Jennifer Larmore : "Haendel's "Ombra mai fu"

In 1996, French TV dedicated a show to the charming Jennifer...
Here's a "glamour" clip from Haendel's "Xerxes"
I left the end of the show that followed : Jennifer speaks a rather fluent French...

[@GeorgeFarahat]

This is one of the best performances of Ombra mai fu. Jennifer Larmore has a gift that makes listeners feel the tenderness behind the person of this woman.

[@datukashvili]

WHAT A VOICE!!!! So rich and colorfull! Amazing! It's like 1000 mothers singing:)

[@ThisIsAdriana]

The song is talking about the beauty of a tree... and mixed in with the industrial shots.. wow. Just wow. This is such a beautiful little piece.. one of the first I ever sang... she does a beautiful job.

[@Guichotpresident]

I had the pleasure of singing with her 2 years ago, beautiful voice!!! And so nice...

[@mozartiikodesu]

Marvelous! Her voice takes me to the dream world.

[@fashionablesixties]

I miss her at the NY Metropolitan Opera. She stopped singing there. I do not know why. Wish she would come back. We need you, Jennifer.

[@phlarrdboi]

gorgeous singing of a gourgeos song. Vive la france and l'italie and everything, and of course vive germany and the UK which was handels home. And vive you tube, thank you to all who made this possible.

[@patpiole]

Superbe ! Jennifer est magnifique !!!

[@MrAnthonieify]

This is so beautiful..... Thank you for sharing... Ton

[@jamesglory1]

I know nothing about Opera but since I discovered Jennifers singing, I like to settle down and let the world drift away as she caresses my heart with her beautiful voice. Praise the Lord for blessing us with Jennifer!

[@Mathview]

Oh my! A haunting voice and a mystical aura sets this performance apart. Lovely, lovely, and yet again lovely.

[@dinulipati]

Una voce, poco fa,... "Fa" about ten years that I heard Jennifer Larmore for the first time. I lost sight and hearing of her, until KZbin put me on her path again. And now I remember the warmth of her engaging voice threading together the opera pieces of that flight over the Atlantic Ocean. The scenery is disgusting, but it helped me to concentrate of her singing. No desire whatsoever to compare her with other singers. I refuse to simply name ONE flawless interpreter only. Regards to all.-

[@velp1946]

Mooi, heel mooi. En ontroerend. Perfect gezongen. Je zweeft al luisterend door de wolken. Prachtig gedaan Jennifer.

[@maritate]

So beautiful voice!! It is the fisrt time I heard her voice Brava Jennifer!!!

[@paulostroff99]

Astounding.! As god as I've ever heard this sung. TY MUEZZAB for posting.

[@11Garnett11]

It's a great video with a great singer!! Congratulations to mis Larmore..

[@lamsalgado]

She is wonderful, fabulous! Thx for this!

[@mabizka]

Beautiful... I sing this but not so good like she. This is so light and gentle... I'm impressed.

[@mlkoln]

man kann sich an dieser Stimme gar nicht satt hören ... einfach wunderbar, dieses Piano!

[@dAMatlhoko1935]

JUST FULL OF CELESTIAL WONDER AND BEAUTY

[@JoeyNiceforo]

I think the video AND the singing are so beautiful!

[@JRZGRL55]

Sweet!! And cool video too. I love love love Jennifer's voice.

[@ianmcrobbie1]

This moved me to tears. Lovely.

[@dickinsonstarkey]

We all need more quality performances like we have here.Soon...please...Canada.

[@cabbalistic]

What a glorious rendition! Her voice is beautiful! :-)

[@OperaBuff1935]

What a beautiful, sensitive, melancholy rendition of this aria.!and as I'm typing this, I'm hearing an aria from "La Ceneretola". I was in a chorus of that opera in the summer of 1992 with Summer Opera Theater Comapany in D. C. Jennifer can sing just about anything she sets her mind to. I was in love with von Stade in the'80's, Dawn Upshaw in the '90's and now Jenny in the 2000's. Keep singing, Jenny. And I have most of her latest recordings and am enjoying them much. Opera Buff 1935

[@BeautifulPast]

Lover her voice ... so versatile and full of personality!!! Great performer!!!

[@88Ed1962]

Beautifully sung without excess. Great!

[@SumireUeno]

beautiful it makes me cry...

[@coralarch]

Thanks so much. First time I've heard it sung by a woman. Exquisite.

[@YoshihiroUtsumi]

What a Fantastic Voice !!!! I really love her voice tone with trillions of Arts

[@holdenph]

Rather fluent French? Mais non, mes chers, son français est parfait... de plus, c'est le français d'une française! Et la voix, d'une ange... l'interprétation... impeccable...le baroque vit encore!☺ OK, I'll translate it... "No way, her French is perfect... what is more, it is the French of a French-speaking person! And her voice, the voice of an angel... the interpretation... impeccable... the Baroque lives again! ☺

[@stuqua]

She's gorgeous.

[@Pre114]

Handel's music is awesome, I love Baroque composers!

[@doddsalfa]

Jennifer Larmore wow.Soooo beautiful.And great singer.

[@amarillysa2007]

Exquisita Mezzo. Esta interpretación de Ombra Mai Fu es conmovedora. Hace gala de su gran talento y preciosa voz. Felicidades!!

[@marieroos1]

beautifull,moving my heart

[@theoneandonlymagnum]

wow she has such a special, deep voice!

[@mozartiikodesu]

I love Jenny's vice so much!! Marvelous!

[@thebiggestchild]

her eyes like the door of her soul and the voice breath taking....

[@Kand1nSky]

what a voice! makes tears flows from a stone... #k.

[@mgunar]

The best vocal rendition and the only one I listen to.

[@ronwgood]

I love her voice it has richness and depth,

[@Cyberbob1987]

very good performance especially because the timbre of her voice matches this song perfectly

[@MrMagyar7]

La voz de Larmore está llena de belleza de paz, especialmente en esta aria su tesitura la hace especialmente bella y su vibrato ¡no tiene comparación!...mi sueño sería cantar un dueto con ella!

[@Njamh]

No hay nada que me disguste de esta gran cantante... es magnífica en todo lo que canta!

[@ccdg1066]

I am spellbounded!

[@fernandofernandezgar]

Beutiful Jennifer, beutiful the music, beutiful Händel, BEUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!

[@mradaChris]

She is fantastic!

[@KHCorvi]

Ooh wie schön ...

[@miCeciliaBartoli]

magnifique je l'adOre!! BravOOOoo jennifer!

[@josevaladez]

Bravo Miss Larmore !!!!

[@jasmineblossom84]

Jennifer sings beautifully and speaks some pretty impressive French!!!

[@pierrezzcote]

Une merveille...

[@Kittalia]

Starting at 1:30 - in this pose which comes several times in the piece - she reminds me so much of Sigourney Weaver, though the two women have no other similarity. Funny how the camera 'sees'. Beautiful rendition - just lovely. And, yes, I agree with Etnecserc about the staging - really inspired - especially after seeing the 'The Road' - very haunting, lots of layers.

[@FRUTIGH]

wunderschön gesungen - morgen wird meine Version auf der Panflöte hochgeladen

[@Thom176]

this rocks.

[@Lancebowski]

Stunning voice and visual juxtaposition going on, here.

[@miep8675]

My friend is singing this at Northwestern competition where you are rated.

[@Kushnerova]

Perfekt!

[@xelzebub]

... my teacher wishes for me to learn this song so I may sing it along with his violin and the pianists.... I don't know if I'll be able to... ^^;

[@LanBao]

Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard a woman sing this song. She does it beautifully. It surprises me to hear the same way Yoshikazu Mera's version surprised me very much, I didn't expect such a voice to come from them. His version counts as my second favourite though.

[@doddsalfa]

Jennifer Larmore is to good to believe.

[@crockogold]

this is a great rendering of Ombra ma Fu i like it a great deal almost as much as Kathleen Ferrier

[@OperaBuff1935]

This aria from Handel's "Xerxes" has always been one of my favorites and Jenny sings it with such feeling, melancholy, and depth, as she does most everything she sings. I was in love with von Stade in the '80's, Dawn Upshaw in the '90's and now Jennifer in the 2000's. Keep singing, Jenny, and congratulation on her grammy for the Hansel and Gretel recording. OperaBuff1935

[@mediarolf]

Das ist Musik vom Besten

[@belspace]

Ombra mai fu by Händel , my best favorite classical music !

[@baldassare01]

@millertj27 it's perfect... it simply shows that we don't know what we got until it's gone

[@SANDRAKARINARO]

SIN PALABRAS...

[@poetessabs1]

bravaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

[@jm960]

i love her speaking voice too. so nice to hear an american speaking french like that.

[@MindinViolet]

@larvin25 That's right. Technically virtuosic performances may impress, but the performances with emotional depth and passion are the ones I remember.

[@TGTSTS]

@larvin25 I am a music major, but I could not agree with you more. So many musicians are so engulfed in perfecting the technical aspect of the music, or picking apart the "imperfections" of a performance, that they forget to let the beauty and the passion of the music move both audience and performer.

[@jorgegrillo55]

Ella es hermosa igual que la musica...♫

[@johnnyvegas1985]

1.30 is definitely Sigourney Weaver! Lovely piece.

[@baalhaophanim]

The video is not irrelevant!!! It says that the capitalism and the pollution of the atmosfere is distroyng the beauty of the trees, as the sweet shadows of the Platano so beautiful the King Xerxes sings...

[@kareldeclercq]

I imagine heaven like that.

[@rakewell2]

i found this in wikipedia: Ombra mai fu di vegetabile, cara ed amabile, soave più. Never was shade Of plant More dear, amiable and sweet.

[@coralarch]

hookana, I wish my grandad was still alive, he could've answered you. He heard a choir of castrati as recently as 1920! I don't know when the practice was finally abolished, but he said they were just celestial.

[@autophyte]

In 'Serse', the King of Persia sings this song, praising his beautiful Plane Tree, wishing it long life, free from blight and unfavourable elements

[@Domino65100]

Chanter, debout, au milieu d'un champ de ruines, est la plus belle des thérapies.

[@crockogold]

This is beautiful but my favourite version is the one by Kathleen Ferrier.....but what a magnificent piece of music this is.

[@csmatteson]

She is putting in trills that might sound like a wobble at times to someone who does not understand this style of singing. This woman has a wonderful voice. Glorious.

[@antione101]

This is the best female version of this aria

[@Dorlinedainwen]

I pity some of you. I am not a music major but I love music and I love playing and I am glad I am not majoring in it. Some of you pick apart a song so much and focus on critisizing so much that you totally miss the point of just enjoying the music being made. Its sad and I deal with it every day in my music ensembles. Who cares if its not perfect, what person is? She is singing with her heart and doing a very good job.

[@todds7]

devera... me gustaria oirla algun dia.

[@lamiacuffietta]

@rlane91 I totally agree with all that you wrote, but I don't believe that she is THE most recorded mezzo of all time... do you mean rossiniana mezzo only??

[@CriticaLxThoughX]

Mezzo-Sopran-Power! ^-^´

[@1401JSC]

I'm open to modern restatements or explanations of texts, but I sure miss the plane tree....

[@Whistlejocket]

She is very good...reminds me of Kirsten Flagstad, although two very different voices.

[@HistoryGeek4U]

I love this music video; first time I've heard this being sung by a woman. Her version is the best next to Dmitri Hvorostovsky's rendition.

[@dangmills]

@rlane91 considering the fact that she is the most recorded... not very popular it seems. Maria Callas, Angela Gheorghiu, Magdalena Kozena, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, Laura Claycomb, Charlotte Hellekant, Tuva Semmingsen, Inger Dam Jensen, Virginia Zeani, Grace Bumbry, Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland, Jennifer Larmore, (in order of my favs, though I don't really like Larmore, her diction in Carmen's "Habanera" hurts my ears, but her voice in other operas is exquisite)

[@raigekimaru]

her singing voice is rich and low, but her speaking voice is relatively high

[@ld357]

This is lovely...but please please change the name in the title to "Handel" (not Haendel)

[@raigekimaru]

her speaking voice is sexy. especially in french

[@Domino65100]

Vos commentaires techniques me fatiguent. Moi, je dirai une seule chose : cette femme chante divinement bien...

[@ateejay]

Um, she's singing about loving a tree...where's the damn tree?! HAHAHA

[@beluczak]

the "ae" stands for original German two dots over the "a", you know...

[@kareldeclercq]

Echt een vertolking die kippenvel geeft.

[@vnessie1]

@millertj27 to show the irony of the words she is singing...