Natalie Dessay : Queen of the night "O zittre nicht" (1994)
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2006
- First aria from Mozart's "Die Zauberflote", sung by Natalie Dessay (pregnant) at Aix-en-Provence Festival in summer 1994.
She's most probably one of the most beautiful Queen of the night (to me, the best remains my Lucia Popp) . She does not focus on coloratura but on expression through them. Here, the second section is really amazing...
Conductor : William Christie with Les Arts Florisants
I love how she could maintain the richness of her voice here with such dramatic vibrato. It feels like her voice is shaking with emotion. I'd forgotten how good this recording is.
she is one of the greatest coloraturas that have ever set foot on this world....while other coloraturas struggle to reach that high F and most often it sounds so pushed or squeaky, its so nice to see Dessay reach that high F, which for her isnt the "high note" but its just "one of the high notes" since she had another 4 above that....
I've never heard a purest high note!!!
Such a beautiful aria. Mozarts music is often so beautiful that it is difficult to even conceive that some other human made it. How can anything be so perfect? His music is truly an inspiration to me.
She's really just perfection. I just love the ease in which she sings. And you can tell how much she just LOVES singing. Especially at 4:17. Just gloriousness.
I remember seeing this production when it was broadcasted on French TV. The choice made by the stage director was that the Queen of the Night would just pretend to be mean as a task for Pamina's initiation, hence Natalie Dessay's acting. He made this pretty clear in the interview he gave just before the beginning of the opera. Moreover, in the same interview, Dessay added that she was far too young to play an old mean Queen of the Night.And yes, Dessay's singing is perfect, as usual.
Dessay is amazing as a singing actress....the great range of voice and roles she's performed continues to grow, outstanding in both comic and dramatic acting.
dessay is perfect for "o zittre nicht"... diana damrau is supreme in "der holle rache", particularly in the performance in coven garden (London).. in any case, this last production, is one of my favourite Die Zauberflote. Papageno is really lovely... i suggest everybody to by the dvd or the bluray... amazing! Bravi!
i love seeing singers perform the same role in different productions and with different directors over time. their interpretations evolve, and depending on the director's concept, we see entirely different character traits sometimes. some productions aren't as good as others, and i bet it's the fault of the artistic director and his/her concept, rather than great artists like dessay. she's one of the best singing actresses of our day!
this recording has spoiled my ears for this aria! i can listen to her over and over and not get bored!
This is the most perfect version ever. The vibrato on that top note is beautifully tuned. And thank god we hear it as close the origanal key as it as meant to be. Screw Concert pitch, bring back baroque tuning!!!
I prefer Dessay's beautiful voice like a bell, over the heavy and hysterically vibrating voices of some other singers any day!
Actually, I think this works better, because the Queen of Night is supposed to appear to be good, sweet, caring, and abused when we, and Tamino, meet her, and it is only latter that we learn that she's cruel and tyrannical.
wow her voice is so agile! very beautiful.
Exquisite! What effortless colorature. She was born for this role!
Oh what a gentle and elegant Queen of the Night!
What a lovely high F with ritardando! It was not a hit and run. She held it, showed it for all to see. I loved it. Though she was not the most charismatic Queen, she did it effortlessly and lightly. Not my favorite but she did the piece justice.
Incredible aria sung incredibly well!
Yes!!! this aria is less famous than "Der Holle Rache" but it's much more beautiful.. also I prefer this!!^^
bye!!
She is so amazing!
what a wonderful aria!
i close my eyes, and listen to a mother's suffering . . . her longing. at the end when she asks me to rescue her daughter, i feel as though i feel as though i would do anything to save her child and reunite them!! of course, she's putting me on . . . which makes the way this aria is sung all the more dramatic.
I agree! This is the ONLY performance of O Zittre Nicht I've ever heard where the Queen actually works up to that high F and SINGS it. She doesn't "hit" it or "nail" it or smack 'n screech into it as is so common but even precedes it with a ritardando... SUBLIME! But compare to her other performance (also on UA-cam) even she cant' do it any longer... more's the pity. But this is beautiful.
the best interpretation i´ve seen in youtube. beautiful/talented vice.
she did it effortlessly, HOW COME!!?!?!?!?!!!
she is definitely for coloratura stuff! and comic operas....so good at comedy! Daughter of the Regiment with Dessay...a must watch!
Very few singers seem to be able to maintain such a rich, pure voice throughout the vibrato and coloratura passages.
UlfenDaddy said it right; that moment (4:10) makes this performance one of the very best. I can't get over the beauty of Dessay's coloratura technique.
Omg she makes me shiver! =) Even if my favourite Queen of the Night is Diana Damrau, they are both damn great, it different ways!!
I love Diana and I love Dessay but on this one... Dessay wins. She is marvelous. I wish I could see her live and she is going to retired in 2015. :(
2nd part is FANTASTIC!!!
okay...this was insanely good.
Beautifully done, Brava!
I think this is perfect -wonderful singing throughout - not just the complicated coloratura and wonderful acting too. The ay she fakes her weakness at 3.00 - brilliant.
wow! great voice!!!!!
this is SOOOOOOOOOO TRUE!
In this one she has her arms freed and the costumes are really sober and beautiful: dark blue for her and the prince, good.
wonderful natalie
I typed "best o zittre nicht" and found this! and yes! It is the best one..... Sorry Diana.... you are the best, too
that trill is so beautiful 4:12
Flawless
Aparte de la voz incomparable de Natalie me gusta la composición sicológica del personaje: la reina no es una malvada sino una madre preocupada por su hija.
Desde ese punto de vista, mas creíble, hay que mirar esta versión.
WUNDERBAR!
@castodivo Well u might be surprised to find out that Dessay doesn't particularly love singing...the reason she became an opera singer is because that was the quickest and easiest way to become an ACTRESS, because as im sure u have noticed, she ADORES acting...as she has said in her interview "I would prefer people telling me that i cannot sing rather than i cannot act....because acting is everything for me and if they say 'oh she cant sing' its ok, cos i dont really care about singing " :)
Brava! This is grand! Such singing and acting! What an artist.
With you on Lucia Popp, but I think Dessay is a close second!
I love Dessay from the way she's sings just so PERFECT! It's so clean, and all the notes are perfectly in tune, and not strained. I wish she had a little more passion in her singing though.
Her Stravinski "Nightingale" on Television a few years back was stunningly beautiful.
Ich habe schon viele Zauberfloeten gesehen und beurteilt. Diese Arie mit Natalie ist was Besonderes. Wirklch! Besonders der zweite Satz. So ungezwungen.
I did not know what had changed, but you explain it. The tuning of orchestras fascinates me even though I don't undertand it. There are differences and you hear them.
Exactly! Me too.
GREAT
Excellent!
Natalie's Morgana is unsurpassed!
Not sure about much except her voice, and I don't know if it is the best voice out there - I haven't listened to every coloratura soprano who's sung this in the past 20 years. But she has such sweet and ringing notes in this rendition.
This is her best Queen of the Night
Beautiful! :)
Ella es muuy afinada. es muy agradable escucharla!
You're right, it's tuned a bit lower like in the past!
La note à 4:12 O_o mais comment fait-elle pour sortir un son aussi aigu et aussi doux à la fois, c'est impressionnant !
How can you learn a whole opera-role off by heart in a totally foreign language and that pregnant!!!
BRAVA...
amazon would be a good bet. I'd look here too - a lot of full opera recordings here, not sure if this particular one is available. This is beautiful.
... wutt. She was so... nice. I thought the Queen was supposed to be edgy and merciless. But from a completely technical point of view, EFFORTLESS GRACE!!! The coloratura at the end was executed particularly masterfully, and her high Fa was pristine.
wow !
wow!!!...
o siii mi cantante favoritaa!!!
i don't think, this is really important to know. thanks for sharing anyhow, but at 1994 dessay was singing high a flats live. this here sounds great, she could have sung it in G major too, although it would be very low. thats not important. ;-)
My piano is tuned to A=440; I also have perfect pitch. She is on a pure high F, with all the elan and confidence possible. A more graceful performace is difficult to imagine... altough I do like the utter madness of the power-drunken Queen by Diana Damrau in the Covent Gardan performance also posted.
SHE IS GREAT O.O
Jeanette Vecchione - Donatti is the new upcoming coloratura soprano! The beautiful soprano made her European operatic debut at only 26 years singing the Queen of the Night at the Vienna State Opera in 2010!
I agree in the film from Ingmar Bergman Birgit Nordin is absolutly perfect as the film self! A master piece
If someone could post it it would be fantastic ! Mozart would love it :)
4:11 !!
What a cheesey conception/production...
They're so very different. I've been watching the Damrau Covent Garden performance and this video and sections within for the last hour or so. Ms. Damrau definitely has a more dramatic and aggressive quality both to her tone and her performance, whereas Ms. Dessay's tone is much warmer. The third section in particular is such an interesting contrast -- imploring Tamino to help as opposed to ordering him to do so. Don't know that one is better than the other; we can enjoy both.
What a superb F!
Genial because she is genius!
I love how the orchestra bends and flows gracefully to Dessay as she reaches the high F near the end, which makes the music elegant and courtly. Dessay is so beautiful, but to me, Damrau is better suited to the role with her more cruel approach. Without the context, Dessay is a fantastic singer!
A previous comment said that she's supposed to appear loving in this aria - maybe most sopranos play it with some evil around the edges. This might be her best acting and singing on UA-cam. I don't find her voice light, although I could be misinterpreting that word -in fact the intensity of some of her notes sends shivers down my spine. I find the dramatic style of singing, and her excellent, non-melodramatic acting help me understand this aria.I think it's better than her 1994 Der Holle Rache.
It so easy to sing, when you hear this, right? :))))
Nice staging concept!
Right on the money!
you didn`t see the film from Ingmar Bergam yet !A mater piece EVER you`ll never forget :)
agreed!
great coloratura
forget checking the high note, high pitched frequencies are harder to place, checking the key is whats important. the aria is originally in Bb, and the high F is the 5th degree of the key. If you check the key of this it sounds like a slightly sharp A major, its somplace between A and Bb (for temperament authenticity purposes), but its closer to A than Bb. therefore, the high scale degree 5 is somewhere between E and F, but closer to E, i.e., its not an F.
Does anyone else here think she looks like Maya Rudolph from Saturday Night Live?
great recording, is there a dvd?
I agree with you, except for the teeny weensy hiccup that she was a lirico coloratura (and according to DessayBestSinger, she's a full lirico now). But whatever voice she chooses, I still love her.
I wish I could find this on iTunes.
I suspsect they are trying to use a historically informed tuning that is lower than modern concert pitch but not by a full semitone. Tuning did not "jump" a semitone from a "Baroque pitch" to modern A=440Hz but rose gradually as orchestras tuned higher and higher. Mozart's orchestras were very plausibly pitched close to the one in the recording.
paddymusic, you are right: it seems a good-night story!The Queen of the night is supposed to be "mean", Dessey turns her into a lovely, warm, "dear mummy"...:) btw musically she is amazing.......
Such a beautiful second part! Is it more difficult to sing that being pregnant?
@Quesadilla1773 so agree!!!!
This is better than the 2001 one
I wonder if her being pregnant durning this opera made it any harder to do? She did this excelently!
The singing ist JUST PLAIN GREAT(my opinion) Just as good as the one version with Edita Gruberova i have (just audio, so i won't say a thing about acting).
I definitely agree with the statement that in this first aria the QotN should not be mean, but caring. In play as in singing.
Dessay is one of my favorite sopranos. She is a great musician, she's beautiful, and she has a killer range. The only thing with her though, it's as if she can only sing in piano or pianissimo. Her voice is gorgeous but it definitley needs power. Light voices are pretty but you can't be singing light all the time, unless the role is a light soprano such as a soubrette. But other than that she's great.
This really isn't crucial, but (to SeventhSeeker) I believe she sings that sequence slower on purpose. It's part of her characterization, but moreso because of the virtuosity of her performance. Her ability to sing those notes in succession - without taking a breath as she has in other performances, as well as have other notable sopranos - ought to be applauded. It's especially impressive that the final high f is held for a little longer than the majority of performances of this aria.
Yes I noticed it, and thought it a possibly combination of a slightly lower tuning and the vagaries of electronics-- recording, uploading and playback, etc. It's not a full half-tone either! "E-sorta-sharp???" I can't think that the orchestra was deliberately tuned to the lower A rather than 440, but in a live performance who knows?
"Had to" slow down?! That makes hitting the note and Holding it that much harder! That ritardando leading to the high note is the conductor's decision and it's VERY difficult. That moment makes this performance one of the very very best, regardless of one's opion about other vocal qualities and such.