# MEZZO/CONTRALTO TOURNAMENT (By Request): Meier vs Arkhipova



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Waltraud Meier, Germany, 1956-






Irina Arkhipova, Russia, 1925-2010






'Habañera' from Bizet´s _Carmen_.

Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I don't normally think Waltraud sounds like a mezzo, but she does here. She sings most admirably, but Arkipova has a richer sound with more mezzo overtones and I prefer it. Waltraud would have been spectacular to see her perform with her looks and acting talent.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

It's been my practice to listen to these performances without watching them in order not to be biased in my assessment of the singing. Meier, heard and not seen, gives us a pretty standard interpretation, with no unexpected choices of tempo, inflection or tone color. Vocally, though, she is anything but standard. She gives little evidence of having a chest voice, allowing the low phrase ends, relished by most Carmens, to go for little. On top of that, her rather generic timbre becomes surprisingly different above the staff, where it takes on a bright vibrancy that suggests a closet soprano. Of course, she came out of the closet and was successful as Isolde in the theater - and yet, listening to various things she's done, I note that her upper range turns thin and tight higher up, which may be why she didn't bill herself as a soprano despite the absence of mezzo-soprano weight and incisiveness in her lower voice. She's altogether a puzzling singer, with a voice deficient at both ends, and from what I've heard of her here and elsewhere I'd have to say that she was one of those valuable artists whose intelligence could triumph (in the theater) over a lack of first-rate vocal material.

Arkhipova's habanera is almost a curate's egg, with its initial shot-out-of-the-gate tempo and its Russian text. I've long admired this singer, but encountering her in this repertoire required a few minutes of adjustment. Ultimately I'd say that once it settles down from frantic to merely brisk it's pretty good for what it is, even if I'm not crazy about what it is, and Arkhipova does offer some arresting touches which sound intelligent and imaginative and would no doubt be even more impressive if I knew what she was saying. Does she sound seductive? Not to me, but then who am I to judge what what a hotheaded, young, heterosexual Spanish dragoon might find attractive? Maybe he's impressed by her fluency in Russian.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> It's been my practice to listen to these performances without watching them in order not to be biased in my assessment of the singing. Meier, heard and not seen, gives us a pretty standard interpretation, with no unexpected choices of tempo, inflection or tone color. Vocally, though, she is anything but standard. She gives little evidence of having a chest voice, allowing the low phrase ends, relished by most Carmens, to go for little. On top of that, her rather generic timbre becomes surprisingly different above the staff, where it takes on a bright vibrancy that suggests a closet soprano. Of course, she came out of the closet and was successful as Isolde in the theater - and yet, listening to various things she's done, I note that her upper range turns thin and tight higher up, which may be why she didn't bill herself as a soprano despite the absence of mezzo-soprano weight and incisiveness in her lower voice. She's altogether a puzzling singer, with a voice deficient at both ends, and from what I've heard of her here and elsewhere I'd have to say that she was one of those valuable artists whose intelligence could triumph (in the theater) over a lack of first-rate vocal material.
> 
> Arkhipova's habanera is almost a curate's egg, with its initial shot-out-of-the-gate tempo and its Russian text. I've long admired this singer, but encountering her in this repertoire required a few minutes of adjustment. Ultimately I'd say that once it settles down from frantic to merely brisk it's pretty good for what it is, even if I'm not crazy about what it is, and Arkhipova does offer some arresting touches which sound intelligent and imaginative and would no doubt be even more impressive if I knew what she was saying. Does she sound seductive? Not to me, but then who am I to judge what what a hotheaded, young, heterosexual Spanish dragoon might find attractive? Maybe he's impressed by her fluency in Russian.


You say all that I want to say about Waltraud's singing much better than I could. I do love her DVD of Isolde, though. She did seem to sing with a healthy technique as she had a long career with few complaints about her later performances that I am aware of. Perhaps not using her chest voice paid off in the long run. She was certainly one of the most beautiful opera singers and was a fine actress.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I thought Arkhipova had by far the better voice and more individual timbre. Divorced from her looks and stage acting, Meier was rather anonymous, I thought, but, if we are going to go from this short video, I'm willing to believe she made a convincing Carmen on stage. However, as we can't see Arkhipova, I have to go solely from what I can hear and I'm giving this one to Arkhipova.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Again I have little doubt that I will be choosing the least acceptable one but to tell the truth neither is my idea of a Carmen with guts and oozing sex (much as Meier tries and is beautiful.) And that's another thing, Seems unfair to have a staged version in one and not the other.
But Archipova (whose voice I normally prefer) is so fast and the tempos so erratic that I was turned off by her performance. She also lost any chest tones and Meier's was better though certainly not perfect.
Can't wait to see the other votes and probably get a good laugh at myself but what is, is!


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

I'm a fan of both (how about that for a change!)
Meier's voice is very hard to classify (should we, really?) as she performed quite a wide variety of different roles (Isolde, Carmen, Eboli, Kundry) but gravitated towards the lower tessitura. She's intelligent and a very accomplished actress, always a treat to watch.
Arkhipova is definitely a mezzo and sounds more "fulfilling" as Carmen without sounding heavy or matronly. Second recording is also a live one but the conducting goes for some rather weird choices of tempo/dynamics, but Arkhipova still gets the garland.

P.S. As an aside, here's one concert performance from Meier where she sings both Isolde and Brangene's parts (Isolde narration from Act I). She steals the show, in my opinion. Give this a good listen.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Azol said:


> I'm a fan of both (how about that for a change!)
> Meier's voice is very hard to classify (should we, really?) as she performed quite a wide variety of different roles (Isolde, Carmen, Eboli, Kundry) but gravitated towards the lower tessitura. She's intelligent and a very accomplished actress, always a treat to watch.
> Arkhipova is definitely a mezzo and sounds more "fulfilling" as Carmen without sounding heavy or matronly. Second recording is also a live one but the conducting goes for some rather weird choices of tempo/dynamics, but Arkhipova still gets the garland.
> 
> P.S. As an aside, here's one concert performance from Meier where she sings both Isolde and Brangene's parts (Isolde narration from Act I). She steals the show, in my opinion. *Give this a good listen.*


I'm listening, but what I hear confirms my feeling that Meier's success was a case of mind over matter. A fine performer with a voice best described as serviceable.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I thought Arkhipova had by far the better voice and more individual timbre. Divorced from her looks and stage acting, Meier was rather anonymous, I thought, but, if we are going to go from this short video, I'm willing to believe she made a convincing Carmen on stage. However, as we can't see Arkhipova, I have to go solely from what I can hear and I'm giving this one to Arkhipova.


Agree. I have mixed feelings about Meier. I watch her supreme Kundry in a Parsifal directed by Harry Kupfer. Her acting is so immense that it transforms this Eurotrash production into a piece of high art. Convinced that she is the Kundry of the age, I sought out the studio recordings (one with Goodall and one with Barenboim) and was disappointed. "Anonymous" is the correct word to describe her singing in the studio. All that impressions about the deep understanding of Kundry's complex psychology weren't retained audio-only.

I have similar opinions about Anna Moffo, Teresa Stratas, and Maria Ewing. Experiencing them act _and_ sing is more pleasurable than listening to them on discs.


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