# Generic Sounding Opera Singers



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

There are many fine opera singers out there today, but it distresses me how many have a distinctly generic sound. The very talented Joyce DiDonato ( who doesn't sound like a mezzo to me), Susan Graham, Anna Sofie von Otter, Dawn Upshaw all come to mind. On stage if acted well it is not a big factor, but listening on Met Opera Radio it is. I prefer voices like Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Callas, Corelli... and even today like Podles, Kaufmann, Voigt who I can recognize after hearing only one note.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Seattleoperafan said:


> There are many fine opera singers out there today, but it distresses me how many have a distinctly generic sound. The very talented Joyce DiDonato ( who doesn't sound like a mezzo to me), Susan Graham, Anna Sofie von Otter, Dawn Upshaw all come to mind. On stage if acted well it is not a big factor, but listening on Met Opera Radio it is. I prefer voices like Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Callas, Corelli... and even today like Podles, Kaufmann, Voigt who I can recognize after hearing only one note.


You mean like John Wayne was John Wayne was John Wayne. I know what you mean but they are supposed to be playing different parts and not themselves,
But your question is interesting because all the greatest are instantly identifiable.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

good point on JDD, she's versatile if nothing else. These fach designations aren't set in stone, are they? If you can sing a role might as well go for it, as she has done and will probably do again. I admire her for her personality, intelligence, technical skill and acting chops but a riveting voice she hasn't (I also agree with you on the others you mentioned).


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Seattleoperafan said:


> There are many fine opera singers out there today, but it distresses me how many have a distinctly generic sound. The very talented Joyce DiDonato ( who doesn't sound like a mezzo to me), Susan Graham, Anna Sofie von Otter, Dawn Upshaw all come to mind. On stage if acted well it is not a big factor, but listening on Met Opera Radio it is. I prefer voices like Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Callas, Corelli... and even today like Podles, Kaufmann, Voigt who I can recognize after hearing only one note.


I can recognize Upshaw immediately (and I'm not an opera/lied buff the way some here are). She has a very distinct tone.


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## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

Mahlerian said:


> I can recognize Upshaw immediately (and I'm not an opera/lied buff the way some here are). She has a very distinct tone.


Yeah, I thought it was a "dangerous" thread when I saw it!  I can certainly recognize Susan Graham and Joyce Di Donato the moment I hear the first note, so I couldn't disagree more with *Seattleoperafan's* opening message! I think we all pick up on different qualities in the singers' voices, so what might sound generic to one would probably be instantly recognizable to the other.

RD


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## suteetat (Feb 25, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> There are many fine opera singers out there today, but it distresses me how many have a distinctly generic sound. The very talented Joyce DiDonato ( who doesn't sound like a mezzo to me), Susan Graham, Anna Sofie von Otter, Dawn Upshaw all come to mind. On stage if acted well it is not a big factor, but listening on Met Opera Radio it is. I prefer voices like Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Callas, Corelli... and even today like Podles, Kaufmann, Voigt who I can recognize after hearing only one note.


Just seems like you tend to prefer singers with larger voice rather than those from lyric or leggiero fach (well, Pavarotti is a lyric tenor but a rather large size lyric tenor but not quite a lyrico spinto/dramatic tenor).


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

suteetat said:


> Just seems like you tend to prefer singers with larger voice rather than those from lyric or leggiero fach (well, Pavarotti is a lyric tenor but a rather large size lyric tenor but not quite a lyrico spinto/dramatic tenor).


You called me out. I do prefer bigger voices. Dawn's lovely voice is too lyric for me to pay much attention to. I probably don't pay as much attention to Susan Graham's lovely voice because I prefer mezzos to have a darker sound. It is a taste thing.
A lot of singers from the 30's and 40's had a similar sound, but I liked it. There is a generic sound for many opera singers today and I don't necessarily like it.


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## suteetat (Feb 25, 2013)

For a smaller voice singers, I actually think that Dawn Upshaw's voice is quite unique but I tend to agree with you that smaller voice tends to vary less in tonal quality. Some smallish voice however is very recognizable like Kathleen Batttle, Sylvia McNair. However, someone like Barbra Bonney I think is a bit more difficult to identify. I think there are also quite a few kind of generic voice even in the past but they are easier identifiable from the way they sing like Victoria de los Angeles. However, I am not sure if I can pick out Helen Donath or Graziella Sciutti. Christina Deutekom probably is the best example of relatively generic voice with unique singing style


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Not sure about Sciutti, but I think I'd be able to recognize Donath's voice. To my ears, it had a distinctive sound. Same with Maria Stader, another light lyric soprano. And Erika Köth, though I find Köth's Minnie Mouse timbre irritating.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

With me, if it's a singer I really like, I will have listened or watched or been to see them lots of times so I can immediately recognise their voice. It doesn't make any difference whether or not their voice is large or small.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

There are recognisable voices around, and I am sure that in the past there we plenty of similar voices. Considering that singing consists of air flowing through a couple of vocal folds, similarities are not entirely surprising.

For me, the contemporary ones I'd know straight off are the heartfelt Andrea Scholl, the ethereal Philippe Jaroussky, rounded Fanco Fagioli, earthy Sonia Prina, the plaintive Ferrucio Furlanetto, the distinctive buffo Italian of Alessandro Corbelli, lyrical and resonant Peter Mattei, deep and Russian Dmitri Hvorostovsky, the baritonal Jonas Kaufmann, the pure and piercing Klaus Florian Vogt, the slight goatiness and wonderful legato of Juan Diego Florez, the fast vibrato of Joseph Calleja, and the gorgeous haut-contre of Ian Bostridge.


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## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Generic Sounding Opera Singers


pretty much all of them these days.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

sharik said:


> pretty much all of them these days.


Are you referring to live performances, or CDs or DVDs? I can understand if you watch a lot of opera on DVD as, unless you have a top of the range system, the sound gets flattened.


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## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

sospiro said:


> Are you referring to live performances, or CDs or DVDs?


to DVDs/Blue-rays, i have to admit, that i listen with the 'night mode' on and through a compressor/limiter (hate quiet pieces in the score).


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

My reply might irritate some people, because I know this singer is held in very high esteem, but to me Piero Cappucilli sounded generic. I can tell he had a great breathing technique; his bel canto phrasing was a marvel (I have the I PURITANI recording on which he sings Riccardo.) And he did sing expressively; but I find the actual tone -- the sound _as_ sound -- to be very "blank." His sound just doesn't "say" anything to me, if that makes any sense. The way I hear it (if you just consider the cast of that recording), Ghiaurov, Sutherland, and Pavarotti all had an emotion and a variety of color in their very _sounds_ that Capuccilli lacks in his. I don't think I'd care to hear Cappucilli in anything other than the "true" bel canto operas (Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini). I did hear him on the Muti AIDA recording and thought he was quite boring, not to mention underpowered.

Edited to add: Actually, I would like to get the famous DG _Simon Boccanegra_ which features Cappuccilli, but more because it's considered the best modern recording of the opera than because of Cappuccilli (though maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised by him).


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Generic - exactly. That's the big knock on Cappuccilli, that his sound was kind of generic. I feel that I can recognize him when I hear him, but I'd be afraid to try to prove it! On the other hand, he did occasionally rise above his own limitations and deliver a fantastic performance. His Posa comes to mind.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> Generic - exactly. That's the big knock on Cappuccilli, that his sound was kind of generic. I feel that I can recognize him when I hear him, but I'd be afraid to try to prove it! On the other hand, he did occasionally rise above his own limitations and deliver a fantastic performance. His Posa comes to mind.


Oh, I don't doubt what you say about him rising above his own limitations. I've heard he gave great performances at La Scala of Verdi roles like Posa, Boccanegra, and Macbeth. Probably his physical presence made the difference.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Bellinilover said:


> Oh, I don't doubt what you say about him rising above his own limitations. I've heard he gave great performances at La Scala of Verdi roles like Posa, Boccanegra, and Macbeth. Probably his physical presence made the difference.


And Iago in the 1976 Kleiber version.


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## Notung (Jun 12, 2013)

I love his clear singing, but Nicolai Gedda is quite generic.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Notung said:


> I love his clear singing, but Nicolai Gedda is quite generic.


Very interesting. I don't necessarily disagree with you, but can you elaborate a bit? I've never heard anyone call Gedda generic before.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Gedda was always a favorite of mine and I can instantly tell its him.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

Back in the day, a singer with an "indistinctive" (for a lack of a better word) sound was said to have a "white voice". The incredibly popular Giovanni Martinelli, a phenomenal tenor, was often cited for this. His voice never struck me as such, but what do I know? I suspect, however, that such appreciation is mostly in the ear of the hearer.


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## Notung (Jun 12, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> Very interesting. I don't necessarily disagree with you, but can you elaborate a bit? I've never heard anyone call Gedda generic before.


Well, I find he has a beautiful voice, but no added color like a Domingo or Vickers.

I may be wrong (I haven't listened to him extensively), but that's my impression.

But then again, first impressions can be VERY wrong...


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## Notung (Jun 12, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> Generic - exactly. That's the big knock on Cappuccilli, that his sound was kind of generic. I feel that I can recognize him when I hear him, but I'd be afraid to try to prove it! On the other hand, he did occasionally rise above his own limitations and deliver a fantastic performance. His Posa comes to mind.


Although I may not be able to recognize him off the bat, I found his Masetto on the Giulini "Don G" to be fantastic. Not generic at all.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Notung said:


> Well, I find he has a beautiful voice, but no added color like a Domingo or Vickers.
> 
> I may be wrong (I haven't listened to him extensively), but that's my impression.
> 
> But then again, first impressions can be VERY wrong...


I see. J.B. Steane, one of the most respected writers on classical singers, called Gedda's voice "white wine." I think what you've observed is something like that -- he didn't have a dark, Medeterranean color _alla_ Domingo. I'd add, too, that Gedda's tone was pure, with none of the quick vibrato that adds a sort of visceral excitment to many operatic voices.


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