Jan Peerce, Cecilia Bartoli, and Robert Merrill

These three super spectacular (and beastly famous) singers celebrate their birthdays this week!!!!!! Cecilia and Robert Merrill have their birthdays today, and Jan Peerce had his yesterday.

So, I go to look for Jan Peerce on youtube, and all I seem to find are songs I've never heard of. I see "If Ever I Should Leave You" and songs of that sort, but hardly any operatic arias. (Don't get me wrong, that "If Ever" is gorgeous!!!!) I come across a certain, obscure aria called *cough* "Vesti La Giubba." I also saw "Salut! Demeure chaste e pure", "Scenes from La Traviata", and the "Rigoletto Quartet". I was reminded of what a rare and wonderful voice Jan Peerce possessed. What a guy, what a guy.
To make a nice transition.... Here's a clip of Jan Peerce and Robert Merrill together!!!
Robert Merrill... How to begin to describe this unbelievable singer? Well he's funny, touching, lovable, heartbreaking, and so many other things. I have to say, I have the Traviata with him (and Joan Sutherland) and I must say I don't think I've ever heard such a beautiful baritone. You just sit there and marvel at the greatness of this one man. I can't get over it! He's just amazing.

Cecilia Bartoli- Owner of the famous "Cecilia faces." Isn't that why we love her? Well... that's not the only reason! Maybe because she is a fierce singer who can throw off coloratura like nobody's business. Her lovely mezzo has everything we look for in our "COOLEST MEZZO'S EVER." (Cecilia is, needless to say, on that list.) I grew up with her "Se Tu M'ami" album. I've heard "Caro Mio Ben" no one knows how many times. Am I complaining? No.

Happy Birthday to our birthday singers!!!!

Happy Listening!!! =)

Coming Soon:
A Tribute to Gustavo Dudamel (you know... the guy with the hair)
The Opera Exam (part one of many)

The Great Norma Race

In a world where giving a recital and making a CD means singing everything you can't or wouldn't sing full out in the opera house, "Casta Diva" is king. Well, priestess I guess. Lately many sopranos, and some mezzos, have tried their hand at this extremely difficult aria. And let's face it, some people just aren't cut out for it. Here today we have the gorgeous Ms. Anna Netrebko in a thoroughly despicable rendition of this heavenly aria. The pitch is all over the place, phrasing in non-existent and, well, maybe Bel Canto just isn't her style.
We also have Cecilia Bartoli, the mezzo-soprano, singing this aria. Hm, well there seems to be nothing strange about that so let's proceed.
Let's find out first hand what is wrong with both of these renditions. Nebs is just totally rediculous. I actually had to laugh when I heard it. As much as I like Anna, what is she doing singing Norma???? Of course, every house in the world would crawl around on its hands and knees if she said she wanted to sing Norma somewhere. Her pitch was off, she breathed in very strange places and frankly she sounded like a drunk Dame Joan. Okay, okay, harsh I know, but consider it! Her vowels and her lack of (some) consonants remind us of the lovely Dame. She's only drunk because I'm sure Joan Sutherland wouldn't be caught dead singing the aria like that. Sorry, Nebster, but this was a lost cause.
Ms. Cecilia Bartoli's "Casta Diva" was refreshingly on pitch. The problem was that Cecilia had no idea when the climax of the aria was. She sang every note as if she was singing about paint drying. This might have to do with the fact that (1) she's a mezzo and (2) her voice is the size of my fist. Itty-bitty mezzo voices don't sing "Casta Diva." It just shouldn't happen. Some manager at Decca or wherever I'm sure thought it was a marvelous idea. "What would you like to sing today, Ms. Bartoli?" "Hm, I'm kind of in a Norma mood. Can we do that?" "Of course! Step this way and you'll be singing Casta Diva into the microphone in no time!" Oh, I would have liked to be there for that recording session. I can see Cecilia's face as she's singing it, too. Fun stuff.