Leyla Gencer - Assoluta - from Lyric Colorature to Contralto 

I completely agree with you. Someone call them "Callas Widows".

Agreed

She trained with Apollo Granforte for a time. If it wasn't there before, it would be there after!

They see but are going to listen others, I do the same :) wonder why? after years of listening opera I can clearly tell that Maria Callas had most imperative tonal qualities even when projecting subtlety (not denying that voice was big, agile, versatile or even beautiful) and listener goes down on knees. This is fact I think. I adore them both in the same extent!

Oui c'est exact .On entend la même chose chez Callas.

Yes, imagine for instance Callas as Norma and Gencer as Adalgisa or vice versa; or alternating as Lady Macbeth; or alternating the soprano and mezzo roles in Roberto Devereux or in Aida or Vanessa. It would have been amazing. I heard both of them live and the dramatic impact of each was due to the voice, the technical mastery, and the extra capacity for dramatic interpretation.

@@wilsonwatt9283 Or together in Maria Stuarda, alternating as Maria / Elisabetta.

Concordo. Sentendole sembrano quasi due sorelle. Meraviglioso

I think you are confusing a type of technique with the type of soprano voice. Just because a lyric soprano sings with an open lower register (Which all should in my opinion) doesn't mean that the voice gets heavier or automatically able to encompass different roles.

лучший комиентарий. :-)

la danza

Non so, Monte Ivnor

un extrait d'un des airs de La Vestale de Ponchielli

don carlo, tu che le vanita

A la baronessa. Scrivi correttamente nella lingua di Dante. Grazie

+James Parker It's ok to have different opinions

Dragan Vidic Her voice does lack the power of Maria Callas. And she doesn't come close to Sutherland's agility. Those are facts.

Onigbajamo ZZzzzz.... ZZZzzzz....

james Parker the problem is that you don't make Art with power, you make Art with expressivity and nuances. And Gencer has it all --a way more than Callas, i suppose..

Power and Agility, nice. Is this alla we gotta find in Art? Crocian aesthetics explains how art is mainly expressivity. And in music expressivity is parameter n°1

Die Kaiserin Adriana Lecouvreur-Giusto Cielo, Roberto Devereux-Alma infida, Norma-In mia man, a song of Chopin

Thanks!

I think sfogato or assoluta defines range, namely a soprano whose lower range is so fully developed they also comfortably encompass a contralto range. They usually call them "soprano sfogatos" or "soprano assolutas" but I don't know why they don't say "contralto sfogato" unless such singers always start out as natural sopranos....? I don't know if there is a comparable male range, such as tenor assoluto.

There is not. One of the reasons male singers does not have many hybrid fachs is that male singer use almost only one register (chest register) while female use the three registers (head, mixed and chest) in every role which gives them more space for supporting both edges of the range. As for why it's called soprano assoluta not a contralto because in the mid of the 19th century mezzo soprano was not yet a fach, it was still called a soprano. Sfogato is a mezzo soprano (regarding the passagio and vocal color) that could sing both soprano coloratura range and contralto (in the chest register) in same ease and power, yet it is not necessary to be as heavy as pure contralto. Pure contralto is a very heavy voice and the passagio is very low, it rarely can go as high as Bb5 and B5 and to sustain a high C6 is quite impossible for an operatic singer.

Guess why. /watch?v=ukJCkxvsvgM This is beyond the capabilities of a dramatic soprano.

+Sezgin Çetinkaya I applaud this retrospective. Well done -- and this shows why Gencer should be viewed as a genuine Assoluta. I also agree on your citation here of the link for her Lady Macbeth entrance aria. Yes, that entrance scena is plainly beyond the capacities of a traditional dramatic soprano. On the one hand, there is heroic declamation there that is eminently suited to the traditional dramatic soprano, granted. But on the other, there is also heroic and intricate coloratura passagework there that only an authentic specialist in bel canto could pull off. Gencer does just that, and brilliantly, showing, in addition, superbly resonated tones across a two-and-a-half-octave range. I did a bit of digging around and found another YT video of that same Macbeth track in somewhat finer sound, at /watch?v=raDegluLr8k . That link and your assembly of phrases in this video (which seem to match all the colors of the rainbow) form a potent and instructive combination that together demonstrate just what is involved in being a genuine Assoluta. Together, both videos also show that Gencer was one of the very, very few who fully qualify for this super-rare title, Assoluta, in every respect.

@@grig035 Madame Verett was not a " bel conto specialist" but she is arguably the greatest Lady Macbeth of all time.

I think the whole point of of the video is to show examples of singing regardless of the role

that strange hollow nasaly tone is present inn all her recordings. doesnt make her a bad singer. but some of us just dont enjoy that tone...

no, I recognize her voice is very steely. I don't think I'm describing it properly. its a sound that only makes an appearance on every few notes. as if she swallowed a pigeon. I don't like it. most people are okay with it. some of the more crazy callas fans insist it doesn't exist but it does.

yeah I dont think nasal is the right way to describe it. sort of a hollow tone, similar to the whir of a pigeon.

@@nathandavis3002 I think I understand what you are saying. To me, I always described that sound almost like a hollow sound that is covered with a big piece of cellophane. Is that it? And I'm describing it like that as a HUGE Callas fan. She's actually been my all time favorite singer for over 40 years. Prior to that though, I couldn't stand listening to her, for the exact same reason. So I do understand. For me, hearing her Medea and her Lady Macbeth is what "converted" me, and have loved her ever since.

There's is definitely metal in her voice, plus I can't stand her overly slow vibrato especially when she got older.