I find that when I dont know the words, I hear the purity of the sound ; I hate subtitles or worse still the subtitles of actual words being sung - its an irritating distraction from hearing the finesse of the melodiies being sung
I agree. I love Kathleen Battle, but her high E is pitchy. She also doesn't have much volume or support on the low C# and B; Devieilhe not only maintains her volume, she does not break the phrase between the B3 and the D6. She's magical.
Sabine has a beautiful voice and does a nice job here, but If you want to hear an artist sing this aria with impeccable bel canto technique, check out Beverly Sills’ version, which you can find on RU-vid.