# Messa di Requiem Contest (Libera Me Domine)



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Jessye Norman





Elisabeth Schwarzkopf 





Martina Arroyo 





Joan Sutherland





Klara Kolonits


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I was planning on a contest for this, but your choices are so good I forgive you. I love Norman but would not have expected this to be such a win for her as she usually does the mezzo part but it was. It is one of the best things she recorded and all the high notes and low notes are at optimal parts of her voice. She is always at home at big, noble singing. Sutherland is passionately delivered. As great as Price is in this, Arroyo has a bigger voice which works better for this big piece. Thanks.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I am exhausted. I centered on the 5 minute mark and after doing a back and forth and finally eliminating Kolonits first and (believe it) Schwarzkopf second (she had a wee bit of intonation trouble) I centered on Arroya and Sutherland until I finally decided that the more reverently sung was Joanie.
Sutherland reigns for me.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Schwarzkopf’s is a famous assumption, but wrong for this music, for all that she sang it here and there and recorded it.

Arroyo would have the ideal voice and technique, but she is sometimes uninvolved and has a soft-grained delivery when you need some bite to the phrases. 

The same could be said of Sutherland, who also lacks Verdian style - I suspect this is an early recording, as she is less mushy-mouthed than usual. 

In this company, Klara Kolonits doesn’t count.

Norman surprised me here, though she is a bit too grand. She gets the palm.


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## Xenophiliu (Jan 2, 2022)

I generally prefer a larger voice in this 'role', and for me that was Norman. Leontyne Price is usually my go to for this work.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Interesting as I happen to prefer a more reverent sound in the Libera Me and find this a wonderful find for me. (start at 6 if you want to)


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

I rule out Kolonits after giving it roughly 30 seconds (sorry! maybe she performs great from there on but I have hard time believing it and life's so short).

I like the way Sutherland launches into the declamation, never forgetting it's a fervent prayer, but the orchestra must really recede each time Sutherland negotiates lower extensions of the part. And Schwarzkopf is elaborate but I want more fire, especially in the "_Tremens... factus... sum ego_" part. I can rule out both ladies by this point as well.

I have expected to hear another version by Martina Arroyo - with Bernstein, one of the best Requiems out there in my opinion, but oh well. She sings with more restraint (well, it's Giulini versus Bernstein), the 1970 performance is preferable on so many levels (and the sound is glorious too). Her voice suits the part ideally - not too heavy but powerful where it's needed.

So it boils down to Norman vs Arroyo in my case... Norman is so intense here (check from 1:55 onward), maybe just a bit overdoing it. She sounds more like a true contralto with quite an unexpected effect.

I guess I'll give my final vote to Martina Arroyo.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I also had Arroyo and Sutherland side by side and really wasn't sure. I guess that final note swayed me toward Joanie but it was either or for me. Jessye was too powerful for my choice and Schwarzkopf was just the opposite.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

I know all sorts of soprano attempts the Requiem, but keep in mind that it was composed for an Aida-type of voice. Schwarzkopf and Sutherland are just wrong in this. Sutherland sounds particularly comical at places

This will be a match between Arroyo and Norman.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

When Norman launches into this terrifying music with wild-eyed, Gothic intensity and a voice as dark as Halloween night I know why I left the church. The quieter passages are full of fearful reverence, a perfect reaction to the terror. I'll listen to the other singers, but Norman is in full command, part of an inspired performance on the part of all concerned. I don't see how anyone will surpass this.

Schwarzkopf gives an admirable, typically detailed performance with a voice slenderer and brighter than ideal. Those who complain that she often doesn't let her voice out may find her doing better here, even if she can't pretend to be a spinto sort of soprano such as we might prefer.

The distant, reverberant sound of Arroyo's recording isn't helpful, but we can hear a voice of the "right" calibre, musically employed though with no special insight into the text or music. 

Sutherland can't muster the tonal fulness, firmness and force necessary for the declamatory sections, though she certainly tries hard. A chihuahua - well, OK, a French poodle - trying to sound like a German shepherd. Nor does she have sufficient low register strength. The subsequent quiet, legato passages are affecting, though.

Kolonits is outclassed vocally, though she obviously knows what to do with the music.

Only the first two of these performances interest me. Norman fulfills the work's vision magnificently, and Schwarzkopf would come closer if she had the right sort of instrument.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

What is sad is that Alessandra Marc's studio version has a bad note as her live version in Seattle was the most exciting singing I ever heard. Beautifully floated lyric phrases and overwhelmingly magnificent gorgeous high notes with fast exciting vibrato that dominated the big chorus. It was the best Verdi I ever heard live and by this point her lower register was strong enough for the low passages. You would think in a studio recording she could have redone the flat high note. She nailed it in my pirated live recording.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This is a tall order. It will take over an hour to listen to all these, so my choice will have to wait.

Schwarzkopf has always been my yardstick for this part of the Requiem, my favourite part actually, but then a few years back I heard the Norman version (now, thankfully on CD) and liked her performance even more. I don't know the Arroyo or the Kolonits (in fact I've never heard of her) so can't comment. The Sutherland I've always considered a masterpiece of misinterpretation.

So watch this space, I suppose.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Incidentally, I've always thought Scotto's version on the first Muti recording, was pretty good too. A little raw on top I suppose, but she floats a lovely high Bb, and her intelligent treatment of the text almost equals Schwarzkopf.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

So I've now listened to all the contenders and conclusions are that I continue to admire the Norman rendition, which I first heard some years ago on youtube. Shortly afterwards it was deleted from youtube and I looked all over for it without success. I managed to find out that it was from a live performance in Munich under Muti (with Baltsa, Carreras and Nersterenko). The complete performance eventually surfaced on youtube and it has now been issued on CD. It's now one of my top choices for the Requiem.










I got to know the Requiem from the Giulini recording that the Schwarzkopf excerpt is from and it's still one of my favourite versions. I understand the charges about it not being the right voice, but she recorded it under two Italians (De Sabata and Giulini) so presumably it didn't bother them. She makes more of the text than practically anyone and the piano _Requiem_ section, with its perfectly poised _ppp_ top Bb is absolutely beautiful.

Arroyo does have the right voice, but, as so often, she's a bit anonymous. She doesn't seem to have much to say about the music.

The Sutherland is better than the studio recording she did with Solti. This is live from 1960 under Giulini, and consequently her diction is much better. However she sounds too lightweight and the voice loses power in the lower and middle register. This might seem an odd observation, given that Sutherland's voice was no doubt a lot larger than Schwarzkopf's, but Schwarzkopf compensates with her intelligent treatment of the text and a richer lower and middle register. Consequently her performance seems much larger in scale.

In this company Kolonits is completely outclassed both vocally and temperamentally.

Conclusions.

1. Norman, closely followed by Schwarzkopf. Some way behind is Arroyo, followed by Sutherland with Kolonits bringing up the rear.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

PS Rather sad to see that Schwarzkopf has got no votes at all. If it were not for Norman's superlative performance here, she would definitely have got my vote.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

My favorite requiem is with Caniglia, Pinza, Stignani from the late 30's but Caniglia disappoints in her often flat high notes. In every other aspect it is the best Requiem for me other than the live one in Seattle with Marc, Vinson Cole, Florenz Quivar etc.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I understand the charges about it not being the right voice, but she recorded it under two Italians (De Sabata and Giulini) so presumably it didn't bother them.


I don't want to be snarky, but since both recordings were masterminded by EMI's Walter Legge, Schwarzkopf's husband, I don't think the conductors had much say in casting.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

MAS said:


> I don't want to be snarky, but since both recordings were masterminded by EMI's Walter Legge, Schwarzkopf's husband, I don't think the conductors had much say in casting.


You don't want to be snarky, but you will be anyway :devil:

Either way, I prefer her to all the other sopranos in this contest, except for Norman who is magnificent here. I also really like Scotto's performance on the studio recording Muti made for EMI around the same time as this live one, but I know you have an antipathy for her also.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> You don't want to be snarky, but you will be anyway :devil:
> 
> Either way, I prefer her to all the other sopranos in this contest, except for Norman who is magnificent here. I also really like Scotto's performance on the studio recording Muti made for EMI around the same time as this live one, but I know you have an antipathy for her also.


I did not know the Norman performance. I also have the 1964 Giulini in my collection and have sort of "grown up" with it. But I vastly prefer the Karajan La Scala lineup (Price, Cossotto, Pavarotti, Ghiaurov) in the Unitel film and had it transferred to CD. The live Giulini, also with the Philharmonia is better cast (Ligabue, Bumbry, Konya, Arie) than the studio recording, in my opinion. I also like Arroyo with Bernstein and Price/Björling with Reiner. I somehow acquired a modern recording (Harteros, Garanca Kaufman, Pape), conducted by Barenboim, not usually a Verdian.

You're right I have antipathy for Scotto, somehow her voice grates on my ears, but she floats the boats of many in this and other venues, more power to her.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

MAS said:


> I did not know the Norman performance. I also have the 1964 Giulini in my collection and have sort of "grown up" with it. But I vastly prefer the Karajan La Scala lineup (Price, Cossotto, Pavarotti, Ghiaurov) in the Unitel film and had it transferred to CD. The live Giulini, also with the Philharmonia is better cast (Ligabue, Bumbry, Konya, Arie) than the studio recording, in my opinion. I also like Arroyo with Bernstein and Price/Björling with Reiner. I somehow acquired a modern recording (Harteros, Garanca Kaufman, Pape), conducted by Barenboim, not usually a Verdian.
> 
> You're right I have antipathy for Scotto, somehow her voice grates on my ears, but she floats the boats of many in this and other venues, more power to her.


I strongly recommend the Muti with Norman, Baltsa, Carreras and Nesterenko. I was thrilled to find that it had finally been given an official release as it had been so difficult to find and in fact the complete performance only surfaced on youtube a couple of years ago. The sound on the CDs is much better, by the way.

I still have a thing for the 1964 Giulini studio recording and I also like the first Muti for EMI with Scotto, Baltsa, Luchetti and Nesterenko. I'd agree that the Karajan Unitel film is the best of all his versions, all the soloists being at their peak at the time.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I strongly recommend the Muti with Norman, Baltsa, Carreras and Nesterenko. I was thrilled to find that it had finally been given an official release as it had been so difficult to find and in fact the complete performance only surfaced on youtube a couple of years ago. The sound on the CDs is much better, by the way.


Thanks, I'll add the Norman *Messa da Requiem* to my collection.


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

Maria Luisa Fanelli and Renata Tebaldi are my favourites.


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

Among the given, Arroyo is the most impressive with the necessary lyrical and dramatic skills needed.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> PS Rather sad to see that Schwarzkopf has got no votes at all. If it were not for Norman's superlative performance here, she would definitely have got my vote.


Mine too. Arroyo is uninteresting and Sutherland is Sutherland.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Mine too. Arroyo is uninteresting and Sutherland is Sutherland.


Arroyo is so interesting. I may have said this in the past but she rivaled Beverly Sills for personality on talk shows, but she was so boring on stage. Pity as her voice was a superlative instrument but she lacked temperament on the opera stage. She was built to sing with no neck, big mouth and a barrel chest!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> I am exhausted. I centered on the 5 minute mark and after doing a back and forth and finally eliminating Kolonits first and (believe it) Schwarzkopf second (she had a wee bit of intonation trouble) I centered on Arroya and Sutherland until I finally decided that the more reverently sung was Joanie.
> Sutherland reigns for me.


I was surprised when I first heard it. So much more *fiery* than her normal delivery and with a rare dive into the chest voice (not a particularly strong chest voice, but a "real" chest voice not present in most of her post-Bonynge work). My favorite bits were the rising portamento around 10:30-10:40 and (of course), that sparkling high C.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Shaafee Shameem said:


> Among the given, Arroyo is the most impressive with the necessary *lyrical* and dramatic skills needed.


I'm glad someone else acknowledges this part. Most people want a big, heavy dramatic voice singing this piece, but the entire middle section is quite lyrical with high legato passages and extensive piano singing. The voice needs to be able to "float" a bit more than the biggest soprano voices tend to be comfortable with.

That balance of being able to do both well is a big reason I included her in this list.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> PS Rather sad to see that Schwarzkopf has got no votes at all. If it were not for Norman's superlative performance here, she would definitely have got my vote.


I was most impressed with the way she convincingly deepened her middle register in some parts. When I first heard it, I had to double check "wait...what? are we sure this is the right singer?", then she got to the lighter bits toward the middle and it was more obvious. There are times I think she overdoes the whole vocal color-shifting shtick, but in this piece, it is entirely appropriate and adds necessary contrast.


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> I'm glad someone else acknowledges this part. Most people want a big, heavy dramatic voice singing this piece, but the entire middle section is quite lyrical with high legato passages and extensive piano singing. The voice needs to be able to "float" a bit more than the biggest soprano voices tend to be comfortable with.
> 
> That balance of being able to do both well is a big reason I included her in this list.


True, but the greatest pianos in those passages are done in my opinion by Tebaldi, Milanov and Fanelli, all three heavy voices. Arroyo, who herself is a spinto with a fairly big voice, does them best here. All voices regardless of size must learn to sing pianos, since even the most dramatic roles such as Gioconda, Lady Macbeth and Isolde among others have written pianos and pianissimos.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I was expecting Kolonits to be a revelation of some sort (either a singer from the golden age that time has forgot or an up and coming talent worth watching out for), sadly she is nothing of the sort. She isn't even in the running.

What we have here are four very different approaches to this music from four contrasting voices. How to choose?

Norman dives into the music with the aggression of a lioness attacking a vulture. Clearly putting the ""operatic"" in to Verdi's 'greatest opera'. However, her oversinging doesn't just border on the vulgar, it surpasses it. I can understand why others enjoyed this, but no, it is OTT, TOO MUCH and very much SINGING in ALL CAPS!

Schwarzkopf has what many would consider to be the wrong voice for this and she certainly isn't a Verdi soprano, whatever one of those is. However, she sings with plenty of emotional drama and this is a masterful interpretation of this music. I prefer her to Norman.

Arroyo is the business (Price or Studer would be my favourites in this piece, despite their both being very different vocally (but then I think this music is great enough to accommodate a number of different vocalities)). Her voice suits the music better than any of the others and in addition she balances drama with restraint. Very good.

Sutherland does very well here in a work that I wouldn't have expected her to do so well in. Her chest register is impressive and she holds her own against Arroyo's darker tones and Norman's mezzoish qualities. I think some hear what they want to hear when they listen to her. As for comments about her diction and how this must be 'early' as if everything she did post 1960 was as bad as her Anna Bolena and Adriana Lecouvreur recordings these are just laughable.

It's between Arroyo and Schwarzkopf for me and whilst I find the Schwarzkopf an entirely successful and valid interpretation of the music, Arroyo just has that natural bent for it that gives her the edge.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> Norman dives into the music with the aggression of a lioness attacking a vulture. Clearly putting the ""operatic"" in to Verdi's 'greatest opera'. However, her oversinging doesn't just border on the vulgar, it surpasses it. I can understand why others enjoyed this, but no, it is OTT, TOO MUCH and very much SINGING in ALL CAPS!


*Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal in that awful day,
When the heavens and the earth shall be moved,
When Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
Dread and trembling have laid hold on me, and I
fear exceedingly because of the judgment and of
the wrath to come.*

Of the five performances, only Norman and Muti convey fully the terror of that text. Read it over a few times until the terror seizes you, and then listen to see who captures it and who doesn't. There's nothing vulgar - much less surpassing the vulgar, whatever that means - about Norman's singing. God knows - pun intended - we need more such "vulgarity" in music-making! It's rare that I bristle at anyone's subjective impression of music, its performance, or anything else, but prefer what you will, this is a tremendous performance of what is dark, fierce, frightening music - more so, I'd argue, than anything else Verdi wrote.

Early on, the _Manzoni Requiem_ was criticized by the properly pious as being "too operatic." For such timid souls there's always Faure, whose judgment on the damned is about as severe as after-school detention.

Verdi would have shouted "Bravissimo!" at the way Norman, Muti and the chorus and orchestra have realized his vision of the Last Judgment and the end of the world. Certo!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I am surprised and perplexed by Sutherland in this contest. She did well, which was unexpected, but as a big fan very familiar with her voice.... I would have never picked this out as Sutherland. It is almost as if it were a 33 rpm record played at 34 rpm. It sounded too high and bright without the typical warmth I normally hear in her sound. I wonder if it were the transfer or if she really sounded so non typical? To me it lost all the signature of her sound for me.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

Shaafee Shameem said:


> True, but the greatest pianos in those passages are done in my opinion by Tebaldi, Milanov and Fanelli, all three heavy voices. Arroyo, who herself is a spinto with a fairly big voice, does them best here. All voices regardless of size must learn to sing pianos, since even the most dramatic roles such as Gioconda, Lady Macbeth and Isolde among others have written pianos and pianissimos.


Agree. As I mentioned above, the soprano part was composed for an Aida type of voice. The soprano who premiered this work, Teresa Stolz, was also the first Aida in the Italian debut.

The best sopranos who sang the Requiem live, Milanov, Caniglia, and Tebaldi, were also important Aida of their time. We can also add Leontyne Price, whose interpretation I don't like but she has the right voice for it.

Smaller voices won't fare well in live performance, despite how much studio recording might have enabled them. Check out how much Gheorghiu struggled with the orchestra in the live Abbado performance.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I am surprised and perplexed by Sutherland in this contest. She did well, which was unexpected, but as a big fan very familiar with her voice.... I would have never picked this out as Sutherland. It is almost as if it were a 33 rpm record played at 34 rpm. It sounded too high and bright without the typical warmth I normally hear in her sound. I wonder if it were the transfer or if she really sounded so non typical? To me it lost all the signature of her sound for me.


In the beginning…she had a very high silvery sound, before she and Bonynge f***** it up.
Of course, the transfer could make a difference also. Matters of pitch often don‘t count with pirates.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> In the beginning…she had a very high silvery sound, before she and Bonynge f***** it up.
> Of course, the transfer could make a difference also. Matters of pitch often doesn't count with pirates.


I don't listen to the early Sutherland much... the only Sutherland most of you like LOL. I have no taste;-) I like the bigger rounder sound after 1970.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I am surprised and perplexed by Sutherland in this contest. She did well, which was unexpected, but as a big fan very familiar with her voice.... I would have never picked this out as Sutherland. It is almost as if it were a 33 rpm record played at 34 rpm. It sounded too high and bright without the typical warmth I normally hear in her sound. I wonder if it were the transfer or if she really sounded so non typical? To me it lost all the signature of her sound for me.


I agree. When I went back again to listen a 4th time I actually changed my opinion. But ... a vote is a vote.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Woodduck said:


> For such timid souls there's always Faure


For "mannequins with somewhat narrow hearts", there's always Brahms 'the overly sentimental', btw.
https://www.talkclassical.com/73422-do-you-find-brahms-6.html#post2180712


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

hammeredklavier said:


> For "mannequins with somewhat narrow hearts", there's always Brahms 'the overly sentimental', btw.
> https://www.talkclassical.com/73422-do-you-find-brahms-6.html#post2180712


I LOOOOVES the Brahms Requiem. It moves me much more than the others. I love Jessye Norman in the soprano part. I really emotionally relate to Brahms as a composer.The soprano solo could be an interesting contest. Different people want different things.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

The winner is already known :angel:






Lucia Popp: German Requiem (Brahms)


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I LOOOOVES the Brahms Requiem. It moves me much more than the others. I love Jessye Norman in the soprano part. I really emotionally relate to Brahms as a composer.The soprano solo could be an interesting contest. Different people want different things.


Of course the Brahms _Ein Deutsches Requiem_ isn't a setting of the requiem mass. Brahms wasn't a fan of Christian theology, and unlike Verdi (also not a fan) had neither a strong Roman Catholic tradition nor a financial inducement to set the dogma to music. He wanted his work to be a comfort to the living, and there are no descriptions of cosmic apocalypse or warnings about eternal incineration. I love it too, and don't relate it to requiems in any way.


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## Shaafee Shameem (Aug 4, 2021)

OffPitchNeb said:


> Agree. As I mentioned above, the soprano part was composed for an Aida type of voice. The soprano who premiered this work, Teresa Stolz, was also the first Aida in the Italian debut.
> 
> The best sopranos who sang the Requiem live, Milanov, Caniglia, and Tebaldi, were also important Aida of their time. We can also add Leontyne Price, whose interpretation I don't like but she has the right voice for it.
> 
> Smaller voices won't fare well in live performance, despite how much studio recording might have enabled them. Check out how much Gheorghiu struggled with the orchestra in the live Abbado performance.


The vocal writing is indeed very similar to that of Aida, including the lyrical-dramatic contrasts and long stretches of soft singing. What an Aida type voice is, or rather what it was in Verdi's own time is open for debate. We know that Adelina Patti, a leggero soprano whom Verdi called the greatest singer, sang Aida with the success customary of all her endeavours. The greatest interwar Aida at the Met was Elizabeth Rethberg, a lyric soprano, whom Toscanini called the greatest soprano in the world. She dominated the role over even dramatic soprano Rosa Ponselle, despite Ponselle having a much larger voice. Gheorghiu is a lyric soprano like Rethberg, and as you say she struggles with this music, but that is due to the lack of development and proper coordination in her registers, particularly in the middle, unlike Rethberg or Patti, who had a much smaller voice type than Gheorghiu. Today, we hardly find any voices with true squillo, and that is the reason I think lyrics and even supposed dramatics seem too 'small' to sing most dramatic repertoire. 
Did you listen to Maria Luisa Fanelli? Hers was the first recorded "Libera me" I presume, and one of the very best. Caniglia whom I didn't mention in my post about soft singing, due to some strain in the high pianissimi, is indeed wonderful, hers is the most dramatic reading of all, particularly in the Serafin recording, with the strongest low notes. Milanov is miraculous as usual in soft singing, but I like her less than the others due to the uninteresting phrasing. Tebaldi is great in 1950, a time when she had none of the faults that later crept into her singing, and as usual her solemn phrasing and italianate voice perfectly suit this music. I don't like Leontyne Price much either, but it is, in addition to lack of interpretation, due to the lack of squillo in her middle, which causes the muddy, hollow vowels that became worse as she aged. She is much better than Gheorghiu or anyone else singing today though, for at least her voice is developed if not coordinated properly. She does the lyrical passages rather well.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Rogerx said:


> The winner is already known :angel:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I can see that easily. It is the perfect voice for the piece. If I do a contest I'll include her for sure. It is long, but at some point a three person contest on the Alto Rhapsody might interest some people. I am mad about two contraltos in general doing it.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> *Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal in that awful day,
> When the heavens and the earth shall be moved,
> When Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
> Dread and trembling have laid hold on me, and I
> ...


I would say that all four of the well known singers gave tremendous performances, even though all are very different from one another. Such adaptability is surely a strength of the music. There's no knowing which of the four Verdi would have enjoyed the most, perhaps he would have recognised each version as valid and shouted warm praise at the end of each.

One thing we can be certain of, however, is that he wouldn't have shouted "Bravissimo!" (It would have been Bravissima!)

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> One thing we can be certain of, however, is that he wouldn't have shouted "Bravissimo!" (It would have been Bravissima!)
> 
> N.


Or maybe "Bravissimi!"


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Or maybe "Bravissimi!"


Yes. Muti makes as great a contribution here as Norman. The whole ensemble is on its toes, no doubt to keep them from being scorched by the fires of hell.


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

If I limit my choices to the performances above, then Arroyo gets my vote. I believe her voice fares better than her colleagues in this match up, and while she may not give us the greatest turns of phrases, I do not think her interpretations is of the mark or boring.

Regarding Schwarzkopf, I believe her performance for De Sabata ten years earlier is better. The voice is much freer and the vehemence she displays in the opening phrases is welcomed. These days, it is her only bit of singing that I continue to find compelling (even though she stills meows her way through some parts of the recording). The final high C is also much better than with Giulini, but stills sounds tense.





(The _Libera Me_ starts at 1:20:38)

My favourite performance is by Tebaldi, who had the right vocal weight and a splendour and dignity to her sound that greatly added to the overall performance. Furthermore, her voice was, back then, technically great and secure:






I also find Mirella Freni's interpretation in the 1972 Karajan recording great. She has a bigger, freer and technically better voice than Schwarzkopf (the purpose of this affirmation is not to diminish the Dame, but simply to compare two lyrics soprani together), and she sounds properly frightened during the opening phrases. The final high C is beautiful and released.


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