Sadly they didn’t included Beverly Sills who’s was not only one of the greatest sopranos of all times (when her voice was at her peak) but also when she retired from singing gave decades to the arts helping young artists and raising money for the Met and the NYCO and the opera in general. It’s very sad we don’t realize how much we owe Sills and how much we need to learn from her.
I don't know much about opera, but i am immensely intrigued by it. It's no longer the era where we see vocal artists endeavouring to perfect their vocal technique, which is foundation for any genre singing.
sis. Mary Leo was right. Since a beautiful voice is a gift from Heaven, you have to have some inner peace and perspective of what life is all about to be a beautiful musician. At least that is what I believe.
@Lammermoor27 Agreed, I don't see the point of arguing who is best or better. No singer is perfect, and different people value different strengths and weaknesses differently. A great documentary!
How lucky are these singers in the young artists program at the met? Getting coached on dove sono and porgi amor by kiri te kinawa! And i saw in a separate doc how they are also coached by maestro james levine! I can only imagine how competitive trying to land a spot in that program is
I'm so glad I found this. I'm a soprano (either lyric coloratura or soubrette. It's TBD) and I've always loved opera. I've hoped to get into it sometime in my life but I'm not sure if I will.
Would you guys please stop? Why can't you just love and appreciate the beauty of the human voice? I personally think you're childish and unenlightened. I think both Callas and Sutherland were wonderful artists who had different strengths and weaknesses. Be grateful to even listen to them, as I'm sure with all your cawing you aren't very good vocalists, because you don't even seem to like the human voice. You will never be as good as either of them.
I think you're absolutely right, it is very shame that they do not choose to share the experiences that opera singers are on their way to become's professional singers. I myself have been opera student and could have used this experience, wisdom and history that these people could tell.
i am learning and training as an opera singer. I have been wanting to be an opera singer since i was 14..... renee fleming and pat benetar. common trait? both had classical training and my vocal role models.
@SenseAndSpite For your information on one occasion Schwartzkopf was sitting in Ghiringhellii's box at La Scala during a performance of Trovatore in1953 with Callas singing Leonora. Ghiringelli heard sobbing from behind him and when he turned round she said to him "that woman is a miracle". So let us stop speculating what opinion Schwartzkopf or anyone else had of Callas. There is enough documentary evidence out there to know exactly what anyone whose opinion matter thought.
Why spend your life doing something just for money? If you pursue a career, make sure you will be doing what you love to do! Otherwise you will live a miserable life!
@LohengrinT I take it your friend above is an authority on opera and heard Callas live since he speaks with such authority. I think the only thing he is an authority on is foul language full of sick envious bile. We who had the unique and unforgettable experience of hearing her live have been hugely enriched by the experience. It made our lives more pleasurable, serene, and left us with memories which enhance the meaning of life. If he wasn't such a vile creature I would feel sorry for him.
If you mean great as the biggest voice I don't know who are, perhaps some big voice Madonna at The Met. It should be possible to measure the biggest voice with technical instrument and have a winner, like in the Olympics heavy lift. Listenable sopranos there are very few of. Mirusia Louwerse perhaps, Amira Willighagen, Sissel Kyrkjebö to name some of the few ones.
@SenseAndSpite Really? Oh sorry I was 100% sure you were talking about Sutherland. The desctiption fitted her so well it never occurred to me that you could possibly be talking about anyone else. And as for flatulence you seem to be a great authority on it. Hence I must assume that you produce lots of it all the time:)))))))
Only the top 0.1 percent can make a good living out of it. If you are even on the top 5% but outside the top 0.1%, you need a second job, such as a waitress or office clerk in order to pay the rent and put food on the table (but I am not belittling those jobs). Are you by any chance a soprano by night and a waitress by day? ...... ;)
This kind of music makes it hard for me to understand/appreciate the more modern genre of 'rap' as music. How can rap be music if there is no tune or melody? And how does one tell when a rapper 'sings' off key? Simply put rap is NOT music -- it's slam poetry with percussion accompaniment. What were the Grammys thinking when they dubbed rap as a 'genre' thereby legitimizing it as music? OK, end of rant. Back now to REAL music. AND I wish that the young men in their cars with windows rolled down would turn down the volume of the rap that they are listening to. I can literally feel the vibrations of the bass in their speakers from a block away!!
@SenseAndSpite I think your brain is a little confused. Surely you are referring to Sutherland's Anna Bolena, so full of wobble it made you sea-sick. Or if you are referring to shrieks her Esclarmonde which I saw live at Covent Garden and felt so embarrassed on her behalf that someone with her reputation would get on a stage to sing like that. In her prime she sang roles like Elvira in Puritani, Amina in Sonnambula and a few others amazingly. but like most she didn't know when to stop.
Omg! That's terrific, hey, even i wanna be a pop singer someday, I sang this song called skyscraper by demi lovato, is it's no too much trouble, dya wanna hear it???????It would mean the world, and besides, i'd be honoured by ur constructive criticism!!!!!!
Four good choices, but what about Maria Callas, Anita Cerquetti, Renata Tabaldi, Anna Moffo, , etcl etc Seems that some of the greatest aren't included here. Also, must one have eight years of "training"???? What about us natural singers? Sounds a bit snobby to me.
@NEBESHIKU Lots of people sound off in public about things they know nothing about because they are a well known personality and Germaine Greer is foremost among them. Anything you care to mention and she immediately piles in, as if she was an authority on the subject. One Aussie making a big deal out of another. Typicall antipodean with a big chip on her shoulder.!!!!
@SenseAndSpite The many thousands who queued all night to buy tickets to hear her and the many millions who still buy her recordings would disagree with you. Mainly because she was an incomparable singer and artist with an an incredible voice and a perfect technique and the whole world recognises it. Poor Joanie tried to match her but trailed way behind. Not bad but not in the same league. Which is what you can't stomach. Get a life.
@SenseAndSpite Hahaha. So little sense so much spite!!!! And you just can't bear the idea that poor old Joanie never came close to dethroning Callas. CALLAS was the ONE AND ONLY ASSOLUTA of the 20th Century. The likes of Karajan, Giulini, Kleiber, Serafin and a host of others lined up to conduct her. Joan had a voice butt never understood how to use it other than go trillllllll. All she had was an ignorant husband. As for Britain's Gpt Talent. I woulldn't know. Not my kind of entertainment
I have some words of encouragement in the midst of what's going on. It might sound wierd, but it is for real and I thought it would be important to say it. Its long because I've tried to and any faqs! Hopefully this will answer some of those nagging questions - Why can't evil be forgiven and let off, how is the whole "Jesus dying" thing really relevant to anything? To you? if you still have any questions let me know x Ever struggle? Ever doubt that God Loves You After what you've done? Ever wonder if He exists for that matter? Read this: All of us have lied, stolen (even tiny things count), spoken badly to our parents and had embarrassing and detestable thoughts in our thought life. The Bible calls this "sin", the breaking of God's laws. You might think, so what? Everyone lies and thinks bad things about others! Its human! You're right. That's exactly what the Bible says, we're "born into sin" and that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23 What is that "glory", morally speaking? Well, the opposite of human nature and desires. Not lying, not stealing, and having a perfect thought life is God's standard for us. But if its God's standard and we were made in "God's image", Why don't we meet it? Well, Remember Adam and Eve and when they sinned. Before sin they were perfect in thought word and DEED completely, but after the first sin occured due to Satan's tempting in the Garden, it destroyed that part of us that was morally perfect and in perfect harmony with God's morals, standard, and love. So while we kept certain things, the ability to be thinking individuals with unique personalities, the moral part (affecting how our thoughts, actions and personalities operate) was damaged. To the point where we are "opposed" to God, hence His nature and standards being the opposite of what we see as reasonable or possible. The Bible even makes it clear that "apart from God you can do nothing" - John 15:5. Without Him, it will 100% feel "opposite", unreasonable and alien to us. Only WITH Him can we gain victory in these things. Why doesn't God just let sin off and leave it? God is described as a "righteous judge" in the bible, many wonder why God doesn't just let sin off and leave it, but He can't. Why? That's like a if a judge let off a murderer who broke the state law. Everyone would attack that judge and call Him corrupt, saying that he had not done right and should be fired for failing to punish the murderer for his evil. AND to completely love and be good as God is, means you need to, in turn, hate all forms of evil. You can't truly love good unless you hate the existence of evil. This essentially means that God needed, as a righteous judge to punish sin with the ultimate penalty of death and separation from His presence forever. Hence Hell. "The soul that sins shall die (in Hell and suffer damnation)" - Ezekiel 18:20 But God, who is also love, did not want to see His creation tortured and cut off from Him. He cares so much for is that He couldn't bear to see us fall into Satans hands and suffer death, even though we broke the law and deserve to bear the guilt, pain and be cut off from perfection forever through damnation. Because of justice, God could not leave sin and evil unpunished, BUT because of LOVE, God provided someone else to take that punishment on our behalf, satisfying both justice (by punishing the evil committed), and love (by sparing OUR lives) despite our sin. God sent His own SON - think about that. His *Son*, the one whom He loved infinitely (the same way He loves us). God allowed Him to take the pain we deserved, He took ALL of Gods wrath for every single sin you and I have committed. He was punished brutally and completely as if He was the picture of mankind's sin itself so that we do not have to be punished. Back in the courtroom scenario: He paid the "fine" at His own expense (His life had to be morally perfect on this Earth, then He had to be killed as a sinless sacrifice on our behalf). So when He returns to remove all evil from the face of the Earth, we can be spared and free because Christ has already BEEN punished on our behalf. He then rose again on the third day, conquering not only life and sin and temptation, but DEATH. "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (immortallly and eternally in Heaven when I return)" - John 11:25-26 ALL we have to do is accept it by faith. Faith alone in Christ alone. Religion = rules to be saved The gospel = Christ saved us already we just have to believe it by faith. If you lack faith (as I did before), pray. He will make it strong it time. Trust Him as you would trust those close to you. He knows you even better than that. He created you and knows you inside out. ...WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? What does it actually mean for us? It means we can be completely free from the penalty of damnation. Not only that but we can be restored to Him and recreated into His moral image AGAIN as long as we accept Jesus having paid the price for us and accept Him as our Lord, the one who is in the front seat of our lives. He has a plan for your life, He's created you for a purpose. Just remember that. A purpose that includes being recreated into His image, one you can only accomplish through Him and reliance on His power and by following HIS way of life. What is this new way entail? It entails love, true love and service and aid to others, to "love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength" and "love your neighbour as you love yourself" Matthew 22:37, 39. Sharing the message of Christ's death, resurrection and soon return on this Earth to give justice OR mercy depending on what the person chose. Sound "opposite" again? God knows it sounds opposite, which is why, as The Bible states, this is NOT something we can do alone. It's not in our nature. We need a new nature in the front seat, and the first step is to repent (turn from and reject our sin, pursuing the opposite direction and drawing close to God) Christ will give us an actual DESIRE to do these things. Through the, Holy Spirit, sent by Him to us after the ascension. He speaks to us through thoughts, verses, ideas and prayers and guides us so that we gain a desire to follow God and be able to do these "opposite" things through Him. ... What is the way FOR though? Firstly its to save you from sin - the only way to gain victory over sin and not have it as your master is through having Christ as your master and following His aid to resist the devil's temptations. Christ lived down here for 33 years suffering EVERY FORM of temptation that you have ever faced - "who in every respect [has] been tempted as we are, yet without sin" Hebrews 4:15. Therefore He is able to help us through our struggles. When the devil knows people have left his camp, he always tries harder with more temptations and evil attacks. BUT - His way is also there to guard and teach you daily in the midst of this (and despite this) sinful, selfish world. The path He wants you to walk is one of committment and love - its not about rules and regulations to save us - what Christ did GAVE us salvation. All we need is faith to believe it. The rest, the "fruits of good works (the will to obey and follow Him)", are what come through true, maturing faith. It's all about faith and the relationship God wants with you just like before sin arrived. God preferred His own Son to be tortured and *killed* to give a chance to us (who broke His law of perfection) so that we can live as His children again. He wants us to love and trust and worship Him. What if I still sin after accepting Christ? That's why Christ died, For our sin. His death doesn't fix us in a snap like that, but it does protect us from the damnation that our past, present and future sins would bring without Jesus. It's a process - a lifelong one - of God bringing you back to Him and away from the destructive pleasures of sin (think greed, selfish temptations, trampling on people to gain). This process takes a *lifetime*, as it does for all, but NEVER give up, when you fall, know Christ paid for that sin you committed already - just acknowledge your sin and ask for forgiveness - and you can get back up again because He already bore your guilt and shame. Regardless of the darkness you are in or the extent or frequency of the sins you have committed or will commit, regardless of how doubtful you may feel, know that Jesus UNDERSTANDS completely and He is faithful. "those who come to Me, I will by no means cast out" - John 6:37 ...HOW DO I LEARN MORE? Don't know where to start? Note down the Gospel of "John", or "Luke" (if you want a more detailed account of it all). Remember that He will "NEVER - and that means never - leave you, NOR forsake you" - Deuteronomy 31:6 Regardless of what goes on down here, God knows, Jesus has been down here and felt all the emotions you are feeling. You can go to Him with them and be assured that He loves you and is for you. Even in the storm, God is still there, walking on the water alongside you. Keep your heart open to Him and remember that if we pray for Christ to enter our lives, He will. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whomever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life". - John 3:16 Thanks for reading if you did x. I just felt that I should tell you regardless, just so that you know, tried to answer any questions. Xxx let me know if you have any more if you need clarification xxxxx
@LohengrinT Being unable to hit the precise notes, wobbles -- particularly at the higher register -- of seismic intensity, a legato line that was little better than a ride over the roughest terrain of Afghanistan, coloratura passages that were muddled and had the heft and subtlety of cannonballs, top notes that were shrieked in the manner of a banshee, and bottom notes that were barked in the manner of a pug. This was the mark of Callas's singing in her so-called prime :)
@romaitalia29 For all his/her boasting about his/her language skills even in his native English the vocabulary is strictly limited. Even the insults are limited to half a dozen words. I wouldn't waste my time answering if I were you. There must be more interesting things to occupy your time and mind with. He/she is just sick as a dog because he can't find plausible arguments with which to make his ridiculous attacks. Poor Joanie was not in the same class as Callas and it pisses him off big time
What makes a soprano great? Newspaper reporters and magazine writers. There are no "great" singers. Just certain singers with mastery of technique, very good inborn sinuses and vocal equipment, and lots of drive.
@LohengrinT oh dear dear Lohengrin, you keep mouthing off about the Assoluta roles all the time. Just concede that Sutherland was the greatest voice, if Callas was the greatest performer, and stop all this silly nonsense time after time.
The voice is more than the splendid top. Much more. It's also more than lovely sounds. Only one artist has developed the full range and possibilities of the voice. That is the only way to define vocal greatness.
you call the greatest prima donna of all the times just plain "good"? as pav said, dame joan was easily one of the greatest bel canto singer of all the times, perhaps the best.
Its not about money! It's about making beautiful music! And Lady Gaga is a total sell out, because she HAS the background and training to make beautiful music with her exquisite piano. But she turned her back on that to become "famous" doing the crap she does now! Sell out!
