17 Sopranos attempt the "Ah! perfido" coloratura and high B-flats

Coloratura and dramatic sopranos do not always go together well. Fortunately, there are many lighter voices who have attempted this challenging aria but even they do not always sail through the maze of Beethoven coloratura and its legato demands.
Featured artists:
Kirsten Flagstad (1948)
Stella Roman (1950)
Eleanor Steber (1970)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1954)
Astrid Varnay (1951)
Birgit Nilsson (1967)
Eileen Farrell (1959)
Renata Tebaldi (1974)
Maria Callas (1964)
Leontyne Price (1972)
Montserrat Caballe (1966)
Gwyneth Jones (1966)
Jessye Norman (1980)
Sylvia Sass (1994)
Cheryl Studer (1991)
Cecilia Bartoli (2013)
Lise Davidsen (2020)
Let me know if you know the recording year of those with missing dates.
Also disclaimer that some of these are studio recordings as live performances were not available for the artist.

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

There are two additional performances I feel the need to showcase. 1. Frida Leider (1922): kzbin.info/www/bejne/n53dqYlqoKt5bas. The very first recording of this aria, though unfortunately not a complete recording. She does not sing the coloratura passages showcased here but an excellent rendition nonetheless. 2. Marilyn Horne: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2THppibZracrZY. An excellent mezzo interpretation. Arguably handles the coloratura and high notes better than many of the sopranos showcased here.

[@HlombeSiswana]

Marlyin Horne's voice always sounds woofy and lacks freedom

[@dougt3652]

While I’m not a huge fan of Jones she is in fresh and clean shape (no scooping) I hear clear Ah vowels in the downward runs making hers the most successful. The top notes are firm and brilliant!! Thanks for playing so many singers in this challenging and not very rewarding aria.

[@tantalavita6015]

Thank you for posting this. I heard Price and Tebaldi sing this live.Too bad Crespin,Baker,Bumbry and Verrett were not included!

[@ER1CwC]

Very challenging music to sing. Accounting for both the coloratura and the Bbs, Farrell, Jones, and Price are my winners here. Considering the size of her voice, Farrell is especially impressive. It made perfect sense that she could pull of Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda. I was expecting a bit more from Steber. I would place Caballe higher if she weren’t sacrificing consonants left and right! The state of Callas’s voice is so sad here.

[@pixelchords3201]

I'm surprised at some of the Farrell comments here. The descending scales at 6:03 and 6:07 are not very clean at all in my opinion. I do like the slight dm effect on the descent, don't know if it was intentional, but it fits the piece. I also find Caballe's coloratura quite disappointing despite the mild tempo. My main problem is that her volume output is very uneven as she goes down the scale, making it difficult to pick out individual notes. I've never been a fan of Caballe's top notes so I won't mention the B-flats.

[@ER1CwC]

⁠@@pixelchords3201 I think Farrell’s descents are pretty clean actually, at least in the beginning! By the time she gets to the lower end, the orchestra has joined her, so they provide some additional clarity. If anything, my main critique of her performance is that she aspirates on the ascending arpeggios. Certainly though, I think she is the most adept of all the genuinely heavy voices here at moving her voice. As for Caballe, I don’t think her coloratura was ever the best. They were rarely legato, but she does well here, I think. I actually think that the the tempo is mid-paced here makes it more difficult. It can be much easier to trip over than when one sings those passages fast. I think they way Bartoli races through them here is a real copout.

[@matteomangialetti]

There is also a recording found on KZbin of Aprile Millo in this scena.

[@cliffgaither]

This is truly magnificent in its horror. I couldn't believe how music could make the voices of these famous singers sound like singers who should retire but still wanted to sing beyond the end. As I listened to the music, I realized it was the composer. I've never heard such bad music composition. I'm surely not a composer, but when I realized it was Beethoven, everything became clear. _He wasn't even a one-hit-wonder, operatically._ _He was completely delusional to give operatic advice to Rossini one of the greatest opera composers in history._ They performed his aria only because, thankfully, it was one of the few. Didn't Beethoven's buddies have the guts to tell him :: "Man ! This sucks !"

[@liedersanger1]

What an intelligent, well informed, thoughtful and nuanced comment. I feel I am a better human being for having read it.

[@SleepingTurtle1]

Beethoven was an amazing composer of instrumental music. His writing for the human voice was a catastrophe

[@jackhamm1745]

Nilsson is my favorite in this followed by Jones, Price, Farrell and, surprisingly, Schwarzkopf. Nilsson's big gleaming soprano suits this music to a 'T.' The top B-flats!!!!😱😱😱

[@alanmichael1440]

There is no other interpreter for this aria than Callas.

[@jeanpierredevos3137]

Totally out of tune .

[@marcospada849]

Jones, Studer, Farrell, Caballe, Callas.

[@joselatorre1696]

Eleanor Steber: Cleveland, 5.V.1970 Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: London, 20.IX.1954 Montserrat Caballé: New York, 17.IV.1966 Gwyneth Jones: Wien, 9.III.1966 Cecilia Bartoli: Basel, 20.XI.2013 Lise Davidsen: London, 1.VIII.2020

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

Thank you!

[@draganvidic2039]

Let’s not forget that role is somewhat for a heroic voiced singer and even more so this difficult aria. Flagstad for example is majestic here. I also liked Gwyneth Jones and Lise Davidsen.

[@KajiVocals]

Role? This is a concert aria.

[@jeffreymiller4814]

@@KajiVocalsthey must be confusing it with Abscheulicher aria. 😳…🤣

[@KajiVocals]

@@jeffreymiller4814 Yeah lmao. This is certainly a Metastasio character but not a role in this context.

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

@@KajiVocals Though interestingly, this piece was most definitely used as a study for the role of Leonore in Fidelio. You can hear many of the vocal lines from this piece also replicated in Fidelio Act 1, just after the prisoner's chorus ("Nun sprecht, wie gings?" to finale etc).

[@draganvidic2039]

@@KajiVocals Haha YES…😆🤦🏻‍♂️ It’s not morning anymore…

[@werqdivapop]

Loved Studer❤

[@Thearchivebeyondimagination]

Nilsson had the best top among all as per usual, but for me, the whole thing surprisingly goes to Farrell.

[@maestroclassico5801]

It was recorded strangely....it almost sounds like the orchestra was overpowering her ...which we all know is impossible..... This gal could sing Liebstodt over a Bayreuth Orchestra and be heard 2 counties over.

[@Thearchivebeyondimagination]

@@maestroclassico5801 the position of mic probably.

[@maestroclassico5801]

@@Thearchivebeyondimagination I think it was in the middle of the Orchestra

[@patrickandrew122]

I liked Price, Farrell and Callas - all for different reasons of course.

[@CarlosLopez-zc3xb]

For me, Gwyneth Jones was the Best

[@ПоэзияРоманаЛафоре]

Astrid Varnay is the best with your very heavy and beautiful voice❤❤❤

[@SleepingTurtle1]

An early post for Halloween, which only goes to show how stunningly awful Beethoven's writing for the human voice was. The best that could be said is that Gwyneth Jones didn't sound as bad as the others. Ceclia Bartoli was truly ghastly. By a long way the least enjoyable post on your excellent channel, largely due to Beethoven's inability to write opera

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

Well, I hope the video was entertaining at least... Think of it as a horror movie.

[@SleepingTurtle1]

@@dramaticsoprano5168 I love Beethoven's instrumental music, and I have a recording of Fidelio with Flagstad (who is in my top three favourite singers) which I have listened to one (1) time. Every time I accidentally hear his vocal writing I like it less. At least he was deaf and was spared hearing it himself.

[@jamescottone9882]

Barbara Frittoli sang this in recital.

[@Orfeus80]

Farrell, Jones, Caballè, Davidsen, Norman are the ones that impressed me the most. Bartoli, the least.

[@ER1CwC]

I’m always a bit amused by Caballe’s relationship with consonants. Is Price too light for your tastes here?

[@Orfeus80]

​@ER1CwC no, I think her voice has the right weight and lightness for this, but I still don't like the way she uses it. I'm just not a fan...but she has plenty so she doesn't need my vote.

[@Orfeus80]

​@@ER1CwCwhich ones did you prefer?

[@ER1CwC]

@@Orfeus80 I understand. Price achieved homogeneity in a different way than fully developing the registers. I voted for Farrell, Jones, and Price, so some overlap with your list. I think Davidsen is a real talent, but she sounds a bit stuffy or masky here for my tastes. Agree on Bartoli.

[@SleepingTurtle1]

definitely avoid Bartoli's Casta Diva. I had to lie down in a darkened room for several hours afterwards. I'd rather hear Micheal Ball sing Vesti la giubba

[@thomasdeansfineart149]

Excellent. Thank you for preparing and sharing this. NB: You omitted Sylvia Sass from your printed list. 🙌🫶🙏

[@lissandrafreljord7913]

Caballe sounded the best for me, followed by Nilsson. They don't lose their tonal quality across the registers, maintaining a very pristine and even column of sound. My only critique of Nilsson is breathing in the wrong place where she disrupts the melisma. Caballe's diminuendo is hauntingly beautiful too. Bartoli sounds the worst. Very histrionic singer, with an annoying tremelo in her voice. Don't know how she was allowed to have a career in opera with that crazy approach of singing.

[@KajiVocals]

Bartoli should have been a musicologist instead of a singer. That is where her talents lie.

[@rihardk1976]

Calas 🤩🥰

[@aclassicaltrove]

To my taste, the person who sang these passages the best was Helene Wildbrunn, easily.

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

@@aclassicaltrove I would not be surprised. But does she have a recording?

[@aclassicaltrove]

@dramaticsoprano5168 Sure enough she does: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIKVmqtni5yNr5Yfeature=shared&t=5m51s

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

@@aclassicaltrove Oh! This is Leonore's aria "Abscheulicher" from Fidelio. The piece in my video is "Ah perfido!" which is a separate concert aria. They are quite similar pieces though. By the way, I have a comparison of Abscheulicher too (kzbin.info/www/bejne/npfJY6p-q5qYmdE). Wildbrunn is featured in that video!

[@aclassicaltrove]

@@dramaticsoprano5168 That's what I get for posting this at 3 AM in the morning lol Thanks for the correction, and glad to know you featured Wildbrunn there!

[@porcinet1968]

Cherry Strudel all the way for me - I love the dramatic vibrancy of the voice. This aria doesn't sound obviously "virtuosic" but in fact it seems almost impossible to sing well!

[@matthewtravisano1097]

Agreed but she comes in a little flat, no?

[@doGreatartistsgrowontrees]

It’s Cheryl Studer. The Cherry Strudel business is not humorous at all. And by the way, today we have no one remotely close to what she has achieved. Take notice.

[@davidjuliancooksey256]

Jones

[@orendainlicon]

Sylvia sass is the best

[@pixelchords3201]

Thanks for the video! Nilsson's pitchy coloratura and sharp top notes scared me. Tebaldi and Callas proved it could get even worse. The horror continued further with Caballe and Bartoli... Some of them do okay but I don't think anyone really excels. Beethoven was a vocal sadist.

[@Thearchivebeyondimagination]

You probably didn't realize that, but Nilsson's "sharp top notes" were being done by the fact that tape is simply half - step higher.

[@draganvidic2039]

These recordings with Tebaldi and Callas were after their vocal primes unfortunately.

[@pixelchords3201]

@@Thearchivebeyondimagination The tape is not a half-step higher. It is only about 20-30 cents higher. She is still sharp on both top notes in the coloratura section and also sharp on the second B-flat. That is clear as day just by comparing to the orchestra and previous notes.

[@pixelchords3201]

@@draganvidic2039 Yes, but I don't think it is a good excuse. Especially for Callas as the notes are not very high in her range at all. Many singers here are older than them and do better.

[@Thearchivebeyondimagination]

@@pixelchords3201 it's Colon, not VS. But it's pretty much clear for you that tape was higher on pitch than it should. And okay, one of like, five B - flats goes above the right pitch. Not a disaster after all.

[@matthewtravisano1097]

Caballé for the win. Clear as a bell, spot on, and big.

[@liedersanger1]

Farrell's is the best here, and the full recorded performance is the best I've heard. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYfdaJmAbspkbc0si=ItzZwhrFb6m-DFH_

[@atligumundsson6307]

I've heard several of the singers you selected in better recordings where the articulation was better, including Callas, Nilsson and few others. Not sure how you made the selection of the particular recordings.

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

@@atligumundsson6307 Strange you think that because I actually selected my favorite recordings for both Nilsson and Callas. Callas sung this aria very late in her career and I have presented here the earliest - a studio recording from the early 60s. She has two live recordings from the 70s in which she is in very poor condition. I think I would have received a lot more flack for putting either of those than this version. I certainly imagine you would be in the minority if you prefer either of those. Nilsson does indeed have an earlier recording which is arguably cleaner, but it is a studio recording. Where possible I was going with live recordings (with Callas being an exception). This was the best live performance I could find, and I certainly prefer it over the 70s recordings in which she is very pitchy.

[@atligumundsson6307]

Thanks for your response. I appreciate the work you put in - it’s not easy and I enjoyed listening. In any case it’s always hard to judge world class voices from a recording, the fuller / bigger the voice the less well it’s represented. Always reminds me to get out and go to live performances. I’m old enough to have heard many of your selections live.

[@dramaticsoprano5168]

@@atligumundsson6307 And thank you for your comment! I hope my reply did not come across as abrasive. That was not my intention. I only wanted to make it clear that I was not intentionally picking unfortunate recordings to put anyone in a bad light. That is not what this channel is about.

[@davidedevoti5823]

Cheryl Studer, not Struder!!!!

[@SleepingTurtle1]

Cheryl Strudel

[@davidedevoti5823]

@@SleepingTurtle1 😡

[@doGreatartistsgrowontrees]

The Cherry Strudel business is not humorous at all. And by the way, today we have no one remotely close to what she has achieved. Take notice.