Most grating
Many tears will be shed in heaven today by Nellie Melba, Claudia Muzio, Lotte Lehmann, Adelina Patti and (we suppose) the young Jill Gomez, since none of them made the list of "The 20 Greatest Sopranos of All Time" featured in the April issue of BBC Music. (Don't bother to click on that link, since the content isn't online.) The magazine's panel of "experts" selected the following 20 divas in ascending order of greatness:
20. Elly Ameling
19. Rosa Ponselle
18. Renata Tebaldi
17. Christine Brewer
16. Elisabeth Schumann
15. Karita Mattila
14. Gundula Janowitz
13. Galina Vishnevskaya
12. Régine Crespin
11. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
10. Emma Kirkby
9. Kirsten Flagstad
8. Margaret Price
7. Lucia Popp
6. Montserrat Caballé
5. Birgit Nilsson
4. Leontyne Price
3. Victoria de los Angeles
2. Joan Sutherland
1. Maria Callas
POSTED at
11:35 AM
96 Comments:
My mom is no. 1--how nice! Too bad she did not live to see it. While she lived it truly was a different story; she might not have even made the list.
Its a very UK list isnt it.
"Its a very UK list isnt it."
Oh yes it is! Sutherland/M. Price/Schwarzkopf (post nazi, an honorary Brit). Not to mention Emma Kirkby! I mean: huh?
Yeah, Emma Kirkby, WTF? Not that she was bad, but ... where are Scotto, Sills, Freni, Dame Gwyneth, Astrid Varnay ...? I'd even list Natalie Dessay, or maybe Devia or Gencer. Perhaps I haven't heard enough of VDLA, but #3 seems a little high for her.
I like that Christine Brewer's on there, but it seems slightly premature.
Brett--
VDLA, IMHO, definitely deserves a top-10 ranking. You probably haven't heard enough of her! Try the Manon, or Falla's Seven Popular Songs. You owe it to yourself...
I've never read anything nice from the UK press regarding Sills--what a shame!
Frcohn - why are you heading your list of UK singers with Sutherland?
If I thought this list meant anything (which I don't) I would be more concerned with the lack of temporal spread than geographical spread. Did almost all of the 20 greatest sopranos of all time really have most of their careers in the second half of the twentieth century?
Ok, nothing against her and all, and these lists are by nature impossible, but...Elly Ameling? Fer serious?
I haven't read the article, but a news story about the list said that it was a list of the panel's favorite sopranos.
In my view, VDLA probably belongs where she is--but Rosa Ponselle so close to the bottom? Behind Kirkby? Wha? Maybe this is based on CD sales. Kirkby was popular and efficient, if a little colorless and not terribly versatile.
It is indeed very UK! WTF is La Superba in the no. 6 spot? Technically speaking, she was the greatest soprano ever! What a funny list!
Except Montsy seemed to ignore she had register breaks, while Callas actually negotiated them expressively. Well, that's how it is to my ears.
Very curious indeed! I am surprised the Brits didnt mention Dame Te Kanawa.
I adore...I mean I really adored and adore Lucia Popp, but she just don't belong on this list. Lisa Della Casa maybe to represent that fach. And Ameling? Kirkby? Lord!
If I was Beverly Sills, I'd feel terrible, even bitter! And who the freak is Emma Kirkby?
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In what universe is M. Price listend ABOVE Flagstad? I mean, come on!
I'm not (necessarily) trying to slam Sutherland--and certainly not M Price. Just saying the probably loom larger on the cultural landscape in the UK than elsewhere.
There are two Brits on the list (plus one who became a British citizen in her 40s and who I don't think anybody would claim as a British singer). That's the same number as the number of Spaniards and one less than the number of Germans and Americans. And I'm sure Dame Kiri would be as insulted at being thought of as British as Dame Joan would be. (Here's a clue: you don't have to be British to be a Dame!).
Now, if we really are going to stack the list in our favour, let's have Dame Eva Turner!
Tebaldi #18 - OUCH! You know she's pissed.
Leaving off Sills is a SIN!
K. Mattila (whom I LOVE!)but not Zinka Milanov? C'mon, now something's just WRONG with that. The woman who gave us, quite possibly, the greatest High B-flat pianissimo EVER, not one of the greatest?
(ok, a little precise but... honestly?!)
I think it was also the BBC mag that listed the greatest opera recordings of all time and the top ten was populated by recordings of either British operas or recordings conducted by the last name of Davis (Colin or Andrew).
So yeah, the list would be more interesting if it weren't so biased.
Also, very few singers from before the 50s are listed. No Sayao, none of Flagstad's predecessors and contemporaries.
For obvious reasons, I think LEONIE should be somewhere on this list....Or did she not sing enough at Covent Garden to qualify?
I suppose the only solution is for us to make our own Top Twenty lists.
You're on, Rysanekfreak!
Here's my very own top 20:
20. Anna Netrebko
19. Barbara Frittoli
18. Dorothea Roschmann
17. Elizabeth Futral
16. Birgit Nilsson
15. Regine Crespin
14. Joan Sutherland
13. Katia Ricciarelli
12. Victoria de los Angeles
11. Anna Moffo
10. Beverly Sills
9. Edita Gruberova
8. Renata Tebaldi
7. Renee Fleming
6. Karita Mattila
5. Natalie Dessay
4. Maria Callas
3. Ileana Cotrubas
2. Angela Gheorghiu
1. Montserrat Caballe
I have to leap to the defense of Elly Ameling, a truly superlative artist. She's definitely in my top 3 sopranos. And in terms of total commitment to singing as art, Ameling is number one - by a long shot.
David mentions Eva Turner ... She is one of five sopranos listed on the front cover as 'top-rated but forgotten voices'. Erm ... not an easy voice to forget, even if she was not the most subtle or insightful artist. The other four on this little lis are Inge Borkh, Wilhelmine Schroeder-Devrient, Marian Malibran and Mary Garden. Arbitrary or what?
Kash, I've always felt that the British press in particular have never given Colin Davis his due, particularly in the 70s when he had a rocky tenure at CG, and was doing his best orchestral conducting in Amsterdam and Boston. I've always thought they were much harder on him than was rational, until very lately. That said, the British musical press is laughably biased towards their own. Gramophone, for instance, takes itself extraordinarily seriously. It also tends to publish thinly-veiled and perhaps unintentional bits of anti-American tidbits, such as the irritations one might encounter in the new English language recording of Hansel & Gretel, owing to those grating and just naturally inappropriate American accents.
I can't imagine why Kirkby would be on that list and not Eva Turner, or Milanov. I enjoyed Popp's singing early in her career, but didn't think she would be among the "top twenty" once she gave up the soubrette repertoire. And OC--thank you, thank you for placing La Superba at the top of your list. I know all of her "faults"--being a bit lazy with some fiorature, not having an easy top or trying to sing trills much of the time--but when one looks at the broad range of repertoire she sang so well, she really was one magnificent artist.
and can I hear a Freni from the house.
opera chanteuse, i think the jury is still out on many of your picks... i mean, with many of the current singers, it's too early to consecrate them. just my opinion.
and i'll say this again, WHO THE FREAK is kirkby????? who are these people who made this list? they forgot celine dion or beyonce too...
WHAT??? No RENEE??? How can this list be taken SERIOUSLY???
All jokes aside, it isn't THAT bad though some are quite questionable considering the entire century. Most of them most certainly DO belong on the list. I agree that Brewer is a tad premature but Mattila is not. Record sales notwithstanding, I do believe that the Finn will go down in history with greater regard than Fleming.
My personal addition: The greatest singer of the century and this one, period...
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Sure, for most of her career she identified as a mezzo but, early on, she did roles more identified with sopranos (i.e., Donna Elvira, Susanna, Theodora).
Celtic Goddess - I definitely agree about Mattila. As for LHL--slippery slope, slippery slope. A lot of mezze / mezzos have sung several soprano roles, and vice versa. We should just make a separate list for the lower female voices. I vote for Christa Ludwig as an undisputed #1.
For some reason for me the fact that Brewer is there vexes me the most. It seems that she is there so that there is a German-wing singer besides Nilsson. I suppose Elisabeth Schumann counts in lighter German rep. And I'll take Lisa Della Casa over Gundula Janowitz any day of the week. But seriously ... Rysanek, Varnay, Jones, Behrens, Traubel, Farrell ... hell Anny Konetzni ... definitely a British listing, because Brewer is much more popular on that side of the Atlantic than Voigt ... interesting that Fleming, Gheorghiu, and Netrebko were not listed ... it goes to show that the previous generation will always feel like THE Golden Age.
How about all the great ladies who inspired the composers to write these roles in the first place??? I'd say folks like Pasta, Grisi, Malibran, Sophie Loewe, Strepponi, Rethberg, Jeritza, Cuzzoni, all of them inspired the great music.
And it always breaks my heart that Gencer and Olivero don't make such lists. They were truly the best of the best.
I agree that of today's singers, the only one who has earned her spot is Karita Mattila. As for the others, either it's too early to tell, or they're not great enough.
My list would include Varnay, Olivero, Freni and Norman -- all remarkable for different reasons and certainly more remarkable than some of the sopranos who did make it on that list.
Never heard Callas, Flagstad, Brewer, Schumann, Kirkby or Ponselle ... These are all great singers, but ... of ALL TIME?
Such lists are always ridiculous. (True, they are MORE ridiculous if Sills is on them.)
And Ponselle should really have been number 1.
Ameling was charming, charming -- but -- instead of Gencer or Nordica or Destinn or Trnina, or Sembrich or Lilli Lehmann or Malibran or Pasta or Schumann-Heink? C'mawn.
Well, the list definitely reflects the singers favoured by the British musical scenes, anyways. Which, I am sorry to say, misses out on a large portion of the opera world.
Sorry, but Dessey, Netrebko, Flemming, or Brewer, and a number of other 'modern' sopranos just don't belong on that list. From artistry to vocal production, they would have been shut out of every generation until now. A. Marc would go on that list long before they did, and I wouldn't put her there at the moment.
Ditto on Emma Kirkby and Ameling.
I place a question mark beside Price and Janowitz for different reasons.
I guess as always, it goes to what we determine as 'great.' Unique vocal timbre, technical proficiency, musical accuracy-sings what the composer wrote-, size of voice, artistry - not to be confused with distorted liberties, are the main ones for me.
And I don't have to like the 'colour' of a voice to consider it great.
As always, I could change this list any day of the week, because the fact is, there have been a lot of wonderful sopranos, its only now we are experiencing a dearth of these wonderful creatures....
20 L. Price
19. Melba
18. Grummer
17. L.Pons
16.Ponselle
15.Oliviero
14.Bori
13.Milanov
12.Callas
11.Devia
10.Tebaldi
9.Pagliughi
8.Della Casa
7.Novotna
6.Sutherland
5.Caballe
4.Schwarzkopf
3.Nilsson
2.Jeritza
1.Tetrazzini
What about Rethberg? More deserving than Pagliughi, surely! I'd put Galli_Curci before Pagliughi - same sort of voice and repertoire.
Galina Vishnevskaya??!!!!
Has anyone HEARD her? She can twang cello strings at fifty yards.
Could I say a word for Licia Albanese? (as well, of course, for Scotto, Lehmann, Flagstad, Freni)
I can't understand why a list that looks like that leaves off Joan Cross!
Devia_Fan: now THAT is a list!
They may as well shoved Eva Turner and even Dame Evadne Brackett in the list
Isn't it Hilda Brackett (Evadne Hinge)? But I agree, and they might as well have had Leslie Garrett and Kate Bush.
strange list. but then lists always only reflect the opinion of the panel, so for a british magazine of course the brits (or also brits by acceptance) will make a stronger showing. at least by including kirkby they have given a nod to the baroque movement, which usually doesnt get much mentioning in operatic lists.
mattila making it is great, as she truly deserves it!
ameling i cant comment on as i dont know her well but of course there have been many left out. luckily leonie has already been mentioned, as well as gruemmer. and of course inge borkh, who seems to be still very much alive and kicking!
and where the heck is julia varady?!
I agree that the list is based on the preferences of a British ear, so I don't think I will say anymore about that. Here is my list of favorite sopranos:
20. Dame Joan Sutherland
19. Anja Silja
18. Karita Mattila
17. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
16. Regine Crespin
15. Lisa della Casa
14. Montserrat Caballe
13. Diana Soviero
12. Elisabeth Grümmer
11. Christa Ludwig
10. Fiorenza Cossotto tied with Giulietta Simionato
9. Mirella Freni
8. Leonie Rysanek
7. Birgit Nilsson
6. Astrid Varnay
5. Dame Gwyneth Jones
4. Zinka Milanov
3. Leontyne Price (in her prime)
2. Maria Callas
1. Renata Tebaldi
Now, this list changes week to week depending on which repertoire I like to listen to, but I go nuts for Verdi and Wagner so some singers might appear on this list more often than others.
I can't understand the omission of Sills, that is a major crime.
My List Is as follows.
20: Tetrazinni
19: Melba
18: Valerie Masteron
17: Margaret Price
16: Elena Souliotis
15: Sylvia Sass
14: Renata Scotto
13: Lucia Popp
12: Montserrat Caballe
11: Rosa ponselle
10: Natalie Dessay
9: Lauren Flannigan
8: Beverly Sills
7: Aprile Millo
6: Birgit Nilsson
5: Ghena Dimitrova
4: Loony June Anderson
3: Mirella Freni
2: Rosalind Plowright
1: Maria Callas
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No Viardot, no Patti, no Melba, No Mary Garden, No Fremstad, No Leider, No Jennie Lind
Here's my list, for all it matters, only NOT in ascending order of importance (I just can't)
All these singers, in my opinion, did something to put their stamp on vocal performance and artistic excellence, some changed the world of singing.
1. Maria Callas
2. Rosa Ponselle
3. Lotte Lehmann
4. Irmgard Seefried
5. Astrid Varnay
6. Dame Joan Sutherland
7. Kirsten Flagstad
8. Eileen Farrell
9. Lisa della Casa
10. Jessye Norman
11. Sena Jurinac
12 Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
13. Nellie Melba
14. Renata Scotto
15. Elisabeth Schumann
16. Frieda Leider
17. Victoria de Los Angeles
18. Regine Crespin
19. Leonie Rysanek
20. Emma Kirkby.
All these people, to my mind, had distinctive timbres, some techincal perfection, some had that extra something, a communicativeness that is extraordinary (I'm thinking of Rysanek and Seefried in particular here). And yes, Emma Kirkby too. I know that in north america the whole Authentic performance practice movement is an anathema, but seriously, in Europe it is one of the major influences in the past 30 years on musical performance. Emma Kirkby, for better or for worse, is the sole harbringer of the modern vocal method in approaching 15-18 century music, at least in the old world, and as such, she is indispensible in producing such a least, no matter how much you abhor this kind of vocal technique. For herself, I believe she is singing with her natural voice, and doesn't use any sort of vocal "apparatus" to flatten the sound. That she influenced a plethora of young singers, it is unquestionable. No list of 20th century sopranos can avoid her, hate her or love her. BTW she had quite a considerable carrying power, in pretty large halls. It is a remarkable (sometimes frustrating) artist, and a wonderful one in 17th century italian and english music.
Left out are some fantastic singers, that have, alas, similar variants of the same fach in the list. Thus, no Anita Cerquetti, Gwyneth Jones, Inge Borkh, Luisa Tetrazzini, Claudia Muzio, Giannina Arrangi-Lombardi (a DEFINITE favourite of mine), Teresa Zyllis-Gara, Elisabeth Grummer, etc etc.
I have also left out many prominent singers of nowadays, simply because I think they haven't earned the status. A possible list of more contemporary sopranos might include, for example, Angela Gheorghiu, Mireille Delunsch, Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski (for sheer vocal perfection) and possible, with a view for the future, the young and utterly talented Genia Kuhmeier. Serach her at YOUTUBE singing "Ach, ich fuhl's" for one of the most heardrending performances ever.
Now, what about mezzos? My list would include, for example:
1. Christa Ludwig
2. Marilyn Horne
3. Ernestine Schumann-Heink
4. Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
5. Dame Janet Baker
6. Waltraud Meier (now THATS a fascinating modern singer)
7. Teresa Berganza
8. Giulietta Simionato
9. Ebe Stignani
10. Margarete Klose
11. Bernarda Fink
12. Cecilia Bartoli (for re-inventing a complete new fach for herself and uncovering dormant repertoire, though I do loathe her sometimes)
13. Irene Minghini-Cattaneo
14. Vesselina Kazarova
15. Susan Graham
16. Olga Borodina
17. Shirley Verrett
18. Marjana Lipovsek
19. Frederica von Stade
20. poor Agnes Baltsa (in the late 70s. Later it bacame monstrous. But those blazing early years are cherishable).
As you can well see, this list comprises far more contemporary singers. Just the way I feel.
Newcomers to watch for might be Joyce DiDonato, Maite Beaumont, Magdalena Kozena and the WONDERFUL Lilli Paasikivi from Finland. A beautiful voice, wonderful diction and musicianship, and loads of temperament. Just heard her Fricka in relay from Berlin. To die for.
for now, no altos (Oralia Dominguez, Kathy Ferrier, Sara Mingardo, Clara Butt and Marian Anderson will do).
Cerquetti-Farrell,
Great list. Love Norman.
What about Troyanos or von Otter on the mezzo list?
Joe
I have been reading this blog for a couple years and have never posted.....UNTIL now. :) Here is my top ten- Might be a little random, but there is a connection. I just think these women had some of the most amazing, beautiful voices ever. Kirstin Flagstad does not need a list though, she surpasses all...or at least i think she does.
10. Martina Arroyo
9. Claudia Muzio
8. Anna Moffo
7. Aprile Millo
6. Birgit Nilsson
5. Virginia Zeani
4. Leontyne Price
3. Maria Callas
2. Renata Tebaldi
1. Rosa Ponselle
I love opera, but I guess I'm not an opera queen, because despite being gay, I don't really care about singers enough to be able to make even a Top 5 sopranos/whatever. Well, OK, Birgit Nilsson I care about because she actually can sing Turandot and Elektra and Isolde without straining, but otherwise, composers are where it's at for me.
But of course this was not a list of the great sopranos, it was a list of the great sopranos on LP, or anyway after stereo came in. Then it sort of makes sense. Inexcusable omissions nonetheless.
Well, Decca and EMI were British companies, weren't they? And nearly all those singers owed much of their fame to recordings put out on those labels or their affiliates and off-shoots. That's why Gencer and Zeani aren't on the lists, if you must know. And Rysanek isn't there because she really wasn't very good in the recording studio ... no really she was not ... she needed living people out there or she just didn't take off. (Whereas singers like von Otter are only any good in the studio.) And Sills isn't there not (only) because the judges have good taste but because she seldom recorded for a major label. (Did Varnay?) And there it is in a nutshell, friends.
"where the heck is julia varady?!"
Off the list where she belongs. ;-)
I could easily do a 40 Favorites, but if it's 20 Great 20th-century sopranos recording after World War I, let me go with....
20. Crespin
19. Jeritza
18. Gencer
17. Traubel
16. Varnay
15. Flagstad
14. Sayao
13. Farrell
12. Freni
11. Tebaldi
10. Milanov
9. Ponselle
8. Olivero
7. Sutherland
6. Caballe
5. Muzio
4. L. Price
3. Nilsson
2. Callas
1. Rysanek
To be a bit catty, I find the suggestion that it's tasteful to leave out Sills on such a list a bit ... tasteless itself. That woman had a voice and she had artistry. Even if she ornamented more than anyone in recent memory, she always had a dramatic reason. She would belong up there.
I Could Never, ever, ever pick a list of the top 20 sopranos ever. i can do a list of my top 20 sopranos singing today:
1. Karita Mattila
2. Deborah Voight
3. Patricia Racette
4. Natalie Dessay
5. Aprile Millo
6. Adrianne Piezckona
7. Violeta Urmana
8. Diana Damirau
9. Angela Gheorghiu
10. Anna Netrebko
11. Dorothea Rossmann
12. Elizabeth Futral
13. Julia Migenes (Yes, she's still singing, just not here.)
14. Renee Fleming
15. Christine Brewer
16. Isabel Bayrakdarian
17. Cyndia Sieden
18. Daniele DiNise
19. Ruth Ann Swenson
20. Linda Watson
I got a Mezzo list, too, if anyone wants it.
Speaking of Rysanek, next week on Sirius is going to be an interesting Rysanek double-header.
They will do the 1960 "Nabucco," which most people admit was an unfortunate experience, a major career mistake. But the cast also includes Siepi, so I guess the lawyers really have straightened that problem out and the big Siepi mine has been re-opened.
More importantly, Sirius will do a 1968 "Walkure" with Nilsson, Rysanek, Ludwig, Vickers, and Stewart, conducted by Klobucar. This just makes me wish they would include Milton Cross's descriptions of the curtain calls because I seem to remember the audience was...how-you-say?...quite frenzied during the Act One curtain calls for this one.
Holy shit, Kirkby?? How very....English.
You want to hear a soprano in early music who can sing, whose voice has body and enormous expressiveness, you need to hear Montserrat Figueras.
LHL was a devestating artist, possibly the greatest I ever heard live, with Mattila a close second.
Margarete Arndt-Ober and Conchita Supervia belong on those mezzo lists, please.
in all due respect but lists never do it. some voices work very well live and not in recordings and vice versa. maybe one should do a list of the top 10 sopranos to see live (and then one can only register still active singers...)
to christian schwarz ... how come cossotto ties with simionato when it was about sopranos. true cossotto sang some soprano parts but simionato for all i know was always a mezzo.
in the end its down to preference in any case, like everything when it comes to voices.
my top 5 of female singers one needs to see and hear live ( ... and yes its only ones that are still actively singing):
1. karita mattila
2. anja silja
3. waltraud meier
4. nelly miricioiu
5. rosalind plowright
thats just the ones that spring to my mind, as most of the above are served better by seeing them as well, in contrast to merely hearing them. i adore mattila but strangely always find her recordings a bit wanting (apart from maybe her live don carlos), as they don't convery what she usually does on stage... fabulous and wonderful singer nonetheless!!!
Isn't today (Mar 16) the magnificent Christa Ludwig's natal day?
Is this list more of a reflection of the contributions these women made to opera or their repetoire in general? I find this list to be not at all accurate. I am not a fan of Emma Kirby but she has done a lot for early music. I would have loved to of seen Dame Janet Baker on the list. Also, Rise Stevens and Beverly Sills both made opera a more popular art form in the US. Sills b/c she was such an outstanding personality and entrepreneur and Stevens for being a successful film actress as well. I also think Licia Albanese should have been on the list for all she has done and continues to do for young singers. The woman is as old as God and still goes out of her way to champion young singers. Also, I think Zeani should be on there for being a beautiful voice but also a prolific teacher. She has had many successful students throughout the years, Elizabeth Futral being one of them. OK. Those are just a few of my thoughts.
The greatest sopranos of all times, why would anyone sincere attempt such a phoney list... Or is it at least greatest sopranos OF sound registration era? Because otherwise, this list should contain e.g. Aloysia Weber, Giuditta Pasta and Farinelli. Hehe.
Someone earlier made a valid observation that the list seems to be made up of sopranos who recorded prominently. That's presumably why singers like Varnay and Olivero aren't included. We know them today mainly from live recordings.
What is for sure is that whatever way one looks at it, it's always going to be wrong... I mean, this artform is just that... art, and is non-quantifiable and only judgemental.
It's always interesting to see everyone's tastes though in these posts.
Lord knows what the makers of that list had as their criteria...
But yeah, I definitely wouldn't be including Emma Kirkby, personally, and YES, Brewer in there is far too premature. I'm surprised they didn't put Ree-nee in there... lol.
This list is horribly stupid.
All listings like this can be mildly fun, but are stupid.
The Brits have never, EVER known shite about singing or good singers. This list is no surprise, considering from whence it came.
And where was Suzanne Glanville? :)
I'm sure if they did a list of the 20 greatest tenors, Ian Bostridge would be right at the top.
Why all the furor over this list? Who appointed BBC Music the "last" word on the subject of music and singers, in particular. They're entitled to their narrow-minded opinions, as are we all.
My understanding that the list was the top 20 recorded sopranos. Which like every list, is meaningless. So it's not really worth getting into a lather about. We all have our own top 20 - and nobody can take that away. Calm down - it's not the end of the world.
Although I really have to take issue with the remark that 'The Brits have never, EVER known shite about singing or good singers' That's not really true from a nation that thinks Phlegming can sing Handel, now is ir?
If Varady had ever turned up in person, I'm sure she'd have made the list...
Soile Isokoski - that foxed you. And how's about Nina Stemme? See what I mean? It ain't easy...
Let's look on the bright side, folks. They didn't include Charlotte Church.
Goddamnit!
20. Cheryl Studer
19. Cheryl Studer
18. Cheryl Studer
17. Cheryl Studer
16. Cheryl Studer
15. Cheryl Studer
14. Cheryl Studer
13. Cheryl Studer
12. Cheryl Studer
11. Cheryl Studer
10. Cheryl Studer
09. Cheryl Studer
08. Cheryl Studer
07. Cheryl Studer
06. Cheryl Studer
05. Cheryl Studer
04. Cheryl Studer
03. Cheryl Studer
02. Cheryl Studer
01. Cheryl Studer
Well, this has generated a lot of interest! I do get tired of comments where a fan of a particular singer shows his appreciation by insulting others. One of the wonderful things about us is that we all hear things in different ways and respond accordingly. This is why we can all have fun being astonished, shocked, disappointed or smug when we compare others' views with our own.
I will echo the point which some have raised about the difference between hearing someone through a recording and live. To my ears Gwyneth Jones sounded thrilling whenever I heard her live, but I am never wholly comfortable with just listening to her recordings.
There are others where the reverse was true and some, like Janet Baker (yes, mezzo, I know) who sounded much the same live as on recordings.
By the way, Irminsul, another English music mag. did a similar survey a little while ago and where tenors were concerned Bostridges were absent, but the winner was that well-known Brit Jussi Bjorling.
Two words:
Eleanor Steber.
personally as I am such a young fan I don't have the experience of hearing the greats of the past live so I'm just kind of going by what I've heard however to tottaly discredit the singers of today is not fair so I have included many singers still singing today.
Natalie Dessay
Sumi Jo
Annick Massis
Birgit Nilsson
Kirstin Flagstad
Victoria De Los Angeles
Beverly Sills
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf
Kiri Te Kanawa
Roberta Peters
Kathleen Battle
Angela Gheorghiu
Lucia Popp
Luciana Serra
Anna Moffo
Jane Eaglen
Christine Brewer
Ruth Ann Swenson
Gianna D'Angelo
Montserrat Caballé
As a long term reader of parterre, I suddenly feel incredibly unwelcome. The snidery and sniping at British people, music critics, singers and musical taste in this thread is deeply unpleasant. For shame.
Do not forget those great Handel sopranos Faustina and Cuzzoni, and the amazing Miss Piggy, whose Aida stunned Beverley Sills.
Jon -- please forgive those of us on this side of the Atlantic. We just get so intimidated when we realize that the darlings of the Metropolitan aren't as beloved the world over. I for one would be destitute without some of the brilliant British artists, especially Dame Baker.
If this list proves anything- it proves how silly these lists are. I have to say though- as bad as the list that started all this is might be, it is nothing compared to some of the alternative suggested lists - most of them are laughable! i.e. Sutherland not even on one of them- and Mezzo's creeping in here or there.
The whole thing is a joke.
Yea Jon - get real Mate. The Americans are great people but most of them have never seen an Atlas that goes beyond the Atlantic. The best geography book they've got is called "Us,Us,Us and Oil" - forgive them! :)
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, just goes to show that sometimes ppl will read what they will (top-bottom processes, anybody?).
I put Dame Joan on my list (if only for her Salce aria on The Art of the Primadonna album which goes to show how great an artist she could have REALLY been) and I had 2 separate lists for sopranos 'n' mezzos. thanx for the attention.
For those into lists, how about drawing up a list of the greatest sopranos who were most undeservedly neglected by the recording companies - I'm talking about studio recordings, not pirated live performances. No need for 20 ... 5 will do.
That's a great idea. Gencer would be there, obviously. Steber, too. Felicia Weathers. Ilva Ligabue. Cecilia Gasdia.
Flying the Brit flag, (that 'jon' post was me up there, I logged in via google instead of Blogger by mistake) I'd add Kathryn Harries and Jean Rigby, although they're essentially mezzos.
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While I can think of many names that I would like to see on there and a few that I might prefer not see, a listing like this is never really a fair measure of an artist.
Take two of my favorite sopranos, Sutherland and Leontyne Price. Glad that they're up there, I suppose, but if you ever asked me to rank one above another, I'd have to ask you a simple but often forgotten question:
"Singing what?"
Since their recorded complete roles only overlap a few times, can the two really be adequately compared? How about de los Angeles and Nilsson? (or an even scarier comparison, Janowitz and Vishnevskaya!)
If we were to assume that this list is entirely pro-UK, which it can't be, where's Heather Harper? Joan Carlyle? Elizabeth Harwood?
I think leaving out Sills is nigh on criminal. You undoubtedly have your own opinion. That's what's so wonderful about the world of art. Every person sees something different, and nobody can tell anybody else that they're wrong.
And what about Martha Modl, the Isolde, Kundry, Leonoren and Walkure not for all time but for ever. Why one always refers to Nilsson who was probably unforgettable in live because of a strong and majestuous voice but is boring and without consistence on record. Very striking is that after The last scene of Salome recently put on the blog, a blogger "recognized" Nilsson because of its fabulous interpretation. The interpretation was effectively fabulous, thus it could not be Nilsson and it was not Nilsson.
Great post from bassfioritura. Any such list is going to be apples and oranges. It's interesting that the major objections have been to Kirkby, Ameling, Popp and Janowitz; and that the major stated omissions have been singers who largely worked in the Italian rep. Dementia apparently equals Donizetti.
The comparisons are hilarious, however. I love all singers involved but the thought of De Los Angeles' Brunnhilde versus Nilsson's Mimi... Janowitz's Lady M versus Vishnevskaya's Agathe... they've set my internal jukebox thrumming with very odd sounds.
Caniglia is on on nobody's list, and Amelita GC is being ignored. The youtube recordings of Ernestina SH and Tetrazini are of old ladies whose voices were gone or going, and they sound like your local church choir diva, even though the 2 ladies were very beloved and had great careers a century ago.
I think BassFiortura has made om great points....well, so have a lot of people. And as I stated in my own list, it is always open to change every week; comparisons between fachs etc are just darned difficult.
I can't speak for others, but my primary objection to Galli_Curci is that history records from the beginnning she had a lot of trouble with singing flat. I don't think this was spite, but truth, and her goiter condition would certainly explain its cause. Her main appeal was that she? Recorded well. Hmmm..is this a familiar complaint we have today?
Tetrazinni was never accused of singing flat in the house, though I am sure she had moments. If she sounded like an old lady in her recordings, its probably because she was at the time. The recordings I have of her she most certainly does NOT sound old, or flat.
Anyways, right or wrong, thats my rationale for feeling fairly confident about not including Galli_Curci.
What is very interesting IS to read the different tastes reflected in people's selections- in spite of some of consensus around Tebaldi and Caballe. There does appear to be a British taste, a North American taste, and a Continental taste.
An excellent example is Devia. She is VERY popular on the continent, but only for the connessiuers in North America. She does not record very much, but from all I have managed to see and hear, this women sings about as closely to perfect as you can come. And age only continues to ripen her without her ever losing that top. I think she is the greatest singer alive, next to Caballe.
And I mean that including all the lads too.
Of course, this is all opinion, but there it is.
Cheers.
No one has listed Lotte Lehman yet. Someone on youtube named Glenmed has just in the last couple days posted a couple of songs sung a century ago by Tetrazzini, and her voice comes off better than I have heard her. She was Loud and must have mastered singing into a horn better than some other divas.
I would also like to say how sad it is that visitors of this site had to resort to intolerance and prejudice.
When I read the magazine last week, I was surprised. But just a few points. The list is not just a list of opera singers, which I presume is the reason Elly Ameling and Emma Kirkby. They have also have had long careers in the concert hall. But even I, when I saw the frizzy haired one, had to let out a WTF.
Christine Brewer? I presume it is because of performances like her Isolde here.
Sills has never really registered here and if your opinion is just based on recordings, she wouldn't come in my top 20. When you've already got Sutherland on the list? Is there a comparison?
I agree about Varnay, but there a lot of people who think Nilsson is unassailable.
Many of the singers mentioned are wonderful, but when you only list 20, I don't think many would fit.
Freni, Te Kanewa and probably Gheorghiu would be on my list. I might consider Scotto. I loved Dame Gwyn of the Jones, but really could she really make a list alongside some of these singers?
It seems that's many people have fallen into the same problem that you accuse this list of. It is based on your own local scene.
Someone asked me why I included Simionato in that list. I am one of those people who doesn't care whether she's classified as a mezzo, a soprano, or a contralto to make it to the list. I mean, if the list were bigger, I would include Urmana, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and Yvonne Minton in it. I think my list includes singers who have a character in her voice. Cossotto's voice was very colorful and full of character, and so was Simionato's. I find it hard to choose between the two since they shared a lot of roles. On some days, I love Cossotto's Azucena very much, whereas Simionato would do it to me on another day. (Honestly, I prefer Cossotto because I find her voice more thrilling.) That is why I tied both these legends. When it comes down to it, I think Cossotto and Simionato had more solid high notes than some sopranos. Cossotto sang Lady Macbeth better than many of the disasters who try to poke their heads in this very difficult role, and I would dare say that both "mezzos" sang Santuzzas that blow sopranos out of the water. Cossotto's Santuzza remains for me to be the definitive interpretation of the part. I think it's impossible to remove both these singers from my list, since they share so many characteristics with the majority of the sopranos I mentioned. But as for vocal Fach, I really don't care too much about who goes in where.