In the day of success
Just as, back in 1955, dear Vivien Leigh discovered about the Weird Sisters, La Cieca today is ready today to say of her cher public, “I have learned by the perfectest report they have more in them than mortal knowledge.” Or, to put it in less allusive terms, it’s time for you to put your skills to the test in yet another voice identification quiz, this one with a Scottish theme.
Your doyenne’s precious little sister DeCaffarrelli—I call her little in spite of the fact she’s somewhat older than I. Just slightly. Less than a year—well, anyway, DeCaffarrelli has devised yet another potpourri of live performances by divas obscure and, uh, not so obscure. Between the 18 of them, they sing the entrance aria of Lady Macbeth from Verdi’s masterpiece, and it’s up to you to discern who is whom.
Make your guesses in the comments section below, and the first commenter to guess all 18 correctly in the proper order—or, failing that, the commenter with the highest number of correct identifications as of midnight on Friday, August 10—will win a coveted Amazon.com Gift Card
Here’s the clip, cher public, and off you go!
Larmore is definately here:
Lately I have been really enjoying the radio broadcast recording of Larmore’s Lady Macbeth. She’s awesome.
Voigt is also quite good as well. Too bad she doesn’t sing like this anymore.
Larmone s unrecognizable in that clip. The singing has none of the veiled sound that Mary her mezzo work. Loved the ornamentation too.
I think Larmore’s Lady Macbeth is kind of dire. It sounded too good to be true and Lo! it was. 3 different voices now (at least), the only one of which seems to work is the top -- the middle is hollow and virtually never in tune. And the much lauded ornamentation just seems laboured.
I really like Larmore’s recordings from her major Rossini/Handel etc days, and I enjoyed her as Countess Geschwitz at Covent Garden.
“Countess Geschwitz”
(…ya know…)
Ok, as predicted, Mr. Fickle here is going to make a couple of changes. Here we go:
1) Maria Callas
Maria Guleghina
2) Marisa Galvany
3) Tiziana Fabbricini
4) Cristina Deutekom
5) Liudmyla Monastryska
6) Anja Silja
7) Deborah Voigt
9) Adelaide Negri
10) Irene Dalis
11) Christa Ludwig
12) Grace Bumbry
13) Elena Suliotis
14) Carol Vaness
15) Renata Scotto
16) Jennifer Larmore
17) Mara Zampieri
18) Astrid Varnay
This gave me a migraine. Not the Marschallin kind, either.
1) CALLAS, M.
2) GALVANY, M.
3) FABBRICINI, T.
4) DEUTEKOM, C.
5) VOIGT, D.
6) SILJA, A.
7) GENCER, L.
9) BALTSA, A.
10) VISHNEVSKAYA, G.
11) LUDWIG, C.
12) DIMITROVA, G.
13) SULIOTIS, E.
14) URMANA, V.
15) SCOTTO, R.
16) LARMORE, J.
17) ZAMPIERI, M.
18) VARNAY, A.
There are two or three I remain unconvinced of, and there will probably be even more which are incorrect(!), but I haven’t the courage any longer to screw to a sticking post!
This is just to reiterate the obvious: I am not totally convinced about number 18) being Birgit Nilsson, but she is my final answer, O Quizmaster!
And not Astrid Varnay, as in the original list.
I look forward to finding out who REALLY was singing and how the hell that happy face icon always comes up at #8.
Good luck, steven, my dearest!
18) NILSSON, B.
emendo il fallo.
the ones i am pretty sure about
1. Callas
2. Galvany
3. Fabbricini
4. ?
5. Voigt
6. Silja
7. Gencer
8. ?
9. Zajick
10.Vishnevskaya
11.Ludwig
12.Dimitrova
13.Suliotis
14.Monastyrska
15.Scotto
16.Larmore
17.Zampieri
18.?