Youtube Singers #17/#18

Singer #17.. Angela Gheorghiu singing the Habanera from Carmen..

Oh my goodness. Why I haven't heard of this woman before, I don't know-- and it is unfortunate, cause she's fabulous. Her French pronunciation is fabulous, and she doesn't seem to have many 'clicks' that get in the way of her singing. This is probably the best example of a singer keeping all of her sound in the same vertical column of all I've listened to for this class. Even when she sings I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady her vowels are all very tall, and she seems to blend into the orchestra as a singer should. Her singing sounds grounded to me... And her control is stunning. The fact that I hear an even crescendo and decrescendo shows how incredible her ability to use the breath is. She effectively displays the text through her physical gestures and facial expressions. This woman has the music in her.

Singer #18... Well, I might as well listen to a classic so Luciano Pavarotti it is. How about a little Nessun Dorma for a Monday...
Luciano, as I might call him here, surely has a steady sound to his voice... my sympathetic throat feels open; his sound appears to be carried on the breath. His interpretation of this piece is really intimate.
I also listened to Una Furtiva Lagrima -- Oh... I've not heard r's rolled like that. Wow. Yummy. His voice sounds always grounded, even on the upper pitches. He really milks the moments when he can sing melismas, it seems. Sometimes his vibrato is pretty wide...
(I can't believe I'm mentioning anything not optimal about Luciano.) I also listened to La donna E mobile from Rigoletto. His dynamic contrast is impressive, for sure. What an even voice. His register shifts sound rather smooth... Sometimes though his voice gives a little screamer effect. Maybe that's the way tenors do it? His singing does give me goosebumps though. Maybe I'll name my someday child Luciano.