parterre box

21 comments

• chacowhacko says:

  I am not a hater, but I have to say I have always been immune to her charms. If nothing else, I want a LMB with a chest voice.

  on February 3, 2008 at 11:44 AM
• Indiana Loiterer III says:

  Yes, having a chest voice is a must for “La luce langue” later on–but once I got used to the lack of chest voice (which Silja never had), I thought this clip was pretty terrific–some trouble when leaping to that one high note Sanford notices, but the slow rises to high notes were splendid, and I didn’t expect such agility.

  And no, she’s not flat–she just has very little vibrato.

  on February 3, 2008 at 2:26 PM
• Krunoslav says:

  Love that “cool Nordic sound” she produces.

  on February 3, 2008 at 3:17 PM
• OMG says:

  This is really quite hideous. The voice brigade checks in and says, EEK. get the cheese.
  HOrrednous italian, and no real high notes. Committment? Bite? Bullshyte.
  She sings it, or tries to. Hideous.

  on February 3, 2008 at 8:04 PM
• Bing says:

  Confidentially, she stinks.

  on February 3, 2008 at 8:23 PM
• Ned says:

  There is definitely SOME flat singing here (though nowhere near as consistently flat as, say, Ghouleghina), but that’s the least of her problems..

  I’d love to hear what everyone thinks of the Lady MacBeth on the youtube link below. She’s singing Turandot in Philadelphia next season. Based on appearance alone, I wonder why Gelb doesn’t try to get her for the Gruber MacBeth’s later this season. I’ve heard her voice is huge.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEyFQwD_Axg

  on February 3, 2008 at 10:08 PM
• Alice Roberts says:

  The thing about Silja is her impact ‘live’ and the vocal imperfections seem not to matter in the theatre as the overall peformance is extraordinary, I saw her many many times in London, in Germany, in Paris, and once I’d seen her in a role, she ruined the piece for me to see anyone else in it. Nobody pretends it’s a beautiful voice, but again, I can only repeat, the impact of seeing her live certainly during the 60s and 70s, [and 80s and 90s], was an experience once seen never forgotten.

  on February 4, 2008 at 2:31 AM
• armerjaquino says:

  Now here’s a thing. Following that youtube link to Patane (verdict- NO) I stumbled across the following link. Since we’ve all been listening very hard to the sleepwalking scene recently, I was shocked by how false memory can be. What you have here, contrary to what I would have said before listening/watching, is a voice utterly under control, nowhere near as odd sounding as I remembered, rich and full. Shame about the lack of a top D, but you can’t have everything.

  Those of you with Italian will enjoy the madre e padre of all bitchfights in the comments section, too.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVl3vm-UCJU

  on February 4, 2008 at 3:52 AM
• OM says:

  patane – weird (but much less painful than gruber, or guleghina for that matter), though no doubt a very beautiful woman.
  zampieri – sublime. what would we not give for a singer like this today? she’s always been a secret passion of mine, though I usually fear ridicule and don’t admit it in public. thanks for the clip armerjaquino.

  on February 4, 2008 at 7:31 AM
• TM says:

  Zampieri’s clip shows arguably the best Lady Macbeth since Callas, or at least the finest Una macchia

  on February 4, 2008 at 10:36 AM