Im sutdying vocal technique in a national music school in my country (Mexico), and I can assure that the voice of this woman is amazing, she is a soprano and for only doing this for a few weeks, she rocks!! truly, she is outstanding, doping that , that air control, that high notes almost in place in so little time is a great achievment, amazing i think
i am studying opera and i have to say i think this is a great idea to bring opera to a different audience. People will then go out and try to find recordings of reputable performers of this rep, this seems like a good idea. It doesn't demean it at all, granted i haven't seen many clips i have heard many times the judges and the singers say how hard they think this is.
I am bursting with pride for Marcy!! Outstanding. I can't get over her exemplary performance. She outshines ALL the other contestants. If the unthinkable happens that she doesn't win, it will be a travesty. MARCELLA TO WIN!!
I'm one of Mozart lovers but I don't find it offensive at all. This aria is one of the hardest stuffs that has ever been written, hence who can sing it? Even to years-trained soprano, it is a big challenge. But I love this aria, I sing it having bath, when I get bored, and my voice is killer you know?So did I ruin Mozart? They are professional pop singers but not professional opera stars. Come on! Open your mind, we need some fun, some challenges. Don't let opera be boring in the young's eyes.
Marcy Marcy Marcy......absolutely incredible!!!! And what a joy to have your Husband and Son there as well. The Creator has truly blessed you, and by that...all of us as well.
Considering she doesn't speak German (which you can hear from some of the murderous pronunciations LOL), plus is a pop singer with a few weeks of opera training, this is OUTSTANDING! Those having the audacity to compare Marcella's version to Maria Callas's aren't being realistic... Callas trained from the age of 13! Marcella for a few weeks at the age of 49! This was a challenge and Marcella more than rose up to it. For me, she was the real winner of the first series.
All of you haters are just that HATERS ! .....What are you Jealous ? The only talent you have is making yourselfs look stupid with your pinhead criticism of someone that clearly had the guts to step outside of a comfort Zone and try something Fun ! I have known Marcella over 40 years and have watched her go from being the girl over in the corner playing her guitar and harp , singing like a bird. To what she is now A very gifted singer and song writer, so the stupid remarks are uncalled for ....
All of you haters are just that HATERS ! .....What are you Jealous ? The only talent you have is making yourselfs look stupid with your pinhead criticism of someone that clearly had the guts to step outside of a comfort Zone and try something Fun ! I have known Marcella over 40 years and have watched her go from being the girl over in the corner playing her guitar and harp , singing like a bird. To what she is now A very gifted singer and song writer, The stupid remarks are uncalled for ....
I think Marcella should have at least gone on to the finals. The only reason why Darius went on to the finals was because he was a man, and they needed one to keep more of the demographic watching. It's a popularity contest. He got the female, the European and the gay votes.
@auntieada Oh sure, but the point is more than amateurs don't sing these arias for a reason - because they CAN'T, not successfully, not without injuring themselves. Honestly, I'm GLAD the key is a minor third lower, because she'd kill herself trying to get that F. But the people who know this piece, or much about opera at all, will know what's wrong and will probably laugh. Or be offended. (Sing like an opera star in six weeks! Who needs all those years of training?)
Let's compare and contrast the 2 people who sang this aria in both of the seasons of the this show, shall we? Claire Richards: - Pros: Sang it closer to the original key (whole step down vs. m3) -Beautiful Round sound with great warmth - Fairy Good Breathing - Cons: Mediocre German - Not much emotion, plus she is more of a lyric coloratura soprano, therefore her vocal timber wasn't much suited to this aria. -Staccatos in the high arpeggio section could have been cleaner (lack separation and definition they require) Marcella Detroit: Pros: Much More emotion - Staccatos were much cleaner and she seems to support through the phrase, whereas Claire though of each note separately - Her voice has a much darker timbre, better suited to this aria - Better and clearer German pronunciation and diction - More confident and better stage presence - Cons: Farther from original key, Marcella lacks the range that claire has - Claire's voice is much rounder than Marcella's On a whole: They both did really well, considering there are not trained opera singers!
I think Claire actually had better composure and command of the stage which is important for this aria. Marcella while she delivers a strong performance vocally losses her composure during the technical sections.
Seeing the 3 weeks back to back it's easy to see, that she's getting more confidence and comfortable, she's giving herself a chance... Great job...Sister!!
@378753 I agree! This is either my favourite, or one of them and to have got that in her third week is impressive. She could have shown more character and been more confidendant for the high notes but I know she was probably rather nervous.
She did a crackin' job on this song! I once had a BLOKE mate, (believe it or not), who could've EASILY sung this particular song, in THAT pitch and in THAT key! He could also hit the lowest Bass and ANYTHING in between! :)
Marcella cannot be held responsible for the fact that the aria was in a lower key. The song was chosen for her; she couldn't say no, could she? Nor can she really be held to task for not singing the aria perfectly. She only had one week in which to learn is. Learning a new song in a week is already a challenge. To learn a new song in another language in a week is an impressive feat. Marcella excelled.
She had a good voice. This is an aria where sopranos would need years of study to be able to sing, so she did a good job. This show was good fun. But she is swinging an "ARIA", not a song!!!!
In my opinion, she did really well to sing this at any rate, but the fact that the key has been lowered and the tempo is just too slow means that this isn't really a good performance of Queen of the Night. It's more the producers fault for trying to get an amateur to sing one of the hardest arias ever written.
@Radetzky19 Yeah, classically trained singers are. She's not though. Considering she only had a week to master an incredibly difficult coloratura song with little to no previous classical training, I'd say that criticizing her diction is pointless. It's called Pop Star to Opera Star for a reason.
A full minor third lower than the original - not a surprise. She is a soprano, but she lacks the stability required to tackle a role like this. It's doubtful she would be audible in a real operatic setting. She'd make for a simply STUNNING choir member, however, and that's important, or a side-character.
Inediblehulk Not necessarily - Joan Sutherland had her top notes until she retired. However, what will usually go is the same ease they had when they were younger, but will gain a mellower, rounder sound, as well as a more secure middle and bottom range. Overall, the voice changes, but not over-much.
There is a possibility that they wouldn't let her sing in full voice, as she might have had to belt - which dangerous even for people with vocal training that would teach them to belt. Even with proper coaching belting can permanently damage the voice. Julie Andrews loss of voice is most likely a result of belting.
ROFLCOPTER!! When she started I loved it. She has such a good voice. But I was giggling and laughing so much for her high notes. Her expressions said to me, "oh sh*t, here it comes..." "Ah, got it. And another one...ah, there we go." "Most of them in there, now with the rest of the aria..." I know this is a difficult aria for any soprano (yes, I've tried some of it, bet not had the chance to try all of it :( ) so, she did very well. but I did find that so funny. She got most of the notes.
The only thing she sings in the soprano range id the staccato (f"s and d's). The rest is sung in mezzosoprano range. So she definitely isn't a soprano.
Totally agree. That totally turned me off. At 3:30 about or whenever it was when the aria actually started, in 10 seconds I was turned off and closed it; that killed it for me too. Singing on the extremities of the female range is what this aria is all about. Without that sense of danger and excess there was no point to it. She should not even have bothered, and picked something different.
@edin201x Would the show get ratings from PROFESSIONAL opera singers SINGING OPERA ?! naaaaa .. its wackk attackss learning to sing in opera style .. use ur brain ..
Well, I have to say, she has a hell of a voice, and being a higher voiced female she has good command of head voice, so has a good operatic sound. HOWEVER, the whole premise of this series is rediculous!!
Nah, this doesn't count! It's only one of the most challenging operatic soprano arias if it's played at proper pitch, not a 3rd lower! Also, the tempo dragged lots. But it's a brilliant achievement for a non-operatically trained singer.
Stuffed shirts do not like this show because thats exactly what they are, loosen up and take the show for what it is, Rachel Wong's comments (below) are spot on,.as for the key being lowered...do you mean like it used to be for Caruso..and Pavorotti...now for Marcella....she did a great job on this show and should have won it by a country mile......the show is great.and i hope they do another.
I am torn apart - on the one hand, shoe sounds as if she was trying to lay an egg, but then, considering how hard this is, she did a really good job. Hormonally Yours ist still one of the best pop albums ever, btw.
@sweetaztecangel69 SIt's in b minor instead of d, so the highest note is a D, not an F. Which explains why I could replicate it so easily, haha. My high D is awesome - high F, not so much.
@edin201x I completely agree with you. I imagine that the producers thought they can do do a considerable amount of money with this, and surely they think it`s funny
Well, her German wasn't terrible, it was also, the easiest part of the aria and down a third. She deserves credit for what she was able to accomplish, but there is a reason that opera singers train for years to sing on the stage. She looked afraid and the point of this aria is to make everyone else afraid of her. I just don't understand the point of this show. There are a many trained opera singers that can sing circles around anyone on this show, why are we not celebrating them??
There is a reason that sopranos train for years in order to reach the level required to sing this aria. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't anywhere close to what it should sound like. I mean, the key was lowered, her stage presence was lackluster, and her diction was just so-so. I applaud her for rising to the challenge but I'm very underwhelmed by her performance.