Helen Traubel - Norma: "Casta Diva"

The wagnerian diva sings Norma's aria conducted by Arthur Fiedler

[@peterschmitz8364]

helen Traubel hatte eine der schönsten stimmen die es gegeben hat immer noch ein hörgenuß

[@tenorschofield]

MARVELOUS!!!,beautiful voice and wonderful interpretation.Helen Traubel forever in our hearts,BRAVISSIMA!!!

[@Pathetikos]

I have to rhetorical questions: 1. Can any contemporary Wagnerian singer sing belcanto repertoire like this? 2. Can any contemporary Wagnerian singer sing Wagner like Traubel?

[@gayoperadude63]

Perhaps Amber Wagner?

[@MrQwerty88]

@@gayoperadude63 lol no

[@oscn_officiel]

3. Can any contempory Wagnerian singer sing ?

[@purisermonisamator]

Не стоит преувеличивать. Норма Траубель отнюдь не совершенство, особенно там, где нужна подвижность голоса. "Зараж есть Запад, Восток есть Восток", что доказывает и Мельхиор в итальянском репертуаре. Жаль только, сто Флагстад так и не решилась спеть Норму.

[@bobon47]

I`m satisfied, thank for posting. Very beautiful.

[@bingcro]

tks a really beautiful song

[@Richard.Lion5]

😘😘😘😘😘😘

[@cantorandopera]

Flagstad was supposed to sing Norma at the Met, but after a while, she withdrew her commitment . . . yes . . . .wouldn't that have been something!

[@acanthe83]

quelle facilité!

[@gayoperadude63]

The only contemporary singer now retired is Johanna Meier. She was a fantastic Norma, Isolde, Brunhilda, and Turandot. This is wonderful, i've never heard Trauble in anything but Wagner!

[@bowmister]

thanks for posting. when was this recorderd? best regards. g

[@sarahsipll]

I don't know if it's the recording, but it's a whole step lower than normal. Usually, it's sung in F - this is E Flat. . . interesting. . .

[@LaDivinaLover]

Sarah Sipll Yes and it was Orginially written in G. Opera has a long and committed tradition of transpositions. At one point it was standard practice for singers to adapt the key to fit their voice. It wasn’t until after the 30’s and 40’s it became less acceptable. Probably because composers quit writing operas (which led to opera’s sanctification) thanks to the advent of musicals(which require less technical mastery) and cinema with it’s wide spread popularity.

[@Tkimba2]

@@LaDivinaLover I agree about opera sanctification.

[@saagua1953]

Her voice was not made for coloratura. Hence the slow down in the tempo in places. Interesting more than great. I wonder what Flagstad would have sounded like doing Casta Diva.

[@gayoperadude63]

Casta Diva is not a vocal display piece, she's performing a ceremonial rite during the aria. I think this gorgeous!

[@pureffm]

It seems it was already late in her career, the upper register was much easier in her earlier recordings, less nasal and pinched.

[@sarahsipll]

It does lose some of the excitement, doesn't it? I agree - her Wagner is out of this world.

[@mathjf4768]

Probably not enough flexibility and vocal ease but the body of the voice is quite dense, concentrated. Because of this the top is less bright and radiant.

[@pureffm]

It seems it was already late in her career, the voice was definitely lush and flexible in the upper register earlier in her career.

[@marcocavallero8094]

ma in quale lingua canta Helen Traubel? Una grande voce ma non per Bellini

[@andity1]

If she was more comfortable with lower tessitura she could sing the mezzo repertoire with ease

[@antben8992]

Lilli Lehmann diceva che è meno faticoso cantare 3 Walchirie che 1 Norma !

[@nwdixieboy]

Well it's not the best thing she ever did and she got off that high note at the end as fast as she could but you got to hear her sing some really beautiful legato singing and revel in the beauty of her voice. She had a gloriously beautiful voice. One of the most beautiful that ever sang Wagner. She was also one of the best at singing pop music because she sang it very low in a contralto range which she had in spades. I think the only reason she got to do this is because she was the number one soprano on the world and the record companies would accommodate her wishes lol. Flagstad could actually have been really really good and Norma I think. I wouldn't put anything past her but she probably made a good decision not to do it because it's a lot of little notes for someone who's not used to that

[@philipanderson4673]

Pitch problems.... unfortunately

[@fabriziomariagarzi5534]

..forse pure abbassata di tono...e di molto.

[@scottgrunow5201]

mistakes in the Italian

[@artdanks]

Transposing it down to E flat is cheating! Especially since Bellini originally wrote it in G, but had to transpose it down to F for Giuditta Pasta. But if F is even too high, don't sing it!

[@Tkimba2]

She even transposed "hojotoho" a full tone down... She was great but let's not overrate her

[@andamatra5094]

@@thisisopera9724 This is a real interesting topic! I think people started to realize how important are the passaggi in different type of voice and how important is the diapason ! It is funny how fast things can change in other domains compared to opera!

[@andamatra5094]

Why not sing it? Can you motivate yiur statment?

[@rebeccafarley7060]

I honestly don’t understand mindsets like this. A beautiful voice is a beautiful voice. A beautiful performance is still a beautiful performance no matter what key the piece is in. Can’t people just enjoy things?

[@artdanks]

@@rebeccafarley7060 My apologies. I didn't mean in any way to demean the amazing talent of Helen Traubel, who is actually one of my favorite Dramatic Sopranos. I was just very surprised that she would have sung this in such a low key, as she definitely had the range and ability to sing this in F, and it would have been that much more amazing. This was what I was expecting, since as I said, I so greatly admired her artistry. I was just quite disappointed to hear her sing it in a lower key. And yes. It is still beautiful. Travel couldn't have sung in any other way than beautifully.

[@terrycloth6380]

Lovely voice quality but castaway diva was not for her. Lack of a smooth legato