Martina Arroyo at 22 years old: Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air - O patria mia

[@Joshua_Hu]

Great balance between clear chest voice and rich high notes.

[@johnalecbriggs5052]

I had the extreme luck of studying with Miss Arroyo for two years. I treasure not only the knowledge and skill she imparted, but a friendship that has lasted decades. When I hear her sing, I again become that young singer full of hope and ambition. Thank you so much for putting this up!

[@натальяпопова-э9н2я]

Как здорово!

[@jamespalmer6600]

What an astonishingly developed, rich voice for such a young singer!! Her “thank you very much” at the end is the cutest thing ever!

[@onegin653]

I always liked Marina Arroyo, from the first time I heard her voice. Here the voice emerges with youthful impetus and freshness but everything was already there: legato, vocal line, precious timbre, squillo in the high notes, etc. It's incredible that someone at 22 years old can sing in this way

[@andreacooks59]

It's incredible and a shame, how a voice that extraordinary, and powerful is so down played on the opera circuit. I didn't say surprising..This unfortunately is common. It truly compels me to dig for more hidden treasures in this genre and celebrate their hard work and brilliance.

[@paulgreen6921]

Very beautiful immediate presence. She evidently possessed an abundance of natural God given talent and musical aptitude. PWG

[@sashamassey8385]

Thank you for creating this channel! So many 'classical' channels and social media accounts barely mention Black women in opera and throw in jazz. Here we get to hear our heroines without interference. Bless you!

[@ericfluellen8957]

I love the clarity of her voice.

[@tierneydiggens]

She sings so beautifully...would have been wonderful to have seen her live...definitely a legend!

[@Tenortalker]

I was fortunate to hear Martina Arroyo live in recital . It was towards the very end of her career, but I carry the memory of two pieces in particular from that occasion. The first was a stunningly sung ' La Luce Langue' from Verdi's Macbeth and the second was when she sang as an encore Obradors' song ' Del cabello mas sutil' with a warmth , simplicity and beauty of tone that lit up the stage. There is no doubt that she had one of the finest soprano voices of the 20th century and clearly a humble , kindly human being with it.

[@Lechatnoir3]

One of the best O Patria Mia’s I’ve ever heard!

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Seriously! Well, I have never....

[@dragoslavaleksic6328]

beautiful.... and slightly fast tempo....just perfect for this aria.... brava

[@Vocalgold1955]

Breathtaking singing and always filled with generosity of spirit with all the young singers she touches!

[@Duncan456]

Thank you for sharing! Miss Arroyo sounds so young and sweet.

[@blowtheartofsangin8596]

Isn't it so special?!

[@rdberg1957]

She was introduced by Milton Cross, who was the voice of the Metropolitan Opera Saturday broadcasts for many years. I remember his voice from Saturdays when my father would listen every week. After his death, Peter Allen took to the airwaves.

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Gorgeous voice!

[@EcceHumanitatis]

Just wonderful.

[@josephcollins6033]

Wow! To be able to hear this! Thank you!!!

[@thomaslloyd4086]

This is lovely!

[@blowtheartofsangin8596]

Agreed!

[@jung123456]

Brava! Always a great singer.

[@Perrosiutico]

I heard Martina Arroyo many times; in person, on broadcasts and on recordings. I think I can identify her voice almost immediately, with only one phrase and, sometimes, with only one note, but this doesn't sound like her. It is very accomplished singing, especially for a 22 year old aspirant, but, to my experienced ear, sounds nothing like the mature Arroyo. Perhaps certain "vocal mannerisms" such as the way she negotiated the lower passaggio and the notes below it came in to her singing later when she became a busy singer in the 1960s and '70s. I was very impressed when I first heard her in person at the Met as Amelia in BALLO c. 1967. The fact that she did not possess a delicate physique did not prevent me from falling in love with her Cio-Cio-San. I saw her as Aïda a number of times and her only real rival was Leontyne Price. I did not think her Gioconda or Lady Macbeth were successful. She had the vulnerability but not the ferocity and the demands for "chest voice" were beyond her technique. Her sharp sense of humor was celebrated. It was always self-deprecating but, turned on others, could also be cruel. This year Price is 97 and Arroyo is 86. It's a comfort to know they are still with us.

[@luisnorbertogomez7058]

Una de las más grandes sopranos del siglo XX

[@williammaddox3339]

As a fan of her voice and career, I find this an interesting insight. At this point she was not ready; there is a bit too much chest resonance in the lower half of her voice and as well it is affecting her upper register. A few years later her voice is under better control and became smoother and produced with more ease. I would love to know if she was nervous (due to inexperience) and did it affect her performance. She definitely had a diamond in her throat.

[@coloraturaElise]

Wow--what 22-yr-old sounds like that today?

[@andity1]

It's called proper training and no Instagram and Tiktok 😀

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Ander her diction is quite good, much better than most Americans. She was part Puerto Rican after all, and she majored in Romance languages.

[@danawinsor1380]

Interesting. Diction can be a thing of beauty, IMO, and Ms. Arroyo had superb diction.

[@joemiller6975]

Leontyne Price had a better publicist and got loads more press but Arroyo was every bit as exciting and thrilling a singer of Verdi and Puccini repertoire and she sang Wagner's Elsa in Lohengrin as well as anyone ever did ! This was a voice to conjure with and an Artist of great distinction and talent!

[@blowtheartofsangin8596]

Both ladies are stunning singers. You should definitely check out the video I have up of Grace Bumbry's audition. So much rich history...

[@thangvuong9196]

In my humble opinion I prefer Ms. Arroyo voice over Ms. Price, they essentially have the same range and perform the same rep., for me Ms.Arroyo doesn't have the woofish quality that Ms.Price sometimes had.

[@Slaptothefuture]

@@thangvuong9196 exactly, if you want to listen to Price but don't want her collapse head voice (which is still pretty damn amazing, but still), listen to Arroyo.

[@beachfanatic2010]

@@thangvuong9196 Both have similar problems. But Martina had a way better technique. It wasn’t only Price’s woofy and collapsed which was absolutely horrid but also the fact that she was portrayed as the quintessential “SPINTO SOPRANO” when her voice was extremely lyric and light in nature. So after Price every lyric soprano thought they posses spinto voices and this was the absolute down and fall of verismo cause every year there came in quotations another “spinto soprano” with a smaller voice than the other with DREADFUL results. Tebaldi had a voices about 100 times heavier, stronger, bigger and more metallic than Price and Tebaldi considered herself a lyric soprano far to light to sing anything really dramatic like Turandot for instance. In actuality the role of Aida just like all of Verdi is written for a female human trumpet. Verdi did NOT compose anything for the lyric soprano, not even Gilda. Everything is written for voices the size of Tebaldi to the size of Callas and Nilsson.

[@MOV1983]

@@beachfanatic2010 Everyone has their opinion, I suppose.

[@idraote]

Beside the obvious, I'd like to underline how good her Italian pronunciation is. It is close to impossible to distinguish her from a native speaker.

[@XPRT10R]

Oh come on. That's simply untrue

[@davidmolina7543]

Brava!

[@liedersanger1]

This was 1958. Snyone else have the full date?

[@blowtheartofsangin8596]

This performance aired on the radio on March 30, 1958.

[@petergraham8681]

Was very supportive but still responsibly critical in the 1986 Leonard Warren Master Classes at the Greenwich school & in her prime was, IMO, superior in some ways with Leontyne, IMO. Neither were, apparently, exactly riveting in terms of their stage characterizations but offered vocalism seldom heard these days.

[@josephcollins6033]

They have so much trouble with an Italian 'd'. Such a wonderful instrument, but I always felt that she sang like the most frustrating grad student ever; you see this phenomenal potential yet there is a laziness and sloppiness, and she never got over this.

[@gerhardrohne2261]

all her high notesare not clean...

[@thomasdahlen8533]

Wunderbar ! Lovely , nice and sadly underestimated.Her voice is beautiful.She is much better than Leontyne Price.Price has an ugly voice Arroys voice is beautiful.

[@johnperrylcsw7826]

You know, Both women can be stellar at the same time. Price's voice is a much different. But Ugly? Hardly! Shame on you.

[@garfieldmoore3789]

YOU are an IGNORANT FOOL !!!! YOU only compare the two because of your DEEPLY EMBEDDED RACISM!!

[@Duncan456]

Take your medication.

[@draganvidic2039]

@@johnperrylcsw7826 It’s ok to like ugly as long as you don’t say correct or better.

[@WalterBorden-x4z]

How idiotic! Truly!

[@christophehorton1070]

WHY WAS SHE SINGING THIS AT THIS AGE?????????????????

[@baritoneblazzin1965]

It's an audition....She was presenting an Aria within her vocal fach to be..and the voice was ready for such.

[@donaldlevine1420]

Because she could. Ponselle debuted as Leonora in Forza at 21. Milanov sang her first Aida at 22 and her first Turandot at 23.

[@NonCredibleFrenchDefense]

Bc she was a prodigy

[@ВладимирШуберт-й6е]

Ребята, как вы это слушаете и вас не тошнит?!

[@loralayons1120]

А от Нетребко вас не тошнит?

[@MiraMira-il4gj]

Тошнит от всех современных "певиц и певцов"

[@ben-hurjudha3648]

I like this record very much, clear and emotional things. Does she play Violetta role somewhere?? I think she is dynamic Violetta surely.

[@claudioestebanboccia1354]

I love.