Shirley Verrett sings "O Don Fatale", 1971

The great American Mezzo, Shirley Verrett, sings this aria of Princess Eboli from Verdi's opera, "Don Carlos", in a fabulous performance at the Liceu of Barcelona, December,1971.

[@FoggyRoad81]

One of the few performers who is viscerally thrilling in the opening passages AND elegant and gorgeous in the middle section. No one has ever sing this aria better and no one ever will.

[@leonoradelagardie]

Yes, the greatest Eboli!

[@purisermonisamator]

Perhaps you both just haven't heard so many renditions of this aria yet? It happens.

[@pureffm]

What about Obratsova, Toyanos, Cossotto, Batso? Troyanos and Baltsa's acting is unrivalled in this aria.

[@cadoh8143]

One of the best, if not THE BEST interpretation, I have heard from this aria. Bravissima.

[@barneswriter]

Surely. The greatest Eboli

[@jacquesfrapart9136]

Shirley Verrett était une soprano dramatique Falcon. Voix héritée de la célèbre cantatrice Cornélie Falcon créatrice d'opéra de Meyerbeer comme les Huguenots. Cette typologie vocale rarissime permet une extension vocale sur 2 octaves et demi. Shirley Verrett elle allait jusqu'au contre-Ré.

[@cdivo39]

Im sorry but you wont find a BETTER version on KZbin! She is THE BEST!

[@purisermonisamator]

Has it ever occurred to you that KZbin, with all due respect, is not the whole universe yet?

[@lascosasporsunombreclaroyr7860]

Shirley Verrett fue descubierta tarde por mi, desde que eso ocurrió no hago sino sorprenderme al notar cada vez con más fuerza que fue una de las más grandes de todos los tiempos

[@mpiarosati]

Stupefacente!

[@cadoh8143]

👏👏👏

[@Endoryth1]

@eyesk8er The term "to cover" in mezzo technique means to cover the tone so that it resonates a clear, dark balanced tone. Placement and support of the tone are key. It is not a wide open tone that mezzos seek. Mezzos do not open their mouths in a smile and project the tone from the top of their heads, whereas many sopranos use that sort of technique. The tone then is "brighter". I hope this helps.

[@СеклитаЛимариха]

Хороша.

[@Endoryth1]

@mariasarda Many mezzos have the high range of a soprano and can pop out a high C. However, singing a single high note is quite different than lingering in the vocal stratosphere and being comfortable staying up there. The tone of a mezzo is darker, richer and heavier than that of a soprano. Shirley Verrett does not have the dark ,rich and heavy tone of a mezzo. Shirley Verrett gave lessons to a collegue of mine from Las Vegas. The collegue says Verrett is a soprano.

[@iamanoblewoman1]

Rsecording transfer, tonation issues with orchestra or not...I argee it's still perfection!

[@purisermonisamator]

Веррет начинала как стопроцентное меццо с сочным и густым однородным голосом. Послушайте хотя бы, как она поёт "Gloria" Вивальди. Затем она расширила свой диапазон (и вместе с тем репертуар) - и, как и многие вокалисты до нее, довольно дорого за это заплатила: потеряла однородность регистров, низы приобрели открыто грудное звучание, переходные от низов к середине ноты стали звучать пустовато , сочные обертоны, так украшавшие первоначальный тембр, были утрачены: за все удовольствия надо платить, в том числе и за удовольствие иметь необъятный репертуар. Эболи требует полноценного меццо-сопранового звука, которым Ширли, при всём уважении к ней, не обладает. Поэтому IMO и Образцова, и Коссотто звучат в этой арии полноценней. Веррет великолепный художник, но речь идёт о чисто вокальной стороне образа. Певицу же, которой принадлежит лучшее, на мой взгляд, исполнение этой арии, я пока вообще не встречал в Ютубе. Между прочим, Каллас в этой арии мне тоже нравится больше Веррет.

[@Endoryth1]

Wonderful soprano...but she is not a mezzo. Her technique is that of a soprano. Mezzos are more covered. Singing mezzo roles does not make you a mezzo.

[@SilfredoSerrano]

She altered her technique as she started singing higher. In the 60s it was pretty much mezzo and contralto rep.

[@anthonyehrenzweig1635]

Its interesting how we compare female voices as opposed to male voices; Shirley Verrett is normally considered a mezzo but the male equivalent would be something like a Heldentenor with a lower range (because Heldentenors do not go up to high C). In Wagner they never go above A4 apart from Siegfried in Götterdämmerung). And then Heldentenors have no depth either & there are very few roles written for a tenor (apart from Rossini) which require a baritone range. I can only think of Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera. But Shirley Verrett does have the lower range which distinguishes her from a soprano & would if she were a man classify her as a baritone with an extended top range.

[@alleviation91]

@@anthonyehrenzweig1635 Many Heldens/Dramatics had "depth:" Hans Beirer, Gunther Treptow, Hendrik Appels, Ramon Vinay, Claude Heater, Ludwith Suthaus, Renato Zanelli, Alexei Steblyanko, etc. I think you're conflating "Echt," with "Schwer." Their roles don't stay too low, true enough. I don't know what "baritone range" means. As for Shirley, she was very much a darker-voiced soprano. There have been a few throughout history: Kirsten Flagstad, Helen Traubel, Astrid Varnay, Ghena Dimitrova, Anni Konetzni, Rosa Ponselle, Giovanna Casolla, etc. A darker voice with a firmer lower-range simply implies a (bigger-voiced), soprano with well-developed lows.

[@assindiastignani]

@melbapatti Well, you've obviously never played in a European Orchestra, because the temperature most assuredly does also affect the pitch, as the strings try to play intonation catch-up with the brass and woodwinds. Had you bothered to read what I wrote, you'd have seen that I said the high intonation is not "just" the transfer (partially, of course) Noone told Verrett the aria would be at 469 Herz (now, isn't that silly?) butthat's about where the orchestra landed.The transfer did the rest.

[@assindiastignani]

@mozzrt The legacy of Karajan and it was brutal.Rysanek used say, when she came back to the Met from Vienna it took her two weeks to get her voice back down. Leading baritones wouldn't sing Germont in Vienna because they said "Pura siccome un angelo" was absolute torture. A tenor once told me when he sang Tamino and Ferrando there, he had to practice the roles a half-step higher,because that's what it felt like, then afterwards he couldn't sing them in other houses for at least ten days.

[@assindiastignani]

@melbapatti Excuse me, but his is not just the transfer. Some European houses used to tune a bit higher in the 70's. That combined wih the fact that woodwind and brass insruments rise a little as the metals get warmer in the course of the performance (this aria comes at about 23.30 local time in Barcelona). A Manrico in Vienna could wind up singing almost C-sharps in the 3. Act of Trovatore.

[@ThomasDawkins88]

Which is why Corelli opted to sing "Di quella pira" in B in Salzburg even though his Cs were rock solid. He didn't want to sing C#s.