[Woodduck]

Woodduck: you can find anything on Youtube! Here is a concert Horne did in '61 as a soprano:

. She actually sounds a lot like Eileen Farrell here. The top was more flexible and solid, but you could tell the bottom was there if she needed it. The top was different than it was in the 67 Immolation Scene.

That is one healthy Mimi! Tuberculosis? Nah.

Horne's voice always had too much steel in it for my taste - I think she was perfect for castrato parts - but as soprano or mezzo she was an extraordinary singer.

 

[JosefinaHW]

Maria Callas' Masterclass at Juillard

The complete recordings of all these classes and working sessions; these mp3s have been posted independently of YouTube and you can download them for yourself. It is perfectly legal to download these files.

https://sites.google.com/site/operalala/CallasJuilliard

"Over two, six-week periods in 1971-72, Maria Callas taught a master class "The Lyric Tradition" for young beginning professional singers at the Juilliard School. Included in this course was a series of semiweekly 2-hour public working sessions with the variety of voices and repertoires in the class, intended to pass on her knowledge and experience to the students collectively, as well as to the public at large."

​

 

[JosefinaHW]

Maria Callas' Masterclass at Juillard

The complete recordings of all these classes and working sessions; these mp3s have been posted independently of YouTube and you can download them for yourself. It is perfectly legal to download these files.

https://sites.google.com/site/operalala/CallasJuilliard

"Over two, six-week periods in 1971-72, Maria Callas taught a master class "The Lyric Tradition" for young beginning professional singers at the Juilliard School. Included in this course was a series of semiweekly 2-hour public working sessions with the variety of voices and repertoires in the class, intended to pass on her knowledge and experience to the students collectively, as well as to the public at large."

​

This site is wonderful! For every piece that was performed/discussed in each class; the site has provided a quick link to the score of the piece!

 

[BaritoneAssoluto]

It is my opinion and mine alone and I honestly think you can not be a serious musician if you don't have these recordings, somewhere saved in your laptop/desktop. She does so much by doing so little and every bits and pieces of information she gives out, is spot on and very intelligent. I actually think she could've been a great teacher to lower voiced males (she had an affinity for those Baritones and often complimented them and the basses for their voices and overall characterization but felt they needed more.)

If it's alright with you guys, I'd like to share a few clips of the class myself here:

Enjoy! Hopefully by Sunday, I should have another juicy topic to discuss in this thread but until then, hopefully those videos will satiate your thirst!

 

[BaritoneAssoluto]

I think her voice could have easily been cast as a spinto Soprano, instead of the pushed up (or down) Mezzo-Soprano she forced herself into being. Tebaldi never had a true B flat, Ponselle would criticize her own High notes, Callas hated her High A's (and people even said it made them seasick, yikes!) but when I listen to Horne (as a mezzo and in those early '63 excerpts,) the voice sits exactly where it should -- in the very middle-topish of her voice. Or, quite frankly she could've been cast as a Falcon as Verrett and Bumbry are known to be.

 

[JosefinaHW]

It is amazing and exciting that we are taking voice lessons with Maria Callas and the score!!!

 

[BalalaikaBoy]

That is one healthy Mimi! Tuberculosis? Nah.

Horne's voice always had too much steel in it for my taste - I think she was perfect for castrato parts - but as soprano or mezzo she was an extraordinary singer.

^seconded. I like voices which have more roundness, opulence and some level of spin in the top reaches (not just mezzos or sopranos either. I want this from the basses and baritones I listen to as well).

 

[Woodduck]

^seconded. I like voices which have more roundness, opulence and some level of spin in the top reaches (not just mezzos or sopranos either. I want this from the basses and baritones I listen to as well).

And softness and vulnerability.

Pollione could have taken her Adalgisa back to Rome and put her in the Coliseum to eat Christians.

 

[Jermaine]

Someone forgot to tell her that...............

I think she did a phenomenal job. I don't get the higher than thou comments on Youtube and here about her performance as Norma.

I think people are just outraged that a mezzo would dare attempt a role that people have traditionally deemed to be reserved for a Soprano voice. Yet, it wasn't written for one. Frankly, I think it's either jealous, hate, or outright ignorance, or worse, all of these things combined.

Not pointing any finger.​

 

[Pugg]

I think she did a phenomenal job. I don't get the higher than thou comments on Youtube and here about her performance as Norma.

I think people are just outraged that a mezzo would dare attempt a role that people have traditionally deemed to be reserved for a Soprano voice. Yet, it wasn't written for one. Frankly, I think it's either jealous, hate, or outright ignorance, or worse, all of these things combined.

Not pointing any finger.​

People may strongly disagree with you, for me personally, I rather have my ears pierces then ever listen to this again.​

 

[Woodduck]

I think she did a phenomenal job. I don't get the higher than thou comments on Youtube and here about her performance as Norma.

I think people are just outraged that a mezzo would dare attempt a role that people have traditionally deemed to be reserved for a Soprano voice. Yet, it wasn't written for one. Frankly, I think it's either jealous, hate, or outright ignorance, or worse, all of these things combined.

Not pointing any finger.​

I'm glad you're leaving it up to each of us to decide whether we are jealous, hateful, ignorant, or all three. Personally, all three might be something of a challenge, but I'll work on it. It might liven up my rhetoric.

 

[BalalaikaBoy]

I think she did a phenomenal job. I don't get the higher than thou comments on Youtube and here about her performance as Norma.

I think people are just outraged that a mezzo would dare attempt a role that people have traditionally deemed to be reserved for a Soprano voice. Yet, it wasn't written for one. Frankly, I think it's either jealous, hate, or outright ignorance, or worse, all of these things combined.

Not pointing any finger.​

the problem with Bartoli's Norma is not that she is a mezzo (Verrett is among my favorite Normas, and my favorite two are Callas and Marisa Galvany, both of whom have chest voices like mezzos), it's that the voice doesn't have the weight necessary to do the role justice

 

[Woodduck]

the problem with Bartoli's Norma is not that she is a mezzo (Verrett is among my favorite Normas, and my favorite two are Callas and Marisa Galvany, both of whom have chest voices like mezzos), it's that the voice doesn't have the weight necessary to do the role justice

That whole production lacks weight.

 

[BaritoneAssoluto]

Do anyone think Carol Vaness would fit the bill of a Soprano Assoluta?

 

[Seattleoperafan]

Do anyone think Carol Vaness would fit the bill of a Soprano Assoluta?

I think more highly of her now than I did at the time. Particularly when she was younger and before she lost weight, she had a beautiful spinto that was solid from bottom to the top. She sang both verismo and Mozart really well. She did bow out of debuting as Norma here, likely realizing ti was too big a part for her. She may have undertaken it later, though.

 

[Jermaine]

That whole production lacks weight.

Says who? You?... Okay, we'll run with it...

Bartoli's Norma is currently being praised. Just reading the reviews from the recent performances at Edinburg, I'd say your comment lacks weight...​

 

[Jermaine]

the problem with Bartoli's Norma is not that she is a mezzo (Verrett is among my favorite Normas, and my favorite two are Callas and Marisa Galvany, both of whom have chest voices like mezzos), it's that the voice doesn't have the weight necessary to do the role justice

I like this comment and I wholeheartedly agree with you. Bartoli's version is not as searing as other divas, but I like it for the beauty and intimacy of her rendition. It's dramatic when it needs to be and balanced at other points. I have listened to the entire opera on CD and I think she did a beautiful job. Personally, I think they all have some fault, save Cabelle (I think she has the most astute version). I have not heard Sutherland's take. I have listened to Callas and as much as I respect her, I don't like the tone of her voice in Norma. She sounds like an old woman wailing. But where Callas lacks beauty, in my opinion, she makes up for it in volume and drama.

I have not actually seen any of them live, so this is just based on CD. Anyways, I respect everyone's opinion, and I am here to learn and discuss. Most people here are pleasant, others seem to have a false sense of entitlement. At the end of the day, the objectivity is all mathematical ratios and time splices. Your perception of performer's execution is just that... Yours...​

 

[Woodduck]

Says who? You?... Okay, we'll run with it...

Bartoli's Norma is currently being praised. Just reading the reviews from the recent performances at Edinburg, I'd say your comment lacks weight...​

Is that indeed what you would say? It would be better to say why you think the recording featuring Bartoli does the opera justice. Who cares about some reviewer in Edinburgh?

 

[Jermaine]

Is that indeed what you would say? It would be better to say why you think the recording featuring Bartoli does the opera justice. Who cares about some reviewer in Edinburgh?

I wrote it above. I don't wish to go back and forth with you. Let's agree to disagree. ​

 

[Woodduck]

I like this comment and I wholeheartedly agree with you. Bartoli's version is not as searing as other divas, but I like it for the beauty and intimacy of her rendition. It's dramatic when it needs to be and balanced at other points. I have listened to the entire opera on CD and I think she did a beautiful job. Personally, I think they all have some fault, save Cabelle (I think she has the most astute version). I have not heard Sutherland's take. I have listened to Callas and as much as I respect her, I don't like the tone of her voice in Norma. She sounds like an old woman wailing. But where Callas lacks beauty, in my opinion, she makes up for it in volume and drama.

I have not actually seen any of them live, so this is just based on CD. Anyways, I respect everyone's opinion, and I am here to learn and discuss. Most people here are pleasant, others seem to have a false sense of entitlement. At the end of the day, the objectivity is all mathematical ratios and time splices. Your perception of performer's execution is just that... Yours...​

It's odd that in this post you assure us that you "respect everyone's opinion," when in the previous post you state, without giving any reason (except for citing some unnamed critic in Edinburgh), that my comment on Bartoli's Norma recording "lacks weight." Would it surprise you that I find that somewhat insulting? Perhaps I'm one of those "people here" to whom you attribute a "false sense of entitlement," and you feel that this entitles you to be less than polite to me.

I have been here for over two years and I do not notice any contributors to the opera forum exhibiting a sense of "entitlement." Though we have disagreements I think we are generally quite civil in expressing them. Seeing that you're new here, I wonder why you already feel the need to remind current members that their opinions are theirs alone. In my experience, we rarely need to go on the defensive unless others perceive us going on the offensive first.

Welcome to the forum. Let's look forward to discussions vigorous and fruitful - and respectful.