Giuseppe Verdi Pace, pace mio Dio from La Forza De Destino Soprano: Kiri Te Kanawa Wellington Concert New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Conducted by John Hophins
Here we see how intensity is so much more important than giving a 'clean', dutiful performance. As lyrical and smooth a voice as Kiri has, it doesn't evoke the same drama or ignited passion. It's not even about her fach either. Tebaldi and Caballe were lyric singers and still thundered this aria.
This voice is gorgeous to listen to. So, she’s not hysterical like some others. There is always room. And her voice is up to all of it. I love her Desdemona. Sumptuous.
Yes, she already explained that she is singing this in concert not for the role. And she brings so much soulful beauty and expression. It works very well in concert. Brava 👏👏👏👏🌹
@belcantotenor The phrasing, the sensitivity to the words and the passion that is inate in all Verdi operas.. This is sung well, but intepretively it leaves much to be desired. I want to make it clear, though, I am a fan of Te Kanawa. She is unbeatable in other music. ( her STrauss for instance is fabulous).
When I first saw this clip I was wondering "What on earth is she doing singing this aria." At the end of it, all I could say is wow. The diction, the sense of line and the beauty of voice all were there. Yes, this isnt Callas, Tebaldi, Ponselle or Price -- but she does an admirable job of this. To the poster who said, "this isnt verdi" - i would ask, exactly what isnt verdi in this? Overall, it is good. If she could get through the role in an opera house, then it would be quite wonderful.
Dame Kiri herself said (on TV in 2019) that singing "Pace, pace" was her "biggest mistake" and she was "bawled out" for it--and "rightly." Her honesty and humility are so refreshing! Check out her comments here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BTsMTyS0yDM.html. The remark comes at 49:30.
@Desdemona80 I think we all forget that Verdi means "Bel canto" and that is exactly what Te Kanawa always delivered. Yes, her voice is not as large or dramatic as Price BUT she sings it with grace, poise and ease and her sense of line is amazing!! I try not to compare and take each individual artist as they are and what they have to offer! Bravo Dame Kiri!!
Although I adored Kiri, with her heavenly voice, she seems to be reading from the dictionary. She was far better in the polite passions of Mozart and light-Strauss. She didn’t seem to understand the emotions of Verdi or Puccini at all.
@cutevtman I agree that this was good, but please don't tell me that Verdi is 'Bel Canto'! Certainly not! He is the step ahead of bel canto! No singer in the world to his right mind would agree with that, nor do I. But yes, she sang it in a lyric way as her voice is lyric, which was great!
actually very good than my expectation. and at least her voice for this aria would be better than most sopranos nowadays. yes, but my favorites are Maria and Renata. ^^ and really horrible dress colour i think . seemed to be summer vacation suit for beach :)
@kgarmaker123, I can't disagree with you that interpretively it is rather cold. Well sung, but cold. All things being equal, I'd much rather hear it sung correctly but cold rather than emotive and improperly sung. I saw Andrea Gruber sing the Forza Leonora in San Francisco and it was quite terrible. Unfortunately, we don't have a ton of people around who can sing this aria well.
@Destatur I completely agree with you - Tebaldi is superb in this role. Keri is not, nice voice this aria is too big for her, you need a big voice Ie.Tebaldi.
Check out the Norwegian soprano Sissel. She has an amazing voice and she is extremely talented. Her voice is crystalclear. And singers like Placido Domingo, Bryn Terfel and Jose Carreras loves her. Check out the videos of Sissel here on RU-vid.
Miss Te Kanawa makes this aria sound so superficial and frivolous. She does not have the grand manner of phrasing that is so necessary in Verdi. The phrases must all sound noble, not cheap. It seems that she finds this music to be unimportant.
Corre troppo...manca di intensità. L'orchestra la insegue. Peccato, perché la voce è bellissima e la tecnica è impeccabile. Ho appena ascoltato Dessi' e mi piace di più
Other point I would make is while there is a dirth of Wagnerians Terfel, Vollë, and Kaufmann are the only ones that spring to mind there are great singers for other parts of repertory.
ma che schifo! ma dov'è la dizione? la profondità del personaggio? il fraseggio? gli accenti? un'interpretazione veramente pessima...Sembra stia andando a raccogliere olive ...
Kiri does a good job here and her maladizione is admirable. The voice is not big enough for her to sing this role on stage. Leontyne Price and Tebaldi (although the voice is not that large) and of course Callas is better. This soprano part belongs to those of Aida, Elisabetta (Don Carlos)- she is be better suited to Desdemona, Amelia and La Traviata which she sings to great effect.
I really like Kiri but her voice is too lyrical for this aria she's not able to give the dramatic flare that the Aria needs in order to sound convincing she seems to just sing it all though well not appropiate for her voice type but everyone wants to sing everything now a days which leads to vocal problems later on.
