A Joint concert at the Royal Opera House. One of a three years series of concerts by the two queens of tessituras switch and vocal endurance. Verrett especially kept singing mezzos while singing Tosca, Norma, Aida, Medea, etc.
We were there too. It was exceptional. Little did we know, an era was soon passing, where the like of such legends would be no more. What did youth know? What did anyone really know..?
For all of you people with negative comments about Verrett’s soprano repertoire, here’s a clip. I’ve sung Aida and know the role well and she sings with great intonation, clarity and understanding of the character. A snippet of her soprano work. (By the way, a mezzo soprano IS a soprano, but one who can sustain a lower range more easily. Ms Verrett is indeed ALL!) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4RB71_jp__M.html
In Feb, 1982 at Carnegie Hall NY City, I treated myself to a musical event before entering the hospital to have surgery. I chose a program that featured two exciting mezzo sopranos, Grace Bumbry and Shirley Verrett. The concert was widely advertised because it also featured two African American opera singers. It was truly a grand affair; both artists paid honor to Marian Anderson who was in the audience. Later I met Ms Bumbry back stage - a long story !!
I'm not "passeist" (backward looking) and am sure that every period produces great new artists. But actually, in 2020, it would be very difficult to present on the same scene two ladies with such huge and rich voices. Wait and see (and hear).
I am running out of adjectives -- both are absolutely exceptional. What's left? Amazing? Astonishing, stunning, jaw-dropping, stupendous, sublime? Yes, all of those and more!
You missed one adjective: versatile. These two grande dames of opera moved easily between the mezzo and soprano repertoires without any damage to their voices. Rock solid techniques. I thimk Bumbry even delved into the higher contralto arias.
@marsha I thought Verrett was a Falcon! LOL! How did Abbado choose Ricciarelli or von Karajan Freni for their Aida recordings when these two were magnificently available?
A splendid performance of a magnificent duet by two wonderful singers, each of whom could cope with both Verdi parts perfectly. Thank you for the big pleasure.
Des frissons sur toute la colonne vertébrale... Qui - oui, qui ? - chante comme ça de nos jours? Une symbiose parfaite, des voix magistrales : l'opéra en ébullition, l'opéra atomisé ! R e s p e c t !
How fascinating and ironic. I saw each of these terrific singers singing Venus in tannhauser at the met. Different performances of course. And Grace is the contralto in my favorite recording of Messiah. I have loved them both for years. Wonderful to hear them together!!
Actually, of these two singers only Grace Bumbry sang Venus at the Met. I'm not sure whether or not Verrett ever sang Venus anywhere else, but for sure she never sang it at the Met. (You can check the archives at metopera.org for yourself.) There are other roles they shared at the Met- Tosca for one- Eboli for another - Azucena for a third - Carmen for a fourth - Delila for a fifth. I wonder if it could have been one of the roles in which you saw them both at the Met. (I agree with you about Bumbry's fine singing in the Decca MESSIAH opposite Joan Sutherland.)
@@lutandomhlalase4416 it is quite strange as neither Verrett's autobiography does mention Venus as one of her roles, nor any other source. What are your sources? On the other hand Bumbry sang both roles on stage, I have photos of her Elsabeth in Germany. As far as I know, Verrett, in Wagner, sang in concert or on record: one of the valkyries of the Ride, by Stokowski, the Wesendonck Lieder and Elisabeth's first aria, with Schippers, and Mild und leise with Mehta.
Two great Soprano Falcons, singing together this great Aida duet between Aida and Amneris. I'd give the Mezzo edge to Verrett though and the more higher Soprano to Bumbry. Would've been more interesting if Bumbry played the Soprano here
Frankly I would say the opposite...Bumbry tried the title role of Aida in Paris (Bercy), and she could not sing it. She could never sustain high notes in long phrases without shouting them or faking a piano that was not fully sung (I don't pull her down, I admire her a lot though)...Verrett could make long high phrases smooth and legato. Look at her sleepwalking scene in Macbeth. Or her Aida in Boston. Or her Norma in 1976. But She is 6 years older than Bumbry and in full menopause here.
@@foropera I feel the same way about Bumbry versus Verrett. Two magnificent artists, but I Shirley did have better top notes!! And her as Lady Macbeth...perfection!!
Bumbry is impressive as Amneris here. Her voice has more bite and dominance, which suits the role perfectly. Verrett's voice is more lyrical and vulnerable in this duet, perfect for Aida.
mary marycib concordo ! non vorrei fare il vecchio insofferente anche perché non lo sono ma voci di questa qualità non ci sono più ! ed è i utile che qualcuno faccia delle obbiezioni! la realtà è sotto gli occhi e orecchie di chiunque! buona serata!
Well they are of course very different from those you mentioned but yes they certainly do. I was fortunate enough to see both at the ROH over the years and a concert performance with Shirley Verrett at the RFH was one of the most memorable operatic events in my life. I'm not convinced Verrett should have ventured into the soprano repertoire, she was supreme as a mezzo.
Thank you Paul. How wonderful to have heard her so often. I expect you're correct about the voice, but I thought her Isolde was a knockout just the same, and Lady Macbeth. What a shame that we don't seem to have voices, or musicality of that type at present.
@@danielng7795 I think Angel is wonderful, as well. She's a more full lyric voice, however beautiful (not a heavier voice as Verrett and Bumbry, but on the same level of beauty as SV)
I always thought this concert was sheer camp with some great singing. It's almost like that song, "anything you can do, i can do better..." But, honestly, what great entertainment .
I kinda guess this duet could have never been done better keeping in mind that the main idea is to keep the audience triggered about which one of the girls is more worthy to keep Radames love. We already know that he actually made a choice clear and won´t change it but even still Amneris manages to tense things in the story to make it feel that she might win over Aida as the soprano is a weaker role against the Egyptian princess. Both roles must be VERY SIMILAR where only Aida is slighlty lightier and higher than Amneris, but that kinda reflects the weakness in her inner self breaking up against the raw self-pride and boldness of her rival, which is better conveyed by a STRONGER STEADY VOICE, so the "mezzo" on her suits better that heavy-weight but still is CLOSER TO A SOPRANO than leaning into the dramatic type of mezzo that aproaches the contralto. Still this duet isn´t the best piece that shows all the power that actually both Aida and Amneris had in their own way and why they´re actually more similar than what might this duet suggest: Aida has a bold and more wholesome true-self at the "Ritorna vincitor" aria of the Act 1 and furtherly better the duet with Radames of Act 3 where she lures and seduces him into breaking up to leak information that´s pivotal for her father schemes, at those scenes very conflicted in one and the other more self-sure of her power she deepens her usual voice sounding more like Amneris than herself, specially compared with her lines here in this duet, the nutshell-plot terzetto of Act 1, "O Patria mia" romanza in Act 3, her duet againt Amonasro and the final duet with Radames. Amneris in other hand, goes into a weaker and anguished lightier version of herself at several times during the great stand-alone scene of Act 4 before, during and after the trial of Radames, and at some times where she confronts him, sure she keeps stronger willied than Aida most of the time, but she breaks-up several times too, and her voice rises higher and lightier into a true dramatic soprano type as Aida before as she becomes vulnerable then. Sure she ends different than Aida, setting a curse against the Egyptian priests and judges, but that was just her last burst of self-power before being totally broken praying about the grave of Radames and Aida. There is then not such a big difference between Aida and Amneris voice registers, and the soprano vs mezzo idea of the duet merely is just a reference for the singers but not as very strict of that, so Verret and Bumbry knew that and so were able to sing both different and very alike at several times on this musical masterpiece. It seems that Verdi actually wanted to have Amneris as the title of the opera, but because the role was very atypical for an operistic heroine and a primma donna soprano, he changed so Aida will be the typical tragic heroine of the story done by the soprano, and the mezzo held as her rival, but still there in Act 4 Scene 1 you clearly might see that all the time, the true main protagonist of the story was Amneris not Aida, so in the end while Radames and she are dying is a bittersweet departure because at least they go together, but at the same time, Amneris is seen very broken praying and weeping for Radames forgiveness, so the real tragedy is about HER not Aida dying. I think that after that never any other composer made people to symphatize the rival mezzo no matter if she was actually an enemy of the leading soprano or not: in La Gioconda of Ponchielli, Laura is a kind character, being Gioconda (soprano) more like a bitch as Amneris did but soon she ends helping her back, whereas in Adriana Lecouvreur of Cilea, the Princess of Bouillon (mezzo) trully is a bitch as Amneris, but she didn´t get back a time where she could either ammend things as Gioconda did, nor that left people understand her better beyond being the villainess, and in La Wally of Catalani, there is the smaller role of Afra who actually is as kind like Laura (and a mezzo too) against Wally (soprano) who is pretty much a bitch for her and some other people there, she ends up doing amends in favor of her rival, but then when actually is a second pay-off in her favor about the tenor heroe, doom comes unexpectly from a very unusual time that sets the tragedy just when everything seemed to be ok - happens an avalanche and then the protagonist kills herself in distraught.
Yes, I know. Just my opinion is that It's a strange idea to go into these circus tricks. Of course she could do it, but...It's nearly pure show off, and finally bad taste.
Il y a bien Anita Rachvelishvili, mais ce n'est pas à proprement parler un Falcon qui va tenter Salomé ou Lady Macbeth...Elina Garanca s'ouvre au répertoire dramatique et a un bon aigu...Mais pas beaucoup de graves. Et elle est moins flamboyante que ces deux là.
I do not understand why SV ever messed around with the sop. rep. she is NO Aida. I saw her sing Tosac and was not sure she would make ti through. It was fun to have the rivelry between the two though. GB was a mezzo of the type we really don't have anymore- Fabulous. She always just takes over the stage and delivers the goods. CM Indpls Opera
Where was it in Tosca? I saw her in Paris in Medea and Alceste, and it was gorgeous. Her Verdi Requiem in the soprano part is surprisingly easy in the top notes and the pianissimi long phrases...
All singers have times when they are not at their best. But there is more than enough recorded evidence of Verrett in top form on the opera and concert stage to keep her legacy alive and secure.
Verrett in straight soprano rep sounds so uncomfortable and inauthentic. It's pretty obvious her middle voice didn't have the consistent projection of a soprano.
foropera years ago you posted side by side clips of Verrett and Bumbry's last Ebolis. I think the year was 87 or so. Do you still have those, if so could you repost. I would like to hear, particularly Bumbry.
