# SOPRANO TOURNAMENT (By Request Teacher-Student): De Hidalgo vs Callas



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Elvira De Hidalgo, Spain, 1891-1980






Maria Callas, Greece/USA, 1923-1977 (W over Raisa 21-6, Sutherland 25-4, Ponselle 25-13, L to Ponselle 19-22)

https://www.talkclassical.com/69799-soprano-tournament-round-1-a.html

https://www.talkclassical.com/70014-soprano-tournament-quarterfinal-1-a.html

https://www.talkclassical.com/70413-casta-diva-contest-request.html

https://www.talkclassical.com/70141-soprano-tournament-semifinal-1-a.html






'Ah! non giunge uman pensiero' from Bellini's _La Sonnambula_.

Who's singing did you prefer and why?

*grazie mille to Viva for this wonderful idea!


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Oh... Ohh!!! Since I'm kinda imprinted on Callas' Adina this is going to be tough!
Good teacher <> good performer in some cases, pupils must go farther and shoot higher if they are any good. And any truly great teacher should encourage them.
With Callas I wonder how she manages to apply those subtle shades of meaning to each note of every phrase without sounding as if she tinkers with the music. Callas spoils listeners in a good way, you will never be able to listen to the same piece the same way again.
With De Hidalgo, there is fluid vocal technique and a good school, but the recording is bare-bones with some extra flutter present, which makes me wonder if she really missed some notes and if her tone fluttered as well in some instances. I doubt that. Jaw-dropping leaps and _staccati_. But La Divina has added her personal touch to the (great) school of De Hidalgo. And this touch means so much to me.

P.S. I wonder how they got an idea to apply that photograph of Callas to this particular aria. Must have been a pretty wild guess?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Her teacher was fabulous, but Callas went further stylistically and in manipulating the music.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I'm going to make an incredibly controversial judgement here. De Hidalgo is recording in a studio at a particular time and is limited by that technology. That said, her coloratura is spot on (bettered possibly only by Tetrazzini).

Callas' recording of this cabaletta is presumably from one of the live performances (Cologne)? And so she has the advantage of spontaneity. That said, she is simply stunning despite the somewhat stolid conducting.

N.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Here I have nothing to listen.* Maria with 1000+ Km.* No one can compare with the goddess. Thanks Bonetan & friends for this one.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I did listen to the recordings and enjoyed them both. Callas is her usual self, very musical, much to recommend in terms of interpretation and phrasing, good middle voice, excellent trills, and a wavery, rather shrill and unpleasant top. Fortunately that last item is not too much of a hindrance here, and only a couple of few phrases have sour moments. De Hidalgo is wonderful. She sounds like one of those singers whose voice would not take well to the acoustic process, but honestly her top notes come out remarkably well considering the fact that her voice is probably made narrower and shriller by the recording. Her coloratura is stunning as are the ornaments. If I didn't know it, I wouldn't guess that Callas was her student from hearing their voices one after another as you can tell with certain singers, although the well schooled runs and ornaments certainly track (and of course the importance of low notes was something else Callas picked up from here, though that's not so evident in the example I chose). At this point I'm leaning De Hidalgo because of her coloratura and seamless voice, but I'll give it a day or two and another listen to make sure it's not just my contrarian streak coming out.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

De Hidalgo is a wonder despite an obvious off-key high note and a shrill note here and there but her musicality and her attention to the musical line is enviable and it is pretty obvious that she heard in student Callas a sound that made her wish she could have had that herself and chose to develop it in Maria (Mary in those days) for her pleasure while the proud mama could sit by and listen to the accomplishments of her hard work.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I would love to have heard both of these singers live, as I think they both reveal here and elsewhere the limitations of recording technology. This is obvious in Hidalgo's case and less so in that of Callas, but I've always sensed that the harshness of the latter's top would be softened somewhat by the acoustics of the house. I can't deny that it makes me tense in the jaw, but not often in this case, and overlooking it for the time being I have to be impressed once again that Callas was able to move her big, dark voice around with such facility. Clearly Hidalgo wanted to teach her to do everything she herself could do, and the proof of success is here. These are both superb performances, and the choice is tough.

If we had Hidalgo in a recording that revealed the full depth and resonance of her voice, I might choose her, but as it is I'm going to award the prize to Callas. The musicianship is, as always, impeccable, and on top of all the other technical feats that incredible diminuendo on a high E-flat, tipping over with seeming ease into a descending scale, all on one breath, deserves some kind of recognition. I can't recall hearing anything like it.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

De Hidalgo evidently had a very strong technique and her coloartura is impeccable. She also has an excellent lower register and, even with the limits of the recording process, you can hear what a terrific singer she must have been. 

However Callas makes of this sparkling cabaletta something else indeed, not just a dispay of technical wizadry, but somehow makes musical sense of all the fireworks, making them a muiscal expression of Amina's joy and happiness. Callas does some pretty starling technical things too. That cadenza, for instance. That ascent to a forissimo Eb, then a dimiuendo off it before descending down that perfect scale all in one breath. Have you ever heard anyone else do such a thing? Those soft ascending trills towards the end deserve mention too, and then the way she swells the voice to cap them. There was certainly nothing wrong with Callas's coloratura technique. De Hidalgo taught her well. Incidentally this was in 1957, but she still sounds in pretty good vocal shape here. 

It was fortune (and the war) that threw Callas in De Hidalgo's path, and it was no doubt something of an odd match - a light coloratura soprano teaching a dramatic soprano, but that mismatch produced one of the most extraordinary singers of the twentieth century. 

This was a very interesting comparison. I look forward to one featuring Carmen Melis and Tebaldi.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Incidentally this was in 1957, but she still sounds in pretty good vocal shape here.


Since I don't know the Callas discography as well as you do, the date surprises me. There's only a fleeting hint of wobble here, and the high Eb is still secure, if not exactly beautiful. It shows that on a good day - perhaps when she was feeling in good health - she could still come close to her prime vocal estate.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Azol said:


> Adina





Tsaraslondon said:


> Amelia


Just noticed. The name in question is Amina, of course


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Since I don't know the Callas discography as well as you do, the date surprises me. There's only a fleeting hint of wobble here, and the high Eb is still secure, if not exactly beautiful. It shows that on a good day - perhaps when she was feeling in good health - she could still come close to her prime vocal estate.


She was still doing good performances in 1957. It's also the year of the fantastic *Anna Bolena* and *Un Ballo in Maschera* from La Scala. The recording of *Turandot* is also from 1957, but then she had no business to be singing it at that stage in her career.

1958 started with the scandal of the walk-out in Rome, when she was absolutely lascerated by the press. From then onwards the problems became more pronounced. The whole Rome affair must have taken a terrible toll on her nerves. No wonder she began to perform less and less. Onassis came along just as she was beginning to question whether performing was worth all the stress.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Azol said:


> Just noticed. The name in question is Amina, of course


Yes, of course. Duly altered above.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

It might be interesting to share this quote from Callas, no doubt something she learned from De Hidalgo.



> A musician is a musician. A singer is no different from an instrumentalist except that we have words. You don't excuse things in a singer you would not dream of excusing in a violinist or pianist. There is no excuse for not having a trill, for not doing the acciaccatura, for not having good scales. Look at your scores! There are technical things written there to be performed, and they must be performed whether you like it or not. How will you get out of a trill? How will you get out of scales when they are written there, staring you in the face? It is not enough to have a beautiful voice. What does that mean? When you interpret a role, you have to have a thousand colors to portray happiness, joy, sorrow, fear. How can you do this with only a beautiful voice? Even if you sing harshly sometimes, as I have frequently done, it is a necessity of expression. You have to do it, even if people will not understand. But in the long run they will, because you must persuade them of what you're doing.
> 
> - Maria Callas


The latter part is no doubt a shot at her critics, but the first part about accurate execution of the notes in the score is something probably passed down to her by De Hidalgo.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

De Hidalgo’s is the kind of voice that sets my teeth on edge, however admirably she does all of the stuff a coloratura-soprano should be able to do. The off-key (off pitch?) notes shouldn’t have been allowed to stand; perhaps it wasn’t possible to re-record the piece. 

Being an inveterate Callas fan, I can’t choose another singer’s piece over hers, especially if the competition is of a squeaky type (apologies to those who like the sort) who can’t color the voice. 

AND that diminuendo on the E-flat, followed by the spectacular descending scale….legendary!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The Conte said:


> I'm going to make an incredibly controversial judgement here. De Hidalgo is recording in a studio at a particular time and is limited by that technology. That said, her coloratura is spot on (bettered possibly only by Tetrazzini).
> 
> Callas' recording of this cabaletta is presumably from one of the live performances (Cologne)? And so she has the advantage of spontaneity. That said, she is simply stunning despite the somewhat stolid conducting.
> 
> N.


I think this is the studio recording (no applause).


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## railssvelte (2 mo ago)

Callas of course


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## shiptontense (2 mo ago)

Azol said:


> Good teacher <> good performer in some cases, pupils must go farther and shoot higher if they are any good. And any truly great teacher should encourage them.


Agree with you 100%! I think it's a normal way of development when a student became better than his teacher. But sometimes it's so hard to track if we talk about something else than music. Remembering my education at the college, I often used this source https://essays.edubirdie.com/case-study-writing to get ready for some of my writing tasks and my teachers thought I'm so smart. But, sometimes, cheating is also intellectual functioning


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Thanks for this interesting contest.

I generally like what De Hidalgo does with this cabaletta and once I got used to the 'old style' acoustic I really enjoyed it. There's the odd note that goes a little off centre and whilst I like some of the variations in the second part, the extended rubati hold up the music and make it a somewhat dull end, when it should be a whirlwind of joy and excitement.

It will be interesting to hear which Callas version is used, but I expect hers to be better. This isn't a natural Amina voice, but there's a lot more humanity and warmth in the tone and technically it's good. The cadenza between the two verses goes a bit raw at the beginning, but the long descent is prodigous in its refinement and eveness. I prefer her variations whilst not milking the second verse too much. This is the winner. (It's from the complete studio recording which is arguably her least successful version, but it still beats every other version of this cabaletta that I am familiar with (perhaps Sutherland's first, live version with Serafin conducting would give it a run for its money).

In any case Callas is the clear winner.
N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

So I've commented twice. My tastes haven't changed, but at least I am better at spotting which of Callas' recordings is which.

N.


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## Dogville (Dec 28, 2021)

The Conte said:


> It will be interesting to hear which Callas version is used, but I expect hers to be better. This isn't a natural Amina voice, but there's a lot more humanity and warmth in the tone and technically it's good.


I've never gotten this criticism of Callas' Amina. The voice by this time certainly sounds ugly at times and gets squally up top which detracts from the performance, but the writings on Pasta's voice are almost scarily similar to the qualities that Callas' possessed. If anything, Callas probably sounds closer to what an Amina should sound like than anyone else who has sung the role.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Dogville said:


> I've never gotten this criticism of Callas' Amina. The voice by this time certainly sounds ugly and gets squally up top which detracts from the performance, but the writings on Pasta's voice are almost scarily similar to the qualities that Callas' possessed. If anything, Callas probably sounds closer to what an Amina should sound like than anyone else who has sung the role.


Indeed. Did Pasta, for whom Bellini wrote both La Sonnambula and Norma? Did Malibran, who later became his favourite Amina? Of course we can’t know what either of them sounded like, but contemporary descriptions would put them closer to the sort of singer that Callas was than the light voiced coloraturas that later became associated with the role.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Indeed. Did Pasta, for whom Bellini wrote both La Sonnambula and Norma? Did Malibran, who later became his favourite Amina? Of course we can’t know what either of them sounded like, but contemporary descriptions would put them closer to the sort of singer that Callas was than the light voiced coloraturas that later became associated with the role.


These are valid points (and interestingly Stendhal considered Pasta a mezzo and Malibran is usually described thus today). Part of the problem is that in Bellini's time there wasn't a definitive version of an opera or a role and composers would rewrite or interpolate different arias if different singers were in the revival. I think Amina (and the Puritani Elvira) works better with a brighter sound than Callas had and it's not surprising that performance practice has adhered to that for the most part since those two operas were written. Getting back to Callas, her emotional portrayal in both those roles has such depth that the colour of the voice matters less and in any case she changed the colour of her voice to get closer to that brighter, more girlish sound appropriate for Amina, so even she thought that her natural colour wasn't as suited for the role as it could have been.

Sutherland is a close second to Callas in her early live recordings of Amina and Elvira and has a perfectly bright colour to her tone. She didn't have the light type of voice that we associate with those roles today either and I agree that they don't need to be sung by light, small voices (and often come across as insipid when they are).

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> These are valid points (and interestingly Stendhal considered Pasta a mezzo and Malibran is usually described thus today). Part of the problem is that in Bellini's time there wasn't a definitive version of an opera or a role and composers would rewrite or interpolate different arias if different singers were in the revival. I think Amina (and the Puritani Elvira) works better with a brighter sound than Callas had and it's not surprising that performance practice has adhered to that for the most part since those two operas were written. Getting back to Callas, her emotional portrayal in both those roles has such depth that the colour of the voice matters less and in any case she changed the colour of her voice to get closer to that brighter, more girlish sound appropriate for Amina, so even she thought that her natural colour wasn't as suited for the role as it could have been.
> 
> Sutherland is a close second to Callas in her early live recordings of Amina and Elvira and has a perfectly bright colour to her tone. She didn't have the light type of voice that we associate with those roles today either and I agree that they don't need to be sung by light, small voices (and often come across as insipid when they are).
> 
> N.


Romani, the librettist, had this to say about the role of Amina.

"_The role of Amina, even though at first glance it may seem very easy to interpret, is perhaps more difficult than many others which are deemed more important. It requires an actress who is playful, ingenuous and innocent, and at the same time passionate, sensitive and amorous; who has a cry for joy and also a cry for sorrow, an accent for reproach and another for entreaty… This was the role created by Bellini’s intellect._"

If I'm honest, the opera bores me to tears without Callas, who fulfils all those requirements. With most other singers Amina emerges as a cardboard character. Callas truly had both the cry for joy and the cry for sorrow and the opera acquires the depth that Romani and Bellini clearly envisaged.


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