Caitlin Listening Assignment #1

1. Renee Fleming - Sound wise, I think this interpretation was the best. Her sound was agile, effortless, and the timbre and colors in her voice were appropriate. Acting wise, this wasn't my favorite interpretation, because she was often smiling/reflecting. I could see when she was conveying sadness, however it didn't break my hear the way Maria Callas' performance did. I think this is because she wasn't as specific behind her intent.

2. Maria Callas - I put Maria in second place because she was committed to her character 100%. Her emotional interpretation was specific and had the depth needed for this song. I felt that although I didn't understand what she was saying I could understand what she was trying to communicate through her eyes and body language. Her sound had moments of clarity that I enjoyed, but I felt as if most of the time I couldn't even understand what vowel she was singing. They were as clear as mud. Putting that aside, I felt as if her voice was extremely free and agile through the chromatic descending passage, etc... Overall I don't feel like her timbre moves me.

3. Anna Netrebko - She is beautiful and has great stage presence.  I can see her breath was rooted, although sometimes she looked like she was leaning a little too much forward.  Her focus and facial expressions were specific, and you could see in her eyes the hurt she was trying to convey.  I don't know if I was a huge fan of her arm gestures.  I often feel that she tries to make her voice darker than it actually is.  Maybe it is because I just prefer a brighter sound? Or maybe it's because she sings with very little change in color, other than when she goes for her high notes? I'm not sure.

4. Barbara Fritolli - There were some issues with her jaw and lip rounding (over her teeth).  High notes were fabulous, but sometimes the vibrato dragged and became a little overwhelming in the lower range. It looked as if she, herself was moved by the music, but I don't think that effect traversed to the audience.  I didn't feel as if I could relate or feel the pain she was feeling.

5. Sumi Jo - The scooping sounds very strange to me, however, I ranked her fifth because her voice had much more buoyancy than Sutherland or Gruberova did to maneuver the coloratura passages.

6. Joan Sutherland - She looks extremely uncomfortable throughout the video. I could see her shoulders were tense, and often it looked as if her head was tilting back with her chin rising. I couldn't see if she was even trying to convey something emotionally through her eyes. The sound seemed big and a little rough around the edges when it came to maneuvering the passages: it wasn't as agile as the others.  I may be wrong, but her high notes kind of sounded as if she was using an elevated larynx.

7. Edita Gruberova - There were intonation problems throughout, and also some very strange extraneous use of the facial muscles. It also seemed like she was behind the orchestra because her voice lacks buoyancy and agility. A very strange interpretation, indeed.