Glass Shatterers! Diana Damrau - Thomas: HAMLET, Ophelia's Mad Scene, High F#, 1996
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2020
- ~The "Glass Shatterers!" series focuses on sopranos who sustain High F, or sing higher.
THE SONGBIRD: Here is a rare chance to hear the global superstar coloratura soprano Diana Damrau at the start of her career in 1996 -- only a year after her 1995 operatic debut in Würzburg. She sings Ophelia's complete mad scene from "Hamlet" by Ambroise Thomas -- recorded live -- with an interpolated sustained High F# at the end.
Diana Damrau was born in 1971 Günzburg in Bavaria, Germany. Her operatic debut role in Würzburg in 1995 was Barbarina. Her debut in Vienna came in 2000 as Queen of the Night, followed by Salzburg in 2001 as the Celestial Voice in "Don Carlo" and as Najade to Natalie Dessay's Zerbinetta. Soon after came a continuous series of leading roles at the major opera houses around the world, including the gala reopening of La Scala in 2004. The Met signed her up first for Zerbinetta in 2005, and she has been a become one of their star sopranos with about 135 performances of 17 roles (plus a few gala concerts), including premiering seven new productions.
Indeed dazzling.
where did you find these rare recordings?
Diana Damrau was truly in her prime in the mid to late 90s all the way up to the early to mid 2000s.
That's not very many years then. No more than Dessay probably, who only sang well for maybe 5 years. I can't stand either of these singers nowadays, their voices being completely ruined. What's up with those short carreers?
@@russki1978 I think their short peak can be caused by many reasons. Dessay I know for a fact is due to her vocal nodules. She had surgery twice. As for Diana, I speculate it is the technique that is the problem. They develop wide vibrato way to fast. Just look at Jessica Pratt back then and now you will know.
@@danielng7795 Well, all websites tell me that vocal nodules are most often caused by overuse or straining your vocal cords, especially from singing, yelling or talking too loudly. So I guess we know how Dessay got hers. The nodules are not the cause of her vocal problems. They were the result of how she was using her voice in a way that wasn't right for her. You would think that modern singers have learnt from the mistakes that others made in the past and that they take better care of their voice. Same with Damrau. Why does nobody tell her that she's straining her vocal cords? It's almost painful to listen to her nowadays.
@@russki1978 ...Dessay had a carreer of over 25 years and a good 10 prime years. Opera takes its toll on the voice. If you don't get enough rest and have to sing it wears you out quickly. Just look at Anna Moffo. I've never been crazy about Damrau, but Desssy did some of the most musically spectacular singing in history. Listen to her recording of Gliere Concerto for Soprano..... every attack evey mezza voce, her staccato work was of the finest caliber. ...her bell song even live is untouchable...
@@danielng7795 And vocal nodules are due to bad technique and/or overuse
Wow
I was about to ask if youre sure this is a recording of Damrau but you can tell in some middle voice parts it is her. She sounds so different. Sounds much more like a light lyric. I wonder if thats her voice's true nature, seeing as how she seems to have recently lost a large portion of her upper extension.
She did sung up to her G# in quite a lot of arias a la Dessay when in her prime. But as the years past her voice mature and she sung lower.
Although better than her singing now, one can already hear a harshness and also technical deficiencies which were never resolved (trill?....hmmmmm) in the voice. I think like a lot of singers she has made bad repertoire choices and it's taken its toll.
Very good points. I heard her in person at the Met in Fille du Regiment in 2010 and enjoyed the production for the most part -- her singing though totally professional was a bit rough around the edges (the whole role was "rough" as she played such an inept "tom boy").
@@songbirdwatcher I heard her in Lucia in London and it was a very mixed bag. Some lovely piano singing and then very screechy high notes. At forte the voice is not pleasant. It seemed to lose the early shine very early. Her so-called acting is also quite phrenetic. I would not want to hear her again - not difficult in these days of no performances I guess.
Well to be frank she is in her 50s and most light-lyric coloraturas are lucky to still have a voice after 40.
She did always have a somewhat precarious approach to runs and trills, which she compensated for with a very light and agile voice. She also more than made up for the technical issues with her acting chops and musicality.
I just listened to an excerpt of the 2022 Anna Bolena back to back with this 1997 recital and don’t understand the negativity. Yes, Diana Damrau can be a hit-and-miss but Anna Bolena was definitely not a miss as her singing was still smooth, musical, luscious and expressive. She may not have the highest notes any longer but it’s been 25 years and everyone loses something. So stop bashing her with such flimsy nonsense. Everyone has a bad night once in a while because it’s part of being human. Diana has been there and made it. What have YOU accomplished?