This is surely a proof that interpretation matters so much! Having heard other versions from other sopranos (which technically may be even better) I think I'm in love with Mitchell's interpretation!
First time seeing this and I cannot stop crying. Madame's performance is captivating and so moving that it brought me to tears without knowing anything about the piece.
This has to be one of Thee BEST interpretations i've seen on youtube. Leona Mitchell does a fantastic job with aria... I felt every emotion she portrayed
Tu che di gel sei cinta Da tanta fiamma vinta L' amerai anche tu! L' amerai anche tu! Prima di quest' aurora Io chiudo stanca gli occhi Perche egli vinca ancora... Egli vinca ancora... Per non Per non vederlo piu! Prima di quest' aurora Di quest' aurora Io chiudo stanca gli occhi Per non vederlo piu!
I remember watching this on PBS and I was mesmerized by Ms. Mitchell's heavenly voice. She is by far my favorite "Liu" This was a top notch production and I loved the costumes!
Grazie Walter, di averci dato un altro brano cantato della americana Mitchell, una interprete meravigliosa di Liù, qui il suo debutto al Met. Conmoventi anche Domingo ed il splendido Plishka
In a DVD of great performances, this was Leona's 'night' as they say -- everything was as close to perfect for her as I've seen anywhere. She is so good, you really DO feel Timor's pain & confusion in his 'Sorgi' aria and as they carry her away...
YES, she was born to sing this role! I mean you forget that she is Leona Mitchell and totally immerse yourself in Liu's story. Extraordinary singing from one of the best to EVER do it!
Puccini was always in love in order to create. My husband and I visited his house in Italy. His life was written in an old notebook. There he told the whole world how much he had suffered because a Woman who worked with him committed suicide, because she loved him and, therefore without knowing the real relationship they have had, but it indeed was a tragic event in his life. I am truly sure that he wrote 2 Operas dedicating her a last good-bye. The Operas were: Madame Butterfly and Turandot.
What happened to her? She kind of dissappeared from the MET overnight (I think her last performance must have been around '93). But she was such a fine singer and the voice was still good shape 93......
That is SOOOO thrilling ! Two magnificent singers, perfect for this particular duet, singing their heart out ! Giacomini possessed a beautiful, very baritonal voice. Perhaps not ideal for the rest of the opera, which pictures Andrea as a youthful, sensitive man : think of Carreras, who sang (and recorded) the role at the very limit of his vocal power, but so moving and attractive, and of course of Corelli, the epitome of vocal sex-appeal. As for Eva Marton, she is here at her very best, and that is saying a lot.
Es tal la tensión que coge la música en esta escena que deja el corazón en un puño. Esta ópera es fantástica en todos los aspectos! La música, las melodías que utiliza, la orquestación, la instrumentación que usa (que no todo en la ópera son los cantantes, recuerdo que también hay una orquesta sin la cual sería imposible cualquier ópera), las arias y los números corales... Me llama la atención sobre todo el uso en esta ópera del saxofón y del xilófono en la orquesta. Increíble elenco por cierto.
Incredible performance. She sings with such tenderness, conviction and humility that one cannot resist being moved to tears. Also acting and staging is completely natural with no contrived "pause" when Liu grabs the knife and stabs herself.
When Liu stabs herself at about 2:45 the choir starts singing the "parla, il nome" part, this is such a beautiful arrangement, if I'm correct the standard version is not pitched, choir is supposed to say those words in speaking voice, but this version adds so much to the drama, I get chills every time
Whew! I've been listening to different versions of Turandot and this clip gives me goosebumps. Mitchell is superb, Plishka is amazing, and the drama and emotion exuding from the cast is incomparable. I just ordered the DVD of the full performance!
Tu che di gel sei cinta Da tanta fiamma vinta L'amerai anche tu L'amerai anche tu! Prima di quest'aurora Io chiudo stanca gli occhi Perché egli vinca ancora Ei vinca ancora Per non Per non vederlo più! Prima di quest'aurora Di quest'aurora Io chiudo stanca gli occhi Per non vederlo più!
OH PERINI ROMANO ERA QUESTA LA ROMANZA CHE AVEVO SCELTO E CHE HO CANTATO QUEL GIORNO, RAMMENTI O DEVO MOSTRARTI QUEL REGISTRATORE, SI C' E' ANCHE IL NASTRO
@31122051, entonces lo correcto segun el gran bodiloto seria: 'canta meravigliosa ma alla americana'. Y digo yo, que significa 'alla americana'? Por que no escribe bodiloto un diccionario del bel canto y la lirica italiana? Seria un 'bombazo' editorial.
Inguaribile Romantico , she sounds spinto because that is what she is -a spinto soprano .I agree that this is not a typical sweet Liù , but just as great.Which of these Puccini roles is the hardest one to sing :Mimi , Musetta , Tosca , Butterfly or Liù?
Yes ,it is a very hard role.The only soprano I know that played both of them on stage is Caballé.But ,I do think that this role requires a dramatic ,not spinto soprano.Tosca is mostly played by spinto or dramatic soprano ,rarely lyric soprano.Mimi -lyric or spinto soprano Minnie -spinto or dramatic soprano Butterfly-lyric or spinto soprano Liù -lyric or spinto soprano Musetta-soubrette or lyric soprano
Teodora Pipin Liu is a very lyric role! As Mimi. But Puccini demand a spinto for climaxes in Butterfly and Manon Lescaut and Tosca. It's hard to find youthful voices with power for Mimi and Butterfly therefore often sung by spintos.
Maria La Divina always said that Puccini was hard on The Voice. And she was right was she ever wrong. Puccini wrote the most heartbreaking tearful operas. He had no equal never will. Toscanini knew him well. The last great composer. Eva Marton sang Turandot very well it was not perfect but in her prime she did a very good job. Dimitrova a true dramatic soprano also performed it's very well. I have both DVDs and you cannot compare greatness. Leona Mitchell had an incredible voice she sounded like leontyne price and Mirella freni. Who could ask for anything more. I agree she was not a lyric soprano but a lyrics spinto. Thank you for posting very much appreciated
@31122051 Hai veramente ragione carissimo amico!!! Conosco molto bene questa Turandot,ce l'ho in dvd e l'unico cantante che non mi piace in essa è il povero Simone Boccanegra per i suoi ACUTI FOLGORANTI. Troppo sprecato per una tessitura così centrale che al massimo arriva a Do sovracuto,lui poi è abituato a cantare anche fa e sol sovracuti, pensa un po'!!!Infatti ascoltati,da questa produzione,In questa reggia della Marton e vedi lui alla fine come la sovrasta facendo TARZAN!!!!!!!! Ciao ciao
Una de las mejores arias de la ópera turandot.. para mi Puccini en verdad supo representar el amor incondicional y verdadero. tanto asi incluso,dar la vida por el..( lastima que nunca sabremos que pasaría por la mente de el después de este acto.)
Dragan Vidic Yes but Liù needs a voice that is lyric and has a dramatic thrust as well. Puccini’s Orchestration gets full at times and needs a voice that can soar over it. She’s the perfect voice for this role!!! She does better than “ the best she can” in this role and excels more than most here!!
Too angry and "spinto"...I dont' get the sweetness and the vulnerability that a character like Liù requires, this is not Santuzza or Tosca, this is a humble slave dying for his loved, sharing her fragility!
You've got to be kidding me! Leona Mitchell and awful DO NOT go in the same sentence! She owns this role..and there is NO one else who sings it like "THIS"!
