Jessye Norman - Beethoven - Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?

Jessye Norman sings the role of Leonore in the aria "Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?" from Beethoven's opera Fidelio.
Fidelio - Ludwig van Beethoven
Staatskapelle Dresden, 1989
conductor Bernard Haitink

[@gunterangel]

Jessye Norman's magnificent rendition of that demanding aria is simply the best I know. Particularly that bit : 'die Liebe, sie wirds erreichen, ja, ja....' ; ( 3:25 ) the high notes at 'die Liebe' and the whole phrase were never more beautifullly and movingly sung by any other soprano/mezzosoprano imho. From all the others I've heard that aria it sounds shrill and nervous. Only Jessye made it sound smooth, warm and lovely; just unbelievably beautiful ! Her voice was a real miracle and gift from heaven; so powerful, and yet so tender ! The world of music has lost a great artist and the whole mankind a wonderful human being with a big heart . RIP, Jessye Norman ! ❤🕯🕊

[@nyjordy]

I don't know about you but it hurts me so bad seeing all these beautiful pictures .. it makes me horribly sad , I just can't believe she's gone

[@Shahrdad]

Even when she was very heavy, I always found her incredibly beautiful, more of a goddess than a mortal human.

[@josephmosikili1902]

The Amazing Jesseye Norman ; amazing me as she always does...

[@beachfanatic2010]

She has a very sophisticated, classy, luscious, womanly dark voice!

[@jimp4170]

Those horns! Damn!

[@andysbg77]

FANTASTIC!!!! R.I.P. Jessye Norman!!!

[@spinto12]

that utterly undeniable majestic, powerful sound!....sing Jessye.

[@evewiemer]

Jessye , so divine!

[@joaopedro12]

i would call a religion called norman dedicated to style grace and miracle of human voice

[@sonapetrosyan9575]

God bless you and your voice Jesie

[@Dr.DivaMa]

Pure beauty!

[@manthasagittarius1]

Dec. 16, 2016, 4:41 AM. New York. As the lady says: "Komm, Hoffnung!"

[@dgbx6]

I agree with Pe Callahan. Beethoven's writing is hardly easy for the voice, she seems to have reserves to get through it as well as make great music with it.

[@germanquintero10121946]

MARAVILLOSA SIEMPRE

[@filipadam7087]

beautiful

[@marcosPRATA918]

Bela ária com rica instrumentação.

[@tristanhnl]

Brava! I think the entire aria is very well sung, even the B5 at the end. I think Jessye's voice is so large and opulent throughout much of her range, and she uses such a great ratio/mix of chest voice, that when she goes higher and must use strictly head voice, it sounds thin in contrast. But really, even her head voice is potently strong. Jessye truly defies categorisation.

[@wilsonwatt9283]

Not really. Often she uses the reduction in the tone emotionally. Listen to her Met Sieglinde "O hehrestes wundar{ to hear the high notes at full tone and you hear the true size of her voice--that one tiny piece of singing is better than anyone else recorded as far as I can tell.

[@manthasagittarius1]

No, there was nothing thin about her head voice. I heard her song Ariadne auf Naxos at the Met in the late '80s, and I swear to you, I could see the firmament over midtown Manhattan where she lifted the roof off at the end of Es gibt ein' Reich.

[@joaopedro12]

the extreme of salome may be Montserrat Caballe lol, but it's great. i sort of understand if you go watch it's strange but...

[@timofreeman4574]

What YEAR was this recording, please? It could be culturally fascinating given Dresden was behind the Iron Curtain until almost 1990.

[@pega17pl]

Although Dresden was behind the Iron Curtain doesn't mean that Western opera stars didn't appear there (and Eastern Berlin etc.). The bigger problem for the GDR was the hard currency for payment. - Greetings, Heinz

[@gunterangel]

@@pega17pl Exactly ! I've got the Arrau/Davis/SKD-recording of the 5 Beethoven piano concertos in my collection. And they were made between 1984 and 1987 BEFORE the fall of the wall, when the GDR was still in existence. And if my memory serves right, Colin Davis was even chief conductor of the "Staatskapelle Dresden" at that time !?

[@assindiastignani]

She was right not to sing it on stage. Vocally, the role would have been uncomfortably high for her and besides visually it would have been a bit too much. We both know how nasty the critics are and they would have had a field day making stupid jibes abt. her size. One of the reasons Birgit Nilsson stopped singing Salome in NY - she just got sick of the ugly remarks abt. her size, and she was not nearly as full-figured as Norman.

[@FoggyRoad81]

I wish she had sung this on stage, would have been wonderful. The one high note at the end is the only bad part, sounds very thin. But the rest is just amazing.