Tim Ostendorf discusses Cristina Deutekom singing "O luce di quest'anima"

Tim Ostendorf, baritone and innkeeper, does a six soprano comparison of Donizetti's "O luce di quest'anima" from "Linda di Chamounix" (third up: Cristina Deutekom).

[@tamerlano]

I'm always amazed at how high she takes the chest mix, and how it seems to anchor the voice in a very unique way...and the way the top peals out so triumphantly. I love this voice.

[@sheilaconolly8087]

Cristina was my singing teacher for 5 years . Hearing her voice LIVE was like standing next to a dozen heavenly angels singing all at once ..... a totally miraculous and unforgettable experience !!!!!

[@jameslevister153]

I saw her in 1974, I believe, in Vespri Siciliani at the Met. That was one of my best nights at any opera performance. By the way, my orchestra seat was $12.00! Her voice was strong in all registers as well as darkly colored and weighty at the bottom. When taken together with the brilliant top, her voice was one of the most exciting I ever heard in the theatre. The Bolero was sung with enviable virtuosity. But, the real breathtaker of the evening was the climax of, " Arrigo, Io t'amo. It was done pianissimo, BUT, seemed to originate from the upper reaches of the rear of that huge theatre. Some of us turned and looked up as if to trace it's origins. When I turned back and looked at her, she had a sly smile on her face. This woman knew she was a ,"Soprano Magician,". The only other singer I experienced in that way was Beverly Sills in Anna Bolena' s first act aria. Brava to these folks.

[@jameslevister153]

Sorry, the aria I referred to wherein she produced that otherworldly pianissimo was," Arrigo,ah parli a un core." I don't ever expect another Elena in my lifetime such as Deutekom.

[@DamonKClark]

Deutekom was a spinto, possibly even a dramatic soprano. Her voice was absolutely enormous. I heard both her and Sutherland, granted towards the end of each career. Both voices were huge, but Deutekom’s was so much more resonant. Just an exciting, crazy large instrument.

[@SR-jx8yu]

I absolutely adore Deutekom. Such a beautiful and pure voice. Her high notes were glorious and powerful. The 'gurgling' sound is unique to her! I prefer her voice to Gruberova.

[@petervanbrock2]

the only role I like from Gruberova is the witch in Hansel and Gretel

[@opmmtvvideo7058]

petervanbrock2 hahahahaaaa a Witch ... Team Joan here

[@SR-jx8yu]

I just adore Deutekom... one of the great coloraturas

[@basmeisters3]

Thanks. I'm a Dutchman and I actually heard Deutekom in her last role on stage here in The Netherlands, where she sang Turandot. And I've met her in person once, very briefly. Much fun. Thanks for the video and sharing your views on Deutekom's clackeratura. It as always fascinated me as well. And why is no other singer doing it?

[@familypondman]

Because they can't, her voice is balancing constantly free in her throat!

[@ameliafrazao5913]

They can't. There is only ONE Deutekom. Perfection doesn't come around often.

[@acacia-bloom]

Her voice was absolutely huge - maybe even bigger than Sutherland's - I heard them both. I always found her gargling extremely entertaining and I think it baffles everybody. Probably the most stunning thing she ever recorded was the Vespri Bolero (studio recording) it is absolutely phenomenal.

[@nathandavis3002]

(I am aware i am responding to a very old comment) I would like to know, where would one find a studio recording? is there one on youtube? all i can find is fuzzy live recordings.

[@terrylewis4941]

I was only able to find one example of Mr Ostendorf singing. Based on the quality of that example I wonder how he has the audacity to offer his insights on vocal production.

[@timostendorf6920]

😂🤣😅

[@MaguindanaoBoy]

6:05 speeding up slightly to keep the subsequent slow-downs/eddies from taking away too much from the overall momentum? I just love your whimsy in analyzing her recording of this. You mean no harm and love the music. Cristina Deutekom's perfectly elided shifts in vocal placement sounds like "gurgling" in its baffling and variable (perhaps therefore "frayed" because so mercurial) execution. It is perhaps simply absolutely cleanly connected passagework. I recall the word "Gurgel" being used to describe how agile Gluck opera singers are (the adroit throat/larynx/voice box/"geläufige Gurgel")... You got me, am going to watch more of your series.

[@Smile6784]

I love the way you talk about Cristina Deutekom! I am Dutch and I saw her often at the Dutch Opera and of course I am aware of the criticism of her voice and the way she makes the funny noices. The gurgling. "I hope she is not standing there with the finger in her mouth" LOL.

[@RossiniSoprano]

Tim, this is so awesome! Glad I found your channel. btw, I will happily sing this or any other bel canto aria straight for you..let me know! btw, I also like Cristina....it is a truly awesome voice, and sure, the glottal articulation all the time is distracting, but she sings the crap out of this literature. Her Queen of the Night is great....oh, and I TOTALLY hear what you mean about the Sills thing....in the recit, on "Poveri.." just now.

[@timostendorf6920]

Thanks, Elise... I remember reading your contributions on the Opera-List... glad you found me!!!

[@SR-jx8yu]

Which recording of the aria is this? Love ur videos!

[@Elzbiets]

Beautiful, shimmering sound--thanks! But I SO wish you wouldn't interrupt!

[@Ladiopfa]

I simply love you!

[@65attila]

I do not like the gargling but do like other things she does.

[@timostendorf6920]

Thanks tomasburi for the proper definition (most definitely *not* yodeling!).

[@tamerlano]

She had a heart attack, actually...Ab-ee-gah-ee-leh is how you pronounce Abigaille.

[@eradesso]

You're so F'd up! I love it! Should be my new BFF. That said, first off, Deutekom sadly passed away 3 days ago. May she rest in peace. Secondly, as you said, she has an "interesting" technique for articulating and luckily she did not use her finger (LOL) rather her glottis. I suppose that this specific trademark can be an acquired taste like Vivica Geneaux lip vibrating articulation although not on the level of Bartoli's barking. Or maybe a love it or hate it thing. In pieces like D'amore Al dolce impero for me it is honestly too much as it detracts the audience from the score and the beauty of the music. At the same time one must start from the consideration that Deutekom was what is typically branded as a "soprano assoluta" much like Callas, Moser and very few others. And this is where I don't understand why you would be surprised for her singing Abigaille, Leonora or, I will add, Giselda in I Lombardi for example where you truly see her rare gifts of agility, perfectly integrated and full low register and ability to pierce through heavy orchestration and large cori. In fact I always define her voice laser-like. And all of this is what also keeps me from fully understanding what you mean by "Sutherland had a larger voice than most coloratura sopranos" what does bigger mean? Darker? More volume? Wider tessitura? Compared to whom? Sills maybe but certainly not Deutekom.. Sutherland was "bigger" than most coloraturas if she was singing above A4 and within E6 where the core, color and technique showed off to perfection pretty much like no one else. The rest was very much a mixed experience. That's why she had the habit of transposing scores up even a whole octave or chopping low notes off to avoid such situations. And that is why she never sang Abigaille or anything so low because the fact she had a G3 deep down in her stomach does not mean that was in her tessitura - just as much as her squeaky public high Fs that kept her from being a memorable QotN.. Moreover she could not enunciate even to save her life... Once you hear Armida's finale, Giselda caballetta, Abigaille or the QotN you know Deutekom could have sung Sutherland off the stage with her power although Sutherland remains the best Linda and that's for sure - well IMO at least.

[@eradesso]

And full low register and ability to pierce through heavy orchestration and large cori. In fact I always define her voice laser-like. And all of this is what also keeps me from fully understanding what you mean by "Sutherland had a larger voice than most coloratura sopranos" what does bigger mean? Darker? More volume? Wider tessitura? Compared to whom? Sills maybe but certainly not Deutekom.. Sutherland was "bigger" than most coloraturas if she was singing above A4 and within E6 where the core, color and technique showed off to perfection pretty much like no one else. The rest was very much a mixed experience. That's why she had the habit of transposing scores up even a whole octave or chopping low notes off to avoid such situations. And that is why she never sang Abigaille or anything so low because the fact she had a G3 deep down in her stomach does not mean that was in her tessitura - just as much as her squeaky public high Fs that kept her from being a memorable QotN.. Moreover she could not enunciate even to save her life... Once you hear Armida's finale, Giselda caballetta, Abigaille or the QotN you know Deutekom could have sung Sutherland off the stage with her power although Sutherland remains the best Linda and that's for sure - well IMO at least.

[@vanmusician]

In 1983 I was hired as chorus master of Edmonton Opera, and the first production I worked on was Lucia with Deutekom. By that time her highest notes were just breathy whistles. And just as interesting - a few years later I was shown a cardboard box full of famous autographs which had been collected by the husband of an elderly woman here in Vancouver. There were treasures like a two-page letter of Wagner's, autographs by Mendelssohn and Elgar, and the first few bars of this aria written and signed by Donizetti.

[@gianerajohn436]

John Mitchell Breathy whistles in 1983?? she was fiercely singing Turandot with enough sostegno for the entire orchestra in 1996?! Sorry but it makes no sense at all. Case in point, go and find the video of her 1995 masterclass, funny enough, tutoring a singer in O Luce di quest’anima and see how Deutekom demonstrates to the singer how to effortlessly soar with a low larynx. If you call that a breathy whistle... To be honest you really took a bad example because Deutekom is perhaps one of the very few examples of a voice that stayed equally powerful and fresh from debut to retirement at 64yo throughout the fully developed registers with no wobble, tremolo or anything and yes, her glottal coloratura did help as the physical strain is much less compared to legato singing.

[@eelco67]

Breathy whistles?? Here's Deutekom singing Puritani in Amsterdam 1983. Maybe you'd want to reconsider your disparaging two cents... kzbin.info/www/bejne/borOdI17qZWbZ7M