Claire Richards - "Der Hölle Rache" (The Queen of the Night Aria) (Popstar to Operastar Semi Final)

Claire Richards performs "Der Hölle Rache" (The Queen of the Night Aria) from "The Magic Flute" by Mozart, in the semi final of Popstar to Operastar. Starring Rolando Villzon and Katherine Jenkins The panel consists of Rolando Villzon, Katherine Jenkins, Vanessa-Mae, Simon Callow and for this week only special guest panelist Alfie Boe.

[@AsifKhan-ju4ld]

She had about a week to learn this aria, that is bloody impressive!

[@mabel8179]

It was seriously impressive given that opera singers spend YEARS to get to even try to sing this!

[@Knappa22]

This is a very very very hard aria. Massive respect to her.

[@MsGale10]

Why oh why is it this girl is not making an album of opera? I want to buy one and I am sure I am not alone. Thumbs up for a Claire Richards opera album!

[@ChristopherPettersen]

What I love most is that her high notes don't sound forced at all! They are effortless. It's such a shame she didn't pursue classical training. She could have had an opera career, even if it was just as a chorus member!

[@yogajedi3337]

We are happy she didn't pursue any operatic sleeping pill career. Singing in a simple choir, you must be kidding..

[@ChristopherPettersen]

@@yogajedi3337 Please, there's more room for opera singers in this world than as a fake million dollar career. I'm talking more at the amateur level, she could easily do chorus parts or small roles in amateur productions if she had the interest and went through a bit more training. Opera is for everyone and there are opportunities for everyone to get involved. Working her on some simpler arias, some easier mozart (Maybe Despinas arias, Cherubinos arias) and art songs, theres no limit to what she could do.

[@yogajedi3337]

@@ChristopherPettersen An opera voice isn't something talented youngsters usually are interested in. It's an unnatural way of singing and the obscure repertoire has no relevance in contemporary contexts. Opera perhaps is a good choice for those who can't make it elsewhere. Simon Cowell called them big voices.

[@_vodkamartini_]

I'm impressed by her attempt. although not a trained operatic singer, I give her props for doing it well given her amount of practice.

[@niahabeeb-ullah3218]

agreed

[@theoracletheoracle4478]

A real singer can sing anything!!!👏👏👏👏 Claire’s voice is fantastic 😍😍💕

[@yogajedi3337]

That means few opera house singers are real singers with real talent..

[@smileyraw]

No dear lol doesn't work like that.

[@hodgietwo1]

Claire is soo normal, shes an inspiration to alot of popstars :)

[@Raphalou]

I think it is exceptional to see this! to have a pop artist sing Opera is such a great idea..OMG I wish the US could have such an amazing show. It would weed out sooooooo many singers and leave the best! LMBO

[@lesleyosler6153]

Even years later on and I am still listening to it !!

[@ChristopherPettersen]

What Also is Commendable is Claire's work ethic. She really worked hard to get the sound she has.

[@Macrogue65]

A week to learn one of the hardest roles from Mozart. She did bloody marvellous. I know seasoned soprano's that will not take this on. Well done. Absolutely well done.

[@Rosiecrossley1]

Who cares if the key was a little lower she did an exceptional job in a small space of time!! Well done Claire!!

[@kirbyruiz9754]

Impressive... She never failed to amaze me. Thanks CLAIRE ❤️ You'll always be my fav one

[@Eurafrican]

Claire was hands down the best contestant of series 2 :)

[@lexxit5860]

i agree, was totally robbed

[@KayleighNatasha]

​@@lexxit5860She definitely was

[@valerieselau7384]

Still one of the best moments of her career. 2020

[@kevinkurniadi9132]

her voice is like a nicole scherzinger voice, i think its good if they can battle with voice opera..i love both of them. they have amazing voice

[@sarahlogilrow522]

Coming here to make sure I’m right about nitting 😭😭🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼💙💙💙💙

[@TheSmithDorian]

Considering the circumstances that was damned impressive - and it showed a huge amount of courage to even try it.

[@tongapuss]

Forgot how much I enjoyed this programme. Would be fun to bring it back, we need something like this. So much better than The Masked Singer

[@wenglishsal]

Claire's performance 'blew me away' it was AWESOME, and wasn't it fabulous to see Alfie Boe there too... I adore Rolando he makes me laugh, but is was cracking of Alfie to step into the 'mentor's role whilst Rolando was singing in Italy... LOVED the whole series... :0)x

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

She did do an amazing job, especially since the timbre of her voice is a little too light for this aria, this is balanced out because her voice is so wonderfully full and rich, I think if she'd had more time she could have sung this aria in the correct key. I think she's only one key below the correct key here.

[@rosscaw82]

some of these negative comments on her breathing and not in the right key etc lol - the key might have been lowered however, to do this aria and for someone who does not come from a classical background is really impressive. I thought Claire was amazing on popstar to operastar You can tell when she sings her own songs and in steps her technique has improved. She is very talented I have always admired her voice

[@AlineMayne1]

It's transposed one step lower, but she did a great job if that's her first time singing opera!

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

I think if she'd had more than a week she could have done it in full voice, without belt, in the correct key.

[@jonathanace7587]

What a beautiful voice Clarie

[@jongowan3277]

Unbelievable.Claire Richards.💯💯💯💫💫💞

[@goddambitch12]

bloody hell. she nailed it

[@buffalopauln]

THIS should have taken Claire to the final. No question. Hope she makes an album now!!

[@michaelkeates7838]

Still to this day I can’t believe she didn’t win this

[@lornarasco]

i really love Claire even before, way back late 90's!

[@eve_evie7005]

I was searching steps songs and claire solo then I come up here.. I never been this happy seeing claire sung this difficult piece and she nailed it. :D

[@hjbjms8235]

Glad that she actually incorporated her skills into Steps

[@duckyrahardian8773]

Awesome awesome awesome

[@Yikkkes23]

shes sooo good

[@RaymondHng]

This arrangement transposed the aria by a whole step lower. In the original key, the highest note is F6. This version's highest note is E-flat6.

[@george1066]

I'm astonished she sang this piece and got knocked out. I suspect the viewing public had no idea how difficult that aria is. I bet she could easily pack many an Opera house and probably convert some of her fans to Opera lovers in the process. I think I heard that she is back in Steps again, so the opera will have to wait though !

[@UnofficialSteps]

I Can't Imagine Lisa Scott-lee doing this! LOL! xD

[@zakariashartley]

She'd still be crying over being given that letter in then MEN

[@MrStefdj]

WOW, that is AMAZING!!!!!!

[@frosty9085]

That was amazing Claire!!!!!!!!!!

[@malcolmfinch8501]

Fantastic !

[@jgemslie]

That blew me away last night, fabulous!!!

[@anggieflorida]

Claire to WIN!. Thumbs up is u agree...x

[@ChristopherPettersen]

I would LOVE to hear her sing "Vedrai Carino" from Don Giovanni.

[@highnote32]

Yeah, I agree with the others.......This is a very hard song to sing. Most will lower the key for their comfort.

[@mariastrikwerda3074]

Actually...the key is lowered. The original is in d-Minor/F-Major. She sings it in c-Minor/E-flat-Major. That is a whole tone down. But, still very impressive :-) Actually, in 'the old days' it was perfectly normal for singers to transpose things to a key more comfortable. Since recordings have become 'the standard' and people have access to 'how it ought to be sung' opera singers can't get away with transposing. Also the art of embellishment has suffered a great deal from recordings, cause people want it to sound the way they hear it at home on their cd...and not some variation on that...they would get all irritated. The great Joan Sutherland was probably one of the last (if not THE last) Queen of Nights to have the courage to transpose. She also sang this aria a whole tone down.

[@LLLLLLLLLucas]

Incredible!!!

[@ryanscarola]

Terrific. The tempo is SLIGHTLY slow, but it's really amazing to learn this in one week.

[@janewebster3663]

Love Claire. Her voice is always amazing 🤩

[@McLeanAmy]

So wonderful! Wish she could win! x

[@pudsey4000]

Well done Claire!! Was singing along! I'm only 16 and can hit the high notes!!! :) YESSSS! :D

[@KayleighNatasha]

Claire was a winner in my eyes

[@goddambitch12]

my god amazing

[@unidan82]

goosebumps every time :)

[@DameMitHermelin]

Just one thing - it's Rolando Villazon and not Villzon as you wrote it twice in the description. I believe it was difficult enough for her, even here in the lower key, but I really expected worse. She did it pretty good as for a pop singer. Shame she didn't sing it to an end.

[@garth56]

This is as everyone has said the most difficult aria for a soprano...Mozart certainly doesn't make it easy...But compared to Marcella's offering last year...this was in a different league...She sounded proffesional and like a trained singer...There were a few short falls...But OMG to do this in such little time is daunting...I agree with one other...Claire should go on and pursue classical trainning...It's such a waste if she doesn't

[@kylemcglothen7809]

Great job!

[@chriswinwood6501]

I’ve just booked to see Steps. And I ended up here. Crikey.

[@goddambitch12]

WOW

[@tinkslvzstacey1]

LOVED IT :) Bravo Claire :)

[@hazzavidsenjoyable]

yeah remember that she isn't professional, she had like a week to put this together where as professionals get like months

[@stevewestlondon1955]

Love u Claire. Amazing voice 😘😘👏🏻

[@valerieselau7384]

I seen it on TV since I'm studying in the High School.

[@philipowen3370]

Amazing ❤

[@goddambitch12]

im feeling it, great attempt

[@carold.9049]

Her teacher is Rolando Villazon!

[@6735212]

+Estefania D. amin to that :3

[@LLLLLLLLLucas]

Claire has always had an amazing voice, those hooks on Steps songs a really difficult too.

[@mammamoo3045]

Please can anyone tell me what was her highest note here in this performance

[@rexana]

Not perfect but that's a bloody hard aria and for someone who's not a trained opera singer this is awesome. And a voice like that was wasted doing shit like 5, 6, 7, 8. O___O

[@Simon-hm7ry]

What!?!?! That. is. NICE!

[@thebelustvchanel]

♥

[@TheRealityfades]

I think some of the song was left out because the passagio toward the end of the song would be way too difficult for an amateur to try. But still, this is a really good effort. If only she she were more experienced, I'd like to hear her try the high F's.

[@seankennedy6147]

The point of the show is teaching popstars to sing an Opera song in a week.

[@bdman4645]

She said on her first day of training that she had no musical background/ training and she’d been winging it all her career...... pretty good for that

[@ThePunkassbitch]

I think this if fantastic claire

[@glennpaulful]

yah agree!!!! claire is awesome!!!

[@miaand12]

Astounding giving the time she had to learn it. She'd have a good opera career with training!

[@scottbakanumba1heathen313]

A Steps member, wow you go Claire!

[@whatdoyousuppose]

Not bad given the circumstances, of course there's lot that to be improved upon, but still impressive nonetheless!

[@evakilovemusic123]

why are popstars singng only half of this song???:/

[@luciaarndt]

you are right, the key is lowed

[@PhantomFan1a]

@FootlooseDiva It does sound pretty difficult especially when she does the really high notes....why did she lose?!?!

[@garth56]

Thank you LaBartollilover..Casta Diva is very difficult.....But I agree....This is just silly....Mozart was having fun with the Soprano...The girl did good...

[@80Mrmirko]

Alcune delle vere astrifiammanti della storia si rivoltano nella tomba! La fine dell’opera!

[@jasonjoe4206]

is alfie boe the man with hair on his face in the vidto ?

[@jasonjoe4206]

*video

[@commentaccount9763]

Yes, that is Alfie Boe.

[@LaDivinaLover]

No this is technically more difficult than casta diva it is all breath support. The most difficult aria ever is Cadro ma qual si Mira.

[@SeanSymphony]

@TheUntamedVixen Me too :P

[@DimitriMorel]

mes oreilles saignent ! au secours

[@zzzed55]

i watched this prog for the first time on the night that Claire sang this quite difficult aria to say that i was amazed that she did not go through is putting it mildly. even van gough with one bloody lug ,ole would have voted for her instead of that goddam awful dog Cheryl Baker whoes claim to fame is a tv commercial with the line "get on the blowa naa"

[@glennpaulful]

it was a f6

[@kakurangers1993]

@Avalonmusicpress If you are an amateur opera singer, it's best to sing this aria lower key down, until you practice it on higher notes, little by little.

[@MissAlmeida]

The aria is difficult and this girl surely has some potential, I agree she should take classical training. Anyway, this is far from being the most difficult aria for a soprano. Casta Diva, for example, is way harder.

[@gillianwilson1330]

How dare that person say claire was not good people would not vote her

[@FranzBlumVan1890]

is Katherine Jenkins teaching her to sing opera.....?

[@georgiosz.9493]

She was problably good at the theoretical part of opera, but in practice.... I don't think so sorry. Sorry Kathy

[@baritonebynight]

I think one should have sung opera to teach others.......Jenkins has never sung in an opera in her life and her attempts at singing operatic arias have had mixed reviewed at best.

[@glennpaulful]

claire reach the highest notes

[@enzoaragoza1]

The notes are obviously lowered.

[@k21bg]

gosh, the breathing...

[@TeylaDex]

sadly she sung only the first hald? but with the time she had it was so fucking impressive and amazin

[@shaunaeheler8114]

Has anyone else noticed this arrangement is several notes lower than in the original score?

[@Dim4323]

With a swine flu....i had 3 injections this week and i got the tammy fluuu

[@curtwall7089]

She cannot sing like this I'm the final wtf fuck Claire got a stunning voice and pulls off opera the lungs on her

[@georgiabowring1985]

She's a dramatic soprano, she's not a coloratura soprano. But she still dos it better than Marcella Detroit!

[@detoditofree5454]

Georgia Bowring1 yes, she's dramatic soprano

[@snowwhitebeautyful]

She's no soprano at all. This is a typical mezzo, proper soprano sings this almost 2 octaves higher.

[@davidmuller9938]

@@snowwhitebeautyful 2 octaves higher???? looooool. mezzo? :DDD loooool. you better look these terms up

[@snowwhitebeautyful]

@@davidmuller9938 i was refering to marcela detroit. She isn't even close to a soprano.

[@madpotterfan]

@Aero1000able i think lisa scott-lee could do this very well might not be as well as claire but she could do it so dont diss lisa

[@Javitomanzano]

She does it well (just well), you rather buy some opera album made by professionals.

[@Javitomanzano]

She tries, she does it well (but not fantastic) but in opera micros are not used.

[@Xfactories]

This is a tone down from the original key.