# Which sopranos had the most spectacular high notes for you?



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

1. Sutherland
2. Nilsson
3. Young Callas
4. Young Marton
5. Dimitrova
6. A. Marc
7. Price
8. E. Podles.... not a soprano, BUT
9. Varnay
10. Dessay


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Dame Joan Sutherland . :angel:

Beverly Sills.
Lucia Popp.
Christina Deutekom.
Natalie Dessay .


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Sutherland
Callas
Nilsson
Sills
Radvanovsky
Caballe
Ponselle


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

1) Sutherland (who'd have guessed...)





2) Antonella Bandelli 





3) June Anderson





4) Montserrat Caballe





5) Birgit Nilson





6) Frida Leider





7) Ingaborg Hallstein (I'm usually less impressed with canary bird voices, but the accuracy and crystalline timbre....flawless)





8) Lucia Popp





9) Cecilia Gasdia (those _onsets_! omg.....)





10) Martina Arroyo


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I never paid Leider much mind, but she had a thrilling top in this excerpt. She sort of sounded like a lyric on serious steroids. I will have to check her out. I believe I read sh Also I hadn't listened to Popp in years. She sounds like her head is made out of a bell, it is so resonant. Thanks for the effort you took for your answer.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Of the sopranos recorded in their primes during my lifetime, Nilsson and Sutherland produced the most extraordinary sound from about high A on up: free, brilliant, powerful, and sometimes downright incredible.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I don't know the specifics of the ranges for the above mentioned sopranos, but go to about 15:00 here...






Or, in a very different vein, 12:00 here...


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I can only go by recordings, but I would say Sutherland and Callas.

Sutherland because she did and Callas because you didn't expect her to.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> I can only go by recordings, but I would say Sutherland and Callas.
> 
> Sutherland because she did and Callas because you didn't expect her to.
> 
> N.


Both singers had the notes, but with Sutherland I looked forward to them.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Both singers had the notes, but with Sutherland I looked forward to them.


A perfectly placed mumble vs imperfect clear diction


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Becca and Wooduck: "word" as the young people say. Bravo!
I only like early Callas, but the high notes in her early Armida when she was still fat were astounding:



. When she recorded this again around 2 years later one could notice a deterioration in the volume and quality of the acuti. it was like milk that would sour after couple of weeks. Her high notes had an expiration date. You also heard her at top form in the Aida from Mexico City. One was surprised her singing didn't trigger an earthquake. Not beautiful like Sutherland's top, but possibly even larger and more thrilling!!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Becca and Wooduck: "word" as the young people say. Bravo!
> I only like early Callas, but the high notes in her early Armida when she was still fat were astounding:
> 
> 
> ...


It was interesting to hear that Callas Armida bit again. It's excitingly sung, but I've always had the nagging feeling that she was never really meant to be singing high Ds and Ebs. They're quite piercing and the vibrato on them is slow - not yet a wobble but, viewed in retrospect, a wobble in the making.

I wasn't aware that young people say "word." My word! What word is "word" a new word for? In other words, what's the word on word? The word police need to know. Sorry to be wordy, but in the beginning was the word. Say the word and I'll stop: a word to the wise is sufficient, if the word is wise.


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

First, I would go with young fat Callas. She can start the opera sounding like a Dramatic Mezzo then end it with an explosive Eb6. It's not a perfectly-round shimmery note but it's like a laser beam that I'm sure pinned many in their seats. That's an effect I'm always looking forward to. 
After her vocal decline, anything above Bb5 became a completely different story. And that's when I guess everyone stopped looking forward to Callas acuti and started craving more meaty voce di petto. 
The high Eb in gloria all'egitto is still regarded by many as the greatest ever recorded. And to quote Simionato: "The first time we sang together was in Mexico in 1950, where she sang the top E-flat in the second-act finale of Aida. I can still remember the effect of that note in the opera house—it was like a star!"

I guess we all agree about Sutherland and Nilsson. June Anderson's high notes are pretty exciting too in their clarity and accuracy. 
For anything lighter and above F6, I would go with Natalie Dessay. Her high notes are so effortless, pure and natural. And contrary to, say, Hallstein or Popp, we have actual live recordings of those supernatural sounds.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> It was interesting to hear that Callas Armida bit again. It's excitingly sung, but I've always had the nagging feeling that she was never really meant to be singing high Ds and Ebs. They're quite piercing and the vibrato on them is slow - not yet a wobble but, viewed in retrospect, a wobble in the making.
> 
> I wasn't aware that young people say "word." My word! What word is "word" a new word for? In other words, what's the word on word? The word police need to know. Sorry to be wordy, but in the beginning was the word. Say the word and I'll stop: a word to the wise is sufficient, if the word is wise.


I actually think Callas was a dramatic mezzo (which makes sense if you think the roles she first started studying in Athens were Leonore in Fidelio, Isolde and Brunhilde). I think Trivella (or Hidalgo, or both) mistook the dark mezzo character of her voice (which must have been coupled with a big sound) as the type of dramatic heft associated with a dramatic soprano. That's why I think it's amazing that she makes the notes at all (and, of course in later years she didn't).

Sutherland was a dramatic soprano (as was Nilson) and so had the power AND the notes. I wasn't sure how to comment on this thread because I don't consider Callas a soprano, but she classed herself as such. It feels like we need a contraltos and mezzos low notes thread.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I wasn't aware that young people say "word." My word! What word is "word" a new word for? In other words, what's the word on word? The word police need to know. Sorry to be wordy, but in the beginning was the word. Say the word and I'll stop: a word to the wise is sufficient, if the word is wise.[/QUOTE]
Word
"Word" is the shortened form of the phrase: "my word is my bond" which was originated by inmates in U.S. prisons. The longer phrase was shortened to "word is bond" before becoming "word," which is most commonly used. It basically means "truth." Or "to speak the truth."


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I actually think Callas was a dramatic mezzo (which makes sense if you think the roles she first started studying in Athens were Leonore in Fidelio, Isolde and Brunhilde). I think Trivella (or Hidalgo, or both) mistook the dark mezzo character of her voice (which must have been coupled with a big sound) as the type of dramatic heft associated with a dramatic soprano. That's why I think it's amazing that she makes the notes at all (and, of course in later years she didn't).
> 
> Sutherland was a dramatic soprano (as was Nilson) and so had the power AND the notes. I wasn't sure how to comment on this thread because I don't consider Callas a soprano, but she classed herself as such. It feels like we need a contraltos and mezzos low notes thread.
> 
> N.


Maria did sing Turandot, Lucia, La Somnambula, Leonore and Norma quite spectacularly in her fat days, which are all solidly soprano roles.Her high notes sound even more astonishing as they are unexpected!
One of my very favorite Wagnerians, Astrid Varnay, also had a very mezzo sounding middle and lower register that soared to spectacular high notes. She moved easily into mezzo roles when the top left her like Callas. I think Callas could have sung longer if she had sung Amneris, but she chose not to.
. Remember the fabulous Shirley Verrett was hard to define, singing spectacularly as a mezzo, but was also one of the best Norma's and Toscas around, with a solid high D.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Maria did sing Turandot, Lucia, La Somnambula, Leonore and Norma quite spectacularly in her fat days, which are all solidly soprano roles.Her high notes sound even more astonishing as they are unexpected!
> One of my very favorite Wagnerians, Astrid Varnay, also had a very mezzo sounding middle and lower register that soared to spectacular high notes. She moved easily into mezzo roles when the top left her like Callas. I think Callas could have sung longer if she had sung Amneris, but she chose not to.
> . Remember the fabulous Shirley Verrett was hard to define, singing spectacularly as a mezzo, but was also one of the best Norma's and Toscas around, with a solid high D.


Yes, I also think Varnay was a dramatic mezzo, I have a recording of her singing Elsa from the Met (her debut I think) and when I first heard it I thought, but why aren't you singing Ortrud?

Perhaps darkness of tone for opera singers is a bit like age for straight actors. You couldn't have an 18 year old play King Lear and although I think someone did a radical Romeo and Juliet where the title roles were played by actors in their sixties, but in the normal course of events you'd want actors in their twenties. Likewise Wagner wrote Elsa for soprano and Ortrud for mezzo for a reason. It's the colour of a voice that dictates whether they have a soprano or mezzo (and whether a lyric or dramatic) voice. Range is a related, yet separate matter. Put another way, I believe it's possible to play all the notes on a violin on a piano, but that doesn't make a piano a violin!

N.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Joan Sutherland, Anna Netrebko, and a soprano I heard at Virginia Opera two years ago, Kelly Cae Hogan.


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## kangxi (Jan 24, 2014)

The incomparable Gundula Janowitz. Pure burnished silver.


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## Rossiniano (Jul 28, 2017)

1. Sutherland!!!!! 
2. Callas, and even the E-flats in alt in her late _Traviata_ performances and 1959 _Lucia_ excite me!
3. Nilsson because of the big sound even through I'm not sure that one would classify them a really high notes!
4. A number of others on a good night who all sound more or less the same at least _in alt_! Think Anderson, Devia, Swenson, Pratt, etc.

Edit: Since I never heard her in person, I put Callas second but I can only imagine what the effect would have been when experienced live!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I heard both Nilsson and Sutherland live on stage and must say that Nilsson was more impressive. Sutherland always seemed to be holding back, though Nilsson was not demented, either. Her _acuti_ seemed like laser beams coming out at you. If you want demented, again live, you should've heard Rysanek on a good night! She was very uneven, but exciting (I'm thinking mostly German repertoire). Her scream when Siegmund pulls out Wotan's sword from the Ash Tree was epic!

But for demented (alas, only on live recordings) it must be early Callas the wildcat!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I never paid Leider much mind, but she had a thrilling top in this excerpt. She sort of sounded like a lyric on serious steroids. I will have to check her out. I believe I read sh Also I hadn't listened to Popp in years. She sounds like her head is made out of a bell, it is so resonant. Thanks for the effort you took for your answer.


if I didn't enjoy analyzing opera like a geek I wouldn't be here 

in my opinion though, Leider _always_ sounded like a lyric. the voice was effortless, free from strain, steel or pushing and possessed a youthful brightness that gave even her heaviest roles femininity (I mean.....I assume Brunhilde is supposed to be beautiful). the irony is that, while lyric voices are much more common than dramatic, the ability to sing dramatically is far more common than the ability to sing in a truly lyric manner. lyrical singing needs to be subtle, thoughtless, seemingly effortless; whereas, dramatic singing typically involves someone in tremendous emotional _pain_, and flaws in the voice and/or technique can, in certain instances, even enhance the piece. at the very least, they're more tolerable than the same issue would be in a lyrical piece.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> Leider _always_ sounded like a lyric. the voice was effortless, free from strain, steel or pushing and possessed a youthful brightness that gave even her heaviest roles femininity (I mean.....I assume Brunhilde is supposed to be beautiful).


Frida Leider obviously had enough power to sing the big Wagner parts to great acclaim, but she never sounded heavy or pushed, and she had the technique to sing a wide variety of lighter roles and even coloratura. Such versatility appears to have been normal among dramatic singers of her and earlier generations. Lilli Lehmann, Lillian Nordica, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, and Johanna Gadski were all technically accomplished singers who sang a great variety of roles generally assigned nowadays to different fachs. The lesson appears to be that if you have a complete technique and enough volume (remembering that a well-produced voice projects well and seems larger), the distinctions between such categories as "lyric" and "dramatic" break down and you'll sing almost anything within your vocal range.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Frida Leider obviously had enough power to sing the big Wagner parts to great acclaim, but she never sounded heavy or pushed, and she had the technique to sing a wide variety of lighter roles and even coloratura. Such versatility appears to have been normal among dramatic singers of her and earlier generations. Lilli Lehmann, Lillian Nordica, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, and Johanna Gadski were *all technically accomplished singers who sang a great variety of roles generally assigned nowadays to different fachs*. The lesson appears to be that if you have a complete technique and enough volume (remembering that a well-produced voice projects well and seems larger), the distinctions between such categories as "lyric" and "dramatic" break down and you'll sing almost anything within your vocal range.


Thereby demonstrating that the so-called fach system is very arbitrary and, in many cases, unduly restrictive.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Becca said:


> Thereby demonstrating that the so-called fach system is very arbitrary and, in many cases, unduly restrictive.


Yep, I always feel it was a shame we all missed Nilsson's Susanna and Pamina! :devil:

A distinction between lyric and dramatic is the part of the fach system that I think works, it's when it tries to go beyond that. It also works as a great way to categorise _roles_ rather than singers. If used for the former it can be a good shorthand for people who aren't as well informed as some about operatic repertoire.

N.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

The Conte said:


> Yes, I also think Varnay was a dramatic mezzo, I have a recording of her singing Elsa from the Met (her debut I think) and when I first heard it I thought, but why aren't you singing Ortrud?
> 
> Perhaps darkness of tone for opera singers is a bit like age for straight actors. You couldn't have an 18 year old play King Lear and although I think someone did a radical Romeo and Juliet where the title roles were played by actors in their sixties, but in the normal course of events you'd want actors in their twenties. Likewise Wagner wrote Elsa for soprano and Ortrud for mezzo for a reason. It's the colour of a voice that dictates whether they have a soprano or mezzo (and whether a lyric or dramatic) voice. Range is a related, yet separate matter. Put another way, I believe it's possible to play all the notes on a violin on a piano, but that doesn't make a piano a violin!
> 
> N.


Varnay was a mezzo throughout most of her career. she could have been called soprano in her 20s, but throughout most of her career, the voice was solidly mezzo, until a few years before she retired where she dropped to straight up contralto.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> Varnay was a mezzo throughout most of her career. she could have been called soprano in her 20s, but throughout most of her career, the voice was solidly mezzo, until a few years before she retired where she dropped to straight up contralto.


In her Ring from Bayreuth she definitely had mezzo richness galore BUT her high notes were gleaming and very secure and thrilling. Often a dramatic soprano is described as having a soprano's range but with the richness of a mezzo in the middle and lower parts of their voice. The same can be said of the recording of arias from Il Trovatore by Varnay. I love this richness in her voice and am so glad she sang soprano. Many knowledgeable opera critics are huge fans of her Bruinhilde and Isolde. The same can be said for Shirley Verrett who had one of the most beautiful mezzo voices of all time IMHO, but was a sensational Norma and Tosca. Jessye Norman was not the ideal voice for Sieglinde with her abundance of dark mezzo richness, BUT she was one of my favorite singers in the role. Balalaikaboy, I mean you no disrespect, but merely offer my differing opinion, friend.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> In her Ring from Bayreuth she definitely had mezzo richness galore BUT her high notes were gleaming and very secure and thrilling. Often a dramatic soprano is described as having a soprano's range but with the richness of a mezzo in the middle and lower parts of their voice. The same can be said of the recording of arias from Il Trovatore by Varnay. I love this richness in her voice and am so glad she sang soprano. Many knowledgeable opera critics are huge fans of her Bruinhilde and Isolde. The same can be said for Shirley Verrett who had one of the most beautiful mezzo voices of all time IMHO, but was a sensational Norma and Tosca. Jessye Norman was not the ideal voice for Sieglinde with her abundance of dark mezzo richness, BUT she was one of my favorite singers in the role. Balalaikaboy, I mean you no disrespect, but merely offer my differing opinion, friend.


I speak debate as a second language. no worries love.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> Yep, I always feel it was a shame we all missed Nilsson's Susanna and Pamina! :devil:
> 
> A distinction between lyric and dramatic is the part of the fach system that I think works, it's when it tries to go beyond that. It also works as a great way to categorise _roles_ rather than singers. If used for the former it can be a good shorthand for people who aren't as well informed as some about operatic repertoire.
> 
> N.


Fach is a standardized system of classification created to aid opera companies in figuring out who to cast in a given role. Singers shouldn't define themselves in terms of fachs, or let their supposed fachs dictate what they will sing. Some singers will fit into specific fachs very well, while others can embrace two or three of the usual categories comfortably and give people with nothing better to do endless thrills arguing about what fach they "really" belong in. Why would we expect nature to conform to our conceptualizations?


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Fach is a standardized system of classification created to aid opera companies in figuring out who to cast in a given role. Singers shouldn't define themselves in terms of fachs, or let their supposed fachs dictate what they will sing. Some singers will fit into specific fachs very well, while others can embrace two or three of the usual categories comfortably and give people with nothing better to do endless thrills arguing about what fach they "really" belong in. Why would we expect nature to conform to our conceptualizations?


I agree, I'm saying that rather than completely throwing out the fach system, it should be used to categorise roles, rather than singers.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> I agree, I'm saying that rather than completely throwing out the fach system, it should be used to categorise roles, rather than singers.
> 
> N.


That makes sense to me. But watch out for Balalaikaboy!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> "Word" is the shortened form of the phrase: "my word is my bond" which was originated by inmates in U.S. prisons. The longer phrase was shortened to "word is bond" before becoming "word," which is most commonly used. It basically means "truth." Or "to speak the truth."


I knew the expression but was unaware of its etymological origins. Thank you for the info Seattle. I am so going to annoy friends and family with this piece of trivia. For this, much thanks.:lol:

Addendum. Leaving the word relief in the last sentence made no sense so the word was dropped!

Word!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> That makes sense to me. But watch out for Balalaikaboy!


Should you not have said "that makes faching sense to me?" Oops, sorry mods, but i couldn't resist it. Oooh, I'm in a funny mood tonight!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Both singers had the notes, but with Sutherland I looked forward to them.


Before too many people "like" this, I should expand upon it and say that with Sutherland I look forward _mainly_ to the high notes, whereas with Callas I look forward to all the other notes. If some audio tech wizard could splice imperceptibly into Callas's recordings Sutherland's notes from high A up, we'd actually have the soprano assoluta that everybody talks about.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> That makes sense to me. But watch out for Balalaikaboy!


I know, however since Balalaikaboy and I have different voice categorisation systems we can't clash as it's as if we are both speaking two different languages.

N.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> That makes sense to me. But watch out for Balalaikaboy!


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## Scott in PA (Aug 13, 2016)

I don't think I saw mention of Edita Gruberova, who possessed a spectacular top voice. I offer this Richard Strauss song _Kling!_, which includes a high c near the end. Gruberova gives a full-throttled attack!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Scott in PA said:


> I don't think I saw mention of Edita Gruberova, who possessed a spectacular top voice. I offer this Richard Strauss song _Kling!_, which includes a high c near the end. Gruberova gives a full-throttled attack!


Not available in my neck of the woods.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Scott in PA said:


> I don't think I saw mention of Edita Gruberova, who possessed a spectacular top voice. I offer this Richard Strauss song _Kling!_, which includes a high c near the end. Gruberova gives a full-throttled attack!


at the beginning her her career: yes
after that: um.....let's just say I'm going to have to politely disagree


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tuoksu said:


> First, I would go with young fat Callas. She can start the opera sounding like a Dramatic Mezzo then end it with an explosive Eb6. It's not a perfectly-round shimmery note but it's like a laser beam that I'm sure pinned many in their seats. That's an effect I'm always looking forward to.
> After her vocal decline....
> 
> I guess we all agree about Sutherland and Nilsson.
> For anything lighter and above F6, I would go with Natalie Dessay.


Callas could still nail an astounding E-flat even in 1957 (in mid-decline) - see Dallas rehearsal Puritani aria "Vien diletto," or Cologne Sonnambula (with diminuendo!), though not with the Assoluta voice of 49 - 53. I noticed Sutherland's _acuti_ always kick off from a lower note (G?), Nilsson just hits them detached from anything else (Stemme does the same) in the phrase. I don't like that at all.


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## davidglasgow (Aug 19, 2017)

For me, I particularly enjoy when dramatic voices expand on the high notes

Gertrude Grob-Prandl in Robert le Diable





Eva Turner in Turandot





Leonie Rysanek in Lohengrin





And of course when Joan Sutherland goes into overdrive 
Joan Sutherland in Attila


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> Callas could still nail an astounding E-flat even in 1957 (in mid-decline) - see Dallas rehearsal Puritani aria "Vien diletto," or Cologne Sonnambula (with diminuendo!), though not with the Assoluta voice of 49 - 53. I noticed Sutherland's _acuti_ always kick off from a lower note (G?), Nilsson just hits them detached from anything else (Stemme does the same) in the phrase. I don't like that at all.


That habit of Nilsson's is odd, isn't it? Sometimes I find it effective - a spear thrust that pins you to your seat - and sometimes not. There are some exciting attacks in her Brunnhilde, Elektra and Turandot, where the effect is heroic and almost unreal. I've never known Stemme's voice to make the same stunning effect.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> That habit of Nilsson's is odd, isn't it? Sometimes I find it effective - a spear thrust that pins you to your seat - and sometimes not. There are some exciting attacks in her Brunnhilde, Elektra and Turandot, where the effect is heroic and almost unreal. I've never known Stemme's voice to make the same stunning effect.


No, I find Stemme's voice much inferior in size, power, brilliance and thrust, not to mention steadiness. I think she has the same way of approaching some of her highest notes, as detached single notes, almost unconnected to the phrase.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

davidglasgow said:


> And of course when Joan Sutherland goes into overdrive
> Joan Sutherland in Attila


We need to freeze time and have Joan lock in that clear voice and bold style, there is some swagger here not just technical execution.....just record her entire output at this glorious time! Brava


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I find it 'interesting' to observe how almost all the discussion here has been of sopranos of the past, barely even a mention of those who have been active since 2000. Do you believe that the current ones do not have any spectacular high notes? Or is it that they aren't worth mentioning?


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## davidglasgow (Aug 19, 2017)

Becca said:


> I find it 'interesting' to observe how almost all the discussion here has been of sopranos of the past, barely even a mention of those who have been active since 2000. Do you believe that the current ones do not have any spectacular high notes? Or is it that they aren't worth mentioning?


I've recently enjoyed recordings by these current sopranos 

Anna Pirozzi





Liudmyla Monastyrska 





Sondra Radvanovsky





Tamara Wilson


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Speaking for myself, I can hardly think of a single soprano singing today that is as exciting as any of the recent or distant past. None of them would induce me to follow them. I once thought Radvanovsky would be the one, after a _Trovatore_ Leonora in San Francisco. But, subsequent performances (of other roles) proved disappointing, especially one role that I would've thought ideal, _Norma_ after the Leonora (again in San Francisco).

One of the facets of a singer's career is no longer quite the same as in the past, and that is widely distributed commercial recordings of complete operas. *That* is what made a singer famous beyond one's local opera house in the 20th Century.

We have YouTube now, and mostly poorly made videos of indifferent productions that should never have made it to film. One can stream operas from here or there. But I find most of it uninteresting. The Live from the Met in HD has done some work to restore my faith, but *the singers* are not as interesting any more. Most of the *productions* serve only the director's interests, not the composers' and certainly not the librettists'.

Discuss!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

MAS said:


> One of the facets of a singer's career is no longer quite the same as in the past, and that is widely distributed commercial recordings of complete operas. *That* is what made a singer famous beyond one's local opera house in the 20th Century.
> 
> Discuss!


That is only true for the last half of the 20th century. Until the late 1940's, complete opera recordings were uncommon, it was 78rpm records of arias and, to a lesser extent, broadcasts which made the name.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

davidglasgow said:


> I've recently enjoyed recordings by these current sopranos
> 
> Anna Pirozzi
> 
> ...


Good singers, but would you be able to identify them behind a screen? To my ear, the only one with a really individual timbre is Radvanovsky.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> *Speaking for myself, I can hardly think of a single soprano singing today that is as exciting as any of the recent or distant past. None of them would induce me to follow them.* I once thought Radvanovsky would be the one, after a _Trovatore_ Leonora in San Francisco. But, subsequent performances (of other roles) proved disappointing, especially one role that I would've thought ideal, _Norma_ after the Leonora (again in San Francisco).
> 
> *One of the facets of a singer's career is no longer quite the same as in the past, and that is widely distributed commercial recordings of complete operas*. *That* *is what made a singer famous beyond one's local opera house in the 20th Century. *
> 
> ...


I wonder how contemporary singers would stack up if I could easily compare them with those on the abundant complete recordings of the 1960s through the 1980s, the era when I was getting to know opera, buying and borrowing records, and hearing them broadcast on the superior classical radio I was lucky enough to enjoy in Philadelphia and Boston. Was it a (relatively) golden age of opera, or just a golden age for opera recordings? My impressions of the singers I hear now suggest both.

Of course there was that earlier golden age of Caruso, Ponselle, Galli-Curci, Schumann-Heink, Stracciari, Melchior, Leider and company, but let's not let that distract us...


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## davidglasgow (Aug 19, 2017)

MAS said:


> Speaking for myself, I can hardly think of a single soprano singing today that is as exciting as any of the recent or distant past. None of them would induce me to follow them. I once thought Radvanovsky would be the one, after a _Trovatore_ Leonora in San Francisco. But, subsequent performances (of other roles) proved disappointing, especially one role that I would've thought ideal, _Norma_ after the Leonora (again in San Francisco).
> 
> One of the facets of a singer's career is no longer quite the same as in the past, and that is widely distributed commercial recordings of complete operas. *That* is what made a singer famous beyond one's local opera house in the 20th Century.
> 
> ...


I think you are right to be concerned at the lack of quality control now evident thanks to Youtube and the internet. Despite belonging to a time of digital recording, singers of today may increasingly be known to posterity through amateur mobile-phone resolution videos and sound recorded on phones which make cassette tapes sound hifi.

From an archival point of view it is worth noticing how recordings made just a few years ago - which in the past would have existed somewhere as a physical tape or record - can disappear into the ether when your phone dies or digital formats change or your computer conks out or a filesharing company collapses... resources such as Operashare disappeared overnight.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Some interesting points. One thing to bear in mind is that it can be misleading to compare studio recordings with live performances. That said, going on live performances alone in the past twenty years it does feel that there are fewer star singers around now than in the past. My main worry is the lack of Verdi baritones and mezzos, we are also coming to the end of some wonderful sopranos (Dessay and Gheorghiu aren't singing much anymore, Netrebko hasn't developed as she could have done and Yoncheva is a good all rounder, but no more than that). We do still have some superb tenors (Florez, Kaufmann and Calleja cover all bases and that's without mentioning Beczala and Grigolo).

Sopranos to watch out for:

Dramatic Soprano: Catherine Foster

Lyric Soprano: Lisette Oropesa

N.


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## Johnmusic (Oct 4, 2017)

I would add Tetrazzini and Galli-Gurci to the list.


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## Johnmusic (Oct 4, 2017)

I would add Tetrazzini and Galli-Gurci and this scene with Joan SUTHERLAND & F. BONISOLLI "Dio ti ringrazio" I Masnadieri (Verdi) 





Joan's voice is like an even bomb with the high notes like beautiful explosions.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The only singers who excite me today are Christine Goerke, Jamie Barton, Tamara Wilson and David Hansen. Other than Hanson, all of the others I would rather hear counterparts in the past. Nostalgia rules my operatic tastes. I mostly listen to recordings and those are going away. Thank god for Youtube.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> The only singers who excite me today are Christine Goerke, Jamie Barton, Tamara Wilson and David Hansen. Other than Hanson, all of the others I would rather hear counterparts in the past. Nostalgia rules my operatic tastes. I mostly listen to recordings and those are going away. Thank god for Youtube.


Old age is not for sissies.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Johnmusic said:


> I would add Tetrazzini and Galli-Gurci and this scene with Joan SUTHERLAND & F. BONISOLLI "Dio ti ringrazio" I Masnadieri (Verdi)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks you for sharing, stunning Dame Joan. :angel:


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## Johnmusic (Oct 4, 2017)

Seattleoperafan said:


> The only singers who excite me today are Christine Goerke, Jamie Barton, Tamara Wilson and David Hansen. Other than Hanson, all of the others I would rather hear counterparts in the past. Nostalgia rules my operatic tastes. I mostly listen to recordings and those are going away. Thank god for Youtube.


I too tend to love old timers. Of course there are exceptions. Joan Sutherland is one.

Regards-John


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Johnmusic said:


> I too tend to love old timers. Of course there are exceptions. Joan Sutherland is one.
> 
> Regards-John


You do realize that Sutherland's "Art of the Prima Donna" was recorded 57 years ago? They say you're only as old as you feel, but...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> You do realize that Sutherland's "Art of the Prima Donna" was recorded 57 years ago? They say you're only as old as you feel, but...


And still adored by her devoted fans, even if they are born much later then recording.
We enjoy in silence.


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