Thank you so much for sharing this rare footage. In 1971, as a college student I had the great fortune to hear Ms. Grist sing at the Vienna State Opera House in Ariadne and heard her performance of this very same aria. I will never forget it! I had never before heard a world class coloratura, the flexibility and athleticism, the musicality and purity of tone. She brought down the house, curtain call, after call, cheers and adulation. I was blown away, and just a bit in love! Well after the performance, I lingered a bit in the hall, and then proceeded to find my way across the Platz -- hoping my some miracle I might stumble on her leaving the House. Just as I was about to leave the square, out she popped from some obscure door, alone, wearing a scarf and sunglasses (it was dark), hoping, I guess not to be recognized. But you could not mistake her. From about ten feet I called to her "Ms. Grist!" She turned her head … "Ms. Grist, it was … it was … it was MUSIC!" She smiled, turned away and said "thank you .." One of the great coloraturas of the century.
This truly is one of the most difficult arias in the coloratura repertoire...grist sings it flawlessly...she had the lungs of a marathoner...her resonance never backed off
I admire her composure while singing this fiendishly difficult aria. That's a long time to be onstage alone. She makes it look and sound so easy - not a hint of insecurity or desperation. Her joy in singing is apparent. Brava, Mdme. Grist.
Why implying it was not easy for Gruberova? Strange. This role made her famous everywhere and for a good reason! Reri Grist is lovely, really charming, but does not trill on the high-D and her tight vibrato is sometimes annoying (just my opinion of course and I much admire her).
@@oliviero.m750 To me the problem with Gruberova is that the voice is unpleasant from top to bottom. Technically she was practically peerless (except for Sutherland).
I totally and completely concur. Her voice is just refined and precise enough to hit the notes perfectly, which is required in this aria. She's given the best performance of this aria that I've heard.
PS:~ I should have added,she make it all sound so easy,the mark of a true artist. Her voice(at the end of the aria) sounds just as fresh and bright as at the start,what an instrument,a real wonder! She was 33 when she sang this.
She is a brilliant actress. Her singing is Georgous. She does a tourde force performance of this aria. She takes you on a journey and she makes it look effortless.
Kathleen modeled her career on Grists. She sang the exact same repertoire almost to the role and Battle even acted on stage in similar ways. I don't want to say who is better, but if you are a Kathleen Battle fan you should be VERY respectful of Reri Grist.
Absolutely. Kathy is astoundingly beautiful, but in this role, Grist had way more ability to sing the tippy top round and beautiful. Battle didn't struggle but you could tell it was effortful on the high E.
I had never heard Grist sing this aria, and I have to say it's one of my favorite renderings. Such an even, coquettish, not-overly-chirpy Zerbinetta. Just delightful!!
A wonderful performance. I saw Reri Grist as Gilda in Verdi's 'Rigoletto' in Covent Garden, her pearl-like voice carried through the thickest orchestration. Marvellous.
Beautiful voice.Great commitment. Gorgeous looking woman. I remember her Gilda at the Met with Pavarotti and Wixell in 1972(?)I also have the audio cassette of the Rigoletto broadcast that year.
I thought Natalie Dessay was the most naturalistic opera singer, but now I think Reri Grist takes the title. Even in the most difficult coloratura passages, nothing about her voice, posture or demeanor is stagy or forced. Otherwise and throughout, an ideal fusion of character, voice, movement. I don't know if anyone has posted the seduction scene from this production, but it is unbelievable to see.
Everybody has their own style and their own gifts. I do feel Grist has a fabulous sense of the music and Battle has a fabulous sense of the character. They are both amazing! Allegra
Grist DID have a great career. She was a major soubrette in her day she sang Sophie, Norina, Oscar, Zerbinetta, etc etc, just like K. Battle. She was a lyric-coloratura with gorgeous technique (way better breathing than Battle who basically tried to be her) and was the first Black singer to sing ALL of those roles in major opera houses. Love her.
I always remember Kiri te Kanawa saying that, when he made her famous debut at Covent Garden as the Contessa in Figaro in the early 70s, the only member of the cast who cold-shouldered her was Grist. Often wondered what the beef was there...
As is obvious many sopranos attempt this "Mt Everest"(thanks for the expression yesblanche) but few succeed. Some give up on the lower slopes and rest on their laurels. A few climb further but run out of air. Very few get to near the top of the peak and are content,or look up and get scared. Well they might,because at the top of the mountain stands proudly Ms Grist,securely at the summit clutching the flag of triumph! I have never heard (or seen) anyone do this better,nor probably will?
Some of the comments are so silly. I heard Grist live, Sills, too. Battle is wonderful, Dessay. Anyone ever hear Mesple? We are blessed to have had so many truly great singers tackle this aria. It is hard because it has everything in it a coloratura must do. These ladies, and other s have done a wonderful job, and the competitive nit picking is silly. But I already said that, so I will sit back and enjoy.
Could not agree more (though Mesple, whom for some reason I never heard live, I love through her recordings). Of course, we all have blind (or should I say "deaf") spots, just as we all have favorites - mine is usually the last one I heard: and I'm sure we could all add to the list. Perhaps like Zerbinetta, when a new goddess comes along, we should just submit in silence.
Ok folks...this is RERI GRIST....over half the posts on this video are about or comparing her to Battle. They were both marvelous...there was room for them both... Please remove your collective mental quotas regarding many black singers are allowed to be at the top. ...and to the individual who made the comment about the "other" soprano's "bleet"...you must be talking about Sumi Jo because Battle's vibrato is marvelous.
Battle's vibrato is perfect up to a D or Eb. Her E later in her peak years could get a little screechy. And she splits the long high E in her performance whereas Grist holds it forever without breathing. I think the reason for the comparisons is the complete shock at why Grist wasn't a household name during her peak years. Battle is the obvious benchmark, because she was. Times changed. But you are right Grist stands on her own.
Reri Grist is not that kind of coloratura soprano where you just want to hear the high notes. No. She developed her voice completely. All the notes emitted by it, from the lowest to the highest, they are beautiful! What an artist. And even today, at 91 years old, she is dedicated to teaching and developing new voices. Tireless!
Freakin amazing! I can't wait to do this aria, someday. I just love Reri, though. But, I wouldn't see her in Lucia type roles, just as I don't see Dessay in them. They might have the range, but, they don't have that dramatic, full sound, in addition. But, wow!
I noticed in my most recent MET playbill that Ms. Grist is no longer teaching in the Lindemann (young artist) program. Anyone know what she's up to? She is a truly magnificent singer with a fascinating story/background.
I think there are many similarities beyond the skin color but it's the fact that they are both black that leads people there. Grist should be among the legends of opera. She had a great career but is not remembered nearly the way she should be, most likely because of her skin color. Battle, who in many ways is a very similar singer who sang the same repertoire was and is a household name. I think that's why people compare them. Grist might have been the better singer, but Battle might have had the slightly more beautiful voice. Grist is better in this role. As Cleopatra Battle had no equal.
I love this...but I must say that, while I did not hear Battle's performances of this at the Royal Opera in the 1980s, I do believe she won an Olivier award for her performances...
Many people miss that Gruberova is a truly great singer, but she is trained in a Slavic style. She is not bad, but the style throws people used to a more Western style.
Yes, I completely agree about Grist and Lucia. She was a smart artist and didn't do roles that didn't suit her and Lucia wouldn't have. It just requires a much heavier, richer sound. I like Dessay but I think Lucia is too heavier for even though she has the coloratura ability and the high notes.
Why always opposing singers? They are all different, and all remarkable Zerbinettas, especially Gruberova, for me the best Zerbinetta of the 20th century.
I really liked this, and if she really had the problems people say she had, I don't think she would have sung so successfully so long...To start, I can`t believe Bohm (of all tyrannical directors) would have engaged and re-engaged such a faulty singer for the Salzburg Festpiele.
i would have loved to hear her in bel canto la sonnambula, i puritani, lucia di lammermoor, maria stuarda, etc she would've killed in the lighter coloratura roles in bel canto
My statement was in response to another negative posting about Ms. Grist and Ms. Battle. Yes you're right Gruberova is a singer to be respected so on those grounds the comment is inappropriate. It's easy to get carried away and make hyperbolic statements on youtube in defense of one's favorite artists...which is why I have removed the comment.
She's numerous pitch problems in that recording, and her top notes are short, pinched, and not anywhere close to as round, full, confident, and beautiful as Grist. If you can't recognize it, the problem lies with your ears.
battles voice is not typical for jazz...when you think of Jazz you think of Ella fitzgerald, sarah vaughan, Nancy Wilson not Kathleen Battle... her voice is all classical... Soubrette and she made great money singing these roles... her voice is suited for spirituals because of the black experience but its also suited for anything coloratura.
Well, her voice is not suited for anything beyond those cute soubrette roles. Reri has a superior higher-extension and so does Hendricks. Battle's voice is pretty and her technique to a high B is flawless. I have problems with her faulty higher-extension.
I'm a die hard Kathy fan and I have to admit, above a B she had trouble. It didn't stay centered, went wild and she approached it always with effort and almost like she was scared. It got spread, which made no sense since she "covered" everything above an E5, so you'd think above a B would be more round but it gets spread wide.
That makes no sense...Kathleen Battle is one of the finest soubrettes the operatic world has seen in the past three decades (who succcessfully tackled a number of light lyric coloratura roles including Zerbinetta, Adina, and Oscar by the way). That being said Ms.Grist is absolutely exquisite. I have yet to hear a finer rendition of this 'Mt. Everest' of the coloratura rep. Ms. Grist is currently one of the master teachers in the MET's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
She accuses of an oscillating vibratto at times that confuses the quality of the notes and mistakes them for an eighteenth-century trill! He does it very well anyway!
I must totally disagree with you....I feel that Grist sand this aria far better than the sopranos you mention....none of the rest of them can sing this piece with as much ease. and WHY MUST YOU ALL CONTINUE TO COMPARE BATTLE AND GRIST!!!! Their sounds are actually quite different....the ONLY reason Battle's name continues to come up is because they are both black singers....and frankly it's annoying and ridiculous....why can't the opera world evovle past this kind of crap!!!!!!!???????
Having "heard" Battle sing this at the Met and being a big fan I cannot agree. Battle was inaudible in this role (even the New York Times mentions the undersinging in its review). This role was a bit much for her. That being said, her Cleopatra was the finest that has ever been sung, possibly some of the most beautiful perfect singing ever on an operatic stage. The night I saw it in 1988 the audience was in shock. Only Sutherland made more of an impression in my opera going years.
Ms. Grist is sublime. A spectacular voice, and so completely genuine on stage. This has become my favorite performance of this aria.
Indeed! She is.
well said!
Thank you so much for sharing this rare footage. In 1971, as a college student I had the great fortune to hear Ms. Grist sing at the Vienna State Opera House in Ariadne and heard her performance of this very same aria. I will never forget it! I had never before heard a world class coloratura, the flexibility and athleticism, the musicality and purity of tone. She brought down the house, curtain call, after call, cheers and adulation. I was blown away, and just a bit in love! Well after the performance, I lingered a bit in the hall, and then proceeded to find my way across the Platz -- hoping my some miracle I might stumble on her leaving the House. Just as I was about to leave the square, out she popped from some obscure door, alone, wearing a scarf and sunglasses (it was dark), hoping, I guess not to be recognized. But you could not mistake her. From about ten feet I called to her "Ms. Grist!" She turned her head … "Ms. Grist, it was … it was … it was MUSIC!" She smiled, turned away and said "thank you .." One of the great coloraturas of the century.
This truly is one of the most difficult arias in the coloratura repertoire...grist sings it flawlessly...she had the lungs of a marathoner...her resonance never backed off
OMG, I was there at the 1964er Salzburger Festspiele where I heard and saw Mme. Grist as Zerbinetta. The performance was „einmalig“.
Paul, what a thrill to have heard Miss Grist in person. A remarkable artist.
He technique is astounding! I can barely believe my ears. I wish I could have heard her live!
I admire her composure while singing this fiendishly difficult aria. That's a long time to be onstage alone. She makes it look and sound so easy - not a hint of insecurity or desperation. Her joy in singing is apparent. Brava, Mdme. Grist.
Reri Grist is the best, and I've heard Battle and Gruberova. It's SO easy for her...
Why implying it was not easy for Gruberova? Strange. This role made her famous everywhere and for a good reason! Reri Grist is lovely, really charming, but does not trill on the high-D and her tight vibrato is sometimes annoying (just my opinion of course and I much admire her).
@@oliviero.m750 ....lol..I hate loose vibrato!
@@oliviero.m750 To me the problem with Gruberova is that the voice is unpleasant from top to bottom. Technically she was practically peerless (except for Sutherland).
I totally and completely concur. Her voice is just refined and precise enough to hit the notes perfectly, which is required in this aria. She's given the best performance of this aria that I've heard.
the best zerbinetta ever. so light and transcends all effort
PS:~
I should have added,she make it all sound so easy,the mark of a true artist.
Her voice(at the end of the aria) sounds just as fresh and bright as at the start,what an instrument,a real wonder!
She was 33 when she sang this.
No one had yet to sing this role like her. Aaaaaamazing
She's my favorite. Absolutely. Never shrill, always warm and SOOO musical.
Stunning! -- the high E in the slow section could melt steel.
She is a brilliant actress. Her singing is Georgous. She does a tourde force performance of this aria. She takes you on a journey and she makes it look effortless.
Kathleen modeled her career on Grists. She sang the exact same repertoire almost to the role and Battle even acted on stage in similar ways. I don't want to say who is better, but if you are a Kathleen Battle fan you should be VERY respectful of Reri Grist.
Absolutely. Kathy is astoundingly beautiful, but in this role, Grist had way more ability to sing the tippy top round and beautiful. Battle didn't struggle but you could tell it was effortful on the high E.
I had never heard Grist sing this aria, and I have to say it's one of my favorite renderings. Such an even, coquettish, not-overly-chirpy Zerbinetta. Just delightful!!
A wonderful performance. I saw Reri Grist as Gilda in Verdi's 'Rigoletto' in Covent Garden, her pearl-like voice carried through the thickest orchestration. Marvellous.
FANTASTIC SINGING - ACTRESS-SPECTACULAR HIGH NOTES-A SUPERB Zerbinetta- my favorite❤️❤️❤️
Beautiful voice.Great commitment. Gorgeous looking woman. I remember her Gilda at the Met with Pavarotti and Wixell in 1972(?)I also have the audio cassette of the Rigoletto broadcast that year.
🙌🏽❤️
I thought Natalie Dessay was the most naturalistic opera singer, but now I think Reri Grist takes the title. Even in the most difficult coloratura passages, nothing about her voice, posture or demeanor is stagy or forced. Otherwise and throughout, an ideal fusion of character, voice, movement. I don't know if anyone has posted the seduction scene from this production, but it is unbelievable to see.
Everybody has their own style and their own gifts. I do feel Grist has a fabulous sense of the music and Battle has a fabulous sense of the character. They are both amazing!
Allegra
WOW!
Perfecto!
the high Ds & Es were so fantastic!
Exactly! I don't understand the need to compare. It's impossible, really. I'm in love with this voice, too!
Grist DID have a great career. She was a major soubrette in her day she sang Sophie, Norina, Oscar, Zerbinetta, etc etc, just like K. Battle. She was a lyric-coloratura with gorgeous technique (way better breathing than Battle who basically tried to be her) and was the first Black singer to sing ALL of those roles in major opera houses. Love her.
she is soooo good! oh my gooood!
Flawless! Amazing!!! Wow! There's no words, only music! By far, my favorite rendition of this aria. Brava diva!
I always remember Kiri te Kanawa saying that, when he made her famous debut at Covent Garden as the Contessa in Figaro in the early 70s, the only member of the cast who cold-shouldered her was Grist. Often wondered what the beef was there...
SPLENDID- THAT HIGH NOTE- WENT ON FOREVER- WOW!😍😍😍😍
As is obvious many sopranos attempt this "Mt Everest"(thanks for the expression yesblanche) but few succeed.
Some give up on the lower slopes and rest on their laurels.
A few climb further but run out of air.
Very few get to near the top of the peak and are content,or look up and get scared.
Well they might,because at the top of the mountain stands proudly Ms Grist,securely at the summit clutching the flag of triumph!
I have never heard (or seen) anyone do this better,nor probably will?
She came out 3 times DURING the show....WOW...miss the good old days when singers could bask in the public's adoration after delivering the goods....
So amazing. Absolutely beautiful
omg i know i love it!!
it sounds so much better that way to me than the way everyone else does it.
i love this woman!!
Charming, beautiful and simply lovely!
Brava Ms. Grist!
Truly great! Definitive.
That was absolutely beautiful! And the ending was sooo cute!
Brava Diva
I could only dream to be this perfect. She is perfection 💓
Bravissima!
OMG....She's amazing!!! And I don't even really care for the coloratura rep. She totally hit this aria out of the park.
Masterful
Thank you for mentioning parcells she was brilliant as well!!
exquisite
FANTASTICAAAAAAAAA
still phenomenal!
Some of the comments are so silly. I heard Grist live, Sills, too. Battle is wonderful, Dessay. Anyone ever hear Mesple? We are blessed to have had so many truly great singers tackle this aria. It is hard because it has everything in it a coloratura must do. These ladies, and other s have done a wonderful job, and the competitive nit picking is silly. But I already said that, so I will sit back and enjoy.
Could not agree more (though Mesple, whom for some reason I never heard live, I love through her recordings). Of course, we all have blind (or should I say "deaf") spots, just as we all have favorites - mine is usually the last one I heard: and I'm sure we could all add to the list. Perhaps like Zerbinetta, when a new goddess comes along, we should just submit in silence.
Agree!
Ok folks...this is RERI GRIST....over half the posts on this video are about or comparing her to Battle. They were both marvelous...there was room for them both...
Please remove your collective mental quotas regarding many black singers are allowed to be at the top.
...and to the individual who made the comment about the "other" soprano's "bleet"...you must be talking about Sumi Jo because Battle's vibrato is marvelous.
Battle's vibrato is perfect up to a D or Eb. Her E later in her peak years could get a little screechy. And she splits the long high E in her performance whereas Grist holds it forever without breathing. I think the reason for the comparisons is the complete shock at why Grist wasn't a household name during her peak years. Battle is the obvious benchmark, because she was. Times changed. But you are right Grist stands on her own.
Sublime!
@jondavwal Also, not to mention that Battle had problems with any note above a high "C".
Reri Grist is not that kind of coloratura soprano where you just want to hear the high notes. No. She developed her voice completely. All the notes emitted by it, from the lowest to the highest, they are beautiful! What an artist. And even today, at 91 years old, she is dedicated to teaching and developing new voices. Tireless!
sempre più favolosa
@pedrofribeiro I heard her sing it at the Met and she was practically inaudible.
CLASS
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
and she looks just as pretty as she sounds.....
Boy, was she cute.....! : p
Freakin amazing! I can't wait to do this aria, someday. I just love Reri, though. But, I wouldn't see her in Lucia type roles, just as I don't see Dessay in them. They might have the range, but, they don't have that dramatic, full sound, in addition. But, wow!
Came here to get the sound of Gruberova out of my ears. Ugh. If Grist had lived 30 years later she would have been a superstar.
I noticed in my most recent MET playbill that Ms. Grist is no longer teaching in the Lindemann (young artist) program. Anyone know what she's up to? She is a truly magnificent singer with a fascinating story/background.
I wonder if there would be so many comparisons betwee Battle and Grist if they didn't share the same skin color. Just a thought.
I think there are many similarities beyond the skin color but it's the fact that they are both black that leads people there. Grist should be among the legends of opera. She had a great career but is not remembered nearly the way she should be, most likely because of her skin color. Battle, who in many ways is a very similar singer who sang the same repertoire was and is a household name. I think that's why people compare them. Grist might have been the better singer, but Battle might have had the slightly more beautiful voice. Grist is better in this role. As Cleopatra Battle had no equal.
I love this...but I must say that, while I did not hear Battle's performances of this at the Royal Opera in the 1980s, I do believe she won an Olivier award for her performances...
@Babs22h It's up, I ran across it not to long ago.
Just wonderful. Did she ever sing die Schweigsame Frau?
Yes, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich with Sawallisch. The video of that performance can be seen here on UA-cam.
Reri Grist exhibits Superior Singing
Reri Grist's voice is like a drug.
Many people miss that Gruberova is a truly great singer, but she is trained in a Slavic style. She is not bad, but the style throws people used to a more Western style.
@couturesixfour LOL-there is no comparison!!!! Grist is FAR BETTER than Battle, especially in higher singing!!!
YES!
Yes, I completely agree about Grist and Lucia. She was a smart artist and didn't do roles that didn't suit her and Lucia wouldn't have. It just requires a much heavier, richer sound. I like Dessay but I think Lucia is too heavier for even though she has the coloratura ability and the high notes.
🎶🎶🎶💎🌈💓
Dessay, Gruberova, Parcells, and Damrau wish they had Grist effortless high notes, musicality and elegance.
Why always opposing singers? They are all different, and all remarkable Zerbinettas, especially Gruberova, for me the best Zerbinetta of the 20th century.
I really liked this, and if she really had the problems people say she had, I don't think she would have sung so successfully so long...To start, I can`t believe Bohm (of all tyrannical directors) would have engaged and re-engaged such a faulty singer for the Salzburg Festpiele.
i would have loved to hear her in bel canto la sonnambula, i puritani, lucia di lammermoor, maria stuarda, etc she would've killed in the lighter coloratura roles in bel canto
My statement was in response to another negative posting about Ms. Grist and Ms. Battle. Yes you're right Gruberova is a singer to be respected so on those grounds the comment is inappropriate. It's easy to get carried away and make hyperbolic statements on youtube in defense of one's favorite artists...which is why I have removed the comment.
To whom are you referring? This is RERI GRIST. I know she's black, but she's not the same person and she's a soubrette, not a lyric.
Please, what do you mean by "jazz" in the context of Battle's singing?
She's numerous pitch problems in that recording, and her top notes are short, pinched, and not anywhere close to as round, full, confident, and beautiful as Grist. If you can't recognize it, the problem lies with your ears.
JUST MESMERIZING!!
battles voice is not typical for jazz...when you think of Jazz you think of Ella fitzgerald, sarah vaughan, Nancy Wilson not Kathleen Battle... her voice is all classical... Soubrette and she made great money singing these roles... her voice is suited for spirituals because of the black experience but its also suited for anything coloratura.
Well, her voice is not suited for anything beyond those cute soubrette roles. Reri has a superior higher-extension and so does Hendricks. Battle's voice is pretty and her technique to a high B is flawless. I have problems with her faulty higher-extension.
I'm a die hard Kathy fan and I have to admit, above a B she had trouble. It didn't stay centered, went wild and she approached it always with effort and almost like she was scared. It got spread, which made no sense since she "covered" everything above an E5, so you'd think above a B would be more round but it gets spread wide.
Love Battle-but her very top notes are NOT pretty! Whereas Grist's, Sutherland's Devia's and Price's ARE effortless!
That makes no sense...Kathleen Battle is one of the finest soubrettes the operatic world has seen in the past three decades (who succcessfully tackled a number of light lyric coloratura roles including Zerbinetta, Adina, and Oscar by the way). That being said Ms.Grist is absolutely exquisite. I have yet to hear a finer rendition of this 'Mt. Everest' of the coloratura rep. Ms. Grist is currently one of the master teachers in the MET's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
She accuses of an oscillating vibratto at times that confuses the quality of the notes and mistakes them for an eighteenth-century trill! He does it very well anyway!
I must totally disagree with you....I feel that Grist sand this aria far better than the sopranos you mention....none of the rest of them can sing this piece with as much ease. and WHY MUST YOU ALL CONTINUE TO COMPARE BATTLE AND GRIST!!!! Their sounds are actually quite different....the ONLY reason Battle's name continues to come up is because they are both black singers....and frankly it's annoying and ridiculous....why can't the opera world evovle past this kind of crap!!!!!!!???????
Prefer Battle. Grist sounds labored at times.
Get an ear exam!
Having "heard" Battle sing this at the Met and being a big fan I cannot agree. Battle was inaudible in this role (even the New York Times mentions the undersinging in its review). This role was a bit much for her. That being said, her Cleopatra was the finest that has ever been sung, possibly some of the most beautiful perfect singing ever on an operatic stage. The night I saw it in 1988 the audience was in shock. Only Sutherland made more of an impression in my opera going years.