I was there! From 1966 to 1970, I was a student at Columbia University in New York, just a very short subway ride (the New York equivalent of the Métro) from the Metropolitan Opera, where I practically lived. I adored Mirella, and went to all her performances. She was always very kind to me (and definitely not "di gel cinta.') I followed her around the country, to Philadelphia, Cleveland, and all the other cities where she sang. I will never forgive my parents for having tossed into the trash a large photo of Mirella that she had signed: 'A David, per caro ricordo', and other memorabilia that she had given me. Hyperbolic though it may sound, it was largely because of her that I have wound up living in Italy, ever since 1980 .... Ciao, Mirella Se ti capitasse di leggere questo mio post, sappi che tu mi hai cambiato la vita, e che te ne sono grato! Quanto lo amo, quest nostro Paese impossibile!
You can tell Freni was on her way to a legendary career at the Met... Listen to the audience at 8.01?? They gave Freni an impressive ovation before Liu even got the chance to die!!!
I saw 2 of these performances of TURANDOT with Nilsson, Corelli and Freni. Sir Rudolf also gave us the luxury casting of Bonaldo Giaiotti as Timur. I have been going to the opera for over 4 decades and this was certainly a candidate for possibly the best performance of an Italian opera I ever saw. There is nobody today like Nilsson or Corelli. Nobody! Today there are some very good and intelligent singers. I think, for example, Florez, in his particular repertoire, is excellent.
For many years Mirrella Freni was my favorite soprano, of all the artists that I heard in live performance. Speaking personally, there is no one today that compares to her. The warmth, humanity, and immediacy of her sings consistently impresses me. i was lucky enogh to hear four of her recitals and roughly two dozen opera performances over the years. Now i really miss her!
I did not have that luck. I had ticket for her Fedora in Scala. It was around 2004. But than Ghiaurov died few weeks before and she was swaped with Guleghina. :(
Wenn Schönheit schmerzhaft wird. Zu wenig Schauspielkunst wurde vielleicht zu Recht Mirella Freni vorgeworfen. Es gab Rollen, die sie ausfüllte, die sie zu einem Ereignis machte.
Well, opion has alot to do with what some people post! Of course, Ms. Freni was perfect/excellent in executing what the operas demanded from her. Besides, she is Italian which provided for a very clear diction in the Italian operas. However, her voice was not the most voluminous nor was it the purest or most beautiful. All in all, I adore her for many..many reasons all pertinent to the operatic realm.
Me perosnalmente, nessuna voce di soprano, non tocca talmente come quella della Freni. Tanti emozioni. Tanta tristezza, ma a volte tanta gioa. Devo giusto ascoltare la sua Norina, e gia imagino i suoi occhi bruni, bricchoni.
+Kaiserjäger A me come liu piace molto anche la Tebaldi. Insieme a lei(Mirella Freni) Anna Moffo,Alida Berti,Leona Mitchell e Cristina Gallardo. Secondo me sono le migliori liu. Ciao ciao.
Did you hear her live? I heard her twice, once in Eugene Onegin and once in Fedora - her voice wasn't small. What amazed me was that live you heard every note exactly as on recordings. If she whispered you heard it, if she sang in a scene with full orchestra she came through like a beacon - amazing! One of my great thanksgivings in life is to have heard her live.
I am not sure what you mean by "not voluminous" as the voice carried to every corner of whatever theatre Ms Freni sang in. It had fabulous focus and was far from being a small voice....As for "pure" please explain and as for beauty, that is a very personal things so will not argue, but too me it has always been always one of the most beautiful, touching, free and moving voices I ever heard.
You need ear plugs my friend. I heard Feni live and she could overwhelm an orchestra. Her Elisabetta at the Met with Domingo and Bumbry was a historical performance... A lyric voice matching note by note a score written for a dramatic soprano. not even Tebaldi, with her big instrument, risked to sing Don Carlo live and her recording, unfortunately, is flat and her voice too hard for nuances.
this certainly was near the end of the "golden age" but there are still several great singers around- renee fleming, natalie dessay, juan diego florez, and many great singers to come- don't fret
@@indeserto in all fairness, I wrote that 14 years ago. Fleming is probably the only 1 of those to hold up to the scrutiny for a reasonable amount of time
