# Round Two:Il segreto per esser felice LUCREZIA BORGIA: Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Marilyn Horne



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

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Lucrezia Borgia, Act II: Il segreto per esser felice (Sung in German) · Ernestine Schumann-Heink Opera Arias (Contralto): Schumann-Heink, Ernestine - Mehrkens, A. / Arditi, L. / Schubert, F. / Wagner, R. / Meyerbeer, G. (1900-1935) 





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Horne with orchestral version.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Whoever recommended ES-H: THANK YOU!.She is absolutely marvelous. Great technique and all the energy of a German drinking song at Oktoberfest!!!!!!!!! Horne is technically a marvel but can't compete with our Madame.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! I've just caught the second round of the Lucrezia Borgia contest. I'll leave Mamma morta and step in here instead.

I adore Schumann-Heink, but I'm never sure whether I like her in this or not. Although she sings in German she manages to sing with a certain amount of italianate legato. There's lots I like here, but she plays around with the rubati _too _much.

Let's give Horne a go. I find it interesting how similar they sound. That said, I feel this is mezzo fare rather than contralto and I'm going with Horne. Neither is stylistically right IMO, but I prefer Horne's playing around over Schumann-Heink's.

Verrett is without doubt the best in this aria though.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

My God, is Schumann-Heink a hoot! I've never heard this particular recording of the piece; she made a few, and I assume all the others are in Italian. Obviously she wants to have fun with this as well as show off her fabulous technique. I'm buying it totally.

Horne is slow - you could waltz to it - and I don't like her messing around with the tune. And spare me that scream at the end.

Ernestine's my gal!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Schumann-Heink is enjoying herself enormously and possibly goes beyond the boundaries of good taste, but her sense of fun is infectious and it takes me with it. This is after all a drinking song and we're supposed to having fun.

By contrast Horne is a bit po-faced and I'm not sure I like her variations. Schumann-Heink has it.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Sorry but they both *___*(fill in the blank)
I think S-H just goes too doggone far trying to show what she can do with that "longer-high-even-than-Caballe's last note in Don Carlo". I found it obscene then and I do now. Yes I see she is having a good time but the thing missing for me is an appealing voice, and hers I don't happen to like. ("telephone for Eva Podles please, telephone for Eva Podles").
Horne on the other hand has that appealing sound and also wants to make some fun but her problem is that her chest tones are not "really" chest tones and that bothers me although I find the sound of her voice the more pleasing -- but boring.
NO VOTE


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I don't know _Lucrezia Borgia_ well, never having listened to it entire, but I know that Orsini is a pants role and that this number is a party piece. Orsini, the party guests, the contralto, and we the audience should all be having a rollicking good time before Lurezia crashes the party and announces that she's poisoned literally everybody, which of course is also great fun. As far as I'm concerned, anything Madame Schumann-Heink does to get everybody acting as if there's no tomorrow - which of course there isn't - is fair musical play. Holding a note until your audience stops breathing? You go girl (guy)! S-H's trill alone is worth the price of admission.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

This time I looked for the option to select both. It is not there, so, grudgingly, Schuman Heink. Check on tomorrow morning if I switched. I prefer the core of the aria with Horne, but can't ignore the spectacular ornaments by Schuman Heink. An they have very different voices, so how do I compare them ? Whatever, I played the game somehow.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> I don't know _Lucrezia Borgia_ well, never having listened to it entire, but I know that Orsini is a pants role and that this number is a party piece. Orsini, the party guests, the contralto, and we the audience should all be having a rollicking good time before Lurezia crashes the party and announces that she's poisoned literally everybody, which of course is also great fun. As far as I'm concerned, anything Madame Schumann-Heink does to get everybody acting as if there's no tomorrow - which of course there isn't - is fair musical play. Holding a note until your audience stops breathing? You go girl (guy)! S-H's trill alone is worth the price of admission.


I don't know more precise description of this opera.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Well, I finally chose Miss Horne. She's funny enough and vocally attractive. Let it be an honorary prize. 
Fräulein Schumann-Heink was nice too. Especially when you imagine that respectful chaperon from the picture in a slightly modernized production, where drunken Maffio sports _Lederhose _and dances with bad couple of beermugs.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I don’t like Schumann-Heinz’s vibratoless _sostenuti _at all, though I like her voice - and Horne was the first I heard in this aria - I prefer her version.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Schuman-Heinke gets a B+. Very good singing, but it left me without much to say, other than that singing Italian opera in German has only ever hurt a performance. As was mentioned by a few other people, she managed an adequate legato line, but, were it sung in Italian, it would have been better. Probably enough to move it up to a solid A. 
Horne gets a C+. A bit nasal, though less than usual. Her chest tones were inconsistent, but some of them were good, and the ornamentation was a mix of more creative choices and unnecessary and gaudy frills. Reigning in a few of those would take it from the higher end of "meh" to "respectable".


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> Schuman-Heinke gets a B+. Very good singing, but it left me without much to say, other than that singing Italian opera in German has only ever hurt a performance. As was mentioned by a few other people, she managed an adequate legato line, but, were it sung in Italian, it would have been better. Probably enough to move it up to a solid A.
> Horne gets a C+. A bit nasal, though less than usual. Her chest tones were inconsistent, but some of them were good, and the ornamentation was a mix of more creative choices and unnecessary and gaudy frills. Reigning in a few of those would take it from the higher end of "meh" to "respectable".


But did you have any FUN?


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