Der Fliegende Holländer: Senta’s Ballad

Elza van den Heever sings an excerpt from Senta’s Act II aria in the final dress rehearsal. Production: François Girard. Conductor: Thomas Guggeis. 2022-23 season. Videography by Neville Braithwaite.

[@efrainmarinsanchez9777]

Wonderful

[@pianopetemusic]

Had the privilege of seeing this outstanding production this past Wednesday. It was beyond words, singers orchestra and production, bravo tutti👏👏 Best in the world!

[@lunag5601]

thanks for the video

[@doctorgrigori585]

Elza van den Heever 👏👏👏

[@K_delosangeless]

🌹 Bellísimo

[@operalover2512]

Hart an der Grenze zur Überforderung. Wenig überzeugend.

[@jeanpierrechabrol1173]

Elza tu es sublime dans Senta Tu emmerveilles tes admirateurs et tous les melomanes Un grand bravo JPG

[@growler777]

Why is it cut in half?

[@davidsimmons654]

Why is the key so high? The aria is in B flat, this is a whole step higher?

[@operas6]

I don't know. Does anybody know why this aria is in B flat??? Does anyone care?

[@ciociosan]

She’s singing it in the key it was written on.

[@tfleiter]

Doesn't matter...she was unbelievable yesterday evening!

[@davidsimmons654]

@@operas6 if you don’t care, then you wouldn’t reply. Get lost.

[@davidsimmons654]

@@ciociosan no it’s not

[@baal1999]

Nice acting, she sings very clearly ( which not many wagner-singers can do) but her voice sounds a little bit strange I do not know why.

[@tristanberger8500]

vibrato like a soubrette. Not even one clear vowel. Too small voice for Wagner and Strauss. Okay ! This is MET, this is Bayreuth, this is Salzburg Level of these days. Good Night, opera !

[@tfleiter]

…..you obviously didn’t have the opportunity to watch this production live at the MET. It was absolutely fantastic, absolutely captivating and as dynamic as I have never heard it before. All artists in this production were on a incredible level. I think this is one of the operas that does only really work on stage - massive orchestra, huge choir, extreme dynamics - overall some experience you will never forget and I am grateful that I had the chance to see it ….because it was a real highlight.

[@smurf902]

Eventually she gets to the pitch that's written.....eventually

[@operas6]

Eventually......eventually......eventually.......e...v...e...n....t....u...a...l.....l.....y

[@ghpiano100]

Hmm…Wagner’s original key, A minor

[@marieantoinette3857]

If we remove all 10,000 microphones from the stage, we are left with a singer who opens her mouth very, very, very, very, very, very strangely, too much and obscurely. A voice smaller than any soubrette. It is just wobble and screaming. There is not the slightest trace of bel canto here. Not even B from belcanto. Wagner 2x, Mozart 2x, Strauss, Donizetti… let's go TheMet, what more can you show us, that you have become the worst house in the world! Let's go, now you're in the element, try to destroy some more works! Don't worry, you will succeed, you have succeeded in this in the past 25 years! Let's go, come on! You can do this!

[@smurf902]

One can hear from the very first notes that the voice is just a wobble. And this isn't just because it's Wagner. Somehow they think if it's someone who sings Wagner, the voice is wobbly and "different" from other rep and so they can get away with that. Sure, Nilsson was a bit sharp on top and sometimes flat in the middle, but when presented with a portion that has hardly any orchestration and is pianissimo or just bare, she still was able to sing in tune. This is my biggest gripe about this singer, notwithstanding the size of the voice. With the miking for the recording and also any "enhancement" in the house itself, we never truly know the size of the voice these days, at least at the Met. That's another whole issue, but if she can project to a reasonable degree and IN TUNE, that would suffice, but she's not doing that.

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Both you and smurf are wrong. I heard her in Chicago Lyric and her voice was HUGE. She was singing Chrysothemis and she was louder than the Elektra. Also, she has Mozart, Bellini and Donizetti in her rep.

[@operas6]

Marie Antoinette, I thought you were guillotined a long time ago. How come you can still talk?

[@operas6]

@@smurf902 Really? I have excellent hearing and I could not hear a wobble. Are you sure you don't have marzipan bars in your ears?

[@operas6]

@@SilfredoSerrano I totally agree with you.