Terfel, Hvorostovsky & Szot are Favorites

Tutto e finito.  It’s all over!  After 6 weeks listening to the Greatest Opera Singers of our day, the 200+ students in the last class of my 6 week course a t SRJC  considered a number of outstanding Baritone, Bass/Baritone and Bass singers.

The class clearly came under the spell of Welsh Bass/Baritone Bryn Terfel, who sang I miei rampolli femininni from Rossini’s La Cenerentola and  Va Tosca from Puccini’s Tosca.

Described by one student as “an unrelenting voice, suspenseful,  forceful” , Terfel delivered the triumphant goods in his usual manner of total commitment to his art and the characters he portrays.

In a close second place (and a reversal of an old competition) was Verdi baritone, Dmitri Hvorostovsky. I presented Hvorostovsky in his First Place winning performance of Yeletsky’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s  Queen of Spades given in 1989 at the Cardiff  Singer of the World Competition when Bryn Terfel placed Second that year.Hovorostovsky also sang Count di Luna’s confrontation scene with Leonora  Udiste…. Colui vivra! partrnered with Sondra Radvanovsky as Leonora from a 2008 Moscow Concert.

“It’s the whole package”, & “Yum” were comments perhaps aimed at Mr. Hvorostovsky’s additional assets other than his voice. Another  student described Mr. Hvorostovsky as the “consummate singer, magnificent and mesmerizing voice!”

And in the “Up and Coming” category, Brazilian baritone Paolo Szot was the stunning favorite giving the above a run for their money.  Even though he clearly is the darling of Broadway at the moment, he will soon to be tested in the great opera houses of the world (including the MEt) with a voice ” lovely and lyrical” and “a great presence”.

The class compared Szot as Tchaikowsky’ s Eugene Onegin as he rebukes the young Tatiana; and then as Emile de Becque in Szot’s Tony Winning performance in Rogers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific and “This Nearly was Mine”

You can watch all of the winning performances below starting with  Terfel as Scarpia, Hvorostovsky as Count de Luna and Szot as de Becque.

Nicole Cabell Favorite “Up & Coming” Soprano

Amidst lively discussion in consideration of eight  “Up & Coming

Nicole Cabell, soprano

Sopranos”,  the 200+ students in my opera class at SRJC chose the American soprano, Nicole Cabell as their Favorite. The 2005 Cardiff Singer of the World winner won over the class with Micaela’s aria, “Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante” from Carmen with her ‘sexy, juicy voice and full multi-dimensional sound”.

In second place was the elegant German soprano, Dorothea Roschmann, whose “royal blue velvet voice” in Vitellia’s aria “Deh, se piacer mi vuoi” from Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito garnered a lot of praise and enthusiasm for hearing Roschmann in other roles.

Dorothea Roschmann, soprano

In 3rd place was Albanian soprano, Inva Mula who is currently winning lots of fans while appearing as Adina in San Francisco Opera’s production of Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” with Ramon Vargas.  Mula was a fetching Norina for the class in “Quel guardo il cavaliere…So anch’io la virtu’ magica” from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.

Inva Mula, soprano

Check out the winning performances below by  Cabell, Roschmann and Mula and let me know what you think.

Divas Battle! Fleming Victorious as Favorite Soprano

Renee Fleming, soprano

A packed class of 200+ students voiced frustration over the difficulty of selecting a “Favorite Soprano” from among seven I presented during the fourth class of my course entitled: The World’s Greatest Singers at Santa Rosa Junior College.

In the end, however, it was a tight 3 way contest with Renee Fleming edging out the others. I presented Fleming in arias/scenes of two of her signature roles: “Ain’t it a Pretty Night” from Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah and from Verdi’s Otello, Act 3, Dio ti gioconda with Placido Domingo.

“Fabulous”, “captivating”, “mistress of nuance” and “a voice of sheer beauty”  were some student comments describing Fleming’s artistry.

Anna Netrebko, soprano

Virtually tied for second place were Anna Netrebko ( St. Suplice scene from Massenet’s Manon with Rolando Villazon and the Poison Aria from Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette.) and  Angela Gheorghiu ( Vissi d’Arte from Puccini’s Tosca & Si, mi chiammano Mimi from Puccini’s La Boheme

Of Netrebko one student wrote “Rich and real”, while another wrote of Gheorghiu: “Her voice speaks to me…it acts as a conduit conveying the emotion of the character to my heart”.

Angela Gheorghiu, soprano

Maria Guleghina and Natalie Dessay were also popular choices with the class.

Enjoy the 3 Divas in some of their selections from class below: Renee Fleming “Ain’t it a Pretty Night”;  Anna Netrebko “Poison Aria”; and Angela Gherorghiu: “Vissi d’arte”