The Great Helen Traubel Sings "Ritorna Vincitor" From Verdi's Aida

While not part of the great American soprano's standard repertoire, this famous aria is nonetheless beautifully sung.

[@EdmundStAustell]

Thank you very much! I'm very much of the opinion that Helen Traubel was one of the greatest voices America every produced. And I will never forgive Bing for the way he treated her.

[@mjmacmtenor]

Her voice is like a great wave of sound, a torrent of tone, a battleship of sopranos in full force. It is powerful but never harsh or edgy.

[@neilnetherly341]

Truly, this recording of the Great Helen Traubel demonstrates her intelligence and impeccable artistry. I never thought I would hear thus golden voice sing Verdi with such grace and glorious splendor. This was a voice sublime beauty! Thanks for posting.

[@alfredoloyola921]

she made me fall in love with the dramatic soprano voice!!when i heard her in my teens!!singing the great area from. alceste!!my. god a door opened to me!!that fantastic!!majestic sound!! her glorious voice!!her great voice!!one of my favorites sopranos of all time!! brava helen!!

[@EdmundStAustell]

My pleasure, my friend! She was an absolutely wonderful singer!

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Incredible with gold velvet tones that are in touch with humanity. God gave a voice capable of persuading us to transcend.

[@vanmusician]

When I was a teenager I saw Traubel do her nightclub act here in Vancouver. She appeared with her hair dyed a strange orange colour, sang the phrase 'Ritorna vincitor' in a huge and rather wobbly voice, then switched into her theme song 'St. Louis Woman'. I got to shake hands with her after the show. I had no idea what a glorious singer she was during her opera career!

[@alfredoloyola921]

what a fantastic!!round dramatic bflat!!. she was great!!

[@EdmundStAustell]

Thank you very much. Yes, it certainly is a beautiful voice. One of my very favorites!

[@francesca7564]

Oui !!! Grande voix !!! Amitiés Edmund ...

[@123must]

Beautiful voice ! Thanks

[@EdmundStAustell]

Je vous remercie, mon amie. Une grande voix, n'est-ce pas?

[@EdmundStAustell]

WOW! Great comment! Well done! And spot-on!

[@Serhii_Uk]

Rarely a singer is equally able to sing well and feel the Wagnerian repertoire, and Italian. Helen is one of the few. Great!

[@wilsonwatt9283]

This is quite amazing. It is marvelous to hear a great true dramatic voice interpreting Aida. Nilsson was also a great Aida, although most people forget all of her Italian roles other than Turandot. I think that Verdi would have loved hearing these enormous voices singing his music.

[@draganvidic2039]

Traubel had a problematic top and would never feel safe singing this role with the extremely exposed high C in the Nile aria for example. Tebaldi is another example and she dropped this role later on.

[@ransomcoates546]

@@draganvidic2039 You are certainly right about Traubel’s inability to cope with the tessitura of Verdi’s heroines. But I think here she is much more idiomatic in style than Nilsson, who never saw a C she didn’t love. Traubel can sing a true Italian legato line.

[@francesca7564]

WOW !!! Compliments Edmund ... :-)

[@MrQbenDanny]

OK, I'm going to dare and say it. This knocked CALLAS and Tebaldi version out. You're my pick Helen

[@LaDivinaLover]

Agreed. A TRUE dramatic soprano.

[@silvioivanbendanamora1682]

@@LaDivinaLover I think that both of you are wrong. Traubel did not have the same brilliance in her top notes as Callas and Tebaldi. Although her voice is beautiful, warm, powerful and steady, she is not suited for Verdi´s operas. Traubel, Callas and Tebaldi are great sopranos, but any comparison is out of place because Trauble was a Wagnerian soprano, Callas a rare sfogato soprano and Tebaldi a lyric-dramatic soprano. Greetings,

[@alfredoloyola921]

Helen!!nice pic!!

[@EdmundStAustell]

You're sure right about that!

[@EdmundStAustell]

Thank you for a great comment!

[@EdmundStAustell]

Thank you very much, Nate. I always appreciate your comments, which are so very much to the point. Let me check on Loch Lomond. If I can find it, I'll put it up and let you know. Thanks again.

[@contraltissima]

❤❤❤😍❤❤❤😍❤❤❤❤😍

[@MrQbenDanny]

@Edmund, I would see him walking around like Nosferatu at the MET, barking at everyone, even during intermission!! Maria hated him as you probably know and he hated her because she was a genius.

[@PIPEBITE]

One of the great Wagnerian sopranos. Another victim of that jerk Rudolf Bing.

[@liedersanger1]

What year was this fantastic performance please?

[@henrygingercat]

Great but I wonder whether she could have coped with O Patria Mia with its top C.

[@draganvidic2039]

She could not

[@draganvidic2039]

Will add that few dramatic sopranos can, is not easy to sail up there singing that note ”sweet” (dolce) as written in the score.

[@janehlers4629]

As far as I know, there is no B or C on record sung by Helen Traubel.

[@henrygingercat]

@@janehlers4629 I think you're right yet she sang Brunhilde and Isolde, presumably curtailed at the top. I wonder what the problem was given that most mezzos can deliver the high B and C.

[@Pachinanonim]

​@@janehlers4629Si hay 2 grabaciones donde ella toca dos cortos C6 pero los toca.

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

A great soprano, but I prefer her in Germanic repertoire. I wish there was stronger use of chest voice here and that incisive use of the Italian language that is present in the best Verdian singing.

[@user-ic5xu4jh6z]

She used covered cest voice here, yes. German style is diffenerent art of singing. I loved her in german Opera also more. Helen was amazing, tecchnically solid trained voice. I adore her art!