The Grande Montserrat Caballe singing “ Pace pace mio Dio” from Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino Live in TV Broadcast from New York in 1981 with James Levine conducting!
Hola Valeria, ¿cómo estás? Espero que la estés pasando muy bien con tu familia. Que Dios te bendiga a ti y a tu familia. Espero que todos estén a salvo
I just love this...Levine keeps the forward motion and it is phenomenal. The first "pace" is worth the price of admission...the messa di voce so rarely achieved...or even attempted these days. Ethereal Bflat...and thundering maledizione. When Caballe' was good, she was great...when she was great, she was unapproachable.
When she was good? She has always been great as singer, artist and musician. She could even be a rossinian rockandroller ! That's terrific! Listen to How can I go on with Freddy Mercury, many years later than this record 😊 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-akdAvg8SO1A.htmlsi=uAWjcTr0mSqaltJK ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-akdAvg8SO1A.htmlsi=uAWjcTr0mSqaltJK
Her singing is not just incredibly beautiful and great in so many ways, but she is able to break our hearts, too. Everything she does serves the drama through music.
It is said quite often when a great artist leaves us that we will not see their like again. In this case, this is the absolute truth and we are the lesser for it. Addio, Prima Donna.
Oh, I’ve never seen or heard this before! That radiant voice. That refined musicality. She’s so glorious singing this… I have goosebumps each time with her. 🥰👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💯❤️
I remember this performance, and was wondering if anyone had recorded it. Her singing was sensational, and she looked regal and wonderful! I recall that Beverly Sills who was hosting the concert introduced her as….”And now we saved the best for the last…”. Thank you so much for sharing.
Oh Thank you. O had not seen CABALLE for years in her NYC days. How healthy she came into this moment and lovely as ever! How she is missed in the great days of her crowning of DIVA.
She was really a singer apart! I miss hearing that glorious voice live, many of my most treasured memories are of seeing her in London in a number of different roles
GLORIOUS!She was absolutely amazing in everything she sang. I met her backstage after a sublime Verdi Requiem in Saratoga. She was so humble and self-effacing, a truly grand diva without the histrionics. RIP, Great Lady!
After Maria Callas she was the best of their time. Many times Monserrat went to see Maria for advice in different roles, and that shows how dedicated she was to her art and how humble she was.A grat diva inded.
I remember this!!!...and I remember being in LOVE with Maestra Caballe after this! Say what you want about Maestro Levine, but he understood each and every nuance of the music, and idiosyncrasy of the singer! I just don't know if we'll ever see this again in our lifetime.
This performance is from Gala of Stars 1981 with host Beverly Sills and conductor James Levine, "Gala of Stars 1981" first ever aired as part of the conclusion of PBS' Festival Nights '81 Pledge Campaign for PBS stations across the country, including my own station: KPBS in San Diego, Circa Sunday March 22nd, 1981!! Expect the Unexpected!! Public TV Celebrates!!
I remember the controversy around the production of this fundraiser for PBS. It was produced by WNET/13 in NY by an out-of-control producer, who went wildly overbudget on the production, so much so that the Gala wound up losing more money for WNET than it actually raised for the station. That said the results were clearly great as exemplified by this fabulous rendition by Montserrat Caballe.
The first time I saw Caballe’s life performance was 1970 Norma and since then I’ve seen all her performances at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, where she performed every year for almost 4 decades! Thank you dear Montserrat for all the joy you brought to so many persons!!
Caballe is at her absolute best here. The 4th act TROVATORE remains a test aria for all Verdi Sopranos a test MOMENT is the pianissimo high B flat in the recitative which, at that time few, if any could equal. For several years thereafter she was indeed a vocal phenomena & tried as well to succeed as a dramatic operatic actress with limited success due to being Milanov‘s successor as LA DONNA IMMOBILE. Her leg circulation problems made movement increasingly problematic due to her size but put her in a concert or recital format & she was able to concentrate on her celestial sound alone up to the mid-late 1980s. Simply LISTENING to her recordings during her prime (some harshness in her singing forte in the upper range at times aside) was indeed memorable & she had little competition during this time.
@@maximillian6222, She once said about herself, and I quote, that she was _a lirico spinto with some coloratura._ She was a fine musician and a voice _connoisseuse,_ so I tend to believe her.
@@maximillian6222, Norma is probably the most demanding role in the entire repertoire. It requires a strong chest, agility, lightness, ethereal _pianissimi,_ strong _fortissimi,_ and a deep sense of drama... It was written for a sfogato (Pasta) and was elevated to its pinnacle by another (Malibran). In the 20th century, there were only three "acceptable" Normas: Ponselle, Milanov, and Callas, all of them alive when Caballé was about to attempt the role. Caballé, being so knowledgeable about her craft, was understandably "afraid." In fact, they said (I believe she herself said) that she consulted Callas before taking on the role. Callas kind of blessed her, gifted her some earrings, or a necklace, or I don't know what, that she herself had worn in her last performance of Norma, and that settled everything. Caballé sang Norma in 1969 (if I remember right) for the first time in her career, and Callas declared it: the most vocally beautiful Norma ever. If you revisit the Orange production, you'll see that it was not only the most beautiful but the best (in the recorded era, of course) Norma ever.
I am Irish; we are not a powerful nation conventionally or financially - but we really do know our Arts - and have created some of the best; we punch well above our weight in this regards. This lady is firmly in the gods. She's a master.
Algunos dirán que la voz de Tebaldi era mejor, más spinto, más adecuada, blablabla, pero los milagros de algunos detalles Caballé no los olía ni de lejos. ¿Que tenía más volumen y la bajada al grave era más natural? Pues sí, pero en todo lo demás, incluida belleza tímbrica, prefiero a Montse.
After 5:30 the tempo jumps a bit too fast forcing and rushing the singer - he does it every time with this aria LOL. Fortunately Montsy keeps the ballance.
ERA, FUE, ES Y SERÁ ♥ NO LA CONOCÍA PERO ♥ DESCUBRIRLA FUE CONOCER LA GLORIA DE CANTAR. UN ÁNGEL. UNA REINA. UNA SUPERBA DIVA. PIANISSIMOS QUE LA CALLAS NO TENÍA.
Für mich bleibt Tebaldi in dieser Arie das "Mass aller Dinge"! Aber gut, 1981 Tebaldi in Rente und Callas bereits verstorben, war Caballe zurecht die "Primadonna assoluta in dieser Zeit!
I agree that Renata was magnificent in the role BUT. The post is about Caballe and here she did an absolutely excellent job, it is sheer joy listening to her rendition of the aria. Plus Tebaldi's last Leonora was in 1960, I can't remember if she sang the aria during a concert after that, she may have done but the voice was no longer just plush and velvet, she had that dramatic edge (which, from an almost technical point of view, not everyone enjoys). Is Tebaldi my no.1 soprano? - always. Was Caballe magnificent and most enjoyable? - absolutely and without any doubt. I'm just so so happy that we live post these two great ladies and can enjoy their art and voices ❤️
