sound image of the character. To be fair it's more the case that she doesn't quite convince me due to her singing in this recording, she seems somewhat cautious.
> 
> On reflection, an ideal Marguerite would have the same type of voice as a Mimi with the dramatic potential to carry off the role of Butterfly. All the singers I have suggested (plus Muzio and Callas who deliver in this aria) were superb Butterflys (although Freni only performed it in the studio). I guess Olivero didn't _really_ have the right voice for the role either, but she feels more like a fish in water in this aria than Caballe does in the above example.
> 
> N.


I suppose most of us have some mental image of the sort of voice we'd like to hear in certain characters. It's similar to the way we imagine what people will look like when we know only their voices. It's mainly a matter of association, and we all have different associations.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> I don't know what Price thinks this aria is about, but she communicates nothing particular to me beyond a generalized distress. She mostly blasts through it with that covered, hooty, dusky, gospelish voice I really can't stand (I do enjoy Price's earlier recordings in which, as in Joan Sutherland's early work, her voice was clear and bright.) Her coloratura sounds labored, and her high notes are rather strained. Not a pleasant experience overall.
> 
> Caballe not only has the more focused sound and the necessary agility, but she is far more alert to the dramatic situation and expresses Margherita's plight through an admirably varied articulation of words and notes.


That husky gospel singing worked REALLY well at the right times (including a few times where it seems to have worked on accident), but slipping into it consistently ruined a lot of her later opera work. I will say this though, I like that she emotes more from "gut emotion" than "heart emotion", if that makes any sense.

Even when she sings a piece in a way I don't like, there is always this sturdy, gritty personality behind it I can't help but find satisfying....but not satisfying enough to best Montserrat Caballe. She wins by far.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> That husky gospel singing worked REALLY well at the right times (including a few times where it seems to have worked on accident), but slipping into it consistently ruined a lot of her later opera work. I will say this though, I like that she emotes more from "gut emotion" than "heart emotion", if that makes any sense.
> 
> Even when she sings a piece in a way I don't like, there is always this sturdy, gritty personality behind it I can't help but find satisfying....but not satisfying enough to best Montserrat Caballe. She wins by far.


Well put. Thanks for your great insights on her. She wasn't what I would call a great interpreter by any stretch of the imagination, but she had a commanding stage presence ( a least in the three recitals I saw) that could hold your interest. You never doubted a true diva was on stage in front of you. Personally I could get carried away just by that almost over rich lushness of her voice. The beauty of her high notes could be simply breath taking! She could at times be a very exciting performer. Those factors count for a good bit with me even if she doesn't always plumb the depth of an aria the way Callas could. Her early work was much better than her later work. That is just my take.


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