Italian Opera Arias [Includes DVD]

Additional Italian Opera Arias [Includes DVD] Information

What Customers Say About Italian Opera Arias [Includes DVD]:

On a scale of 1 to 10, you give the CD version a 10. First listen to it from the CD THEN watch the DVD. But then you have to give the DVD version a 15 based on her acting as well as her singing. All the selections are fabulous. However, the mad scene from Lucia is special.

The combination of acting-and I have seen Dame Joan, Lily Pons, Anna Moffo and Maria Callas in person-and singing is unbeatable. My wife and I saw Ms.Dessay perform Lucia at the Paris Opera in a non-traditional production. I enjoyed the CD but the DVD is the reason to buy this product. I do hope this production is released in its entirety. We thought it was fabulous, but the DVD of her performance at the Met in a traditional staging may be even better. Although there are a few misses in her singing,the overall effect leaves you in tears.

We move with you.a true actor-singer synthesis who is also very precise musically and correct in technique. Well done Natalie. Brava. A must have. That's all one has to say about this.

Dame Joan is a voice for all eternity, but Lucia is weak, wounded, and pathetic. Joan Sutherland. Her upper, and middle, notes are her strong points."always play to your strength" is a good lesson anywhere.My favorite cuts were the first and last.Violetta's "sempre libra", an ode to hedonism if there ever was one, is superb. And Lucia's Mad Scene rocks. Those are not words to describe some Lucia's, and certainly not Sutherland, but Natalie makes you believe it. I have heard better renditions of "caro nome", but she sure got the job done.

.she never made me cringe, either. Poor word, but. Natalie is a very wonderful singer. Well, I'm not one of her fans. Callas. OK.chilling. Callas made me cringe. Often.OK, that's not really fair.Miss Dessay is of the lyric/coloratura mold; Callas fit more in the lyrico-spinto niche.

Absolutely fabulous. You can be very good, and still not be as good as the greatest ever. Anna Nebtreko, and Bidu Sayao, send me off into outer space.but, even though they share roles, they are not true comparisons. [No comparisons allowed with Ponselle and Flagstad; they were unique one-time gifts from God]. Unfortunate.

Miss Dessay is a truly wonderful singer.bet you'll like her.ADDENDUM.after watching the DVD.it's easy to say "yes, but I heard Sutherland."; OK.well.but I saw Dessay. Five Stars for the video. This is a very well-done, well-selected, album. This is a well presented program of lyric and bel canto staples [and some not so staple].it fits Miss Dessay to a T. Natalie must sing Lucia to folks who heard Sutherland.unfair, but that's opera.

Unavoidable. Rocks. Opera is bad for trotting out records, and comparing.

A good compilation of recent operatic works by Natalie Dessay. Overall, nicely done."Vien diletto." If I were to create a collection of my favorite cabalettas from opera, this piece from Bellini's "I Puritani" would be on that list. She seems in command of this piece, and her singing is quite satisfactory indeed. Overall, smoothly sung, with considerable vocal agility.

When she repeats "Spargi," she shows good staccato singing, a nice trill, and good vocal agility. No trills, to my regret (I know, I should not impose what I'd like to hear on an artist's interpretation, but. And the DVD is a nice bonus. Here is a sampling of cuts from this CD."E strano.Sempre libera." This segment from Verdi's "La Traviata" is a wonderful work. A solid high note to close out.

More florid singing (as one would hope), staccato singing, a decent trill, fine agility, and a solid final high note. I'm not sure that she ranks with Sumi Jo, but she surely ranks ahead of most others of her species. There is a bit of harshness here and there, but not a critical problem. I even compared how she sounded here to some of her earlier recordings; for the most part, I don't really hear much of a difference (but my ears are quite untutored).She reigns as one of the premier coloratura sopranos of the current era. She begins this nicely, in "E strano.," an aria sung well and affectingly (from videos that I have seen, she appears to be a good singing actress).

As I understand it, Natalie Dessay recently underwent surgery for nodes on her vocal chords. ). The repeat. Not quite Mado Robin-esque, but pretty impressive--and musical at the same time). Well done, with a nice final high note."Nella pace del mesto ripose." This is from one of Donizetti's operas, "Maria Stuarda," another nice entry in the coloratura soprano repertoire. It's sometimes fun to watch as well as listen to opera singing.

Hence, I was quite interested to listen to this CD, to see if this had affected her obvious gifts as a coloratura soprano, one of those high-flying phenomena. One also gets with this a DVD of her Metropolitan Opera performance of this opera in September, 2007. Not sure that her high notes are quite as stunning as before surgery, but she still does well closing out an aria.And, there is a bonus. Still, she recovers well and concludes with a set of solid high notes.The final cut I'll look at--my favorite cabaletta of all, "Spargi d'amaro pianto," from Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." For those who are interested: Yes, she sings the Italian and not the French version (hearing Dessay sing this in French is weird, since I have memorized the Italian lines from the cabaletta); yes, the orchestra uses the glass harmonica (according to the liner notes). Midway through, some ugly sounds, as her voice gets awfully harsh on a couple high volume high notes (a la the late Callas, whose voice spun out of control in such circumstances). She amps it up.

Nice final high note.So.

From what I can tell, she is a fine actress for an opera singer (compare her acting performance in videos with Joan Sutherland's in the Mad Scene).

The repeat.

The pace from this performance is peppier than that on the CD.

And her awesome high notes (listen to her in "Fruhlingstimmen," the Strauss waltz; that final note must be coming close to A above high C.

The first go through is taken at a rather slow pace, but Dessay sings well.

Much more florid singing, including nice staccato singing and interpolation of higher notes.

How about her performance in the cabaletta, "Sempre libera".

The first run through is smoothly sung, albeit at a deliberate pace.