# Eileen Farrell:best vocalist of the recording era?And just how good was she at opera?



## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Can Eileen Farrell be considered the best vocalist of the recording era since she managed to sing both popular music and opera VERY well? Has there been anyone else who managed to do that?

And my second question: Just how good was she really when it came to opera? I've heard a lot of people say that she is very underrated and I presume that's because she only sang opera 'part time'. Is she in the same league as the likes of Callas, Sutherland, Tebaldi etc or is she not quite at that level.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

A first-rate voice and a fine musician, excellent in different kinds of opera as well as in song, classical and popular. I don't like to do comparisons in general terms, but I'll quote Callas (roughly): "The Met can hardly be considered a serious artistic institution; they don't even have Farrell." Callas wasn't careless with compliments. I think there's general regret that she didn't sing more opera than she did, but she did plenty of concert work. Her "crossover" accomplishments were somewhat paralleled by another rich-voiced soprano, Helen Traubel, though Traubel didn't get as far into jazz.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> I think there's general regret that she didn't sing more opera than she did, but she did plenty of concert work.


At one point Eileen Farrell had a placard on her desk: "I hate opera."


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## Duncan (Feb 8, 2019)

*Verdi Arias*

*Eileen Farrell (soprano)

Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Max Rudolf*

*Link to complete album -*

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k8S-tUu2-qdn5-NcmuA5QT2hHCG_vCg3Q

*Works*

Verdi: Ecco l'orrido campo … Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa (from Un ballo in maschera)
Verdi: Pace, pace mio Dio! (from La forza del destino)
Verdi: Ritorna vincitor! (from Aida)
Verdi: Tacea la notte (from Il Trovatore)









*The Magnificent Voice Of Eileen Farrell*

*Eileen Farrell (soprano), The London Festival Chorus (chorus)

The London Festival Orchestra, Robert Sharples*

*Link to complete album - *

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_koNIH-MPLqOkuqoAZyTFP-x3pDpq-oYNc

*Works*

trad.: Deep River
trad.: Nobody knows the trouble I seen
trad.: Piece of Mind
trad.: We Shall Overcome
Arlen: I Got Dat Feelin'
Brahe: Bless this house
Firestone: If l could tell you (Marshall)
Malotte: The Lord's Prayer
Rasbach: Trees
Rodgers, R: Carousel
Rodgers, R: If I Loved You (from Carousel)
Rodgers, R: The Sound of Music: 'Climb Every Mountain'
Rodgers, R: You'll never walk alone (from Carousel)









*I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues*

*Eileen Farrell *

*Link to complete album - *

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l6StSNysv2hliecPpuPW7BQEIyc5HyEQQ

*Works*

Arlen: Blues in the Night
Arlen: I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
Barris: Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
Berlin, I: Supper Time
Duke, V: Taking a Chance on Love
Ellington: I Got it Bad (and that Ain't Good)
Gershwin: A Foggy Day (In London Town)
Gershwin: Looking For A Boy
Gershwin: Somebody Loves Me
Gershwin: The Man I Love
Heusen: The Second Time Around
Howard, B: Fly Me to the Moon
Kern: I'm old-fashioned (from You Were Never Lovelier)
Lane, B: Old Devil Moon
McHugh: On the sunny side of the street
Rodgers, R: Glad To Be Unhappy
Rodgers, R: He was too good to me
Rodgers, R: My Funny Valentine
Rodgers, R: Ten Cents A Dance
Weill, K: September Song


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Eileen Farrell was indeed outstanding. My favorite recording of her exists in bad sound, but it is sensational. This Depuis le jour:





Her recordings show that she could have been on a level with the very greatest.

Dorothy Kirsten was also extremely successful in both opera and popular music:


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Out 01-31-20
Includes ( finally the Medea= must have.)
On DG she does a fabulous Elizabeth 1 opposite Sills in Maria Stuarda.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Eileen Farrell was indeed outstanding. My favorite recording of her exists in bad sound, but it is sensational. This Depuis le jour:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So she's not quite there in terms of skill because she didn't dedicated enough time to it? Or is it just recognition that you're referring to?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I saw her in concert at around age 11 year of age in Jackson, MS. She never really cut loose. It was supposed to be a gigantic voice, but I can't attest to that. Of course, Jackson,MS is not somewhere I would be inspired to go the extra mile. The best opera recording I heard of her was in the big Siegfried duet. She was great in popular music. She did more popular recordings that Traubel but I think Traubel made more money in popular music. When Traubel was kicked out of the Met she doubled her income singing in supper clubs. One of the greatest performances in any pop music is Blues in the Night by Farrell.



. In Blues in the Night she sings a really spectacular F below middle C. For popular music Farrell would move the mic 6 feet back from her as her voice overpowered the mic normally. In the 50's and 60's she could sing up to C, but by the 70's she would substitute other notes when she sang the Dawn Duet from Gotterdammerung. What Farrell was well known for was a voice without any obvious transitions in the regeisters from the bottom to the top. She recorded a number of pop albums in her 70's. By this time she was a deep contralto in terms of range, often singing around the D below middle C. She said she no longer vocalized any more. For the best cross section of her operatic singing I suggest the movie Interrupted Melody, where she sang all the opera and pop songs for the character of the opera star Marjorie Lawrence. It is the best of all worlds as you get Farrell's spectacular singing and the breathtakingly beautiful Eleanor Parker lip syncing to the music. Farrell has a walk on role as the plump music teacher.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Duplicate post. Sorry.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Her "To this we've come" from _The Consul _was totally spectacular!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Something else that put her in a ratified class is she is one of the few dramatic sopranos who was adept at coloratura. This can best be seen in her version of Ernani, Ernani, involami. She sang Casta Diva in concert but said it was too much work and didn't sing it anymore. But she could sing it.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

And let's not forget her Wagner:


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Yet one other musing. She was a great interpreter of popular songs, but I found her operatic singing to be perfectly sung , extraordinarily beautiful, but not always a deep interpretation. Just my opinion. She was no Callas.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Arguably the best vocalist of the recording era then?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Baritenor said:


> Arguably the best vocalist of the recording era then?


Certainly one of the most versatile vocalists, being spectacular both at opera and pop. Trauble was her only serious competiton, though Renee Fleming was quite good at pop.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Baritenor said:


> Arguably the best vocalist of the recording era then?


The whole record business, it' s a bloody shame.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)




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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

norman bates said:


>


I had most of her popular albums, but I don't remember this one. She sets the perfect tone for his song. What a gorgeous voice she had. She sings conversationally.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Rogerx said:


> The whole record business, it' s a bloody shame.


Meaning what exactly??


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

> Can Eileen Farrell be considered the best vocalist of the recording era since she managed to sing both popular music and opera VERY well?


no...but she's good enough to where I wouldn't complain if someone else wanted to claim that


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> *no*...but she's good enough to where I wouldn't complain if someone else wanted to claim that


And why not ??
.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Baritenor said:


> And why not ??
> .


She was incredible, & like Balalaika said I would't complain if someone said that she's the best ever, but I don't understand why singing both genres makes her a better singer than someone who stuck to just one...


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> She was incredible, & like Balalaika said I would't complain if someone said that she's the best ever, but I don't understand why singing both genres makes her a better singer than someone who stuck to just one...


Good point. Was she the best singer in opera? The best in jazz? For me the answer in both cases is no. I suppose that if all else were equal her versatility would be decisive, but I doubt that either operaphiles or jazz fans would agree that all else is equal in their respective genres.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Good point. Was she the best singer in opera? The best in jazz? For me the answer in both cases is no. I suppose that if all else were equal her versatility would be decisive, but I doubt that either operaphiles or jazz fans would agree that all else is equal in their respective genres.


If she were around today she would be one undoubtedly be in the very top rank of Verdi/ Wagner singers, but there are others who stood out more in those respective fields. Correct me if I am wrong, but she only sang Wagner in concert format I believe. That is very different from singing a whole role.If she was a contemporary singer she would rival Goerke as the biggest voice in the world today likely. I would say her performance of the song Blues in the Night is one of the great pop performances of all time, but there are others who were more outstanding in the pop field overall. Just my opinion.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> If she were around today she would be one undoubtedly be in the very top rank of Verdi/ Wagner singers, but there are others who stood out more in those respective fields. Correct me if I am wrong, but she only sang Wagner in concert format I believe. That is very different from singing a whole role.If she was a contemporary singer she would rival Goerke as the biggest voice in the world today likely. I would say her performance of the song Blues in the Night is one of the great pop performances of all time, but there are others who were more outstanding in the pop field overall. Just my opinion.


If only she WERE around today...


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Baritenor said:


> And why not ??
> .


because Helen Traubel, Elena Obraztsova and Robert Merrill. competition for that one spot is tough.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> because Helen Traubel, Elena Obraztsova and Robert Merrill. competition for that one spot is tough.


I may have mentioned it already but Helen Traubel was much, much more successful as a popular music singer than Farrell was. She doubled her earnings when she quit opera to sing in nightclubs full time, and she had been the top earner at the Met before she was fired. Farrell might have possibly sold more albums. Traubel even sang on Broadway and in Hollywood musicals. Farrell did sing in a movie but mostly as an opera singer.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I may have mentioned it already but Helen Traubel was much, much more successful as a popular music singer than Farrell was. She doubled her earnings when she quit opera to sing in nightclubs full time, and she had been the top earner at the Met before she was fired. Farrell might have possibly sold more albums. Traubel even sang on Broadway and in Hollywood musicals. Farrell did sing in a movie but mostly as an opera singer.


But was any of them actually better than her?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Baritenor said:


> But was any of them actually better than her?


I can only reply subjectively. Farrell recorded a lot more popular music than Traubel did and I enjoy her audio recordings more, but Traubel was better known as a live performer of popular music and we have no record of her performances. We do know that she was very very successful in these performances and made piles of cash. Because of her career occurring during the infancy of television, there is actually very scant video record of Traubel singing opera. There is more of a record of her singing in the Hollywood musical she was in. The only movie with Farrell singing had a beautiful actress lip syncing to her singing. It was a good partnership as Farrell had a great voice but was rather a plain Jane to look at. Traubel was a handsome and very elegant woman.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Farrell never did it for me. Good voice? Yes. But in opera she was not in her element. Stolid, placid, square.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> Farrell never did it for me. Good voice? Yes. But in opera she was not in her element. Stolid, placid, square.


Try the immolation scene with Bernstein.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Try the immolation scene with Bernstein.


Thanks, I will.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Bonetan said:


> She was incredible, & like Balalaika said I would't complain if someone said that she's the best ever, but I don't understand why singing both genres makes her a better singer than someone who stuck to just one...


Because opera is supposedly the neurosurgery of singing and not a lot of people can do it well (little less at world calss level).


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Good point. Was she the best singer in opera? The best in jazz? For me the answer in both cases is no. I suppose that if all else were equal her versatility would be decisive, but I doubt that either operaphiles or jazz fans would agree that all else is equal in their respective genres.


No, she wasn't THE best at both but she was WORLD CLASS in both which is my argument for why she should perhaps be considered the best vocalist of the recording era.

Balalaikaboy has named some other singers that have managed to excel at both genres but as far as opera goes they weren't quite at Farrell's level.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I can only reply subjectively. Farrell recorded a lot more popular music than Traubel did and I enjoy her audio recordings more, but Traubel was better known as a live performer of popular music and we have no record of her performances. We do know that she was very very successful in these performances and made piles of cash. Because of her career occurring during the infancy of television, there is actually very scant video record of Traubel singing opera. There is more of a record of her singing in the Hollywood musical she was in. The only movie with Farrell singing had a beautiful actress lip syncing to her singing. It was a good partnership as Farrell had a great voice but was rather a plain Jane to look at. Traubel was a handsome and very elegant woman.


Um your initial comment stated that Traubel was more successful than her and then I asked 'but was she actually a better vocalist than Farrell' and you replied saying, again, that she was more commercially successful. You're not following the train of thought


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Baritenor said:


> Um your initial comment stated that Traubel was more successful than her and then I asked 'but was she actually a better vocalist than Farrell' and you replied saying, again, that she was more commercially successful. You're not following the train of thought


They were of different eras and styles so it is unfair to judge. Apart from her Hollywood musical, and a not very showy recording of a small number of pop songs, we don't really have a good record of how good Traubel was in her hugely successful nightclub act where she made twice her salary at the Met for the same time period. Farrell comes off much better in pop because her Blues infused pop was of a style that speaks more to us today. 



 You can see in this much less well recorded clip of Traubel with Jerry Lewis that she could definitely sing the Blues, but was just not given a good opportunity for posterity to record it. Farrell recorded a whole lot more pop because she did so 15 years later when there were better recording opportunities as well as at least 5 albums in her golden years, not to mention all of her performances saved for posterity from her many TV appearances on TV shows in the 60's that were light years better in quality than the paucity of very grainy appearances Traubel had in the early 50's in the beginning of TV. Unlike Farrell, Traubel did leave behind a wonderful movie record of her singing popular music and here I think the vocal beauty and interpretive skill does rival Farrell in that one instance. It is the only instance where I think the quality of the recording techniques were of similar quality. I would say in this instance Traubel's pop voice is even more beautiful than Farell's, but they were both wonderful. Listen to her glorious alto from Deep in My Heart 



 where her voice is like double cream in quality. You can also get a strong sense from this clip of what her hugely successful nightclub appearances were like in intimacy and warmth of personality. She even danced in the movie, which Farrell would never do:



 plus she really really gets down with the music. Put that in your pipe and smoke it as they used to say.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> They were of different eras and styles so it is unfair to judge. Apart from her Hollywood musical, and a not very showy recording of a small number of pop songs, we don't really have a good record of how good Traubel was in her hugely successful nightclub act where she made twice her salary at the Met for the same time period. Farrell comes off much better in pop because her Blues infused pop was of a style that speaks more to us today.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What an interesting read! Have you done a talk on this subject? You should do. Farrell operatic voice vs. pop voice or Traubel's forgotten night club career.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> What an interesting read! Have you done a talk on this subject? You should do. Farrell operatic voice vs. pop voice or Traubel's forgotten night club career.
> 
> N.


Aren't you kind Actually I did do a two part set of speeches on Traubel and the second one was on her popular music career. Here it is: 



. I aim to do a similar one on Farrell this year maybe. Thanks again.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> They were of different eras and styles so it is unfair to judge. Apart from her Hollywood musical, and a not very showy recording of a small number of pop songs, we don't really have a good record of how good Traubel was in her hugely successful nightclub act where she made twice her salary at the Met for the same time period. Farrell comes off much better in pop because her Blues infused pop was of a style that speaks more to us today.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No need to be rude just because I pointed out you weren't following the train of thought 

Would you like to compare their opera singing ability too then? It would make for another interesting little read.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Baritenor said:


> No need to be rude just because I pointed out you weren't following the train of thought
> 
> Would you like to compare their opera singing ability too then? It would make for another interesting little read.


I was trying to be funny not rude so I am truly sorry it came off that way. I respect other's opinions on this forum as often you guys know much more than me. They were similar in their opera careers in both being of the stand and sing school. I think both had much more personality in pop music. Farrell did have high C in the early part of her career, but both had short tops for most of their Wagner singing. The only German role I am aware that Farrell sang is Ariadne, but I am no scholar on this. It was fabulous. Farrell sang more in recital as it fit her life as a Long Island mother and wife of a cop better. She never ever sang a Wagner role on stage. Only in concert. Traubel, on the other hand, hardly ever sang any complete role of anything until her debut at the Met in Wagner and only sang Wagner for her whole career at the Met. I contend that there is a whole lot of difference in singing Wagner excerpts than in singing the whole roles. They both had a gorgeous Bel Canto approach to singing Wagner with huge voices. Farrell's voice was likened to Niagara in power, though she could often be accused of saving for a last act that never came. Traubel's gorgeous instrument was so big that I read where someone said his singing teacher heard her in Chicago and the voice was so big she felt it hit her in her chest on a big note and it bounced off the back wall and hit her on the back of her head. They both also had voices that were so big down low they didn't need to force the voice to be heard easily in low lying passages. I think in the Immolation Scene they are both among the best recordings of the piece. I think it would come down more to one's personal preferences as to who has the upper hand. I think Traubel gives Flagstad some serious competition in the lower lying passages of Sieglinde. As far as stage presence, Farrell had on a perfectly awful dress the time I saw her and always looked dowdy on TV whereas the tall, elegant Traubel spent $300,000 in the 40's to have the top Hollywood designer make special ensembles for her performances at the Met. Traubel was almost 6 feet tall whereas Farrell was barely over 5'.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

So maybe both can be considered the best vocalists of the recording era then?


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