# Kathleen Battle welcomes Spring



## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

A happy Spring to all on Talk Classical:






How I love Kathleen Battle!


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

And Miss Battle again, accompanied by an extraordinary video:






Enjoy!


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)




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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Thanks so much. Battle is one of my all time favorites too.


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

And since in Spring one's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love, here's a cautionary note from Beverly Sills:






Ah well.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

CypressWillow said:


> A happy Spring to all on Talk Classical:
> 
> How I love Kathleen Battle!


That is a delightful Battle performance from 1987 Vienna New Years program Karajan conducting.

I also like the 1993 preformance of young Natalie Dessay from Fledermaus, fresh voice able to hit all the high notes, thrilling final run at 8:30 followed by "victory dance" bravo


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

DarkAngel said:


> I also like the 1993 preformance of young Natalie Dessay from Fledermaus, fresh voice able to hit all the high notes, thrilling final run at 8:30 followed by "victory dance" bravo


Wow, that was lovely indeed.

And while we're on the subject of Spring, here's another of my all-time favorites. 
This is from the first, unfinished version of the film "Maytime" and has a charm all of its own:






And here, from the finished, later production. I am astonished at the acting MacDonald does here, when, between 3'00" - 3'27" she transforms from a coy coquette who is just enjoying being serenaded, to a woman suddenly stricken by the presence of love, real love. She involuntarily puts her hand on his heart at 3'27" and I just lose it!






And finally, better quality, a truncated version of the duet followed by the Reprise at the end. In the reprise, when the key modulates and the camera obligingly transforms them from spirit to solid, with the blossoms falling around them, I just collapse into a box of tissues!






And didn't Herbert Stothart do a great job as musical director/adaptor! This is really magic for me.


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## Jermaine (Apr 23, 2016)

I will just leave this here. What a voice! Not too shrill or squeaky. Also very pleasant to look at. ​


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Appropriate for this almost summer day.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

One of my first experiences with clasical vocal works (besides Beethoven's Ninth) was Kathleen Battle on television singing Voices of Spring on the New Years Eve. I have her Barber of Seville on DVD in my unwatched pile.


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## jflatter (Mar 31, 2010)

Battle was a wonderful talent but much of it was wasted due to her own ego. A real shame.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

jflatter said:


> Battle was a wonderful talent but much of it was wasted due to her own ego. A real shame.


She was/ is not alone, Gheorghiu lost lots of fans also.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I'm curious how she still sounds at her upcoming recital. Not singing will have preserved her voice.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I'm curious how she still sounds at her upcoming recital. Not singing will have preserved her voice.


Is she planning a comeback then?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/...met-after-22-years-it-was-worth-the-wait.html The review was a rave one. She is 68 and supposedly sounded magnificent.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Seattleoperafan said:


> https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/...met-after-22-years-it-was-worth-the-wait.html The review was a rave one. She is 68 and supposedly sounded magnificent.


I believe that Mariella Devia is up there in years and sounds great too.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> I believe that Mariella Devia is up there in years and sounds great too.


Her birthday is coming up April 12th and she becomes 69 this year.


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