Lucia Popp reveals her Assoluta Range (G3 to D6) in Mozart's semi Assoluta role

[@jayscape.artist]

Lucia Popp was the reason I fell in love with Opera and Lieder. Her intelligence and range of emotion in every performance is so deeply felt that your will cry and smile with her. Since I was a kid, till today - I am now 49 years old, and still I listen to her EVERY SINGLE DAY. I miss her so much.

[@johnfox7985]

I've always been struck by how successfully Popp managed to transition from light-lyric coloratura to full-bodied lyric during her career. To me, it takes more than solid technique to cope with such significant vocal maturation; she was clearly highly intelligent, which doesn't often come across in many great sopranos' singing.

[@LohengrinO]

...a Miraculous instrument

[@Colgate64]

If Mozart had been able to hear Lucia I think he would have exclaimed as Puccini did to Caruso - "God sent you to me".

[@petternilsson4393]

My favorite male opera singerJussi Björling female Lucia Popp. Both had medium size voices.Both had big range solid bottom and fantastic high notes.Superior musicality and beatiful voices you immedtly recognize.And they had a special ping in their voices i dont cant explain but I hear it, a silver bell a gold tone.

[@malcolmabram2957]

I like Lucia Popp as she has a sweetness in her voice. There are many outstanding sopranos, but they can be so powerful, so dramatic, so intense, but they lack sweetness. That is why I like listening to her. Just my taste of.course.

[@beachfanatic2010]

To me she is the best full lyric soprano coloratura there ever was. Her voice is medium size but extremely rich all over.

[@WhirledPublishing]

I selected my favorite operatic soprano for over 50 arias... Lucia was my favorite for several arias, including Depuis le jour by Louise, Pamin's Ach, ich fühl's, Giunse alfin il momento and other arias... No other soprano came close to that accomplishment ... I chose Callas, Sutherland, Caballe, Sills, etc., for one or two different arias ... Lucia did make some recordings that - to me - are atrocious - same with all the other world-famous operatic sopranos.

[@petercallahan7321]

I actually saw her do this. I’m not sure how it would have held up in a larger house but even at this late stage in her career, the tone was still remarkable, her low notes were surprisingly full and secure (no breaks and banging them out) and while the role was not an *ideal* fit (the way it was for crazy ranged ladies like Vaness and Varady) it was remarkable how her technique and musicianship had held up and aided her in putting the role over. The true signs of a great singer. She died literally a few months after these performances. The recording released was her last. For her and Harnoncourt it was worth aquiring.

[@klaudialewicka01]

I saw your comments and although I adore Moser with all of my heart, she was predestined to sing certain repertoire. Some things she couldn't achieve. And Lucia is like a balm to my ears. When I'm tired of too heavy voices, too much sloppy coloratura or any other example of screech (instead of singing) I came across on KZbin, I just come back to the angelic Lucia. She had it all, she's at the top of my favourite voices, together with Caballe and Baker...

[@LohengrinO]

I happily went to her Vitelia to hear her low chest voice... it was a very bad surprise... she creates a very dirty sound to reach those "notes"

[@klaudialewicka01]

@@LohengrinO from what I know, she wasn't in her prime back then. Her voice started getting pretty worn out towards the end of her career and I must admit that. Moser's Königin is the best for me, but Vitellia or Konstanze? Not so much. There are great nuances in her singing in these two roles, but this awful chest overweighs the good aspects

[@klaudialewicka01]

Not everyone can sing Mozart. Lucia absolutely can. Absolutely...and even Lucia's O zittre nicht is wonderful - her coloratura is impeccable there. I like dark timbre of the Königin, but I like Lucia's take in some ways

[@jacquelinebataille8106]

Angelic, that is what makes a difference.

[@mrslucibel]

I have always loved her voice and her impeccable singing.

[@valerianoherrera7248]

POR SIEMPRE LUCIA POPPOVA.

[@elsaasta5164]

Che dire ?? Quando ascolti una voce di così pieno talento..ti penetra nell'anima tanta di quella armoniosa poesia che t'innalza a tre metri dalla terra !! Splendida Soprano Lucia Popp dotata di una bellissima voce..quasi toccata da una mano angelica !! Grazie LohengrinO ..sei formidabile !! Elsa Asta

[@mariaantonietta5001]

Il mio soprano preferito…

[@soledaddiazluis1920]

I hear and feel her sensitivity and her pure soul, sooo beautyful. Thank you!

[@LohengrinO]

indeed

[@magdalenesulau8804]

Sie war so schön und charmant, mit einer Stimme, wie eine Nachtigall. Meine allerliebsten Sopranistin! ❤

[@linapaolarancati3662]

Splendida Lucia! Ti ammiro tanto.Ovunque tu sia RIP!

[@gerdawendl3842]

Sie war eine großartige Sängerin! Danke!

[@ferdiriordan1]

Exquisite.Thank you Lohengrin O.

[@chocolatesouljah]

Beautiful!

[@jmiller05]

Popp had some of the most reliable low notes of any lyric soprano, rather like a blueprint for someone like Fleming who sang the same repertoire with a very similar vocal range.

[@LohengrinO]

I wonder if Fleming has sung Non piu di fiori

[@petercallahan7321]

jmiller05 she trained as a mezzo before beginning professionally. Very odd considering she sang the lightest soprano roles once she did start. But those low notes were always there.

[@genevievelucfranklin]

Extraordinary

[@NLidar]

Anyway, she's really great here. I wouldn't have suspected her to have this range. It is not in her fach/comfortable range but she did it well considering all that..

[@LohengrinO]

always thought she had quite a fabulous low voice Lucia... she wasnt a coloratura soprano, she was a full body soprano Lyric, full full body with incredible low notes

[@NLidar]

@@LohengrinO She does have a rich squillo which can suggest a big range.. And that rich squillo combined with her creaminess and blended legato is really really beautiful..

[@LohengrinO]

Id say she has a rich natural tremolo but after you fall for her musicianship and always trusted delivery u dont mind

[@NLidar]

@@LohengrinO It's true, she never fails to deliver.. She is a very reliable singer as you said; she set her standard and bar of quality and it never fails itself.. Once you put on a Popp aria you won't have bad surprises

[@michelemelchioni533]

Lucia ❤ Thanks Lucia 🙏

[@pammyjones1151]

Very pleasant......thank you 😘

[@margaretegro5495]

Lucia popp ,herrlich, diese jauchzer in der begnadeten stimme. Die liebe ich !

[@leemartinez3851]

She had such a beautiful voice!!! But I do not agree with the definition of Assoluta Roles, without including Vittelia, it has everything to be considered a full Assoluta Role! Very low notes, coloraturas, high notes, long phrases, intimate almost sotto voce situations, fighting against a huge orchestration, everything.

[@LohengrinO]

but not heroic weight coloratura as all of the Class A assoluta roles require which is the most important factor along with range, otherwise quite so many roles would be considered Assoluta that it wouldnt actually make any distinction to call a role assoluta

[@LohengrinO]

...and also that is why all these very wide ranged voices (Popp, Moser etc) never even attempted any assoluta role

[@ВладимирДемушкин-ч4м]

Богиня милая!

[@LohengrinO]

the Sweetest

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

In the right repertoire Popp was absolutely wonderful - expressive, extraordinary consistency in every range, and that gleaming timbre. There is something that annoys me though - the way she squeezes the front of almost every note. It interferes with the legato. In some recordings it’s worse than others but it’s always there.

[@gokouson180]

Yup. It can be annoying. I had a great discussion with N.Lidar a few weeks ago about irritating vocal ticks of singers.

[@kittygattina4271]

Can you explain this? As an opera "civilian" I do not really understand what you mean or what to listen for...b ut on the other hand, given the balance of the exceptional vocal beauty and formidable dramatic/ interpretive skills, should I care? Thank you, I would like to learn more.

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

Kitty Gattina listen to the phrase starting at 0:45. The beginning of the notes often don’t have vibrato, and then suddenly the vibrato activates part way into the note. Sometimes there’s no vibrato at all. There’s a very clear one around 0:54. Then the next phrase too. It’s very noticeable when she reaches for a high note.

[@johnfox7985]

I've found that the pinching of the note got more pronounced as her voice matured. Almost as if she's 'releasing' the sound with slight hesitation? Not sure if stylistic affectation or technical issue, but more inclined to attribute it to the former!

[@MartyMusic777]

@@johnfox7985 It's her great technique coming to bite her in the ass a bit - a little press to partially occlude the vocal tract helps guarantee a better note, but used excessively can be distracting.

[@alexandrasirvent624]

Why do these videos never state the actual aria? :/

[@LohengrinO]

because all the arias belong to Niki Minaj' epic Tetralogy Anakonda so it is very easy to locate the title

[@giorgioallegro9523]

Sublime Lucia Popp, comme toujours, cependant le tempo d'Harnoncourt est trop lent et personnellement je préfère la version avec Slatkin ou celle avec Kertész.

[@AuroraWalcry]

If someone knows the name of this song she sings here /watch?v=UmKZeJcnIRA please tell me. Looking for ages My comment disappeared idk how XD sry

[@almajeansmith3328]

Aurora Walcry “non piu di fiori

[@NLidar]

Finally clean chest lol ;)

[@LohengrinO]

needed something to clean my ears after that traumatic experience... no serious singer has ever recorded in studio such an atrocity before

[@NLidar]

@@LohengrinO how she took herself seriously in the studio is a good question..

[@manolis.799]

Lohengrin O what traumatic experience?

[@LohengrinO]

Moser's chest voice in same aria... she does something so atrocious to reach the low notes I dont think any other professional singer ever did

[@manolis.799]

Lohengrin O I guess I’ll have to check it out out of curiosity

[@sjtimmer7]

Could someone tell me where I can find that highest note?

[@LohengrinO]

the highest note at the line at 9:56 touched only for a second as she should... Lucia could go easily up to F6, the reason Im mentioning this it is because Vitelia requires extremely low notes (G3) that even mezzos have problem reaching and then a clean D6... extremely rare such a required range