Soprano Asmik Grigorian in the final scene of Puccini's Suor Angelica; recorded in June 2010, staging by Viesturs Kairss, conducted by Modestas Pitrenas
This is the best "death" played out I've ever seen for this piece. While not my favourite vocal performance, absolutely made me feel the sorrow, the grief, the physical pain.
Only 725 views since this was posted around 10 months ago! She must be the best hidden secret in soprano voices. A great operatic artist, a great singer. She deserves to be a star on most major operatic stages in the world, what a shame that she is not., not yet that is. Thank you for posting.
Her performance is gut-wrenching. In German we have a word "Sängerdarsteller", which translates to "singer-actor" and describes Singers with a particular intensity in their portrayal. She is that. And then some.
Of course I can never forget having heard Teresa Stratas in this role in 1989. Ms. Grigorian is different but with a similar intensity. Inherited quite a bit from her father Gegam. I'm looking forward to hearing her in person.
Wow! She's perfect Pucini material. She just disappears into her role. Beautiful! Asmik, just leave the rock star stuff alone. You're worth so much more, and this says it all. My favourite singer right now.
On the royal opera of Stockholm she has currently rock star status as cio-cio san in madama butterfly, the critics were crying, and people come only to see her in that role. I have never seen a Soprano act the way she does.
Asmic Grigorian is an outstanding vocal artist! At present you can see and listen to her in a fantastic Manon Lescaut production of the Latvian Opera: www.theoperaplatform.eu/en/opera/puccini-manon-lescaut
A very intense performance--maybe too emotionally involved--that might have hampered the voice in the end. Obviously she was tearing up because her mascara ran. Crying is every soprano's nightmare.
Not only can she sing like mad, she can do it lying flat on her back. Wow. And she, unlike so many operating sopranos, can act! Her cries of pain or joy or both at the very end actually sound authentic, as opposed to the careful twitters of so many other sopranos. Brava.
Problems with her top notes. This isn't the repertoire she should be singing yet. Hopefully she'll improve her choice of repertoire and get her technique more solid. She has a very interesting stage presence and vocal gift, and if used intelligently, she will be very successful indeed!
Clearly this young woman possesses acting talent, but her voice has been trained badly. She lacks the ability to sustain the phrases as needed in this work, and her high notes are seriously lacking breath flow hampered by a tongue in the wrong place. This all points to poor training. This opera is beyond her ability vocally at this moment. A note to the stage director: too much busy work which compromised the singer physically.
Wow, that was really horribly sung (though brilliantly acted). Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Her performance of the role in Salzburg a year or two ago was an absolute triumph.
