Early Ewa Podles sings "O Don Fatale" (LIVE 1990)

[@cliffgaither]

The applause and bravos we hear after hearing this woman sing is the final comphrension of the hundreds of years of this superb expression of art. Her voice was one of the greatest to span over 400yrs.

[@alexmg3648]

Even as a 21 year old without much knowledge of opera, I can say this is one of the most impressive things I've ever heard in my life.

[@aetion]

And you are fully right!

[@raynardi2326]

Listen to Obratzova version...

[@operamaniak81]

I'm reading all those comments and wondering, people, what are you talking about? Everyone of us has own favorites, due to the the moments we remember. No one needs to prefer Podles, especially outside her comfort zone. Opera is about quarrels over favorite singers, true. But what comes from comparing champagne to cognac? Very few of us have a good idea about the technique, especially in our times of the pseudo-opera. Yes, Podles'es airyness was a flaw, like some other characteristics of her voice. Who in the post-Horne era hasn't got them? If you think that Podles took bad education or was "too lazy to develop her voice", you don't understand her. She couldn't overcome some problems, some she added as a price for her choices. For example the airyness: it was her taste and her trick to agility and range. Eva had an "alien", "hounted" voice, a bad fit for opera, but she made it make unique magic. Let's be practical: in O don fatale we are in the theater. Podles, a skilled and visionary artist, did so much (do you think it was too much?) to present a vulnerable moment of a broken powerful woman. She avoided chest here? It makes sense to me. Where you saw brutal spikes, I saw tricks to deliver clear theatrical pronunciation, so rare today, that people think that it's out of place. We have a favorite (often the first heard) rendition of an aria and we believe that it should be performed that way. Should it? No more artists, we want only imitators? Well... Well: thanks to different artists everytime we discover different meanings in the same stories. Isn't that what opera is about?

[@Cat-no8ts]

"Woofy", indeed! What an insane judgment of her fabulous voice! The thunderous applause is real! And the audience shouting, "Bravo!"..says it all!❤

[@Rodrigo-rx3nf]

Podlés was always a miracle

[@NLidar]

Im ASBOLUTELY at a loss of words.. She is incredible beyond words.. Her voice is one of the most versatile ever.. And people dare call her woofy, sloppy and "bad modern singer"

[@JackieLanceTenor]

Honestly just the fact that she is actually a contralto and is able to sing this kind of rep is insane. Her range is absolutely staggering.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@JackieLanceTenor She isn't a contralto.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

She is woofy.

[@NLidar]

@@xxsaruman82xx87 So are you

[@JackieLanceTenor]

@@xxsaruman82xx87 ok... Whatever you say. Lol

[@martakawecka7996]

Fenomenalna Ewa Podleś, taki głos zdarza się raz na sto lat

[@juanantoniomunozherrera9280]

Magnífica. Impresionante. Qué voz y qué capacidad expresiva.

[@steveegallo3384]

Exactamente......BRAVA desde Mexico City!

[@stefanodallasen796]

Grandiosa, la Horne non le sta alla pari. A volte ricorda la Callas

[@edgarsiwa7804]

Thak you so much for posting this treasure !

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

You are welcome!

[@viba1657]

Великая певица с мощным голосом! Покойся с миром, Ева😢. Ценители оперы будут помнить тебя и восхищаться твоим голосом!❤❤❤

[@jovanegomes8647]

Ewa Podleś deveria ser considerada a Contralto mais importante do mundo, um timbre encantador e muito lindo, uma jóia rara que quando encontrada impressiona ainda mais

[@Cat-no8ts]

She's incredible!❤

[@DanutaBoron-wm1ju]

Piękno zawsze zostaje ...w pamięci .To wspaniałe słyszeć ..Jej ..interpretacje .❤🥀🥀

[@francisdenis8804]

Fabuleux

[@otyliaostrowska-jouie5455]

Absolutnie wspaniała

[@jmiller05]

This might feel strange, but I hear a very introspective Eboli- not as frantic or with the same urgency as other singers, but a melancholy contemplation of her situation. Wasn't quite sure how I felt about it, but her superb legato in the cavatina section was utterly gorgeous and sincere. My ONE quibble with Podles in this repertoire, is that I feel her upper register becomes more pinched and distorted against heavy orchestration. I noticed this in her Azucena and Ulrica, when her high notes had a slight scooping approach to them.

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

jmiller05 agreed completely - there’s a sense of deliberate hesitancy that is wonderfully atmospheric and so psychologically astute. Like Callas she is so alive to the text and dramatic moment in a way that someone like Verrett just isn’t. I know what you mean about the highs - it’s the reason why I didn’t post the Veil Song.

[@trblcleft]

Moving rendition if not excessive, very fiery yet poignant in its own unique way. Not my favorite but I can certainly respect and appreciate this performance------

[@gualtierocofresi]

I saw her in this role in Philladelphia and she was not good. i am glad to have this

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

What year was it? Maybe it was too late for her?

[@tamerlano]

She's a contralto so she can fire like a canon in the upper middle: 4:00, for instance. Of course the top thins out...Btw, all the old gals sound the same way in this music.

[@DiomedesDioscuro]

Are you sure she is?

[@jrosings1]

I was listening to this and enjoying it, but something seemed not quite right. I went and checked the pitches, and Podles is singing the aria a half step higher than any of my other recordings. Her top note is a C, and the others Ebolis I’ve heard only sing to a B.

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

Yes there must have been a shift in speed during transfer process. It’s not actually a whole semitone, more like a quarter tone - about 3%. This happens quite often with old tapes. I can post a corrected version - thanks for bringing to my attention!

[@biancacastafiore8760]

yes, i noticed something was definitely wrong. her voice is not this bright and high... this does not sound like her at all.

[@raphaelaelin6299]

@@biancacastafiore8760 She is younger here ... there are more Videos of her, where she is younger and her voice is much lighter, lighter than here ... Her voice began to darken, after the birth of her first child :) And she is singing a High B , not a C. It depends on the "Kammerton" , normally it is in 440 Hertz, sometimes in 432 Hertz, and here it is higher than 440 Hertz ...

[@raphaelaelin6299]

@@biancacastafiore8760 kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2SnoYprhJKDqc0

[@biancacastafiore8760]

@@raphaelaelin6299 thank you for this information, but listen here to what seems to be the same performance (canzone del velo and o don fatale): kzbin.info/www/bejne/raDEeYx6pLKbpJI and here is the confrontation with carlo and rodrigo, from 2004 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKOUdZyPn7uSkMk

[@RBP1963]

DEP Eva Powdles❤❤

[@jacquesfrapart9136]

Tout d'abord j'aime énormément Madame Podles, c'est une Rossinienne hors pair, toutefois ce répertoire là du moins le second Air "Odon fatale" n'est pas dans son répertoire disons que c'est une incursion belle certe mais pas idoine. le 1er air (du voile) est plus adéquat pour elle. N'oublions pas qu'Eboli est une typologie de Falcon. La note au début du O don fatale est Do bémol.

[@FranzBlumVan1890]

hors du repertoire francais la typologie falcon n'existe pas

[@jacquesfrapart9136]

@@FranzBlumVan1890 Vous oubliez une chose de grande importance c'est que Don Carlos est un opéra français créé à Paris en 1867. Ce n'est qu'après que Verdi en a fait une traduction pour les paroles en italien. La musique et les notes restant les mêmes. Votre remarque est hors propos!!

[@theoperatripleaxel5417]

The breathiness in the middle range was cool when i first start appreciation Eva's music, but now just sound like a flaw to me... This reccording is was better than the one she did 10 after, but i don't know, those singer with no chest voice in the middle (like her, verret, netrebko, late Caballet and Damnrau) i don't know... I kinda don't like them anymore.

[@meto2854]

I dislike Callas’s Eboli, she just didn’t have it in her by the time she recorded the aria. Compare to Stignani, Cossotto and Simionato for reference recordings. My issue with Podles is her hollowness in the middle to lower range. She doesn’t use her chest almost at all for someone who is touted as an exemplary contralto.

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

Thank you for you comment, but I must say I disagree. I find Callas simply superb in her range of vocal colours and characterisation - you see Eboli in sound before your eyes. And Podles hollow in her low range? There is a eerie quality to the contralto voice but if you mean lack of chest voice, try her Ulrica or Erda.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

Cossotto is awful, as is Podles. Dominguez, Sitgnani, Simionato and Obraztsova are much, much better.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@goncabrera8741 No Obraztsova and Dominguez, the best Ebolis.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@greatmomentsofopera7170 Podles is nowhere near Dominguez or Barbieri.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@goncabrera8741 Simionato is great, but Podles is terrible.

[@geraldferguson3138]

Great: But: No match compared to VERRETT.