Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sings again... Recitative (Ah! Whither should we fly, or fly from whom?) and air (As with rosy steps the morn). Production by Peter Sellars for Glyndebourne.
I believe Lorraine to be the greatest soprano/mezzo-soprano that ever graced a Handel aria. There's a quality in her voice that can turn base metal into gold or reduce the stony-hearted to tears. You are so missed Lady.
If I could travel in time and be at any one art event in the past, I would want to be in Glyndebourne and see this opera live. Lorraine's voice is pure beauty.
I totally understand (and share) what you say. I went to see that production and later wrote a PhD dissertation very much inspired by what I saw on scene. She was unrepeatable...
@@ldmwinterlight Boy. She inspired, rather sparked my Master‘s thesis on Handel - with her powerful performance in Giulio Cesare (also staged by Sellars - Cleopatra by the pool, anyone??). 🤓
This must indeed be one of the finest performance of Haendel ever. I have listened to it for a thousand times and every time it moves me. I have no words, just listen ....
I have crossed oceans to hear something as sublime as this. I studied Handel for my degree. As a singer with a specialty for baroque runs, I worked hard to know what I know. I completely agree. I knew this piece then, and I showed it to my unenthusiastic music friends. He, like each person I’ve showed this, was a believer by then. Thank you, Ms. Hunt. Thank you.
Hers is an extraordinary talent. Her depth of character is profound. And a blessedly alluring voice. Clarity and richness. What being a mezzo is all about. An enriching discovery for me.
This is heart wrenching. And so powerfully staged and acted. Watching Upshaw grieve while Hunt Lieberson sings is utterly devastating. I once ran into Hunt Lieberson, unexpectedly, in Santa Monica, California. She looked radiant in a long flowing white dress, like an angel. To this day the moment feels to me like a ghostly apparition. And I treasure it even more because of it. If I had known that only a year or two later she would be dead I would have gone out of my way to acknowledge her. Very painful to express.
I saw Miss Hunt in recital several times, and this piece from 'Theodora' was usually one of her encores. The feeling & depth of emotion with which she sang this aria was stunning. The response from the audience was ecstatic. As shown in this video, she was an amazingly gifted live performer. Her passing at such a young age is a huge loss for lovers of classical music.
This is one of my favourite video moments in all of Opera videography. Hunt Lieberson turns the choreography into a very credible and not artificial at all means of expression. Her singing is so suave, steady and varied, just ideal to Händel's music. Her artistic persona has a charisma and spiritual quality that, allied to her naturally beautiful voice and near perfect technique, definitely allow us to consider her one of the best mezzos of all time. Brava!
This is absolutely one of the most moving arias I have ever heard, and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson contributes a great deal toward that. Her performance is so quietly moving that the role of Irene seems almost written for her!
Handel's sublimest aria in his sublimely oratorio. Lorraine is one of the few songbirds who can do it justice. Such vehicles of Beauty have granted immortality
Hearing this performance was falling in love. I can only thank Handel, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for giving me music which I shall adore all the days of my life.
This entire opera is available on utube, if you've not yet discovered it. Interestingly, Lorraine recorded this opera a few years earlier, singing the role of Theodora!!
For another 8+minutes, listen to Lorraine sing, *Lord, to Thee!* Even more heart wrenching than this, since Theodora and Didymus have been sentenced to death!!
One of the very greats. Her Irene in "Theodora" at Glyndebourne UK was a triumph. Not just for the exquisite voice, but for her great stage presence and command. Tears filled the eyes then, and still do when she sings. RIP.
The melody, the words, the voice, the intellect, the comprehension to sing the aria with such brilliance. A treasure to my heart. Glad to be able to play the video again after all these years.
I first heard Ms. Hunt Liberson during a music history class. It was Dido's Lament. We heard several other pieces that were not sung by here, and they were beautiful - but just not the same. Her voice is sublime, beautiful, and the emotion I hear in her voice resonates with me so strongly.
beyond staggering...time stands absolutely still during this. If Vermeer could sing this would be it. AND not only is her singing beyond heavenly..her onstage performance and countenance are also so amazing. Can this be equalled? maybe.....surpassed? doubt it.
This is sublime - and so was Joyce diDonato last night at Covent Garden. So , yes Hansel’s genius can keep inspiring singers to transcendent performances !
An absolutely sublime interpretation with each golden note caressed and tenderly inflected with effortless phrasing unmatched by anyone else. You are so missed....
Every time, this fills my eyes with tears. Such glory, and in Hunt Liberson's too-brief life, such tragedy. Now, with a very dear friend dying of cancer, similarly gifted and similarly young, the aria makes me struggle between its beauty and its grief.
I thought I knew how marvellous Handel could be. I thought I heard perfection ....I was wrong!! This is just the most beautiful, transcendent Handel I've ever heard. Thank you Lorraine, perfection. Thank you gslanfranchi, I who you
It's the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Thank you Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - you will never be forgotten & you live on through your sublime music. RIP Parisa
Always in my heart, nobody will sing this aria into the same way like you, It sounds special, different, I don´t have words to discribe what I feel when I listen to her, life´s so hard, Opera´s world will miss you forever.
I've lost count, and I'm still watching! Lorraine, like Arleen Auger before her, is a once in a lifetime performer. Fortunately, they sang in.two different vocal ranges, so I can say the same of both. Would that God had permitted these two great singer/actors to perform together!!! 🔥💜🔥
If Lorraine Hunt had never sung any else but this one aria, she would still have to go down in history as one of the greatest singers ever. And if Handel had written only this one aria, well, what can you say. There's just nothing better ever. I am glad I lived to hear and see this performance, including this wonderful production and the use of movement in the performers.
It has always been for me a mystery how the people on the scene could refrain from tears when hearing her. After so many times, it keeps on moving me to them...
I have walked many times in the morning listening to this aria on my iPod. It is really wonderful to see her perform it. I'm very sad that I did not get to see her perform in person. She was a fabulous artist who strove for excellence in everything she did. We miss you Lorraine!! If you have not heard "Recital at Ravinia" please buy it!! There is a song at the end of the album from "Baghdad Cafe" that will tear your heart out.
This is just utterly sublime-Handel's genius has never seemed more soulful and approachable, conveyed with such passion by this rarest of talents, sadly no longer with us. It is so haunting and lovely, so rich, so sad.
Thank you for posting this and other great arias by the late great Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Ironic that she died of that horrible breast cancer about the time her good friend Dawn Upshaw was diagnosed with the disease, also Sylvia McNair and another renowned soprano whose name escapes me right now. Heart wrenching! RIP, Lorraine.
Extraordinarily beautiful. As a fellow singer I can see that she doesn't push the voice at all, at any point, even the most vocally emphatic/dramatic, and by not doing that she finds the emotional integrity of the performance. Exceptional skill and vocal restraint on display.
This is the most amazing singing I've ever seen. She is so connected, so gentle. It truly is like she's ushering us into Heaven. Thank you for posting.
Absolutely heart wrenching, and in the very best and most soul soothing way. The end is so delicate and ridiculously difficult yet she never shows it for a moment. I could watch this a thousand times and it would never fail to move me... thanks for posting
Did ever such passion, artistry and sincerity ever inhabit another? Lorraine is the only singer with whom I relaxed and marveled. God, I miss her. What a lovely human to have graced this planet. BRIAN
What a great experience for you to have been so close to this amazing artist - thanks for sharing. I am grateful that so much of her brilliance is available on CD and on video.There is so much to learn from Lorraine.
Act I, Scene 4 - [Irene]: RECITATIVE Ah! Whither should we fly, or fly from whom? The Lord is still the same, today, for ever, And his protection here, and everywhere. [...] Still shall thy servants wait on Thee, O Lord, And in thy saving mercy put their trust. AIR As with rosy steps the morn, Advancing, drives the shades of night, So from virtuous toil well-borne, Raise Thou our hopes of endless light. Triumphant saviour, Lord of day, Thou art the life, the light, the way! [As with rosy steps. . . - da capo]
I listen to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson all the time. I play her CD's at home, I listen to her in my car. One of my biggest regrets is that I missed seeing her at the MET when she last performed there.
