This was the recording, and Dolora Zajick was THE Azucena that really opened my eyes and ears as to beauty, complexity and importance of the role of Azucena. She also made me fall in love with the grandeur of the mezzo voice.
I have had the privilege of attending many of her performances at the MET. She is awesome, powerful and what stage presence. An incredible artist. A rare voice to hear and thus to feel.
Those chest notes 😍 are something out of the ordinary. Azucena and Amneris are two of her best works. And where her voice is display at its best. All high and lows 🎶
I fell in love with Dolora the first moment I saw her (which is this performance). I was still new to opera back then so i still didn't know much about mezzo-sopranos, especially dramatic mezzo. But when i saw Dolora, the size of the voice totally hit me, it was something really special; it was huge, haunting and thrilling. The low notes are dark (Sul capo mio le chiome...) but the high notes can be so bright and powerful and resonant (Sei vendicata, o madre!). She is truly a force of Nature.
+ Shahrdad what I find a bit more annoying here is the bottled / tone-less quality of her middle voice which was Dolora's weak point from the beginning... I struggled between this performance and her first Azucena with Pavaroti where the Middle Voice is far more Alive, tonically Varied and Expressive but unfortunately, in that version she does not produce the Rock Solid chest voice at the final phrase she does here that is why I chose this one...
+ Shahrdad ua-cam.com/video/XPmy0QkI8N4/v-deo.html she did kinda electrify me here at the end... the Il figlio mio Il figlio mio cries lack desperation (I dont know if it is tonality or color problem)
for me Leontyne is just descent thats why she cannot thill me.. the same way as Anna Netrebko is adequate... and descent or adequate in this operatic repertoire is a huge deal as it demands Enormous Voice b ut unfortunately they cannot thrill me... I have never been Crazy with Leontyne or Anna... I dont go meeehhhh!!! with their singing as I do with so many other singers but they cannot get me crazy with them
She is excellent here, but much better in an earlier video of Trovatore starring Pavarotti and Marton. There you could hear her powerful chest voice. Not here at the same extent.
Lohengrin O Who do you think cracked the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia??? YANKEE STADIUM is just slightly bigger than the METROPOLITAN, it's a playpen for Dolora.
Located it... very impressive considering the fact EVERYBODY omits it but Verret who sadly sings it with so much American accent I really am not sure if I ll post it although Verret's C6 is much cleaner and powerful... (also there is another singer who sings it in Studio but she is the One Who We Must Not Speak Her Name :D.. Your Obratzova and Shahrdad's Akhripova, as well as Simionato etc dont even bother singing it :D
Lohengrin O I think there is a recording of Simionato singing it, but yes it's very seldom sang by anyone. It's the note that almost takes Azucena into total assoluta territory.
Thank the lord we still have greats like Dolora Zajick still alive and kicking it. The voice is still wonderful, opulent with rich high notes and an even better middle/lower register. The only other Mezzo-Soprano that I can think of that matches this volume of chest voice is Shirley Verrett (in terms of color and roundness though Zajick doesn't dry out around F#4 and upwards).
I wish I liked her middle voice more, it's always a big downturn for me unfortunately. That said, I acknowledge this is most certainly a great voice, and it is always amazing how well developed and solid she has both her high extension and her low chest notes. There is no noticeable "break" between them, they're well connected and equally powerful and colorful.
This is Obraztsova's role. Azucena, Ulrica and Amneris. Obraztsova spoiled them for me, I cannot listen to any other mezzo singing those roles, I always compare to Obraztsova.
Zajick is fantastic! The greatest mezzo soprano singing today. But this production of Il Trovatore? Dreadful. Everything is dark brown. The sets are dark brown. The costumes are dark brown. It's just ugly. How I long for the days when scenic design and costume design were exciting and colorful.
Huge upper/lower projection as usual, but the middle voice really disappoints me here... and the phrasing too is a little bit tame for my liking. Plus I almost burst out laughing when she grabbed his hair lol. Azucena is such an incredibly difficult role, almost an Assoluta role. It requires sustained intensity in the middle of the voice, which to me Zajick kind of fails to do here, I hear tension and an unsteady vibrato rather than a throbbing, thick layer of tonality. The standard for me is Stigani/Simionato, whose range and phrasing in this scene are ridiculously virtuosic.
Something is indeed problematic in her middle.. but the last phrase!!! :D her first Azucena with Pav was much better over all but did not have that immense chest voice at the end... (I really wondered why she grabs the hair as well...I felt awkward)
It's like she never really mastered the passagio enough to support the middle with the same kind of weight or colour.... it sometimes sounds like she is speaking in that register. But still very theatrical singing and the chest notes are indeed sublime. I always wonder why Podles never became famous in this role, but having heard some of her recordings she seems to have slight problems with the tessitura.
Having watched videos of Zajick talking extensively about her technique, I’m fairly certain that everything she does vocally is quite deliberate. She believes in singing the middle like that. It’s not my favorite sound, but it’s definitely a choice.
Ebe's had more agility, she was like a mezzo soprano dramatico d'agilita, also Ebe's middle voice was also much fuller and richer.. they do compare in chest voice though and perhaps Dolora wins there...also, Ebe never attempted to sing Adalgisa's C6 while Dolora sings Azucena's C6... although, Ebe's recordings come from when she was rather old
I cannot stand listening to Zajick when I can find the same piece done by far better mezzos. She has a distorting and volume restricting tightness that ruins her chest voice for me.
Lol because she's a soprano not mezzo. But this is common in classical music, singers singing in different vocal fach. The terrible middle voice and lack of warmth a true mezzo has is very obvious.
the phenomenon of admiration and love towards great artists is always accompanied by hatred and despise... There was a video online in youtube were some "Metropolitan Expert of the Asshole" was explaining with arguments!! that Callas was a bad singer... Derranged nobodies hating the Ultra Talented Geniuses mate..
@@arnoldamaral7406 Zajick is a great artist. She is the finest mezzo soprano singing today. One of the trolls said that she had "nasal placement and incomprehensible phrasing". But I ignore such deranged ranting.
Her voice may be gigantic, but her emission is totally wrong. Consequently, the intonation is sloppy. It's weird to see this current mediocrity, screaming and howling, next to Maria Callas.
Как будто Каллас не была посредственной... Но у Заджик отлично получается, просто она уже в возрасте... Но больше всех в роли Изучены мне нравится, конечно, Архипова...
I fully agree! It's this obsessive vibrato technique, which it seems is taken to be more important than intonation. There are moments when she's visibly concentrating on her technique - a slave to it! For Callas, technique was her servant with clear purpose. I enjoyed the excerpt nevertheless - for the sheer power and genius of Verdi!
This was the recording, and Dolora Zajick was THE Azucena that really opened my eyes and ears as to beauty, complexity and importance of the role of Azucena. She also made me fall in love with the grandeur of the mezzo voice.
still even with singing Azucena's C6, she is no match for Ebe Stignani in the role
I have had the privilege of attending many of her performances at the MET. She is awesome, powerful and what stage presence. An incredible artist. A rare voice to hear and thus to feel.
I would like to voice my opposition to the random anti-Verrett comments. I think she was extraordinary. She’s one of my all time favorites.
indeed she was extraordinary
pour moi la voix de S.Verret est tellement plus saisissante!!!!!
Brilliant singers and actors! 🙌Dmitry Khvorostovsky🙏🌷❇
Those chest notes 😍 are something out of the ordinary. Azucena and Amneris are two of her best works. And where her voice is display at its best. All high and lows 🎶
I fell in love with Dolora the first moment I saw her (which is this performance). I was still new to opera back then so i still didn't know much about mezzo-sopranos, especially dramatic mezzo. But when i saw Dolora, the size of the voice totally hit me, it was something really special; it was huge, haunting and thrilling. The low notes are dark (Sul capo mio le chiome...) but the high notes can be so bright and powerful and resonant (Sei vendicata, o madre!). She is truly a force of Nature.
For years my only favorite Azucena was Ebe Stignani (in the clip of the link at the end of this post)... today I have Dolora as well...
+ Shahrdad what I find a bit more annoying here is the bottled / tone-less quality of her middle voice which was Dolora's weak point from the beginning... I struggled between this performance and her first Azucena with Pavaroti where the Middle Voice is far more Alive, tonically Varied and Expressive but unfortunately, in that version she does not produce the Rock Solid chest voice at the final phrase she does here that is why I chose this one...
+ Shahrdad Most impressive rock solid ending chest voice but does it give you goosebumps?
+ Shahrdad ua-cam.com/video/XPmy0QkI8N4/v-deo.html she did kinda electrify me here at the end... the Il figlio mio Il figlio mio cries lack desperation (I dont know if it is tonality or color problem)
for me Leontyne is just descent thats why she cannot thill me.. the same way as Anna Netrebko is adequate... and descent or adequate in this operatic repertoire is a huge deal as it demands Enormous Voice b ut unfortunately they cannot thrill me... I have never been Crazy with Leontyne or Anna... I dont go meeehhhh!!! with their singing as I do with so many other singers but they cannot get me crazy with them
Mi è piaciuta dalla prima volta che l’ho sentita e non cambiato la mia opinione negli anni, una bravissima Azucena
Carlo Pietroniro ....posseggo una sua interpretazione del " Ballo in maschera".Splendida!
She's amazing. Heard her first in a radio broadcast long ago, then seen the 2015 version, this, and the '88 version.
Damn it! She's Just Plain Great, - after what? almost thirty years????? Exactly what Verdi wanted.
She is excellent here, but much better in an earlier video of Trovatore starring Pavarotti and Marton. There you could hear her powerful chest voice. Not here at the same extent.
Always a fan of this channel. Wish I could find full Opera's with Subtitiles though
I'm not sure, but is that Jose Cura, the tenor?
It's Marcelo Álvarez.
you can! by downloading the MET APP! it is 20 euros a Month but totally worth it
She truly is a force of Nature.
Amazing. So clean from one note to the next, smooth as butter.
I entirely share this opinion. Mrs Verrett was a very important artist too, with an exceptional talent.
What's not to love and admire???
I want her to sing the national anthem of the United States at YANKEE STADIUM like Robert Merrill used to do!!!
u imply without mic? :D
Lohengrin O Mikes are for sissies, Dolora is no sissy.
in a stadium? without mic? she can do such a thing?
Lohengrin O Who do you think cracked the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia??? YANKEE STADIUM is just slightly bigger than the METROPOLITAN, it's a playpen for Dolora.
but the met has the propor acustic and a stadium dont.
Did you ever hear the duet with Pavarotti where she hits the High C that's written for Azucena? Now that was brilliant singing.
I will post it.. which scene? dont remember Azucena hitting a C6 anywhere...
It's from Azucena's duet with Manrico- 'Non son tuo figlio'. You probably have never heard it because hardly anyone EVER sings this written High C.
you just gave me a new Goal in my life :D
Located it... very impressive considering the fact EVERYBODY omits it but Verret who sadly sings it with so much American accent I really am not sure if I ll post it although Verret's C6 is much cleaner and powerful... (also there is another singer who sings it in Studio but she is the One Who We Must Not Speak Her Name :D.. Your Obratzova and Shahrdad's Akhripova, as well as Simionato etc dont even bother singing it :D
Lohengrin O I think there is a recording of Simionato singing it, but yes it's very seldom sang by anyone.
It's the note that almost takes Azucena into total assoluta territory.
Thank the lord we still have greats like Dolora Zajick still alive and kicking it. The voice is still wonderful, opulent with rich high notes and an even better middle/lower register. The only other Mezzo-Soprano that I can think of that matches this volume of chest voice is Shirley Verrett (in terms of color and roundness though Zajick doesn't dry out around F#4 and upwards).
Voz forte, precisa e bela, viva Dolores.
Precisa???
I wish I liked her middle voice more, it's always a big downturn for me unfortunately. That said, I acknowledge this is most certainly a great voice, and it is always amazing how well developed and solid she has both her high extension and her low chest notes. There is no noticeable "break" between them, they're well connected and equally powerful and colorful.
Because she's not a mezzo but soprano. Sopranos middle voice isn't their strongest register
Excellent...
I love Dolora. Objectively, she was flat throughout many of the passages.
For me, best aria il trovatore
That Tenor oh Lord , Help him.
Gigantic is not the word for it. More like sumptuous like a juicy turkey on Thanksgiving.
*Have a lot Gola and all the voice is in the nose*
Una bellissima voce
Total involvment.
Esta opera fue compuesta por Verdi para Dolora Zajick
Meravigliosa
Splendido!
Un' Azucena fantastica!
Wow nonstop goosebumps
exactly...
EXQUISITA ARIA
This is Obraztsova's role. Azucena, Ulrica and Amneris. Obraztsova spoiled them for me, I cannot listen to any other mezzo singing those roles, I always compare to Obraztsova.
who unfortunately never sang the written C6 by Verdi in her duet with Manrico... she always omitted it
Lohen, can you give me the link to listen to Dolora singing it? By the way, are you a singer yourself?
I found it. Went to check the score, and you're right. There's indeed C6 in an ornament manner, that if ommited, wouldn't mean much...
it only transforms Azucena into an Assoluta role :D that isnt much :D
@@LohengrinO Obratzsova she isn't Assoluta She's a true Dram Mezzo! And for me in this role Obrztsova, Barbieri and Stignani are the best!
Absolutely stellar performance ⭐️⭐️⭐️👌🏻
Non capisco una parola di quello che canta!
Neppure io o.O ????
Lástima éso, más la Caballé y Sutherland también yo no entiendo la pronúncia, pero todas son perfectas cantantes y éso és más importante :-)
Io ho capito ogni parola.
How do you project the lower voice similar to Dolora?
her tops, it's so nasal.
Zajick is fantastic! The greatest mezzo soprano singing today. But this production of Il Trovatore? Dreadful. Everything is dark brown. The sets are dark brown. The costumes are dark brown. It's just ugly. How I long for the days when scenic design and costume design were exciting and colorful.
La voix est immense
Elle est pour moi la meilleure chanteuse pour ce rôle, 🎉😢
What is she singing? What aria from what opera?
Huge upper/lower projection as usual, but the middle voice really disappoints me here... and the phrasing too is a little bit tame for my liking. Plus I almost burst out laughing when she grabbed his hair lol.
Azucena is such an incredibly difficult role, almost an Assoluta role. It requires sustained intensity in the middle of the voice, which to me Zajick kind of fails to do here, I hear tension and an unsteady vibrato rather than a throbbing, thick layer of tonality. The standard for me is Stigani/Simionato, whose range and phrasing in this scene are ridiculously virtuosic.
Something is indeed problematic in her middle.. but the last phrase!!! :D her first Azucena with Pav was much better over all but did not have that immense chest voice at the end... (I really wondered why she grabs the hair as well...I felt awkward)
It's like she never really mastered the passagio enough to support the middle with the same kind of weight or colour.... it sometimes sounds like she is speaking in that register.
But still very theatrical singing and the chest notes are indeed sublime. I always wonder why Podles never became famous in this role, but having heard some of her recordings she seems to have slight problems with the tessitura.
indeed... she speaks... didnt want to mention it to spoil anyone reading me but.. indeed!!
Podleś has been badly underrated both by the greatest scenes and recording companies
Having watched videos of Zajick talking extensively about her technique, I’m fairly certain that everything she does vocally is quite deliberate. She believes in singing the middle like that. It’s not my favorite sound, but it’s definitely a choice.
Quand aux controverses sur l'intonation allez vous faire foutre et écoutez du baroque....cette voix est exceptionnelle ....
Have you ever compared her voice with Ebe Stignani?
Ebe's had more agility, she was like a mezzo soprano dramatico d'agilita, also Ebe's middle voice was also much fuller and richer.. they do compare in chest voice though and perhaps Dolora wins there...also, Ebe never attempted to sing Adalgisa's C6 while Dolora sings Azucena's C6... although, Ebe's recordings come from when she was rather old
Who's the tenor beside her ?
I think he's Marcelo Alvarez
Secondo me nelle note medio-gravi tiene la bocca troppo chiusa...
I have often wondered how she would have fared in dramatic soprano repertoire.
Omg I read farted
@@LohengrinO LOL
She could have outsung anyone presently faching up their rep to do music that's not meant for their voice.
@@MOV1983 It depends on comfort and sustainability.
☠️
I cannot stand listening to Zajick when I can find the same piece done by far better mezzos. She has a distorting and volume restricting tightness that ruins her chest voice for me.
Lol because she's a soprano not mezzo. But this is common in classical music, singers singing in different vocal fach. The terrible middle voice and lack of warmth a true mezzo has is very obvious.
Very late in her career.
Someone actually included this performance of Zajick in a video titled "very bad operatic singing".
I really do not understand.
the phenomenon of admiration and love towards great artists is always accompanied by hatred and despise... There was a video online in youtube were some "Metropolitan Expert of the Asshole" was explaining with arguments!! that Callas was a bad singer... Derranged nobodies hating the Ultra Talented Geniuses mate..
Lohengrin O I agree to the 10TH POWER 👍 this voice is incredible !! Idiots in deed !
Brix Valle Ignore those trolls my friend and follow your OPERATIC ❤, sincerely Arnold Bourbon Amaral
@@arnoldamaral7406 Zajick is a great artist. She is the finest mezzo soprano singing today. One of the trolls said that she had "nasal placement and incomprehensible phrasing". But I ignore such deranged ranting.
Oh God it was that dreadful "This is Opera!" Page wasn't it?
真牛逼，除了普莱斯 就听她的
what year did she sing this
not sure but definitely later in her career... earlier her middle voice was more multi dimensional and rich...
💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞
I must post more Dolora huh?
Still Fedora Barbieri was the best Azucena I ever listened in my life 😜
Open top, squishy face middle, then open bottom 🧐
Yaaaaawn
dont tell me let me guess... Cossoto?
Elle chante du nez.
Her voice may be gigantic, but her emission is totally wrong. Consequently, the intonation is sloppy. It's weird to see this current mediocrity, screaming and howling, next to Maria Callas.
I cannot say that I could easily reverse your argument
Как будто Каллас не была посредственной... Но у Заджик отлично получается, просто она уже в возрасте... Но больше всех в роли Изучены мне нравится, конечно, Архипова...
I fully agree! It's this obsessive vibrato technique, which it seems is taken to be more important than intonation. There are moments when she's visibly concentrating on her technique - a slave to it! For Callas, technique was her servant with clear purpose.
I enjoyed the excerpt nevertheless - for the sheer power and genius of Verdi!