# Round One: Lakme's The Bell Song: LuisaTetrazzini and Sumi Jo



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

All can read this. It won't spoil anything. Some may scoff at this and consider it fluff but it is one of my favorite arias. All four of our contestants are really spectacular. Out of this world spectacular. The other contestants will be Mesple, Pons, early Sutherland and early Callas. The voting could be all over the map.




Italian Coloratura Soprano Luisa Tetrazzini (1871--1940) / Dov'e l'indiana bruna - Bell Song / Lakme (Delibes) / Recorded: March 18, 1911 --




Orchestra: Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Paolo Olmi Soprano Vocals: Sumi Jo Composer: Léo Delibes


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

You'll find me well ensconced in my little corner. Any takers?
Tetrazzini is too grandmotherly for me although I simply adore her nuances.
I just do not like her voice -- period!
Sumi Jo for me.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I really dislike that Tetrazzini eschews vibrato in the beginning of the aria; it makes for uncomfortable listening. Once she’s into the _coloratura , _especially _staccati,_ she’s better. Tetrazzini sings only one verse, I suspect because of the recording limitations of her era.

Sumi Jo has all that’s needed to deliver a spectacular version of the aria. Moreover, she has a warmer voice than the usually squeaky one for this repertoire. She also can vary the dynamics, she can trill and emit beautiful tone.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

The ladies didn't have an equal starting position for me, because @Seattleoperafan made me fall in love with Tetrazzini recently, while Sumi Yo dissatisfied me as Adalgisa next to Bartolli. However, I admit, that Sumi Yo is pretty good here, there is no fault I can find with her singing this difficult aria. It's just that Tetrazzini is more interesting. One moment she sounds like a bar singer with loose sexual morals (maybe not Lakme exactly  ), the next moment she ascends to those hights as a bird with an absolute ease. She is my recent love and I have to vote for her.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I don't find this one of Tetrazzini's better moments, and as is often the case the exigencies of recording are partly to blame. Her staccati and her trill are predictably fine, but otherwise nothing in this abridged performance captivates me. Her vibratoless effect in the opening section may be meant to convey exoticism, but I don't care for it.

Sumi Jo could afford a little more urgency in the quick moments; I was finding seven somewhat languid minutes of prettiness a bit wearisome. But prettiness it is, and of course her voice, unlike Tetrazzini's, is well captured. Jo gets this one.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I don't find this one of Tetrazzini's better moments, and as is often the case the exigencies of recording are partly to blame. Her staccati and her trill are predictably fine, but otherwise nothing in this abridged performance captivates me. Her vibratoless effect in the opening section may be meant to convey exoticism, but I don't care for it.
> 
> Sumi Jo could afford a little more urgency in the quick moments; I was finding seven somewhat languid minutes of prettiness a bit wearisome. But prettiness it is, and of course her voice, unlike Tetrazzini's, is well captured. Jo gets this one.


I have heard better singing by Tetrazzini but still the bells do tinkle and I knew BBSVK and some others are big fans of hers so I thought it was prudent to include her. Glad you guys liked Sumi Jo. I am not that familiar with her but I was very impressed with her singing here. Her voice is not huge like the last two ladies in the contest but she is no canary bird either.
The next round will be the biggy.


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## ewilkros (8 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I have heard better singing by Tetrazzini but still the bells do tinkle and I knew BBSVK and some others are big fans of hers so I thought it was prudent to include her. Glad you guys liked Sumi Jo. I am not that familiar with her but I was very impressed with her singing here. Her voice is not huge like the last two ladies in the contest but she is no canary bird either.
> The next round will be the biggy.


Why not include my personal fave in this opera (not just this aria!), Lily Pons? That way you could have Lakmé's from three different planets...


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I thought I'd be going for Tetrazzini here, and indeed her staccati are phenomenal, but Sumi Jo really surprised me here. The voice is warmer than I usually think it is and she makes a lot more of it musically, not just tossing it off as a coloratura showpiece. Her version gave me the most pleasure and she gets my vote.


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## IgorS (Jan 7, 2018)

How 5 voices for each one can be 55.6% - 55.6%?


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

IgorS said:


> How 5 voices for each one can be 55.6% - 55.6%?


Because there is an option to vote for both of them.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

IgorS said:


> How 5 voices for each one can be 55.6% - 55.6%?


I couldn't decide and voted for both.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

It's not music I'm particularly enthused about so want a good singer if I'm going to listen to it. So Tetrazzini it is.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Brilliant contest and great selection of singers. Mado Robin was another who sang this (but I doubt she would beat all the singers lined up).

It takes a while for Tetrazzini to warm up and I don't like her fixed tones at the beginning. Once we get to the coloratura we are on her home terf and she does wonderfully. (Although the final note is dreadfully flat and dries out by the end. There can be more to this aria than mere puff, but this recording is worth hearing for the bright, crystal ornamentation of Tetrazzini.

I've never been much fond of Sumi Jo and I've just thought of her as another of the countless bland coloraturas. I saw her as the Fiakermilli in Arabella (and that's a role where souless runs, roulades and trills are almost all you need). She does well here and sings with more style and feeling than Tetrazzini, but it all depends on what she delivers in the coloratura passages. She does very well in them.

Jo wins!

N.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

I think I'll never be able to distinguish vibrato from wobble. But here Tsaraslondon directed my attention at the absence of vibrato in Luisa Tetrazzini's singing, or at least in a part of it. Now I'm intrigued if it could be switched on and off optionally. I wouldn't say I dislike her singing. Two singers just do it in their own way. Sumi Jo is closer to me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

ColdGenius said:


> I think I'll never be able to distinguish vibrato from wobble. But here Tsaraslondon directed my attention at the absence of vibrato in Luisa Tetrazzini's singing, or at least in a part of it. Now I'm intrigued if it could be switched on and off optionally. I wouldn't say I dislike her singing. Two singers just do it in their own way. Sumi Jo is closer to me.


This is vibrato: 





This is wobble:


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