I feel disgusted when I see opera fans constantly gossiping about great singers and pretending like they know everything. They are rude and arrogant. I think those kinds of opera fans are one of the reasons why opera is dead. Fiorenza Cossotto is a fantastic singer who really knows how to interpret music. Can't we just enjoy the music and celebrate the singer who overcame the difficulties of this amazing aria?
Yeah, I’d imagine that Cossotto’s teacher vocalized her endlessly, and they knew where her voice broke and where she felt most comfortable. Lots of people think you have to sound “dark” to be a mezzo or contralto, and that’s simply not true. Many people believe that’s just because you have easy high notes that makes you a soprano, and that’s not true either. Lots of good voices have been ruined by pushing them up because they “sound like a soprano.” I’m one of them who was singing dramatic soprano music up until my 30s, and it was killing my voice. My new teacher vocalized me, and asked, “Are you sure you’re a soprano? Because usually sopranos don’t sing down to A2 on the first try.” He made me come to his studio everyday for 2 weeks to sing and to listen to other singers. He showed me his real sopranos who could vocalize up to C7 everyday, mezzos who made it to F6, but they had a hard time singing low like I did, and my “pipe” ends at C6#. That’s it’s for me, and he said many people mistook me as a soprano over the years, because the cords thin out up high, and I sound like a lyric up there, but the meat of the voice is in the contralto/mezzo range. It’s where I feel comfortable singing, too. And since he’s switched me to contralto mezzo music, I’ve had NO vocal issues at all for the past 10 years. Cossotto has a very clear voice, and that’s a good indication that she’s singing properly and in the right fach. She’s not pushing, it doesn’t sound difficult, and she’s also had a long career. It’s better to err on the side of caution and not push a low voice upwards, because “her sound isn’t dark, her voice thins out up high,” etc.
If pure gold had a voice, that would have been the voice of Cossotto. Incomparable in the roles of Ulrica, Azucena and Amneris. As if Verdi had composed them just for her. This version of the recording does her great injustice. I have the original in vinyl and it is simply of another world.
I don’t understand ANY of these comments... when you hear most Verdi mezzos today they wobble all over the place... La Cossotto was a GREAT singer and this devilishly difficult aria is exactly her fach - a dramatic mezzo! She had a more metallic sound in her voice which yes is a debatable point, she could have searched for a richer sound... however this technique meant that she could have an even and powerful tone across THREE registers ... sorry but if anyone actually learned to sing as a mezzo they would find out how difficult it is!!
Ulrica is not a Mezzo, or a dramatic Mezzo: she is a Contralto! Cossotto sings Re dell'abisso as a Mezzo can sing it. I love her, but this is not her cup of tea...
@@AB-rb2hk There are not many true Contraltos around, most of the roles Contraltos sang are taken by Mezzo sopranos now and it has been that way for decades.
I think you prefere Bartoli, Dessay... Hahaha Guy, you just don't like the art of singing as it's recognized. That is not a question of taste, but of knowing about the art and the technique of singing, the line, the purity, and the support of the voice. Listen to the Montserrat Caballe and Fiorenza Cossoto duett of Norma "O rimembranza" and end enjoy two of the greatest singers of the history.
@@xxsaruman82xx87 that doesn't change what we hear on the recordings. Her voice wasn't heavy enough, her top sounded increasingly taxed and her coloratura technique wasn't secure enough - she had no trill.
@@xxsaruman82xx87 I am talking about her general performance in "Norma". If you can't trill, you can't trill, it won't just be evident in a specific recording but in general.
euterpe hat völlig recht. cossotto ist etwas ganz grosses. habe sie noch als amneris in verona hören dürfen. intelligenter kann man einfach nicht singen. was für eine frau, was für ein geschenk an uns opernfans.
Dragan Vidic I understand, for Ulrica nobody like Oralia Dominguez, Marian Anderson or Nell Rankin, but sensuality? ... She is a witch, it is not Carmen or Amneris that if they require a sensual and exciting sound
Victor Beristain neither do I: Ulrica calls for a REAL CONTRALTO, which Cossotto never was (actually, I never was quite sure whether she was a real mezzo or a dramatic soprano).
Eduardo Braivein The only true Contraltos (not Mezzosopranos of dark color or Sopranos of great extension) to address it were Marian Anderson and Oralia Dominguez (the critic considers her the last true Contralto), Fanny Anitúa in her glory years approached it, unfortunately there are no recordings, in the absence of true Contralto, the Mezzosopranos entered as Stignani or Barbieri, and later to Sopranos as Regina Resnik.
A well sung Ulrica but the wrong fach completely. This really needs a contralto timbre or at least a more dramatic mezzo soprano to fill this out correctly.
@@mcoudeniii I think she is probably a dramatic soprano. She really set the precedent for the modern 'mezzos' we see today, who are pretty much all spinto or dramatic sopranos. Who are your favourite mezzos and contraltos?
@@xxsaruman82xx87 I tend to prefer the mezzos and contraltos of yesterday; Simionato, Obraztsova, Forrester, Madeira and one that is soooo underrated, Oralia Dominguez. The singing in the middle of a women's voice has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. I think most mezzos (and some contraltos) today sing with a collapsed head voice in the middle.
@@mcoudeniii Me too! I love all the mezzos you mentioned, but Oralia Dominguez is my favourite mezzo! Her Amneris, Princess de Bouillon, Dalila, Eboli, and Erda are, for me, unsurpassed It's singing in the entirety of a woman's voice, not just the middle voice, that has changed. Hardly any female singers now employ chest voice, and the coordination in the rest of the voice suffers because of this. I think my favourite modern soprano is Saioa Hernandez, who does have solid chest voice and chest participation in her head voice. Definitely check out her Gioconda.
I feel disgusted when I see opera fans constantly gossiping about great singers and pretending like they know everything. They are rude and arrogant. I think those kinds of opera fans are one of the reasons why opera is dead. Fiorenza Cossotto is a fantastic singer who really knows how to interpret music. Can't we just enjoy the music and celebrate the singer who overcame the difficulties of this amazing aria?
Yeah, I’d imagine that Cossotto’s teacher vocalized her endlessly, and they knew where her voice broke and where she felt most comfortable. Lots of people think you have to sound “dark” to be a mezzo or contralto, and that’s simply not true. Many people believe that’s just because you have easy high notes that makes you a soprano, and that’s not true either. Lots of good voices have been ruined by pushing them up because they “sound like a soprano.” I’m one of them who was singing dramatic soprano music up until my 30s, and it was killing my voice. My new teacher vocalized me, and asked, “Are you sure you’re a soprano? Because usually sopranos don’t sing down to A2 on the first try.” He made me come to his studio everyday for 2 weeks to sing and to listen to other singers. He showed me his real sopranos who could vocalize up to C7 everyday, mezzos who made it to F6, but they had a hard time singing low like I did, and my “pipe” ends at C6#. That’s it’s for me, and he said many people mistook me as a soprano over the years, because the cords thin out up high, and I sound like a lyric up there, but the meat of the voice is in the contralto/mezzo range. It’s where I feel comfortable singing, too. And since he’s switched me to contralto mezzo music, I’ve had NO vocal issues at all for the past 10 years. Cossotto has a very clear voice, and that’s a good indication that she’s singing properly and in the right fach. She’s not pushing, it doesn’t sound difficult, and she’s also had a long career. It’s better to err on the side of caution and not push a low voice upwards, because “her sound isn’t dark, her voice thins out up high,” etc.
@Lucerne 7240: Well said! I couldn't agree more.
If pure gold had a voice, that would have been the voice of Cossotto. Incomparable in the roles of Ulrica, Azucena and Amneris. As if Verdi had composed them just for her. This version of the recording does her great injustice. I have the original in vinyl and it is simply of another world.
Davvero splendida natura coniugata ad altissima professionalità.
Meravigliosa come sempre
Une voix en lambeaux mais quels lambeaux!
L’artiste est toujours saisissante.
Bravissima!
Wow, Cossotto was a real dark voice suitable for Ulrica’s piece of Ballo! Muti managed with a vibrant tempo too !!!
Extraordinaire
beauté, style, perfection !
Intelligent and persuasive. The "problem" is that her voice is too beautiful for this rough and visceral aria.
@@avihuboneh723 The problem is that Cossotto is an undeveloped soprano, not a mezzo.
@@avihuboneh723 The fact is that Cossotto is surely not a contralto.
Excellent. Thanks.
Cossoto was one of the great singers of her era and there is simply nothing else to say!
I don’t understand ANY of these comments... when you hear most Verdi mezzos today they wobble all over the place... La Cossotto was a GREAT singer and this devilishly difficult aria is exactly her fach - a dramatic mezzo! She had a more metallic sound in her voice which yes is a debatable point, she could have searched for a richer sound... however this technique meant that she could have an even and powerful tone across THREE registers ... sorry but if anyone actually learned to sing as a mezzo they would find out how difficult it is!!
Ulrica is not a Mezzo, or a dramatic Mezzo: she is a Contralto! Cossotto sings Re dell'abisso as a Mezzo can sing it. I love her, but this is not her cup of tea...
@@AB-rb2hk Mezzos can sing it though. But Cossotto is an undeveloped soprano, not a mezzo.
Cossotto is an undeveloped soprano, not a mezzo.
@@AB-rb2hk There are not many true Contraltos around, most of the roles Contraltos sang are taken by Mezzo sopranos now and it has been that way for decades.
@@xxsaruman82xx87 You are very strict with Cossotto...maybee too much, don't you think?
Magnificent. if only we had a Cossotto today.
I like this.
This song is the tune for "No Sign! I See no Sign!" from Ken Hill's The Phantom of the Opera Thumbs up if you knew that!
I think you prefere Bartoli, Dessay... Hahaha
Guy, you just don't like the art of singing as it's recognized.
That is not a question of taste, but of knowing about the art and the technique of singing, the line, the purity, and the support of the voice. Listen to the Montserrat Caballe and Fiorenza Cossoto duett of Norma "O rimembranza" and end enjoy two of the greatest singers of the history.
Caballé was a mediocre Norma. Her technique wasn't suficiently advanced for the role.
@@kbhprinsesse No. Callas advised her to sing it.
@@xxsaruman82xx87 that doesn't change what we hear on the recordings. Her voice wasn't heavy enough, her top sounded increasingly taxed and her coloratura technique wasn't secure enough - she had no trill.
@@kbhprinsesse What recordings? The studio one?
@@xxsaruman82xx87 I am talking about her general performance in "Norma". If you can't trill, you can't trill, it won't just be evident in a specific recording but in general.
Belissima..this is her EMI recording with Domingo, Arroyo and Muti isnt it??
euterpe hat völlig recht.
cossotto ist etwas ganz grosses. habe sie noch als amneris in verona hören dürfen.
intelligenter kann man einfach nicht singen.
was für eine frau, was für ein geschenk an uns opernfans.
@PhantomoftheOperaOG : that's good to know, even if it caused me to have a *facepalm* moment...
why?
Brava Brava niente da dire tanto di cappello, ma Ulrica rimane la Barbieri.
Mirco Pirrone
Ulrica = Dilova , Kosseva.
Due contratti con voci di una bellezza rara.
Mmmmh... La Cossotto ha una voce troppo chiara per Ulrica. Non mi piace qui.
Una cantante sopravvalutata... Un finto mezzosoprano
Mediocre. Metallic tone. No velvet. No sensuality. Never understood the hype.
Dragan Vidic
I understand, for Ulrica nobody like Oralia Dominguez, Marian Anderson or Nell Rankin, but sensuality? ... She is a witch, it is not Carmen or Amneris that if they require a sensual and exciting sound
Victor Beristain "Mystery" is the term required for Ulrica.
Eduardo Braivein
Exactamente, como dije, es una bruja, no Carmen para buscar sensualidad, aún así no me gusta Cossotto en Ulrica.
Victor Beristain neither do I: Ulrica calls for a REAL CONTRALTO, which Cossotto never was (actually, I never was quite sure whether she was a real mezzo or a dramatic soprano).
Eduardo Braivein
The only true Contraltos (not Mezzosopranos of dark color or Sopranos of great extension) to address it were Marian Anderson and Oralia Dominguez (the critic considers her the last true Contralto), Fanny Anitúa in her glory years approached it, unfortunately there are no recordings, in the absence of true Contralto, the Mezzosopranos entered as Stignani or Barbieri, and later to Sopranos as Regina Resnik.
A well sung Ulrica but the wrong fach completely. This really needs a contralto timbre or at least a more dramatic mezzo soprano to fill this out correctly.
And Cossotto is an undeveloped soprano, not a mezzo.
@@xxsaruman82xx87 I see the argument for that.
@@mcoudeniii I think she is probably a dramatic soprano. She really set the precedent for the modern 'mezzos' we see today, who are pretty much all spinto or dramatic sopranos. Who are your favourite mezzos and contraltos?
@@xxsaruman82xx87 I tend to prefer the mezzos and contraltos of yesterday; Simionato, Obraztsova, Forrester, Madeira and one that is soooo underrated, Oralia Dominguez. The singing in the middle of a women's voice has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. I think most mezzos (and some contraltos) today sing with a collapsed head voice in the middle.
@@mcoudeniii Me too! I love all the mezzos you mentioned, but Oralia Dominguez is my favourite mezzo! Her Amneris, Princess de Bouillon, Dalila, Eboli, and Erda are, for me, unsurpassed
It's singing in the entirety of a woman's voice, not just the middle voice, that has changed. Hardly any female singers now employ chest voice, and the coordination in the rest of the voice suffers because of this. I think my favourite modern soprano is Saioa Hernandez, who does have solid chest voice and chest participation in her head voice. Definitely check out her Gioconda.