Perle Nere - Operatic disasters - Part 2

[@Applelline]

At last, someone who agrees with me about Netrebko.

[@potusumanbibingka]

who go against you about Netrebko ma'am?

[@karlnapf5685]

So you found another idiot!

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

I agree also. She's dreadful!

[@brookeggleston9314]

Netrebko is ghastly!!

[@alexanderehrmann4405]

Netrebko is totaly overrated

[@colinreed1704]

Madam Callas..every time you SANG you gave us a piece of your heart..thankz

[@mademoiselledusfonctionell1609]

Though she was an earsore.

[@w.urlitzer1869]

@@mademoiselledusfonctionell1609 and you are a waste of oxygen

[@Sutherland2]

Much of this is right on target, I agree. But the Nicolai Gedda crack is SO rare. He spent 50 years at the top of his form. That clip is unfair. The rest of the trash deserve your scrutiny.

[@martinposavec5255]

Couldn't agree more.

[@quequitoAR]

Totally agree here!!!!

[@brookeggleston9314]

Yes! Everyone can have an occasional bad night, and with Gedda, they were extremely rare!

[@tecnicaantica]

According to some sources, he needed psychological therapy to recover…..

[@jefolson6989]

Gedda would have to have been deathly ill.

[@fpngan]

Haha "Callas has left the building" Fucking callas.....my hero

[@magicmonkichi]

damn I want that on a Tshirt!

[@terrietackett8964]

When I hear these recordings of Villazon, it breaks my heart...

[@giladrosenberg7575]

As an aspiring opera singer. it does make you feel better to hear the great ones crack... Everytime a great one's voice cracks, an angel gets its wings!

[@soundslikeblue]

Some information missing here about the Callas' incident: Before that performance Callas told the Opera House management that she need to be replaced because she was sick, but they insisted that she had to perform saying "No one can Double Callas". When singing the first act, she felt that she was hurting her voice and that she couldn't complete the Opera, so she decided to go. And I totally understand her decision! Sadly the press blamed her, But she won the Lawsuit against the Opera House.

[@LigeiaNoire]

I admire her even more.

[@soundslikeblue]

@@LigeiaNoire Me too. She was trully a professional and she gave it all for her craft - thus elevating her singing to honor the composer's Art! Thank you!

[@nene1082]

The Rome Opera House was truly at fault for this. They should have had a substitute in case anything happened to Maria. Number one rule in performing - in any performance, you need an alternate, maybe 2, because you don't know what's going to happen.

[@luanllluan]

It is still unbelievable what happened that night. What a scandal! A woman gets sick. These Italians...

[@neilbarnes7537]

@@luanllluan she had given them everything, the best years of her singing life. She cancelled one performance and they turned on her like rabid wolves. They didn’t deserve her.

[@machovoce6826]

You are SO right about Netrebko. The Queen of Opera's Decline.

[@MadonnaImperia]

I couldn't agree more. The woman has lovely raw material but mediocre technique and not enough humility towards music to choose roles that reflect her limited capabilities. I even read an interview with her years ago, where she said that she had accepted the role of Elvira in "I puritani" BEFORE reading the score - amazing!

[@machovoce6826]

MadonnaImperia Good story. She "skated" over Puritani, although I think her Anna Bolena was even less successful. Lucia was a joke. I mean, in repertory that is right for her, she's very good, not great, but that's increasingly difficult to define. As for Gelb, he's just the Phil Spector of opera.

[@MadonnaImperia]

She did indeed skate over Puritani - I saw a clip of her singing "Son vergin vezzosa", and she sang it in half voice, presumably to be able to manage the runs and scales - even though it wasn't sung particularly fast.

[@basilmanolakos3839]

I read in an Opera News Interview with NETREBKO that she intended to be A FRENI PURITAN and not a JOAN SUTHERLAND one! First of all, Miss Freni did not sing the role of Elvira. And what's wrong with singing like Dame Joan? I cannot take NETREBKO seriously! Sorry!

[@carloslopez5766]

Basil Manolakos Freni did sing I Puritani

[@danielday-lewis7477]

Netrebko the most overrated in last 50 years!! my God. SO TRUE!!

[@tomostertag1995]

Das stimmliche Können von Frau Callas wurde noch mehr überschätzt!

[@phil2u48]

100 years...really.

[@madamedellaporte4214]

Can't stand her. Overrated buffoon.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@tomostertag1995 I don't think so: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYnapGqtgNqWatk

[@BillyBoy442]

She’s STINKO, that LA NETREBKO. Odious in fact.

[@kyleaustin7045]

I guess you've already known this, but Callas was actually sick at that point, and the Rome Opera House refused to prepare a cover soprano. Between giving a bad performance and just leaving with dignity, she made the right choice.

[@BillyBoy442]

Yes she did. Maria’s temperature had spiked 101o F. She needed rest, not NOT NORMA.

[@danawinsor1380]

Callas warned the management that she might not be able to sing the performance. Their response was: "Nobody understudies Callas." Ironically, they might have been able to get Anita Cerquetti, who sang the second night's performance, to appear on opening night.

[@AIWboojum]

Holy crap I cannot agree more about Netrebko!!!!!!

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

You say that no meanness was intended - lol - but some of the editorial comments WERE... Still - a fun video to watch. I have compassion for singers - their instrument is their BODY - and some days they just might not be well...though I agree that today's singers are probably pushing themselves right into vocal problems if they're not careful. I think the past generations were more carefully trained.

[@MadonnaImperia]

I agree about Netrebko - she could have a whole video of her own with her disasters! One of the most horrific things I have ever heard is her attempt to sing "Casta Diva" in concert, an aria for which she doesn't ahve the correct technique and which it would appear she hadn't even bothered to learn either!

[@thesoubretteoftheopera7313]

The Netrebko failure is the worst just due to ego. Why not sing the written Bb? There is nothing wrong with singing the score as written.

[@machovoce6826]

People paid $350 to hear the Eflat.

[@ke3147]

@@machovoce6826 That E flat is not in the original score.

[@danawinsor1380]

@@ke3147 That's right. There's no shame in singing the music as written, regardless of whether the high note is expected or not.

[@cubanbach]

This is a fascinating testament to the treachery of trying to sing when one is not probably prepared or in best form. I remember MY first performance when I was 11 years old. My voice cracked in front of half the school and all my teachers. They laughed - but I went on and finished the song. There was applause because I managed to regain my composure & finish the song. But - it was humiliating, humbling and it shaped and influenced the development of my shyness a long time. I got over it.

[@clivepapayanis3121]

I've been sanctimonious about reveling in operatic disasters, but this stuff is both hilarious and heart-wrenching...haven't laughed this hard in a while

[@allenjones3130]

Audiences can be so rude!

[@AfroPoli]

Netrebko is good for people who prefer to watch instead of listening. That's why she is here. I have her in a lot of disasters, including Rigoletto (Munich). She was simply terrible.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Callas was wise enough to know when she couldn't perform. She was ill that night and was persuaded to sing the first act against her better judgement. After she left the theater the opera couldn't continue because the management hadn't provided an understudy to sing her role. Which was very poor planning on their part.

[@marcosmarin8930]

She should have cancelled in the morning

[@borisvonderlinde5184]

...poor Villazon. He had such a beautiful voice.

[@Monnarchmonnarchy]

He sings like a dog now, what happened? On this record here, he had a real good voice!

[@Xersex2009]

uno stupido che l'ultima cosa che sa fare è cantare.

[@skykill9734]

@@Monnarchmonnarchy he had a surgery for a problem in one of his vocal chord. That's why he lost his voice

[@jefolson6989]

His is rehabilitated!

[@mariod7473]

@@skykill9734 ok then become a butcher or something....leave the stage.

[@jasonhurd4379]

I love how, after Karan Armstrong's imitation of an ambulance siren as Salome, at 4:42 when Herodes sings 'Sie ist ein Ungeheuer, deine Tochter! Ich sage dir, sie ist ein Ungeheuer!' (She is a monster, thy daughter! I say to thee, she is a monster!), some audience members applaud his sentiments! 😂😂😂

[@carsten8635]

Herodes ist der große Heldentenor Hans Beirer, schon in hohem Alter.

[@LigeiaNoire]

There's singers like Callas that know what is good or bad for the voice and then there's Netrebko....

[@quequitoAR]

I like this "perle nere" series very much!!!! They're most educational, even for opera listeners. Thus said, let's put to work. First: it's very different a bad night (Gedda), than a bad technique or preparation (most others here). Second: a professional singer MUST KNOW if a role suits his/her voice or not; THAT is a natural consequence of vocal technique an repertory studies. Third: audiences express themselves as they please, comes with the job; otherwise, go back home and sing for your friends (they always cheer you up). Addendum: I fail to guess which role is suitable for Netrebko, not involving boobs display; dramatic roles such as Turandot? Has anyone hear THAT THING?????

[@robert111k]

After reading your comment I've decided to look for new friends 😞

[@leblon2]

i think my favourite is when Sutherland was singing Traviata in Genoa and the tenor was booed several times during the performance: as a protest Sutherland left the stage and Bonynge left the podium...the opera finished with the same tenor and another conductor and a new soprano....I know I was there!

[@luanllluan]

That must have been something!

[@orion8835]

Those two…hilarious. It does start to get under one’s skin when that booing happens and can undermine the performance. Undermine the support and focus.

[@MrQbenDanny]

Great post Poli!!! I really enjoyed it!! I heard Sutherland hit emergency ambulance notes in Trovatore with Luciano and got ovation, go figure!! The Carreras broke my heart, I saw him at Met in Forza he was incredibly beautiful with soaring notes.

[@SophiArtist]

Ok, some of these may be "disasters" as you call, BUT we MUST NOT forget that all of these singers of the video, has given to as moments of pure musical magic and we must have a respect..We must not forget that we are humans and singing opera is a very difficult and stressor profession..It is some how like running at the Olympic Games..I' am writing all this because many of the singers from your video have sang very beautifully subsequently to the mentioned dates of the video..Surely a singer must know when it is time to leave the stage, BUT, they are humans like us not gods!

[@erichmayr7299]

Sophia Papadimitropoulou the truth is ana netrebko once said "there are much better singers than me"... yes many singers dont want to give a b-job or sleep with other musicians to get roles! i call it the "modern way of prostitution"! shame on those Idiot non-musician people who think ana is the only unique opera singer! shame!!! shame!!! she is overrated but the majority will never unterstand a real talent! look how many clicks justin bieber has... look how many clicks rachmaninoff has...

[@SophiArtist]

The video is not only about Netrebko and I didn't mentiond her. You did. And it's good to remember from time to time that ALWAYS WILL BE someome BETTER. This is a rule in life and very wisely Anna said that! My comment was about respect to all those people who have prove their devotion in opera and music, despite their bad moments. We all have! Now as concerns all the other you wrote, I know what you mean, that's why we should give our best to bring people in classical music but this doesn't mean that Bimber is not good on what he's doing...This is a long conversation..But as concerns me I'm doing my best in classical music! Sincerely

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

Well said!

[@vitabella6481]

Netrebko is awful, already for so many years. She has no class at all. Like Ricciarelli, both well known puttanas in the opera business.

[@Michael-j5y9r]

perhaps you are right,bur anna netrebkos good singing is about 20 years ago!!!

[@AfroPoli]

Good. Listen to the mistakes the famous ones make and avoid them. Good luck.

[@grafplaten]

"Sie ist ein Ungeheuer, deine Tochter..." ("She's a monster, your daughter...") and the audience applauds in agreement....

omg, Villazon is such a sad case indeed

[@oldoperafan_in_London]

A very funny and truly opera-loving series. Spot on about... and ... (no names).

[@vitabella6481]

Sehr unterhaltsam! Ich habe schon sehr lange nicht mehr so gelacht!! 🤣🤣🤣 danke dafür! Die Oper, ein Zoo voller Leidenschaften! 🤣🤣

[@Agorante]

Just a little unfair. Calvin Marsh would have been the top baritone on any stage except he sang at the Met with Warren and Merrill. He would never have sung Tonio at the Met. He would have done Silvio. In any case he got bitten by the religion bug and quit to sing Gospel stuff. Gedda was fairly famous as the Duke - I had his LP album. of Rigoletto. But his voice was kind of 'high strung' It got away from him occasionally. Villazon is a mystery to me. What the hell happened? Oddly enough when he wrecked his voice and couldn't sing the standard repertory anymore he sang Mozart better than you would have thought possible. Better than Domingo or Pavarotti for example. Bonisolli criticism is also a bit unfair. He did act oddly at times but we never knew that he was singing with a brain tumor.

[@Agorante]

We now know what went wrong with Villazon's voice. He had a congenital flaw on one of his vocal cords. A normal person who only spoke might go his whole life without noticing it. But a opera singer submits his cords extreme requirements. It had nothing to do with his vocal technique. In a similar story Arnold Schwarzenegger who was otherwise in real good shape had a congenital heart problem not discovered until he was over forty.

[@Agorante]

It is now 2019 and we know about Villazon. Apparently he had a congenital growth on the underside of his vocal cords. Had he not been a singer there never would have been a problem but singing was too much and it became inflamed.

[@missasinenomine]

Yes. Gedda in Rigoletto with Reri Grist is superb. Both of them. Love it!

[@yvettebracefield6270]

The shouted comments during the opera are just like KZbin comments live.

[@10.6.12.]

I was at the Villazone performance it was horrifying... HOWEVER people overlooked the miked Dessay ... why???

[@Slaychelle]

I just can't with the heckling. It's one thing to BOO at the END of a performance but to shout out during the middle of someone singing is just BEYOND disrespectful and downright rude. It also defies logic. The stress and nerves of performing to a crowd that is shouting out hateful comments will not ease or relax the vocalist but do the complete opposite, thus making vocal mishaps more likely and frequent.

[@PLDB27]

+Slaychelle You are so right.... but those who've never been on stage don't have a clue about what stage performers - whether singers, dancers or musicians - can go through. Even professionals are human beings...!

[@jasonhurd4379]

Slaychelle Remember that in Italy, opera is a blood sport, especially at La Scala, La Fenice, and elsewhere. The audiences in these opera houses have grown up with these works, imbibing them from infancy right along with mother's milk. Incompetence on the part of a performer is seen as a gross insult to the composer, and no quarter is given, not even for an 'off night'. On more than one occasion, an improperly prepared singer has been horrified to hear the entire audience singing the aria the way it's SUPPOSED to sound, rather than the way the singer was singing it. This is just a fact of life in Italy, and will most likely never change. Singers who do not wish to go up against the hard-to-please Italian public should not accept engagements in Italy.

[@camillegreffe110]

Teatro Real is in Madrid, Spain. But the Italian, Spanish and French people (especially older) can tend to have this kind of personality where they are shamelessly unafraid to express loudly that they are unhappy. I could only imagine as an artist how dreadful it must have been! But it's the sport, as you say ;)

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Gone are the giants like Callas, Sutherland, Nilsson, Bjorling, and Corelli. The giants are gone. Today we only have pygmies.

[@janejones11]

This is really a divide between great singers who had a genuine off night ( Pav, Gedda, Bergonzi) and those singers whose problems are caused by impaired techniques ( Alagna, Villazon, Netrebko)..

[@draganvidic2039]

Yes

[@rothvinbosley1335]

Maybe Netrebko could have found another way to end this opera? I do not think that she is a soprano with the natural range to sing this material. They need to have teachers who will help them select material that is appropriate for them to sing. She is a very sad case. She tries to sing everything like a Callas. Even Callas was unable to keep her voice 100% of the time for 15 to 20 years. 200 years ago, most singers only lasted for 15 years or less.

[@ipercalisse579]

I'm Italian, and to me it sounds like he saying "c'è una pausa del maestro, qui. Puccini!" = Here it follows a pause by maestro Puccini.... So the tenor is claiming a rest that was not done, because nobody was applauding and orchestra went on.. but people is commenting something like "what? He wanted the pause to get applauded... show off!!!" And I believe the tenor really meant to get that applause in that rest time.

[@iraklijanashia5567]

Wish to be witness of Maria Callas leaving "Rome Opera House after act two of Norma in 1958" :) this would be much much more memorable and thrilling experience for me than what I am witnessing now in opera house :) Unfortunately nobody from the cast is leaving, I do, quite often.

[@LigeiaNoire]

Indeed.

[@rma8983]

Totally agree with u! Anna is so overrated. Probs because of her looks

[@muhchung]

I have a more extended excerpt of Netrebko's Lucia at the Met (circulating at the time). That was really bad. Well... Fortunately she has made some improvements recently, at least according to some excerpts I listened to. The American audience usually is quite polite (maybe too polite, according to George Szell) and will not boo, but I do enjoy the "interactions" heard in this clip. Wish we have a clip of the premiere of Le Sacre in Paris back in 1913.

[@simonkawasaki4229]

Loved the “oh-hoho” after Bonisolli made that incredibly ridiculous comment

[@arnaudrcs]

i agree when you say netrebko is probably the most overrated singer of the last 50 years

[@orion8835]

Netrebko is a very strong singer. But she like MANY in the biz are overrated these days. Neytebko..well.. Especially as she seems to do everything.But she is sound in many roles.

[@orion8835]

It's a tough biz. The expectation. It is amazing what a dark lyric soprano is pressured into these days.

[@AfroPoli]

Daniel Raphael That's true. However, she should know better.

[@orion8835]

well its a crap shoot with performers these days. They often are just under way too much pressure and unsuitable roles all in attempt to be well universally appealing at everything. And then there are the personal issues and stresses and such. Netreb is a dark lyric soprano. Live she is less dramatic than on recording make her out to be and the voice is less high. Its all pressure..one sees it all the time with the tenorinos also strained or limited by rossini trying to do more.. It's a business. They are people too of course. But people do pay the ticket. And this is the problem.

[@AfroPoli]

Manoli Stavrinakis I would NEVER sing a role on stage if I do not have the range the role requires. You find out practising at home whether you have the range or not. If you do experiments on stage, then you are no professional and insult the composer and the public likewise. At home, she should have a rock solid E before attempting parts that require Eb...

[@shadowdog1977]

Oh my goodness! Villazon's cough at 2:05!! That poor man. But way to soldier on! So glad his voice seems to be healed up. He sounds wonderful in Mozart these days. Glad he's back!

[@joanlovett1854]

Michael Travis Risner (

[@baritoneblazzin1965]

Wow this is really something! lol. It would have been something to hear the infamous performance of Leontyne Price's terrible Minnie in La fanciulla del West performance, where she had to yell her part out because her voice had gone out lol

[@willworkforwages]

I've not followed Villazon's career but have often heard operaphiles express disappointment and even disgust that he avoids climatic high notes and transposes the original keys downward by as much as a third. Such comments are posted frequently on You Tube. People like his voice but not his singing.

[@johnwallace9792]

OMG, Villazon's stunned silence was hilarious!

[@chriggsiii]

Interesting sense of humor. I thought it was sad.

[@radames5855]

È meglio quando sta in silenzio che quando canta...😂

[@AfroPoli]

No, you are wrong. There is only one C (not "Cs" as you write): on ar-DEN-te. Not on "ar-DEN-TE-D'A-MOR" (Bonisolli version). Quite a difference.

[@jefolson6989]

This is THE BEST Calvin Marsh ever sounded!

[@flaviofaccia6135]

3.08-3.40. After that I need two hours of Dame Sutherland to purify my ears.

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

Me too!

[@SymphonyBrahms]

So true.

[@frufruJ]

Thank you, kiepura1902. I subscribe to every word! "Poiche noi siam uomini di carne e d'ossa"

[@morganchan2465]

Callas does made a scandal, but she leave a GREAT legacy ~ She actually made good decision. BTW, Netrebko, why, why she is still on stage -,- Make no sense ~ And you know how bad taste people are nowadays

[@basilmanolakos3839]

Callas was wise. She had caught the flu. She was in NO condition to sing NORMA with a temperature of 101. She tried to sing the First Act but her voice wasn't responding so she decided that it was best for her to throw in the towel and go home and rest. The Rome Opera Mgmt. should have had a 'cover' - Maria had warned them in advance that she was NOT feeling well and they dismissed her warning.

[@gayoperadude63]

It's an Eb not and E and she is under pitch. for sure

[@AfroPoli]

Mary Valletta Very true. If you have to sing an F on stage you ought to have a solid F#. Set Svanholm sang the entire role of Lohengrin a half note higher when rehearsing just to be sure that he'd nail it on stage...

[@cevicentevideos]

Though it's always fun to see/hear operatic train wrecks, these things are normal in live performances, and happened to all singers. The danger of something wrong happening is one of the exciting things about live performance, but the most exciting is the wonderful music by the great masters they perform onstage. A fantastic operatic performance is never perfect-as perfection isn't an option. Cracks and mistakes happen regardless of good or bad technique (or what an untrained opera aficionado may think is technique).

[@AfroPoli]

I actually planned to include him in the next part. I hate Calleja, he is like Bocelli. The worst thing is that some crazy fans now call him the "new Björling". They must be deaf.

[@AfroPoli]

And that's definitely not an alternative. What happens when you go to a restaurant and they serve you rotten food? Do you eat it politely, compliment the chef and give lots of tip? I guess not.

[@lylecosmopolite]

Joan Sutherland was a stateswoman. Plus she had Australian common sense and decency. Even Luciano was in awe of her.

[@tenoregermania]

Haha, I love all this stuff. Yes, indeed, half of Netrebko's career is based on her looks. European audiences also seem to be a lot more critical than audiences in North America.

[@Milordvega]

Oh yes that Bonisolli must have been fun and he was the first tenor I heard, as I saw on TV this 60's movie of La Traviata which Bonisolli with Anna Moffo (much better than Netrebko!). As for Domingo, no apology needed. He is a great tenor but more for the overall musicality and versatility and not for pure beauty of voice and singing ability. Of all great tenors in world history, he had the least impressive high register, though in zarzuela music, his high A's and B's could be good. Thanks!

[@kevinmark2146]

Watching Franco Bonisolli live was like Russian roulette… either he nails it out of the park and wows everyone with his high notes or he doesn’t have them that evening and you can expect an awkward evening of tenor ego and drama! lol. When he was on point, he is my second favourite tenor of all time, but he does have a HUGE “fail” highlight real” lol. Too bad the nickname “il pazzo” stuck with him because of this. The man had the voice of a god when he was locked it.

[@SilfredoSerrano]

I have to disagree that the Duke is not for Gedda. This was a very late recording. He was quite good in his earlier years. This recording is after 1980 where he had been singing for over 30 years!

[@AfroPoli]

Thanks. Actually, the "pazzo, pazzo" you hear is Bonisolli speaking in German. He says: "trocken, trocken, Waser, Wasser!" (dry, dry, water, water) while some people are booing.

[@jamesryan6008]

As a lifelong Nicolai Gedda fan, my ears couldn't believe what they heard.

[@Agorante]

We remember Reggie Jackson (Mr. October) for his many clutch home runs not for his strike outs even though he set and still holds the strike out record. I've heard Pavarotti crack live, and Domingo, and Merritt, and McCracken. Perform enough and sing high enough and some SOB will collect your cracks. I first heard the Gedda crack recording twenty years ago. Netrebko reminds me of Moffo - who also missed a lot of high notes. Most of these missed high notes are not in the score.

[@Operacrazed]

As regards Rolando Villazon. Please can we remember he had health problems and I think surgery for nodules. I am sure he was as dissapointed by failed high notes etc as we are.

[@buddys_dad]

He didn’t get those modules without trying. Overparted and oversung.

[@cliffgaither]

@@buddys_dad :: Yes ! You're right ! He definitely "over-sung" throughout his career, but the reason for that was his emotional involvement with his characters. I've never heard a tenor so vocally-dramatic in Baroque Music. His Baroque interpretations were truly outstanding.

[@JennaDelVirgo]

As a vocalist I find this comforting to know that the great singers are still human like me. However I find it shocking that the audience is yelling at them, and frankly as a singer that would make me feel even more horrible. Can't we all just support each other? Yes, mistakes are made, now move on

[@beatrixbeatricis]

I'm histerically laughing at Alagna's Traviata xD!!!!!

[@lxr0913]

Actually, Netrebko had the same problem at the aria "addio" in the famous Salzburg Traviata DVD

[@davidrichie9570]

The main problem with Bonisolli's high C in the Turandot is that he's ahead of the orchestra. Singing a high C that' is not written is hardly a cardinal sin in Italian opera. However, I think what he says is "E la causa del maestro qui. M'uccidi." I think that may mean "It's the maestro's fault. He's killing me."

[@AfroPoli]

That's a new one! I always thought he said È la pausa del maestro qui, Puccini! Whatever it is... his Cs do clash harmonically.

[@davidrichie9570]

They clash harmonically because he’s ahead of the orchestra.

[@AfroPoli]

@@davidrichie9570 No, look at the accompaniment… you can’t simply sit on the C here.

[@user-zz9su5sn6v]

He says something like "L'applauso del Maestro: Puccini", which roughly translates to "the applause is for Puccini", which is a bit ironic considering the fact that he interpolated a fuck load of Cs.

[@antoninotrotta3851]

what's the aria at 1:34?

[@AfroPoli]

AN is the Britney Spears of opera. She is thick as a brick, and her singing is abysmal. She is a success made by clever and aggressive marketing.

[@Andi6205]

Thank you! Great idea and very interesting. Only one thing: Bonisolli in Hamburg was not complete, you cut it so that the end is missing. I was there and recorded it too.

[@batabid95]

1:39 what’s the name of that aria ?

[@allenjones3130]

Anything can go wrong during a live opera performance.

[@Milordvega]

Maria Callas , larger than life! What a pazzo, that Bonisolli. Do you also have one presentation of Il Trovatore in Barcelona, where after he cracks on the (interpolated) high C's of "All'armi!" in "Di Quella Pira" at the end of the Act, and the audience is not giving him a big ovation during the curtain calls, he suddenly for no reason sings a high C just to show he can do it ?!?!?! Gigione!

[@chris99103]

It should be mentioned that Callas walkoff was not because of a performing or voice problem. As far as I remeber she was very sick. The press made a huge story out of that but her only fault was that she did not read the apology note to the audience which Meneghini wrote for her .

[@runhardhooah]

@VivaRenata I thank you kindly for adding to my small knowledge of opera history, something which I am aiming to expand, for I am a studying bass singer and have come to really enjoy opera. I have known Callas was an opera great, have heard that she has also been criticized with having a wobble in her voice at the top of her range, but did not know of this incident where she walked off the stage. Quite intriguing I must say. I imagine she only gained more respect by doing so.

[@YadaiDelacruz]

las personas que gritan que se callen o que es mierda (POR FAVOR!) deberían de subirse a un escenario para cantar ante tanta multitud, expectativa y estrés. Qué cobarde el estar sentado rodeado de gente y gritar cómodamente tanta porquería y mediocridad, (sabe que enfrente nadie se enteraría de quién se trata). Los cantantes no son máquinas, deben de entender que a veces tienen días malos, a veces hay malas rachas. Y pese a quien le pese, el hecho de estar pisando un escenario así, es un privilegio y por algo se está allí ..

[@Altonahh10]

Karan Armstrong always howled like a wolf. And Neuenfels` Aida in Frankfurt was great. You just had to get used to it ;-)

[@KathrynARyder]

THANK YOU!!!! It is about time that someone told the TRUTH about Anna Netrebko!!!!! You were so right!!

[@MicahandModesta]

Does anyone know if Nicola Gedda had laryngitis? It just seems odd to me that a lyric tenor would struggle with this role.

[@magnusmalm1818]

***** He wasn´t ill, just out of touch at the time - it was a mental thing...

[@roweman2]

I have to say, if I were in a theater where Maria Callas were performing and she left half way through, I would not be a happy camper either.

[@commandert5]

7:42 What on Earth had caused her to leave?

[@dracorpgroup]

Is there a reason why champion figure skaters who get up and continue are cheered while great opera singers are laughed and booed off the stage for one small error even when they continue? Can someone explain that please?

[@AfroPoli]

Opera is not sport. And singers usually don't get booed off the stage, quite the opposite.

[@dracorpgroup]

Your having taken the time to respond is very much appreciated. True. opera is not sport but that was not my point, not even in an oblique reference. There are many, many examples of even the greatest opera singers being trounced by the audience for a mistake, even Luciano Pavarotti and others of equal stature. The first performance of Swan Lake was bombed and attacked by almost everyone at the time. Sadly, I still feel that my search for an answer continues. Thanks again.

[@Jacob-ry3lu]

L.P. Pacelli I think it has to do with the fact that figure skaters are performing their own routine that they themselves took months and even years to create. The audience is judging something they've never seen before. On the other hand, opera is hundreds of years old, every opera fan has heard the famous operas many times over again with some of the greatest singers. So when a singer cracks on a high note, the audience instantly boos because they have all heard other singers sing the exact same piece and sing it beautifully. Also, these singers are singing greatly respected music, some people think its an insult to sing Verdi or Puccini in a sloppy way.

[@joanlovett1854]

L.P. Pacelli b/

[@euroarias2301]

Pienso que seria bueno discutir con un equipo multidisciplinario foniatras otorrinos maestros de canto....que paso en cada uno de esos momentos vocales desde el punto de vista técnico.....y sacar provecho de cada uno de esas situaciones en cuanto a tecnica del canto

[@magnusmalm1818]

Denouncing Villazon´s stellar performances as being worse than Gedda´s operatic apocalypse is probably going it a bit. However, I wouldn´t hesitate to label sweet Ms Netrebko the most overrated singer of the last 50 years...

[@machovoce6826]

Couldn't agree more with your assessment of Netrebko. She's filling in nicely for the troubled shoes of other overrated marquis singer, Dessay. As for the Met audience, it's a pop audience now. No one need say more.

[@alejandrotm]

Why is it that some singers insist on imitating others instead of singing with their own voice? This spells disaster and shortened career. No matter how nice and good some performances are, imitation is not the way in classical music, I'd leave it for TV shows and comedy theathre, good technique and a voice fit for the role are the way.

[@Beth29252]

I don't think Marsh singing Si Puo was that bad actually, the Ab needed more power but the tone and voice are great. Gedda and Villazon however were painful, and Netrebko's E flats were at least a semitone flat. The Aida clip is hilarious.

[@draganvidic2039]

Gedda usually had a secure top

[@stephenfletcher6801]

Villazon, to me, had one of the most beautiful tenor voices I have ever heard. As well, he was so genuinely passionate. Thank God we had him, if even for such a brief time.

[@parrotkabbarrot]

Gedda's La Donna e Mobile is just hilarious... I don't even think to boo.

[@akherousia]

Never feel happy about other people's failures. One day the same thing might happen to you.

[@giorgio4971]

2:08 Doctor, we're losing him!

[@gesaporiti]

Dear Afro poli: have the whole performance of salome with karan armstrong? I have another evening from this same production (1982), but in this performance nobody booed her. I want this yours where she's booed because i love perle nere jajaj Regards. Gus.

[@AfroPoli]

I don't, but I know the guy who has (and who recorded it). I doubt it ever got shared.

[@3miliangui]

Artists, they are human too, having bad days or bad health conditions. On the other side, I don't think haters are human...

[@joaoaurelio1534]

I didnt listen to it all but Nicolai Gedda, the Ducca is more than enough for him. Wouldn't say his technique is flawless and bulletproof but his problem lies in personal issues. Still, it's a perle nere lol. But the Ducca is for him as it was for Bjorling

[@victorberistain9536]

Con todo y el fallo, Bonisolli fue el mejor Manrico de todos, este si sonaba a hombre... 💯 Su Do es el más grande y varonil de todos.

[@cliffgaither]

@victorberistain :: I believe we are all entitled to have opinions about our favorite singer (s). But the other "Franco" will always be the _Di quella pira_ of this role ; even in The Romanza ( Serenade ; off-stage ), the audience couldn't control their enthusiasm for his vocal dynamics.

[@edgardo8459]

7:41 What is announced is "Per cause di forza maggiore la rappresentazione è sospesa": Due to a greater issue the performance was suspended, something like that. Also here 2:21, the man shouts something like "Was tust du, Mutter?" (What are you doing, mum?) - I can't hear it very clearly, but he is evidently not saying "absolutely unacceptable". I don't understand why you would write something different from what is being said as a subtitle.

[@AfroPoli]

My friend, that's: unzumutbar! Trust me, he doesn't talk to his mom. And forza maggiore is being called out because Callas had left. There was no tsunami or power blackout or anything of the likes. So, what's your friggin point?

[@edgardo8459]

Unzumutbar! That is not what I had heard. Thank you very much. I still disagree concerning the Callas one though; one understands the subtitles as a translation of what is being said, but I get your point.

[@AfroPoli]

@@edgardo8459 Ma si figuri... this is hard to understand German, and you won't get it unless you are a native speaker. And please disagree. It's an old video, and I myself am not entirely happy with it. Thanks for watching!

[@edgardo8459]

It's a fun video nonetheless, like the other parts, thanks for making them!

[@LordMgls]

I'm sorry, but you are not the trolling master. Those were the guys from Aida and Salome - the real trollmeisters!! They really made me laugh! Thank you for uploading these pearls. I wonder if you could post some more recordings of 'opera gone wild'? The only other I know about is Sutherland's Traviata walkout in Italy, which is already on YT! Thanks!!

[@elizabeths4371]

I'd often wondered if such situations had ever occurred and if so, what were the results, and now I know