Save for a rather precarious top B flat and C at the end, Callas sounds huge, full, and in complete control of her admittedly difficult-to-control voice. The darkness of her tone is haunting, and her lowest notes have the thrust of steel. In fact, the entire voice here has a driven thrust. I find it very exciting.
I would pay a king's ransom to here here recite the telephone book. Her stage presence and ability to convey passion and emotion trumps any soprano's vocal abilities.
Actually, the opera was written in English originally and Weber died in London where it was first performed. It is the German that is the translation and not the other way around.
@sillyboydeux You point out some very valid things.. and.. remember during this phase of recording technology, dubbing in notes was much much harder . as they had not developed the technology to do it cleanly, without the public noticing. Normally, if an artist did not like the high notes in an aria, they just needed to re record the whole thing.. This makes recordings in that era.. more honest than they are today.!
Lyrics & English Translation Ocean! Thou mighty monster! That lies curled like a green serpent, round about the world! To musing eye thou art an awful sight, When calmly sleeping in the morning light; But when thou rises in thy wrath, As now, and fling's thy folds around some fated prow! Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed! Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed. The waves become increasingly calm and bright. Still I see thy billows flashing! Through the gloom their white fo
You are the first person beside myself to acknowledge those details. That was the cause of her vocal decline, which really only began in 63 and really not til she had her final performances in Paris. Her golden years were definitely in Mexico and Milan, but let's get real - Onassis was the worst thing to happen to her, and she was so pathetically co-dependent and in need of approval that she took his bullshit until he mopped the floor with her.
Lol. Idk where you heard this but... perhaps you shouldn't spread misinformation (dumb ppl who don't know the difference bt facts, assumptions, projections)
It had nothing to do with Onassis. If you listen to her recording WITHOUT being a fanatical admirer, you can hear how she gradually chooses a higher and higher placement, thus having less and less room to open up for the top notes, creating more and more wobble and ugly notes. In the second half of the 1950's as her voice became more and more unsteady, the annual number of performances fell accordingly - and this was BEFORE Onassis.
@kgarmaker123 I'm glad I read your comment - I was wondering why her her vibrato at the high note (7:48 mark) was so wide when she'd sung much tighter D-flats later in career.
Lyrics & English Translation Ocean! Thou mighty monster! That lies curled like a green serpent, round about the world! To musing eye thou art an awful sight, When calmly sleeping in the morning light; But when thou rises in thy wrath, As now, and fling's thy folds around some fated prow! Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed! Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed. The waves become increasingly calm and bright. Still I see thy billows flashing! Through the gloom their white foam f
Well, I like it. Passion can cover the odd imperfection. It mightn't be Grob-Prandl, but I'll happily listen to this rather than some of the antiseptic and yodelled versions ... why don't one DO this great opera?
It would be politically incorrect in the extreme. A French crusader abducts the daughter of the Calif (I think) and converts her to Christianity. I can just see the picket lines. The recitatives are not by Weber, and the dialogue is very funny in spots, but I gave up on this opera (dramatically) years ago.
This is indeed her only recording in English (at least that I have have heard) Although she was born in NYC, years of living in Europe and singing in other languages made he English a bit strange. One writer claimed she spoke as if she learned English on Mars! Note how she sings wroth instead of wrath. Still - she sounds pretty good for the late date in her career (other than the squally high notes at the end.)
She speaks Greek Italian French English & intermediate German & Spanish). She will not sing in English bc lets be honest, it's not beautiful like Italian & French. She turned down a role at NYC Met bc it was in English. I heard Carmen's lamour est un oiseau rebelle in English & it was awful. (That's love for you instead of lamor 4xs). English is so lame
@@mistersmith1883 No language that produced Shakespeare, Milton, Spenser, Donne, Pope, Dryden and Marlowe can by any stretch of the imagination be considered 'lame'. Please educate yourself before embarrassing yourself again.
@@jasonhurd4379 no. No one takes English opera seriously. In order to make English sound good you have to use obscelete words and flowery language. You can cite an encyclopedia in italian or French and it sounds poetic and succinct
Maria Callas sang die Rezzia-Arie in englischer Sprache,weil sie aufgrund der deutschen Besatzung in Griechenland sehr gelitten hat.Sie hat also nie in deutscher Sprache gesungen--
I have always loved this version of this aria,despite faults in Callas voice.However,can someone clear something up for me.One of the lines should read~"Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed! Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed." but when Callas reaches the line "art thou terrible indeed" it comes out sounding like "best fierce and fair" or am I just not hearing it correctly?
She sings what is an acceptable alternative translation of the German. She sings "...crushing the strong ribbed bark as twere a shell; Then Ocean, art thou base, fierce, and fell." The words are clearly from a late 19th Century translation [particularly the word "shell" and the "base fierce and fell." but they are correct and correctly sung.
So true all of it.. She had some bad habits, she needed to seriously reapply herself and get rid of them, and they would have been gone had that been her priority.
Ocean! thou mighty monster! That lies curled like a green serpent, round about the world! To musing eye thou art an aweful sight, When calmly sleeping in the morning light; But when thou risest in thy wrath, As now, and fling'st thy folds around some fated prow! Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed! Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed. The waves become increasingly calm and bright. Still I see thy billows flashing! Through the gloom their white foam flinging, And the breaker's sullen dashing In mine ear hope's knell is ringing. A few rays of the evening sun, hitherto obscured by the darkness of the storm, break through the clouds. But lo! methinks a light is breaking Slowly over the distant deep, Like a second morn awaking Pale and feeble from its sleep. The waves continue to abate. Brighter now, behold! 'tis beaming! On the storm, whose misty train Like some shatter'd flag is streaming Or a wild steed's flying mane. The evening sun sheds its full glory across the sky. And now the Sun bursts forth, the wind is lulling fast, And the broad wave but pants from fury past! Cloudless over the blushing water, Now the setting sun is burning, Like a victor red with slaughter, To his tent in triumph turning. The sea becomes quite calm and the clouds part. Ah! per chance these eyes may never look upon This light again! Fare thee well, bright orb, forever, Thou for me wilt rise in vain! - The sun sets and a ship glides past from right to left. But what gleams so white and fair, Heaving with the heaving billow? 'tis a seabird, wheeling there over some Wretch's wat'ry pillow! No! it is no bird, I mark! Joy! lt is a boat, a sail! And yonder rides a gallant bark, Unimpair'd by the gale! Oh transport! My Huon, haste down to the shore!
@sillyboydeux Yes indeed.. and what was wrong with Callas voice in 1962 could have been fixed, quite easily, had she gone to a proper teacher, or even back to De Hildago.. and had it fixed. MOst of what was wrong, is that she had quit singing.. and adopted a fairly flamboyant, public lifestyle, repleat with lots of alchohol( horrible for the voice) smoking, and late nights. Not to mention a dysfunctional relationship.
@sillyboydeux That breath thing was the result of being dehyrdrated.. In the rash of the new Callas books, it is clear she was abusing diruetics and laxatives in an attempt to stay thin for Onassis.. Probably also led to her cardiac collapse and death in 1977. in 1965 she was so thin.. that she looked sick. Has a horrible effect on the vocal cords too. in 1964( much heavier) She sang quite a bit better, and.. if accounts are correct her Paris Normas in that year were solid.
Not in 1965, in 1959. During the 505's after her slimming down, she continued to get thinner and thinner. But if you compare the photos of her from her concert tour in late 1959 with the 1960's photos you will see that she had gained a little weight again.
It's pretty good, spacebin. Better than many a modern opera singer could manage. If you're going to be so critical you need to back it up. Point out the specific faults.
+Pe Callahan I've never carried on like everything ANYONE touches is solid gold, be it Callas or anyone else. So stop setting up straw men to knock down. I know she wobbled at times. I know she was not always good. And your judgements are as subjective as anyone else's. I don't find her English on the one and only aria she ever recorded in English, which is this one, to be in any way incomprehensible. It's English with a slight accent, that I find absolutely clear and comprehensible. Pity your ears are not able to comprehend English with a slight accent. I appreciate your comments despite your patronising tone.
***** Asking for examples is hardly patronizing. And I did acknowledge flaws and faults. Callas herself admitted to them. A few mispronunciations while singing are forgiveable in my book. If you're such a perfectionist I feel sorry for you. Must be hard for you requiring everyone to live up to your standards.
+Pe Callahan I told Spacebin he needed to back up his criticism with some examples. Pretty mild sort of patronising. You accused me of 'refusing to refuse to accept that Callas, like most singers gave some bad performances' which I have never done. I'm glad that you are such a big fan of Callas's. Obviously I'm not bothered by less than perfect pronunciation. If I'm not reading closely enough it's because my brain is fried from overwork on my thesis. Which has nothing to do with music. I need to leave this discussion.
The best version
Save for a rather precarious top B flat and C at the end, Callas sounds huge, full, and in complete control of her admittedly difficult-to-control voice. The darkness of her tone is haunting, and her lowest notes have the thrust of steel. In fact, the entire voice here has a driven thrust. I find it very exciting.
She is infinitely more majestic than other singers in this grand aria ❤️❤️❤️
Nilsson is much better. Flagstad, too.
She's the best
They had the voices for it. Callas, not in their league.@@vincec8218
The supreme VOICE OF ALL TIME.....
I would pay a king's ransom to here here recite the telephone book. Her stage presence and ability to convey passion and emotion trumps any soprano's vocal abilities.
Please, she has a voice of crude oil.
Agreed
My God. The only thing better than Callas.....is Callas singing in English!
Her voice sounds surprisingly fresh for this stage of her career and her palette of shades is as usual wider than any other singer's.
Petroleum toned.
@@vincec8218 so why are you here? You came here to troll. There's a reason why she's the most influential opera singer. Bc she's great.
Actually, the opera was written in English originally and Weber died in London where it was first performed. It is the German that is the translation and not the other way around.
How's about that!
Please check out soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta"
@sillyboydeux You point out some very valid things.. and.. remember during this phase of recording technology, dubbing in notes was much much harder . as they had not developed the technology to do it cleanly, without the public noticing. Normally, if an artist did not like the high notes in an aria, they just needed to re record the whole thing.. This makes recordings in that era.. more honest than they are today.!
Magnifica interpretación
Magistral . Maravillosa.
Lyrics & English Translation Ocean! Thou mighty monster! That lies curled like a green serpent, round about the world! To musing eye thou art an awful sight, When calmly sleeping in the morning light; But when thou rises in thy wrath, As now, and fling's thy folds around some fated prow! Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed! Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed. The waves become increasingly calm and bright. Still I see thy billows flashing! Through the gloom their white fo
Erxcelente!!! Salud. .
Inesquecível e Incomparável!!!
Волшебство.
wow, I've never heard her sing in english
La voce non è quella dei primi anni ma io adoro questa incisione
Per favore ascolta il soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta"
No idea she sang it! xD AMAZING!
She already sang it back in her days in Athens as a teenager.
You are the first person beside myself to acknowledge those details. That was the cause of her vocal decline, which really only began in 63 and really not til she had her final performances in Paris. Her golden years were definitely in Mexico and Milan, but let's get real - Onassis was the worst thing to happen to her, and she was so pathetically co-dependent and in need of approval that she took his bullshit until he mopped the floor with her.
Lol. Idk where you heard this but... perhaps you shouldn't spread misinformation (dumb ppl who don't know the difference bt facts, assumptions, projections)
It had nothing to do with Onassis. If you listen to her recording WITHOUT being a fanatical admirer, you can hear how she gradually chooses a higher and higher placement, thus having less and less room to open up for the top notes, creating more and more wobble and ugly notes. In the second half of the 1950's as her voice became more and more unsteady, the annual number of performances fell accordingly - and this was BEFORE Onassis.
@kgarmaker123 I'm glad I read your comment - I was wondering why her her vibrato at the high note (7:48 mark) was so wide when she'd sung much tighter D-flats later in career.
Lyrics & English Translation Ocean! Thou mighty monster! That lies curled like a green serpent, round about the world! To musing eye thou art an awful sight, When calmly sleeping in the morning light; But when thou rises in thy wrath, As now, and fling's thy folds around some fated prow! Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed! Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed. The waves become increasingly calm and bright. Still I see thy billows flashing! Through the gloom their white foam f
Well, I like it. Passion can cover the odd imperfection. It mightn't be Grob-Prandl, but I'll happily listen to this rather than some of the antiseptic and yodelled versions ... why don't one DO this great opera?
It would be politically incorrect in the extreme. A French crusader abducts the daughter of the Calif (I think) and converts her to Christianity. I can just see the picket lines. The recitatives are not by Weber, and the dialogue is very funny in spots, but I gave up on this opera (dramatically) years ago.
No one is going to picket an obscure opera. Get real. People already have enough real problems to deal with.
This is indeed her only recording in English (at least that I have have heard) Although she was born in NYC, years of living in Europe and singing in other languages made he English a bit strange. One writer claimed she spoke as if she learned English on Mars! Note how she sings wroth instead of wrath. Still - she sounds pretty good for the late date in her career (other than the squally high notes at the end.)
She speaks Greek Italian French English & intermediate German & Spanish). She will not sing in English bc lets be honest, it's not beautiful like Italian & French. She turned down a role at NYC Met bc it was in English. I heard Carmen's lamour est un oiseau rebelle in English & it was awful. (That's love for you instead of lamor 4xs). English is so lame
Please check out soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta", tremendous voice
If pronunciation is a problem for you how do you deal with Sutherland whose every word is slurred or garbled?
@@mistersmith1883 No language that produced Shakespeare, Milton, Spenser, Donne, Pope, Dryden and Marlowe can by any stretch of the imagination be considered 'lame'. Please educate yourself before embarrassing yourself again.
@@jasonhurd4379 no. No one takes English opera seriously. In order to make English sound good you have to use obscelete words and flowery language. You can cite an encyclopedia in italian or French and it sounds poetic and succinct
great. absoutely. you can heare ,where wagner adopted something..
Maria Callas sang die Rezzia-Arie in englischer Sprache,weil sie aufgrund der deutschen Besatzung in Griechenland sehr gelitten hat.Sie hat also nie in deutscher Sprache gesungen--
There's also a tradition for singing it in English as the premiere of "Oberon" took place in London in English.
I have always loved this version of this aria,despite faults in Callas voice.However,can someone clear something up for me.One of the lines should read~"Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed!
Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed."
but when Callas reaches the line "art thou terrible indeed" it comes out sounding like "best fierce and fair" or am I just not hearing it correctly?
base, fierce, and foul
She sings what is an acceptable alternative translation of the German. She sings "...crushing the strong ribbed bark as twere a shell; Then Ocean, art thou base, fierce, and fell." The words are clearly from a late 19th Century translation [particularly the word "shell" and the "base fierce and fell." but they are correct and correctly sung.
"thy POWER is fierce and fell"
So true all of it.. She had some bad habits, she needed to seriously reapply herself and get rid of them, and they would have been gone had that been her priority.
Ocean! thou mighty monster!
That lies curled like a green serpent, round about the world!
To musing eye thou art an aweful sight,
When calmly sleeping in the morning light;
But when thou risest in thy wrath,
As now, and fling'st thy folds around some fated prow!
Crushing the strong ribbed bark as if it were a reed!
Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed.
The waves become increasingly calm and bright.
Still I see thy billows flashing!
Through the gloom their white foam flinging,
And the breaker's sullen dashing
In mine ear hope's knell is ringing.
A few rays of the evening sun, hitherto obscured by the darkness of the storm, break through the clouds.
But lo! methinks a light is breaking
Slowly over the distant deep,
Like a second morn awaking
Pale and feeble from its sleep.
The waves continue to abate.
Brighter now, behold! 'tis beaming!
On the storm, whose misty train
Like some shatter'd flag is streaming
Or a wild steed's flying mane.
The evening sun sheds its full glory across the sky.
And now the Sun bursts forth, the wind is lulling fast,
And the broad wave but pants from fury past!
Cloudless over the blushing water,
Now the setting sun is burning,
Like a victor red with slaughter,
To his tent in triumph turning.
The sea becomes quite calm and the clouds part.
Ah! per chance these eyes may never look upon
This light again!
Fare thee well, bright orb, forever,
Thou for me wilt rise in vain! -
The sun sets and a ship glides past from right to left.
But what gleams so white and fair,
Heaving with the heaving billow?
'tis a seabird, wheeling there over some
Wretch's wat'ry pillow!
No! it is no bird, I mark!
Joy! lt is a boat, a sail!
And yonder rides a gallant bark,
Unimpair'd by the gale! Oh transport!
My Huon, haste down to the shore!
After copious raves about the great diva’s diction in French and Italian I’m disappointed that this aria (in English!) needs subtitles.
Please check out soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta"
@@vincec8218 what on earth has that got to do with anything??
I think I'm high like.... MARIA CALLAS! SINGING IN ENGLISH!
..............
WTFFFFFFF!!!
Please check out soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta", tremendous voice
No in Italian? (laugh)
@sillyboydeux Yes indeed.. and what was wrong with Callas voice in 1962 could have been fixed, quite easily, had she gone to a proper teacher, or even back to De Hildago.. and had it fixed. MOst of what was wrong, is that she had quit singing.. and adopted a fairly flamboyant, public lifestyle, repleat with lots of alchohol( horrible for the voice) smoking, and late nights. Not to mention a dysfunctional relationship.
Es una pena escuchar a la Callas en su decadencia, su falta de control en los agudos es horrible.
Por favor escucha a la soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta"
@@vincec8218 No
@sillyboydeux That breath thing was the result of being dehyrdrated.. In the rash of the new Callas books, it is clear she was abusing diruetics and laxatives in an attempt to stay thin for Onassis.. Probably also led to her cardiac collapse and death in 1977. in 1965 she was so thin.. that she looked sick. Has a horrible effect on the vocal cords too. in 1964( much heavier) She sang quite a bit better, and.. if accounts are correct her Paris Normas in that year were solid.
Not in 1965, in 1959. During the 505's after her slimming down, she continued to get thinner and thinner. But if you compare the photos of her from her concert tour in late 1959 with the 1960's photos you will see that she had gained a little weight again.
@kgarmaker123
This is poor unsteady, hooty singiing pure and simple.
Please check out soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta", tremendous voice
Oh no.......that was not good........only interesting for fans. Today such a recording would hardly be put on the market.....
It's pretty good, spacebin. Better than many a modern opera singer could manage. If you're going to be so critical you need to back it up. Point out the specific faults.
gaynomadic I agree.
+Pe Callahan I've never carried on like everything ANYONE touches is solid gold, be it Callas or anyone else. So stop setting up straw men to knock down. I know she wobbled at times. I know she was not always good. And your judgements are as subjective as anyone else's. I don't find her English on the one and only aria she ever recorded in English, which is this one, to be in any way incomprehensible. It's English with a slight accent, that I find absolutely clear and comprehensible. Pity your ears are not able to comprehend English with a slight accent. I appreciate your comments despite your patronising tone.
***** Asking for examples is hardly patronizing. And I did acknowledge flaws and faults. Callas herself admitted to them. A few mispronunciations while singing are forgiveable in my book. If you're such a perfectionist I feel sorry for you. Must be hard for you requiring everyone to live up to your standards.
+Pe Callahan I told Spacebin he needed to back up his criticism with some examples. Pretty mild sort of patronising. You accused me of 'refusing to refuse to accept that Callas, like most singers gave some bad performances' which I have never done. I'm glad that you are such a big fan of Callas's. Obviously I'm not bothered by less than perfect pronunciation. If I'm not reading closely enough it's because my brain is fried from overwork on my thesis. Which has nothing to do with music. I need to leave this discussion.
Begins unsteady, degrades to wavering and finishes a wavering mess.
La grande Maria Callas non finisce mai di sorprenderci: Portentoso.
Per favore ascolta il soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta", tremenda voce
Please check out soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta", tremendous voice
Per favore ascolta il soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta", tremenda voce
With every respect: that was terrible.
Please check out soprano Kasondra Kazanjian, "Tu che di gel sei cinta", tremendous voice
Best version is Birgit Nilsson. She had the dramatic voice required for this.@@vincec8218
I agree, and I worship this woman.