No holds Baird
This is someone we need to hear more of.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/lOraQt705FY" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
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I heard Baird in the Ring – not the biggest voice out there – but she could be clearly heard. She was a lot steadier than these clips seem to sound. Although it must be agreed there isn’t much better out there right now. I thought the Siegie pretty interesting too …
I have heard a lot of Baird in the last weeks as I’m in the orchestra for the Seattle Ring production. She has been a little inconsistent but always comes through where needed–the YouTube clips were from dress rehearsals, and she gained in strength through the week and was outstanding in Götterdämmerung last night. Count me as a believer. She sang Elektra here last season and also gained in strength as the evening progressed. The slight beat in the voice is not what I’d call a wobble (not yet at least). I agree with La Cieca and others here: she’s worlds better than most singers in this rep (does everyone remember Lisa Gasteen’s disastrous Walküre broadcast from the Met a few seasons back?).
Other standouts in this show are S Blythe as Fricka, 2nd norn and Waltraute; and the Siegmund of Stuart Skelton, a BEAUTIFUL singer who’s also a total bear!! Woof!
Isn’t the excellent-seeming Mr Skelton a ‘Commonwealth singer’? Don’t anyone tell Vicar John of Wakefield …
I sent this to la Cieca after going NUTS for her….SHE should be in the new Met Ring…What a sound..Like Gwyneth Jones without the scoop and the wobble…..Mamma Mia!!!! CH
Based on La Cieca’s originally posted clip, I think this is hugely impressive singing. I don’t hear a wobble at all – just a pleasingly free vibrato in an authentic dramatic soprano voice. Sure, there are some clunky register breaks at the lower end, but since when was that a flaw? Given that it’s something Baird has in common with Tebaldi, Callas, Freni, Scotto, and countless other well loved sopranos, I don’t see why we should nail her to the cross for it – it’s part of soprano singing – surely only pure lyrics are expected to come up with a seamless descent into the chest register at all times?
I was at Baird’s Met debut, when she was shoved on during Act II of Tristan in place of Voigt, and the size of her voice was impressive, as was the freedom at the top. When she tried anything less than mezzoforte anywhere in her range, she was flat, but there are no intonation issues in La Cieca’s clip. I think it’s very exciting that she seems to be developing into a major talent.
Seattle Opera has posted a video from the Siegfried dress rehearsal. She sounds steadier than in the Walkure video and has an easy high c(I think thats a c).
13
Well, Wagnerian greats like Anna Green, Malcolm Rivers and Richard Berkeley-Steele have taken part in past Seattle RINGs, so…
In addition to her singing, I just love Baird’s presence in the Frau excerpt. She just OWNS that stage!
LOC Frau/Brewer
Although Brewer was excellent in the LOC Frau, I was slightly disappointed in her performance and was not as bowled over by her singing as I hoped I would be. IMO, her performance was pretty inconsistent, sometimes she sounded great, sometimes not–but too often she sounded like Jane Eaglen on a pretty good night–not bad, but not great.
Not being the biggest Voigt fan myself, I found that Voigt was excellent once she warmed up, and that she was the equal of La Brewer in every way in that performance.
Just my opinion.
I’m enjoying Ms. Baird in an Inge Borkh kind of way. I’m glad we have her today to help keep some of these operas on the boards.