# Who is the most underrated soprano of the 20th-21st centuries?



## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

in my opinion, it would have to be *Marisa Galvany*. her voice was basically like Maria Callas, but less elegant and with much more secure high notes. a dramatic mezzo lower/middle register and an effortless, spinning dramatic coloratura head voice all rolled into the same instrument. I can't think of another singer who could manage to sing Lucia and then turn around and sing Amneris. to some, the voice was rough and controversial, but I think is a delight to listen to in any repertoire.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Eleanor Steber --although some might not think she was underrated enough, in which case Leyla Gencer would have to be my choice.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Eleanor Steber --although some might not think she was underrated enough, in which case Leyla Gencer would have to be my choice.


Leyla Gencer is up there for me too


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Gravely underrated:
Ingeborg Hallstein
Eileen Farrell, great voice, wonderful musicianship, broad repertoire. I think she was much better than Leontyne Price.
Eleanor Steber. Too bad her fabulous prime was cut short.

Fairly underrated:
Helga Dernesch
Hidegard Behrens

Mildly underrated:
Claudia Muzio. She _was_ La Divina of her time, a greater _artist _ than Rosa Ponselle, However, her legacy is not that well treasured as of the latter. 
Frida Leider and Marjorje Lawrence. Much more thrilling than Flagstad and Nilsson, but never regarded that highly.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> in my opinion, it would have to be *Marisa Galvany*. her voice was basically like Maria Callas, but less elegant and with much more secure high notes. a dramatic mezzo lower/middle register and an effortless, spinning dramatic coloratura head voice all rolled into the same instrument. I can't think of another singer who could manage to sing Lucia and then turn around and sing Amneris. to some, the voice was rough and controversial, but I think is a delight to listen to in any repertoire.


Never heard her before. Listening to these selections and some others on YouTube, I can hear what an exciting effect she could make in the opera house. Lately we're sadly lacking in voices with this kind of dramatic force. I wouldn't make comparisons to Callas, though. The voice is not similar except in its power over a wide range, and Callas was an infinitely subtler musician and imaginative vocal artist than Galvany, who seems to sing almost everything within a dynamic range from mezzo forte to fortissimo and hasn't much in the way of vocal color. This strongly-sung but otherwise unremarkable sleepwalking scene from _Macbeth_ makes the point:


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Never heard her before. Listening to these selections and some other on YouTube, I can hear what an exciting effect she could make in the opera house. Lately we're sadly lacking in voices with this kind of dramatic force. I wouldn't make comparisons to Callas, though. The voice is not similar except in its power over a wide range, and Callas was an infinitely subtler musician and imaginative vocal artist than Galvany, who seems to sing almost everything within a dynamic range from mezzo forte to fortissimo and hasn't much in the way of vocal color. This strongly-sung but otherwise unremarkable sleepwalking scene from _Macbeth_ makes the point:


Dead on, Duck.

Yeah, we've been through this _before_: Elena Suliotis _redivivus_.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Astrid Varnay. Most remember her as a great character mezzo, but although she was the same age as Nilsson, her peak soprano years were a decade before Nilsson and I just LOVE her big, mezzo middle and lower voice and her absolutely gleaming high notes. The best Elektra ever and I like her Bruinhilde better than Nilsson's. Check out the first stereo Ring from Bayreuth in 1953 or 55, I'm not sure. It is astonishing. Such feeling in her performance and so HUGE! She had a much more effective lower voice than Nilsson did, which is often needed for Wagner. She also was incredible in Verdi.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

I'm adding June Anderson to the honorable mention list


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Add Nina Stemme to the list;


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

*Virginia Zeani*






recent times:

*Maria Aleida*


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

albertfallickwang said:


> Add Nina Stemme to the list;


Is she really underrated. I thought she was considered as the worlds greatest active dramatic soprano.

Nina Stemme as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly:


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

sabrina said:


> *Virginia Zeani*


yes! apparently, she is the only soprano Maria Callas ever truly considered a rival. I can't believe I forgot this one



> *Maria Aleida*


*underrated:* yes (a refreshingly warm, dark lyric coloratura with bird-like notes almost an octave above high C) 
*one of the most underrated sopranos of the last 100 years:* no, but thank you for introducing me to her! 

@OT
update: most underrated sopranos (imo)
- Marisa Galvany
- June Anderson
- Frieda Lieder
- Leyla Gencer
- Virginia Zeani
- *Martina Arroyo*


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Astrid Varnay. Most remember her as a great character mezzo, but although she was the same age as Nilsson, her peak soprano years were a decade before Nilsson and I just LOVE her big, mezzo middle and lower voice and her absolutely gleaming high notes. The best Elektra ever and I like her Bruinhilde better than Nilsson's. Check out the first stereo Ring from Bayreuth in 1953 or 55, I'm not sure. It is astonishing. Such feeling in her performance and so HUGE! She had a much more effective lower voice than Nilsson did, which is often needed for Wagner. She also was incredible in Verdi.


Varnay was extraordinary right from her very first stage appearance--a Metropolitan Opera broadcast of _Die Walküre_ on December 6, 1941--the day before Pearl Harbor. Called in as a last-minute replacement for the indisposed Lotte Lehmann, the twenty-three-year-old Varnay created a sensation as Sieglinde opposite the great Lauritz Melchior. Six days later, she made a similar stand-in appearance for another indisposed singer as Brünnhilde in the same opera, and her career was underway.

Making her role debut as Brünnhilde in that fateful December 6 broadcast--the singer Varnay would replace six days later--was another soprano now sadly under-appreciated, Helen Traubel. Though initially confined to lighter Wagnerian roles at the Met, in February of 1941 she gained attention in a memorable Carnegie Hall concert with Melchior conducted by Toscanini, featuring a stirring Brünnhilde's Immolation. Later that year, after Kirsten Flagstad returned to Norway because of the war and Marjorie Lawrence contracted polio, the door was opened for Traubel to become the Met's leading Wagnerian soprano of the 1940s.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Sloe said:


> Is she really underrated. I thought she was considered as the worlds greatest active dramatic soprano.
> 
> Nina Stemme as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly:


Definitely underrated... she hasn't appeared at the Met, thus underrated.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

albertfallickwang said:


> Definitely underrated... she hasn't appeared at the Met, thus underrated.


She has appeared at the Met in The Flying Dutchman and Ariadne auf Naxos. She will in the season 2016-17 appear in Elektra and Tristan und Isolde.


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

Eleanor Steber is a favourite of mine- an outstanding butterfly, still my favourite and a Minnie. What about Anna Moffo, I recall superb La Traviata and Butterfly (highlight only though?)

And Valarie Masterson, another super La Trav


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> I'm adding June Anderson to the honorable mention list


June Anderson came immediately to my mind as well. It seems she was always being compared with Joan Sutherland, for obvious reasons: same _Fach_, similar looks -- her name even has the same number of syllables! While I don't think her high notes were as full or "easy" as Sutherland's were, to my ears she made up for it by having the more sharply defined tone.

I'd be interested to know what people here think of Aprile Millo, whom I understand was sort of considered Renata Tebaldi's successor, at least by some fans.


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## DonAlfonso (Oct 4, 2014)

I'd nominate Catherine Malfitano, not that she didn't enjoy success or fame during her singing career (after all she sang Tosca to an audience of over a billion people) but because I never see her mentioned on TC.





Actually I find Americans often underrate American singers, Anna Moffo, Frederika van Stade, Kathleen Battle etc Strange from a country that believes it's the best at all things always.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Bellinilover said:


> June Anderson came immediately to my mind as well. It seems she was always being compared with Joan Sutherland, for obvious reasons: same _Fach_, similar looks -- her name even has the same number of syllables! While I don't think her high notes were as full or "easy" as Sutherland's were, to my ears she made up for it by having the more sharply defined tone.


imo, June Anderson is more of a sturdy lyric coloratura than a true dramatic coloratura like Sutherland (or Moser), but yeah, my favorite aspect of June's singing is her seemless legato up and down her range and her precise coloratura second only to Sutherland and Sills.



> I'd be interested to know what people here think of Aprile Millo, whom I understand was sort of considered Renata Tebaldi's successor, at least by some fans.


she's way better than Tebaldi imo. a flawless, golden spinto soprano voice with graceful phrasing and occasional play in the dramatic coloratura territory (one of a the few who can take the interpolated high Eb in the Triumphal March)


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Yashin said:


> Eleanor Steber is a favourite of mine- an outstanding butterfly, still my favourite and a Minnie. *What about Anna Moffo*, I recall superb La Traviata and Butterfly (highlight only though?)
> And Valarie Masterson, another super La Trav


she is a wonderful soprano (with looks to boot!), just not underrated.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Dead on, Duck.
> 
> Yeah, we've been through this _before_: Elena Suliotis _redivivus_.


It was just this evening that I came across a vinyl copy of Suliotis' recital recording!

My vote would go for Hildegard Behrens.
I could also add Frederica Von Stade who I saw in a terrifically sung but ineptly staged Cenerentola.and Huguette Tourangeau - except that they are both mezzos


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Mariella Devia:
Jump to 3:48 or watch the whole clip:


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Ohh yes ... Anja Silja - a Germanic Callas?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Another underrated one Mara Zampieri... best Lady MacBeth ever.






A cold razor voice. people are like wtf when i mention her name.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Saw Anderson perform Lucia, hugely impressive but a little short of captivating.

I wonder how you place Georgiou? I've seen her in several things and her Violetta and particularly Magda in La Rondine were outstanding. I suspect that's the problem she is often good and only occasionally, in the right part, outstanding.

Perhaps you feel she's praised enough?

Anyway I was lucky enough to see her preform this twice and each time she made my spine tingle and like an amputee who's lost a limb, I had the feeling that my hair was standing on end.. I think the recording is better but being easy on the eye never hurt.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Steber at her peak was better than Fleming. Reminded me of Te Kanowa in the extreme beauty of her sound. Similar repertoire. Moffo, before she worked herself to death, was everything... movie star looks, great acting, and the perfect lyric coloratura voice. I saw her late in her career in the 80's in a concert. I saw Steber in a touring Met performance before I knew what I was hearing.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I've often wondered if the Georgiou magic was best experienced live. A beautiful voice but nothing exceptional to me from recordings. She is a looker, which helps live.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I saw Anja Silja live in Bayreuth in Meistersinger 45 years ago and she was great. She was the mistress of I believe Wieland Wagner. Her jaw was bigger than Sutherlands!!!! A great live performer.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

DonAlfonso said:


> Actually I find Americans often underrate American singers, Anna Moffo, Frederika van Stade, Kathleen Battle etc Strange from a country that believes it's the best at all things always.


Nothing like a sweeping generalization . . . Jonas Kaufmann often mentioned that major German houses -- including the Bavarian State Opera in his hometown of Munich -- paid little attention to him until after his fabulously successful Met debut. Moffo made her career before I began seriously taking an interest in opera, but it never seemed to me that either von Stade or Battle were underappreciated in the U.S. Quite the contrary -- both had a substantial number of fans here. What torpedoed Battle's career were her prima donna antics and lack of respect for colleagues.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I saw Anja Silja live in Bayreuth in Meistersinger 45 years ago and she was great. She was the mistress of I believe Wieland Wagner. Her jaw was bigger than Sutherlands!!!! A great live performer.


I saw her late in her career at Covent Garden when she did Herodias with Maria Ewing as Salome, and she was still a great performer


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

updated list:
- Marisa Galvany
- June Anderson
- Frieda Lieder
- Leyla Gencer
- Virginia Zeani
- Martina Arroyo
*- Aprille Millo*
*- Ingeborg Hallstein*
*- Elisabeth Schwarzkopf*


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> updated list:
> - Marisa Galvany
> - June Anderson
> - Frieda Lieder
> ...


By whom, besides you, is Schwarzkopf underrated?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

albertfallickwang said:


> Another underrated one Mara Zampieri... best Lady MacBeth ever.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Now that I know her name, I'm saying wtf as I watch and listen to her.

Tosca? 




Norma? 




This woman has no idea what to do with music. Has anyone ever told her about _phrasing?_ The only thing that (almost) saves her is her melodramatic acting, and in "Casta diva" she can't even use that.

Horrible. Horrible.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

albertfallickwang said:


> Another underrated one Mara Zampieri... best Lady MacBeth ever.
> 
> 
> 
> ...







Mara Zampieri _née _'Susan Alexander.'

Woodduck at 2:57.

albertfallickwang at 3:30


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Now that I know her name, I'm saying wtf as I watch and listen to her.
> 
> Tosca?
> 
> ...


How about this? Baltsa wipes the floor with her.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> updated list:
> - Marisa Galvany
> - June Anderson
> - Frieda Lieder
> ...


If this is your personal list, then I say you have not given Mariella Devia a chance. Go back and listen to the you tubes I posted of her.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> How about this? Baltsa wipes the floor with her.


Baltsa is a superb singer with an excellent voice and technique who is also a fine musician and actress. Zampieri appears to be an actress with a penetrating voice who imitates singing well enough to make a theatrical effect. I can see why she has her fans, but I think I'm safe in guessing that few real musicians are among them.

She made few recordings. It's obvious why.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

In the past month I've come to believe that Cheryl Studer, a soprano who before that time was pretty much unfamiliar to me, is underrated. I missed her in her prime, but clearly she was ubiquitous on recordings of an almost impossibly wide repertoire in the 1980's and 1990's. I have her Salome (Strauss) on CD, which IMHO is superb, and I've heard only good things about most of her other recordings. I don't think she had the most instantly recognizable timbre; however, I find her singing extremely musical, intelligent, and nuanced. As Salome she creates a specific character, rather than simply knocking the listener over with sound (her voice wasn't really powerful enough for that, anyway; it wasn't a Birgit Nilsson sort of a voice). I look forward to acquiring more of Studer's recordings as I'm so impressed with the SALOME and with the other recorded excerpts I've heard on Youtube.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Now that I know her name, I'm saying wtf as I watch and listen to her.
> 
> Tosca?
> 
> ...


Roland Graeme in _The Metropolitan Opera Guide to Recorded Opera_ on the studio recording of MACBETH that features Zampieri: "Maria Zampieri's is a highly idiosyncratic Lady Macbeth. She sings virtually without vibrato, producing a cold, 'white' sound devoid of color or sensuality. Technically, Zampieri is most impressive, tearing into the music with reckless abandon -- runs, high notes, trills; you name it, she's ready to tackle it. She's also very much 'with' Sinopoli's sophisticated approach to the music, manipulating her lines with infinite dynamic nuance. The result is a performance that manages to be both tremendously exciting and quite mannered."

To me the singing on the Youtube video just sounds idiosyncratic. I think the actual _sound_ of her voice is good for Lady Macbeth, though (the white, vibrato-less tone = a cold, heartless woman).


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Florestan said:


> If this is your personal list, then I say you have not given Mariella Devia a chance. Go back and listen to the you tubes I posted of her.


she's a fine singer, but she doesn't make the list for "most underrated sopranos in history" imo

PS: how have I been forgetting Edda Moser all this time? DX


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

*Anita Cerquetti* was at one time thought to be a possible replacement for Callas in the dramatic soprano bel canto roles, powerful wide ranging voice capable of great beauty, famous for replacing Callas at her 1958 Rome "Norma" stage walk off.....short time in the spotlight 1956-61 with very few recordings and suddenly retired at only age 30

Her 1958 La Scala debut was as Abigaille in Nabucco


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

Bellinilover said:


> In the past month I've come to believe that Cheryl Studer, a soprano who before that time was pretty much unfamiliar to me, is underrated.


Cheryl Studer seemed to be criticized for the crime of daring to sing Verdi when she had a non-Verdi voice. I liked her in Muti's Attila, and she also was in his William Tell and I Vespri Siciliani.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

graziesignore said:


> Cheryl Studer seemed to be criticized for the crime of daring to sing Verdi when she had a non-Verdi voice. I liked her in Muti's Attila, and she also was in his William Tell and I Vespri Siciliani.


Yes, what I've heard of her ATTILA recording is excellent. Not having heard her other Verdi, I can understand why she was never really a "Verdi soprano": her low register was rather weak.


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## Retired (Feb 15, 2015)

Pilar Lorengar...always vocally and personally radiant...a voice that remained youthful..fresh....a consummate musician

Not particularly a good recording but one of my favorite roles that she sang






Had to add this as well


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

no question


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I saw Anja Silja live in Bayreuth in Meistersinger 45 years ago and she was great. She was the mistress of I believe Wieland Wagner. Her jaw was bigger than Sutherlands!!!! A great live performer.


The Klemperer recording of The Flying Dutchman...her Johohoes in Senta's Ballad sounds like one of those chickens from the Muppets


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

-Caterina Mancini: fits easily among the big names in her repertoire (Verdi). Hardly ever talked about.





-Adelaide Negri: although not the subtlest performer, she's a real Dramatic Coloratura.





-Ines Salazar: A much better Dramatic Soprano than Maria Guleghina. Nowhere near as famous..





-Maria Dragoni: Even though she's not up there with the greats of the past, she's a very good singer. I've been on this forum for a relatively long time, I haven't come across her name once!!





-Elena Mosuc: not a real dramatic coloratura but has enough power to tackle dramatic bel canto like Anna Bolena (which reminds me of Sills) which is still better than the highly overrated lyric sopranos attempting this repertoire without the adequate weight and/or agility, singers like this should be appreciated a bit more. She also has a superb high F! 





*Underrated big names:* (I'm aware of the oxymoron)
-Anita Cerquetti: her voice as pure sound is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. She sounded so ethereal and pure. I don't see her name mentioned with Tebaldi or Price when the beauty of tone is being discussed. In dramatic power, she gave both a run for their money.

-Leyla Gencer: although she was one of the biggest "stars" at La Scala in her time and was hailed as La Diva Turca, La Regina/La Sultana etc, she is not talked about as often as others. She herself admitted that American critics don't like her "io non piaccio ai critici americani". She's probably the only one who made a decent attempt at Callas-only repertoire (Medea for instance).

Honorable Mentions: 
-Antonietta Stella: 



-Gigliola Frazzoni: 



-Cristina Deutekom: 



-Alexandrina Pendatchanska 



-Luciana Serra:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Couac Addict said:


> The Klemperer recording of The Flying Dutchman...her Johohoes in Senta's Ballad sounds like one of those chickens from the Muppets


No way! Anja Silja is the greatest Senta on recording only perhaps rivaled by the Senta in the Sawallisch DVD. Anja is the only one who does not have the aggravating staccato trill (or what ever they call it) at the beginning of Johohoe. All other Sentas make a very unbeautiful noise at the beginning of Johohoe that sounds like they are grunting to start getting it out.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Florestan said:


> perhaps rivaled by the Senta in the Sawallisch DVD.


Her name is Catarina Ligendza:






She had a prominent career in Germany were she sang mostly Wagner for example she sang Brünnhilde and Isolde at Bayreuth in the seventies.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

^ That one does not work for me. She was way better in the Sawallisch DVD:


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

Carla Gavazzi


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

For me : Helga Dernesch: Wagner - Tristan und Isolde, 'Liebestod'


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## Bertali (Jul 14, 2017)

I think that Cheryl Studer is a fantastic Richard Strauss soprano in the above *Biem Schlafengehen* and DG's *Salome* with Sinopoli.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Katia Ricciarelli does also deserves a bit more attention, not the most exiting voice perhaps but always reliable.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Eleanor Steber was a really incredible singer who was overshadowed by European singers, who were preferred at that time. She sang a wide gamut of roles from Wagner to Mozart really well. Such a gorgeous voice.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Eleanor Steber was a really incredible singer who was overshadowed by European singers, who were preferred at that time. She sang a wide gamut of roles from Wagner to Mozart really well. Such a gorgeous voice.


Her Elsa is still one of my very favourites.


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## Morton (Nov 13, 2016)

I saw Berit Lindholm at Covent Garden a number of times in the 1970's when she used to alternate with Gwyneth Jones as Brunhilde in the Ring.
I don't think she made many recordings but she was a very fine singer.


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## childed (Jul 15, 2017)

oh!
my bet to Plavalaguna from the Fifth element )))


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

childed said:


> oh!
> my bet to Plavalaguna from the Fifth element )))


Not really a opera star is she?


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## childed (Jul 15, 2017)

Pugg said:


> Not really a opera star is she?


the voice vas provided by Inva Mula /Albanian opera singer/


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## russetvelvet (Oct 14, 2016)

Why Elena Moșuc isn't bigger is always beyond me.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

russetvelvet said:


> Why Elena Moșuc isn't bigger is always beyond me.


I've thought the same about her voice.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

*The Wonderful Soprano Gilda Cruz Romo*

I had the pleasure of singing in the chorus of _Aida_ many years ago at Dallas Opera. Marilyn Horne was Amneris, James McCracken was Radames, and Gilda Cruz Romo was the most amazing Aida I have ever heard, fully the equal of Leontyne Price in her signature role. She had a simply enormous and gorgeous lirico-spinto voice, full of lovely spin and dramatic pathos. Unfortunately there are no commercial recordings of her that I know of, but lots of YouTube clips.

Here is Cruz Romo singing "Sempre Libera":






"Vissi d'arte" from _Tosca_ and "Merce, dilette amiche" from _I Vespri Siciliani:_






The best soprano ever? No. Underrated! Incredibly so.

Enjoy! (Gilda, if you ever read this, your "Innegiamo il Signor" from _Cavalleria Rusticana_ with the DCO Chorus in Dallas during our Christmas concert was one of the true highlights of my musical life. Thank you for your Great Artistry.)

:tiphat:

Kind regards,

George


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

Barelytenor said:


> I had the pleasure of singing in the chorus of _Aida_ many years ago at Dallas Opera. Marilyn Horne was Amneris, James McCracken was Radames, and Gilda Cruz Romo was the most amazing Aida I have ever heard, fully the equal of Leontyne Price in her signature role. She had a simply enormous and gorgeous lirico-spinto voice, full of lovely spin and dramatic pathos. Unfortunately there are no commercial recordings of her that I know of, but lots of YouTube clips.
> 
> Here is Cruz Romo singing "Sempre Libera":
> 
> ...


Interesting.. I found Aida:


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Rosanna Carteri. Lovely voice, even and full, excellent technique, and a very good dramatist physically and with her voice, she did one of my favorite performances of Violetta on record with Monteux conducting, and an excellent Desdemona for Italian TV with Del Monaco. Most of the folks listed in this thread are household names compared to her, and I'd take her over much more famous names like Moffo or Freni.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

howlingfantods said:


> Rosanna Carteri. Lovely voice, even and full, excellent technique, and a very good dramatist physically and with her voice, she did one of my favorite performances of Violetta on record with Monteux conducting, and an excellent Desdemona for Italian TV with Del Monaco. Most of the folks listed in this thread are household names compared to her, and I'd take her over much more famous names like Moffo or Freni.


The RCA _Traviata,_ with Carteri's Violetta, Cesare Valletti's Alfredo, Leonard Warren's Germont, and Pierre Monteux at the helm, was my first exposure to the opera about fifty years ago, and I still think it's competitive with the best performances recorded since. Carteri made only a few recordings during her career in the '50s and early '60s, and retired from opera in her thirties, apparently for family reasons. Had she continue to sing we'd probably have more recordings and she'd be better known.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

This is a very fine set:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Urania/WS121255
Highly recommended.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Shirley Verret! 

What I like about her is that she has a very well rounded voice and it's what the 'typical' opera singer should sound like....that's what it seems like to my amateur and only casual opera fan ears at least. 

What do you guys think of her?? How does she compare to those that are considered all time greats?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Baritenor said:


> Shirley Verret!
> 
> What I like about her is that she has a very well rounded voice and it's what the 'typical' opera singer should sound like....that's what it seems like to my amateur and only casual opera fan years.
> 
> What do you guys think of her?? How does she compare to those that are considered all time greats?


I like Shirley Verrett a lot, but I tend to still think of her as a mezzo, which is how she started out. A great Eboli on the Giulini recording, it's a great shame there are no studio recordings of her Dalila or Carmen, both of which were superb.

She did move into soprano territory it is true, but her greatest successes were mostly in mezzo roles.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> June Anderson came immediately to my mind as well. It seems she was always being compared with Joan Sutherland, for obvious reasons: same _Fach_, similar looks -- her name even has the same number of syllables! While I don't think her high notes were as full or "easy" as Sutherland's were, to my ears she made up for it by having the more sharply defined tone.
> 
> I'd be interested to know what people here think of Aprile Millo, whom I understand was sort of considered Renata Tebaldi's successor, at least by some fans.


I came to Aprille late. She is a wonderful singer. I've been told that she was a little underpowered in Verdi compared to Price and Tebaldi. Never heard her live. Used to listen on Met Radio broadcasts.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

GregMitchell said:


> I like Shirley Verrett a lot, but I tend to still think of her as a mezzo, which is how she started out. A great Eboli on the Giulini recording, it's a great shame there are no studio recordings of her Dalila or Carmen, both of which were superb.
> 
> She did move into soprano territory it is true, but her greatest successes were mostly in mezzo roles.


So how do you think she compares to those who are considered as all time greats?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Baritenor said:


> So how do you think she compares to those who are considered as all time greats?


Verrett _is_ one of the all-time greats. Voice, technique, musicianship, intelligence, even physical beauty - she was the whole package. Here's some extraordinary soprano singing by a mezzo who could do it better than most sopranos:


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

What about Diana Damrau? It seems like she's something of a B lister on the international level. She's never mentioned in the same brackets as Netrebko, Gheorghiu, or Flemming.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Verrett _is_ one of the all-time greats. Voice, technique, musicianship, intelligence, even physical beauty - she was the whole package. Here's some extraordinary soprano singing by a mezzo who could do it better than most sopranos:


And would you say she's underrated or is she rated fairly enough?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Verrett _is_ one of the all-time greats. Voice, technique, musicianship, intelligence, even physical beauty - she was the whole package. Here's some extraordinary soprano singing by a mezzo who could do it better than most sopranos:


Verrett was really really good at Tosca and Norma BUT I think the most beautiful singing she did was as a mezzo. Her Arsace was in the same league as Marilyn Horne's and that is a high honor. Her chest register was so rich and sexy and smoky. She also sang up to a high D, which few sopranos do much less mezzos.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Baritenor said:


> And would you say she's underrated or is she rated fairly enough?


Who knows? Shall we take a poll?


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Who knows? Shall we take a poll?


What do you think of what I said about Diana Damrau then?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Baritenor said:


> What do you think of what I said about Diana Damrau then?


I haven't heard Damrau often. My impression from a Met broadcast was that she's a fine singer with a fine technique but a not very memorable timbre. There's a pretty exciting Queen of the Night's aria on YouTube. She's very well thought of, isn't she?


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> I haven't heard Damrau often. My impression from a Met broadcast was that she's a fine singer with a fine technique but a not very memorable timbre. There's a pretty exciting Queen of the Night's aria on YouTube. She's very well thought of, isn't she?


About my thoughts on the matter. Her timbre is a bit overly bright and girly for my liking, but the actual singing isn't awful. Sure, she doesn't have the portamento of Callas, the pianissimo of Caballe or the chiaro scuro of Tebaldi, but....who does? lol.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I haven't heard Damrau often. My impression from a Met broadcast was that she's a fine singer with a fine technique but a not very memorable timbre. There's a pretty exciting Queen of the Night's aria on YouTube. She's very well thought of, isn't she?


I was saying in my post hat she tends not to be mentioned in the same brackets as Netrebko/Gheorghiu/Flemming for instance and that she's a bit of a B lister and therefore underrated.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Barelytenor said:


> I had the pleasure of singing in the chorus of _Aida_ many years ago at Dallas Opera. Marilyn Horne was Amneris, James McCracken was Radames, and Gilda Cruz Romo was the most amazing Aida I have ever heard, fully the equal of Leontyne Price in her signature role. She had a simply enormous and gorgeous lirico-spinto voice, full of lovely spin and dramatic pathos. Unfortunately there are no commercial recordings of her that I know of, but lots of YouTube clips.
> 
> Here is Cruz Romo singing "Sempre Libera":
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot! I didn't know her and your beautiful videos revealed a Dame with enormous voice quality.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Baritenor said:


> I was saying in my post hat she tends not to be mentioned in the same brackets as Netrebko/Gheorghiu/Flemming for instance and that she's a bit of a B lister and therefore underrated.


Those others have more distinctive voices and styles - and, for better or worse, more striking looks - than Damrau. I'm not sure that I would recognize Damrau's voice in a blind test. They also generate more controversy, artistic and otherwise. Certain things make for "star quality." It may not be entirely fair, but there you are.


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## Stallo (Apr 24, 2018)

Sumi Jo. Her timber, technique and musicianship are as close to perfection one can get (in my opinion). I know she is very highly regarded, so perhaps underrated is a stretch. But to me she is the greatest ever. A complete treasure and the reason I started listening to opera.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I don't know that she is the most underrated but worthy of consideration.

Luba Orgonasova (Aspasia):


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I think Hyunju Park is absolutely wonderful. She touches my heart and takes me to another world:


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Elisabeth Grummer and Margaret Price anyone?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Baritenor said:


> Elisabeth Grummer and Margaret Price anyone?


I doubt that any lover of German opera underrates Grummer.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

What about Raina Karaibanska? I think she deserves more attention...maybe.


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## Baritenor (Dec 13, 2015)

Baritenor said:


> What about Raina Karaibanska? I think she deserves more attention...maybe.


Actually, scratch that, she sounds too cold and metallic.


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

Clara Petrella OMG


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tuoksu said:


> Clara Petrella OMG


She scares me. ...........


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I think Gabriella Tucci deserved more attention in my opinion and yet she only made two commercial recordings:

https://operawire.com/artist-profile-soprano-gabriella-tucci-roman-treasure/

I thought she was somewhat similar to Renata Tebaldi, but the voice wasn't as full and her singing was less assured. However I prefer her over Antonietta Stella who was born the same year and recorded more widely.

Tucci would never be on my 'A' list for sopranos and I wouldn't buy a recital album (one could be assembled from her live recordings), however she sang with some of the greats and is in Corelli's studio Trovatore and Simionato's best Aida live from Tokyo (Simionato is also on the studio Trovatore). She definitely holds her own when singing with these more successful colleagues and offers much to admire and enjoy.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> I think Gabriella Tucci deserved more attention in my opinion and yet she only made two commercial recordings:
> 
> https://operawire.com/artist-profile-soprano-gabriella-tucci-roman-treasure/
> 
> ...


If Tucci were active now, I would guess she'd be the world's leading Verdi soprano, and we'd probably have heard her in Saturday's Met broadcast of _Aida_ instead of Netrebko.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> If Tucci were active now, I would guess she'd be the world's leading Verdi soprano, and we'd probably have heard her in Saturday's Met broadcast of _Aida_ instead of Netrebko.


Possibly, however Netrebko can be very good in Verdi (Forza del destino and Macbeth), I wonder what Tucci would have done as Lady Macbeth. Another of today's singers, Latonia Moore was astoundingly superb as Aida in London last season... sung in English! She certainly deserves to be ranked amongst the great Aidas IMO. At one time there were sopranos that could adapt to a number of roles and their secure technique allowed them to sing different parts to a high standard. When today's singers are in their element they are very good indeed, but they don't seem to have the same ability to sing a number of roles well. That said, Milanov made it at the Met and I much prefer Netrebko over her.

N.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Seems to me like Lucine Amara was never utilized in the way she should have. She was always there if a soprano was in distress but somehow she lacked the charisma it takes to be called upon as often as she should have been.

I would also add Eleanor Steber who got short shrift in her later years when she was certainly viable enough but Mr. Bing did not find her as glamorous as some others. True that she didn't make the choice easy with her personal problems with alcohol and such but whatta gal and whatta voice!


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

*More Gilda Cruz-Romo, as Desdemona*

Since at a minimum Dibace appreciated the clips of this wonderful spinto soprano, I thought I would post another one, this the scene from Otello started, "Si, a terra, nel livido fango" where Otello throws Desdemona down on the ground. The sound is not recorded that well, but it's in color and live, and she is accompanied by Placido Domingo as Otello, Sherrill Milnes as Iago, and Kurt Moll is also in there in a role I forget. This shows not only her wonderful dramatic sensibilities but also just her sheer physical beauty (she was zaftig, but gorgeous), as well as her expertise with the Verdi roles in which she specialized. This was apparently around the same 1979 time period as the Aida I mentioned earlier.







Hope you enjoy it!

Kind regards, :tiphat:

George


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## Agamemnon (May 1, 2017)

*Elenora Hu*! She is still a student receiving training to be a professional singer only since 2016 but already since she started singing on stage she blows away everybody with her voice which is voluminous, fleixible and full of soul. She has no competition and I think she is already the greatest opera singer in the world. I will eat my hat if she is not the greatest opera star in the world in a few years' time...


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## Macbeth (Sep 6, 2017)

Pilar Lorengar.

Never understood how, given her potential, she was not a bigger name, and why she did not leave a greater legacy in studio recordings.

Well projected lyrical soprano, capable to deal with moderatelly dramatic roles, with a beautiful colour, wide range, homogenous bottom to top, and a very good looking woman too.
She sang Pamina, Mimi, Violetta, Butterfly, Tosca, Elisabetta in Don Carlo...

Maybe not having a really distinctive timbre played against her. And, from what I heard commenting, having an unusually discreet personality for a prima donna.


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## Macbeth (Sep 6, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> She scares me. ...........


Yeah, very powerful voice, but is she Desdemona or Othello?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Macbeth said:


> Pilar Lorengar.
> 
> Never understood how, given her potential, she was not a bigger name, and why she did not leave a greater legacy in studio recordings.
> 
> ...


I like Lorengar, and do find her voice distinctive, with its silvery tone and shimmering vibrato. I seem to recall hearing her a number of times on Met broadcasts from the '60s and '70s.


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