Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli sang Aida and Radames together with the Metropolitan Opera Company six times: twice on tour in 1961, twice on tour and once at the old Met (as part of a several-weeks' series of performances during the World's Fair that spring, in the midst of the tour), and once at the old Met in 1965. Since this excerpt sounds like it was taped at the old Met, and not at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis or the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago or the Public Auditorium in Cleveland or the Fox Theater in Atlanta, the question arises: Is this excerpt from the 1 May 1964 performance of "Aida," with Nilsson, Irene Dalis, Corelli, Cornell MacNeil, Ezio Flagello, Justino Diaz, Robert Nagy, and Mary Ellen Pracht, with Silvio Varviso conducting? Or is it from the 28 March 1965 performance of "Aida," with Nilsson, Rosalind Elias, Corelli, Mario Sereni, Cesare Siepi, Norman Scott, Robert Nagy, and Janis Martin, with William Steinberg conducting? (It could be from either one, considering that there is an extant in-house tape of a complete 1964 World's-Fair-season performance of "Macbeth" with MacNeil, Nilsson, Tozzi, and Bergonzi, with Santi conducting - and there are also a number of in-house tapes of complete 1965 performances around the time of the "Aida" that season (including both Callas-Gobbi performances of "Tosca" and a Crespin-Corelli-London performance of "Tosca", and also a recording of the 20 March 1965 Met broadcast of "Aida" that season, with Nilsson, Cernei, Tucker, MacNeil, and Tozzi) .)
Though I had not heard this particular performance before today, listening to it took me back to my childhood, some fifty years ago, when I was first exploring the world of opera. The power and poetry that overwhelmed and mesmerised me then, I hear once more in this clip. This is the sort of performance that happens when two superb singers, in top form and with no technical worries, can throw caution to the winds and simply let themselves be possessed by the spirit of Verdi. Corelli's sensitive, poetic virility and Nilsson's forthright, heroic femininity imbue these characters with life and dimension in a way that few other artists are able to command, letting us hear the composer's lines not just as so many notes and nuances on the page, but rather as the authentic cries of living, breathing human beings, full of passion. No grandstanding, no showing off, just a humble and sincere effort to serve the composer and librettist. I think Verdi would have been proud to hear two such magnificent artists using their gifts to bring one of his greatest creations to life. Thank you Lohengrin!
@@LohengrinO Well, at least she tries. That's more than you can say for 99% of tenors bellowing out the delicate closing measures of Celeste Aïda. They would rather play to the ignorant gallery than attempt fidelity to Verdi's markings. And Nilsson was that rare thing, a soprano who actually had the voice to sing Aïda, unlike another lady who was renowned, quite without justification, for her 'singing' of the role.
@@jasonhurd4379 Tebaldi was the Beyoncé of Opera.... everything arranged, even the applause, before she even sang... that is why she sang THAT badly... no one ever told her: sit your lazy ass down and LEARN your voice... it wasn't her fault, it was the fault of those who opened all the doors for her (Toscanini) leaving her crippled
@@jasonhurd4379...also this role whom everyone knows so well is one of the most difficult to sing really well and be dramatic in it (not undersing it)… Nilsson cracks the C6 of O patria mia in this performance... and one wonders, why the Queen of C6s cracked Aida's C6?? it is the context of the aria and the entire role that makes a note extra difficult... a Wagnerian C6 is nothing when compared to the Verdian C6s (that is why Flagstad was so unexcused to omit all those Wagnerian C6s... Price?? gorgeous voice, all the notes there but the woman was NOT a dramatic soprano... no outbursts of passion, no dynamics, no intense fortes... just lullaby singing (she knew that very well that is why she said the famous quote: One must sing with the interest and not the capital of the voice...) If u notice, all the advices given by sopranos truly EXPOSE their own weaknesses. Leyla Gencer: the ONLY way to sing a high note is the falsetto way :D, Milanov: The voice must not be a Rainbow of Colors (Callas) it must have ONLY ONE COLOR for each role (hers :D)
@@LohengrinO Your erudition and vast knowledge are, as usual, dazzling! Please give us more and longer comments on your posts! I always learn so much when you do. I agree 100% about Tebaldi and Price. However, I very much fear that, as with so many other roles, it was Callas who gave us the definitive Aïda, a rendition which is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon.
Bonjour un magnifique duo un joyau de l opéra deux crande voix qui manqent tellement aujourd'hui le temps nous les a enlevé mais grâce cette vidéo ils sont encore bien présent merci vraiment ca fait plaisir et bravo aux immortels
... È inutile sono una innamorata inguaribile di questa icona.... Franco Corelli ormai fa parte del mio vizio lirico... è troppo bella la sua voce, ormai l' ho ribadito mille e una volta.... Certo che anche la Nilsson è la degna compagna di questo insuperabile Tenore..... e Verdi che come Compositore che dire e che inventare ancora!! Grazie caro Lohengrin0 oggi mi hai fatto felice... anche perché sono uscita dal dentista e potrai capire come sto...... Ciao, ciao un saluto grande come un lago.... ma facciamo ancora di più... come il mare!!! 🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋Elsa... Mentre sto chiudendo questo mio commento noto sulla televisione che appare il Tenore Andrea Bocelli che. dire?? Corelli la tua voce dov' è.... Boh!!!
Elsa Asta ...purtroppo si e' spenta un'altra stella, il maestro Zeffirelli, orgoglio tutto italiano.Prego il canale di fare un' omaggio al maestro.Magari postare la splendida Turandot del Metropolitan: con Domingo,Marton,Leona ( ruolo di Liu') non ricordo il cognome.Ringrazio di cuore il canale.
@@cosimoepicoco7022..... Si caro Cosiimo lo so, ho evitato di parlarne perché non ne ho avuta l' occasione. Io ho ammirato da sempre questo grandissimo Regista, Uomo d' immensa cultura, cesellatore e prontissimo studioso di ogni cosa che si prifiggeva di realizzare. Tutte le sue Opere, sia cinematografiche che liriche sono state tutte dei Capolavori, tutti i piccolissimi dettagli, i luoghi, costumi e persino i volti dei vari Attori che hanno avuto la. Fortuna di lavorare con Franco Zeffirelli sono sceltissimi con una meticolosa chirurgica!! Il tempo è inesorabile anche s'è stato clemente con Lui per averlo lasciato tra noi fino all' età di 96 anni!! Io asseriscono. che per gli. Uomini di siffatta elevatura.. per loro ci vorrebbe una cosa solo. " l' ETERNITA '!! Grazie. Cosimo per avermelo fatto ricordare e tributargli i più doverosi Osanna perché R. I. P. PREZIOSO UOM0. Ti ringrazio e ti invio carissimi saluti. ELSA ASTA
Elsa Asta ...condivido in pieno il ritratto che hai fatto del Maestro.A mio parere la perfezione la raggiunse nella" Turandot" al Metropolitan.Con Domigno,Marton.Ogni particolare anche il piu' piccolo..Chiedo con cortesia al canale di pubblicarla.Ringrazio.
@@cosimoepicoco7022... Sono sicura, caro Cosimo, che in qualche modo la tua richiesta, se potrà, verrà accolta da Lohengrin0, sempre se la cosa sia fattibile... oppure il Canale stesso farà qualche cosa in merito... Dai speriamo.. ciao Elsa.
El siempre será un legítimo Radames, viril, sin fisura vocal y con una fuerza increíble, pero ella si bien su voz no tiene falla de ningún tipo y cumple con lo exigido musicalmente en la partitura, como casi ninguna otra soprano, su temperamento no era para Verdi, para la fogosidad de la música italiana. La señora Nilson era demasiado escandinava para el fuego exigido por el maestro Verdi, tampoco me gusta su Amelia ni su Lady Macbeth, a pesar de las excelentes críticas y es que para mí la Ópera italiana es más allá que voz, es alma, sangre, sentir, entrega, es darlo todo sin mezquindades y repito vocalmente insuperable, pero interpretarivamente lejos del legado Callas, Price, Arroyo, entre otras. Disfruté el dúo musicalmente y mis respeto, pero siento le falta.
Lohengrin O, yes please I second Jason give us more comments. It is the best way for me to learn from you and try to understand this art form that is specially complicated for those of us who don't have a musical background, just basically emotions and"likes". Thank you for this post. I for one have always found Aida leaving me cold. I can appreciate some of the difficulty in singing the role when I listen to it but in terms of beauty tugging at my heart only when I heard Callas' rendition did that materialize. So I felt it was Callas and nothing else for me. Thank you again.
opinions can be enlightening, distorting, entertaining or annoying... the relationship between the art product and the recipient is personal and erotic and nothing can interfere and frankly, it shouldn't...
Corelli has never sung Aida on stage, has he? No doubt, they are both excellent, but you have uploaded this duet with del Manaco and Callas too and it was from the Mexico City performance, which is considered as the best one of this opera. Well, I do not like comparisons between artists of such a class, so just let us hear them and nothing else. Thanks dear Lohengrin.
Nilsson was the last great Aida, no doubt. Although sometimes I find her timbre a bit too sterile for Italian opera, she sings the role with as much warmth and longing as she can muster, and she takes care of all the high notes like it was a mere formality. I was listening to Caballe's Aida the other day, and her O Patria Mia is spellbinding, but the rest of the role not so much.
@@Romper566 But it's much better listened to than watched. In her couple of televised staged performances from the Met ("La forza del destino" in 1984 and "Aida" in 1985), her acting is clearly to the whole house, and is not "scaled down" for the TV "closer-ups." Her acting in "Aida" looks stagy and over-emoted that close up. That last Met performance would also have been much better had Cornell MacNeil sung Amonasro, as originally planned. Yes, Simon Estes is "black like Price," but his voice is not weighty enough for the role, and his vocal weight does not come close to matching that of Leontyne Price, Fiorenza Cossotto, James McCracken, and John Macurdy. (Don't get me wrong: I like Simon Estes as a singer and as an artist - but I think that he was miscast in these particular performances of "Aida.")
@@jmccracken1963 ... I have to disagree with you a bit. I suppose it's a matter of preference, but I personally loved her grandiose gestures of those old school singers. Today Grand Opera is more focused on the appearance rather than vocal production. Opera is not the Musical Theater. However, I will agree with you on the Baritone. I would have also preferred to have heard Cornell MacNeil in the role of Amonasro, as he was always one of my favorites, especially in his early years. Simon Estes was good but in a much lighter way. Very few Baritones had the ability of MacNeil in his prime. He was certainly a great singer in his own right. By the time of that Aida, he was not as vocally proficient and that may have been the reason he canceled his appearance? Not sure of that. But yes, it would have been an amazing complete cast with MacNeil. Oh BTW, I was in the house for that performance.
@@DrFaust-ul2yn Clearly you did not listen very well to this recording. Obviously Nilsson had a big voice but it sounds like her voice cannot move fast enough here, Corelli completely overpowers her, because this was his regular repertoire.
Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli sang Aida and Radames together with the Metropolitan Opera Company six times: twice on tour in 1961, twice on tour and once at the old Met (as part of a several-weeks' series of performances during the World's Fair that spring, in the midst of the tour), and once at the old Met in 1965.
Since this excerpt sounds like it was taped at the old Met, and not at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis or the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago or the Public Auditorium in Cleveland or the Fox Theater in Atlanta, the question arises:
Is this excerpt from the 1 May 1964 performance of "Aida," with Nilsson, Irene Dalis, Corelli, Cornell MacNeil, Ezio Flagello, Justino Diaz, Robert Nagy, and Mary Ellen Pracht, with Silvio Varviso conducting? Or is it from the 28 March 1965 performance of "Aida," with Nilsson, Rosalind Elias, Corelli, Mario Sereni, Cesare Siepi, Norman Scott, Robert Nagy, and Janis Martin, with William Steinberg conducting?
(It could be from either one, considering that there is an extant in-house tape of a complete 1964 World's-Fair-season performance of "Macbeth" with MacNeil, Nilsson, Tozzi, and Bergonzi, with Santi conducting - and there are also a number of in-house tapes of complete 1965 performances around the time of the "Aida" that season (including both Callas-Gobbi performances of "Tosca" and a Crespin-Corelli-London performance of "Tosca", and also a recording of the 20 March 1965 Met broadcast of "Aida" that season, with Nilsson, Cernei, Tucker, MacNeil, and Tozzi) .)
What outstanding professionals. This performance brings chills down my spine. They are both superb. Where are such performers today? Bravissimi.
Que Hermoso e Increíble. Ambis EXCELSOS!!!!!!!
Though I had not heard this particular performance before today, listening to it took me back to my childhood, some fifty years ago, when I was first exploring the world of opera. The power and poetry that overwhelmed and mesmerised me then, I hear once more in this clip. This is the sort of performance that happens when two superb singers, in top form and with no technical worries, can throw caution to the winds and simply let themselves be possessed by the spirit of Verdi. Corelli's sensitive, poetic virility and Nilsson's forthright, heroic femininity imbue these characters with life and dimension in a way that few other artists are able to command, letting us hear the composer's lines not just as so many notes and nuances on the page, but rather as the authentic cries of living, breathing human beings, full of passion. No grandstanding, no showing off, just a humble and sincere effort to serve the composer and librettist. I think Verdi would have been proud to hear two such magnificent artists using their gifts to bring one of his greatest creations to life. Thank you Lohengrin!
… although she almost pees in her pants trying to do the Pianissimi :D I have never heard anyone trying So hard to do a pianissimo
@@LohengrinO Well, at least she tries. That's more than you can say for 99% of tenors bellowing out the delicate closing measures of Celeste Aïda. They would rather play to the ignorant gallery than attempt fidelity to Verdi's markings. And Nilsson was that rare thing, a soprano who actually had the voice to sing Aïda, unlike another lady who was renowned, quite without justification, for her 'singing' of the role.
@@jasonhurd4379 Tebaldi was the Beyoncé of Opera.... everything arranged, even the applause, before she even sang... that is why she sang THAT badly... no one ever told her: sit your lazy ass down and LEARN your voice... it wasn't her fault, it was the fault of those who opened all the doors for her (Toscanini) leaving her crippled
@@jasonhurd4379...also this role whom everyone knows so well is one of the most difficult to sing really well and be dramatic in it (not undersing it)… Nilsson cracks the C6 of O patria mia in this performance... and one wonders, why the Queen of C6s cracked Aida's C6?? it is the context of the aria and the entire role that makes a note extra difficult... a Wagnerian C6 is nothing when compared to the Verdian C6s (that is why Flagstad was so unexcused to omit all those Wagnerian C6s... Price?? gorgeous voice, all the notes there but the woman was NOT a dramatic soprano... no outbursts of passion, no dynamics, no intense fortes... just lullaby singing (she knew that very well that is why she said the famous quote: One must sing with the interest and not the capital of the voice...) If u notice, all the advices given by sopranos truly EXPOSE their own weaknesses. Leyla Gencer: the ONLY way to sing a high note is the falsetto way :D, Milanov: The voice must not be a Rainbow of Colors (Callas) it must have ONLY ONE COLOR for each role (hers :D)
@@LohengrinO Your erudition and vast knowledge are, as usual, dazzling! Please give us more and longer comments on your posts! I always learn so much when you do. I agree 100% about Tebaldi and Price. However, I very much fear that, as with so many other roles, it was Callas who gave us the definitive Aïda, a rendition which is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon.
Bonjour un magnifique duo un joyau de l opéra deux crande voix qui manqent tellement aujourd'hui le temps nous les a enlevé mais grâce cette vidéo ils sont encore bien présent merci vraiment ca fait plaisir et bravo aux immortels
What a divine couple !!!
CORELLI !!!!! GENIO !!!!!! EXCELENTE !!!!
This is incredibly beautiful! Thanks for posting!
Ah Corelli!!!
GRANDES.
Que Hermosura!!! Viva Verdi!!!! Nilson y Corelli Inmensos!!!!!
This two artists and recording with maestro Mehta, that is masterpiece; and the finale to die for! Sorry- G. Bumbry with them too!
Dear Lohengrin O, your" like" is disappeared when I put (later) one comma in my comment! I'm sad...
Splendide ! Aïda
Aida storica, due interpreti stellari...vi immaginate il pubblico?Grazie a Lohengrin per questo regalo...
... È inutile sono una innamorata inguaribile di questa icona.... Franco Corelli ormai fa parte del mio vizio lirico... è troppo bella la sua voce, ormai l' ho ribadito mille e una volta.... Certo che anche la Nilsson è la degna compagna di questo insuperabile Tenore..... e Verdi che come Compositore che dire e che inventare ancora!! Grazie caro Lohengrin0 oggi mi hai fatto felice... anche perché sono uscita dal dentista e potrai capire come sto...... Ciao, ciao un saluto grande come un lago.... ma facciamo ancora di più... come il mare!!! 🙋🙋🙋🙋🙋Elsa... Mentre sto chiudendo questo mio commento noto sulla televisione che appare il Tenore Andrea Bocelli che. dire?? Corelli la tua voce dov' è.... Boh!!!
Elsa Asta ...purtroppo si e' spenta un'altra stella, il maestro Zeffirelli, orgoglio tutto italiano.Prego il canale di fare un' omaggio al maestro.Magari postare la splendida Turandot
del Metropolitan: con Domingo,Marton,Leona ( ruolo di Liu') non ricordo il cognome.Ringrazio di cuore il canale.
@@cosimoepicoco7022..... Si caro Cosiimo lo so, ho evitato di parlarne perché non ne ho avuta l' occasione. Io ho ammirato da sempre questo grandissimo Regista, Uomo d' immensa cultura, cesellatore e prontissimo studioso di ogni cosa che si prifiggeva di realizzare. Tutte le sue Opere, sia cinematografiche che liriche sono state tutte dei Capolavori, tutti i piccolissimi dettagli, i luoghi, costumi e persino i volti dei vari Attori che hanno avuto la. Fortuna di lavorare con Franco Zeffirelli sono sceltissimi con una meticolosa chirurgica!! Il tempo è inesorabile anche s'è stato clemente con Lui per averlo lasciato tra noi fino all' età di 96 anni!! Io asseriscono. che per gli. Uomini di siffatta elevatura.. per loro ci vorrebbe una cosa solo. " l' ETERNITA '!! Grazie. Cosimo per avermelo fatto ricordare e tributargli i più doverosi Osanna perché R. I. P. PREZIOSO UOM0. Ti ringrazio e ti invio carissimi saluti. ELSA ASTA
Elsa Asta ...condivido in pieno il ritratto che hai fatto del Maestro.A mio parere la perfezione la raggiunse nella" Turandot" al Metropolitan.Con Domigno,Marton.Ogni particolare anche il piu' piccolo..Chiedo con cortesia al canale di pubblicarla.Ringrazio.
@@cosimoepicoco7022... Sono sicura, caro Cosimo, che in qualche modo la tua richiesta, se potrà, verrà accolta da Lohengrin0, sempre se la cosa sia fattibile... oppure il Canale stesso farà qualche cosa in merito... Dai speriamo.. ciao Elsa.
@@cosimoepicoco7022 Leona Mitchell!
Onore al grande maestro Franco Zeffirelli! Allesti' un'Aida su di un palcoscenico di solo 7 metri!
Nillson 😍🤩 wonderful soprano; Corelli, one of the best tenors 🤩😍.
Not an excellent recording, probably not in stereo.
Good stuff, However why cut it off so soon before the end of the act. I was looking forward to Corelli's - Sacerdote Io resto a te.
yes I am sorry for that...
Which performance was this?
El siempre será un legítimo Radames, viril, sin fisura vocal y con una fuerza increíble, pero ella si bien su voz no tiene falla de ningún tipo y cumple con lo exigido musicalmente en la partitura, como casi ninguna otra soprano, su temperamento no era para Verdi, para la fogosidad de la música italiana. La señora Nilson era demasiado escandinava para el fuego exigido por el maestro Verdi, tampoco me gusta su Amelia ni su Lady Macbeth, a pesar de las excelentes críticas y es que para mí la Ópera italiana es más allá que voz, es alma, sangre, sentir, entrega, es darlo todo sin mezquindades y repito vocalmente insuperable, pero interpretarivamente lejos del legado Callas, Price, Arroyo, entre otras. Disfruté el dúo musicalmente y mis respeto, pero siento le falta.
sono comletamente d'accordo
Lohengrin O, yes please I second Jason give us more comments. It is the best way for me to learn from you and try to understand this art form that is specially complicated for those of us who don't have a musical background, just basically emotions and"likes". Thank you for this post. I for one have always found Aida leaving me cold. I can appreciate some of the difficulty in singing the role when I listen to it but in terms of beauty tugging at my heart only when I heard Callas' rendition did that materialize. So I felt it was Callas and nothing else for me. Thank you again.
opinions can be enlightening, distorting, entertaining or annoying... the relationship between the art product and the recipient is personal and erotic and nothing can interfere and frankly, it shouldn't...
I have an incredible amount of respect for Nilsson, but she's a real hard sell for me in any Italian repertoire.
thank God I don’t!!!
Corelli has never sung Aida on stage, has he? No doubt, they are both excellent, but you have uploaded this duet with del Manaco and Callas too and it was from the Mexico City performance, which is considered as the best one of this opera. Well, I do not like comparisons between artists of such a class, so just let us hear them and nothing else.
Thanks dear Lohengrin.
comparing Nilsson to Callas in this opera is like a comparing a broken trumpet to a celestial firebolt
Corelli performed Radames live MANY times.
Yes, you are both right. I instantaneously confused Aida with Otello. I apologize.
@David Simmons
ruclips.net/video/fhnx4YDokz4/видео.html
The most funny is that I commented there 3 years ago! I grew old, that's all :(
One of the GREATEST Radames on stage EVER!!!
Nilsson was the last great Aida, no doubt. Although sometimes I find her timbre a bit too sterile for Italian opera, she sings the role with as much warmth and longing as she can muster, and she takes care of all the high notes like it was a mere formality.
I was listening to Caballe's Aida the other day, and her O Patria Mia is spellbinding, but the rest of the role not so much.
Aprille Millo the last great Aida for me... and much better than Nilsson
Let's not forget Leontyne Price... Her retirement performance alone was a feat in its own right!
ruclips.net/video/IaV6sqFUTQ4/видео.html
@@Romper566 But it's much better listened to than watched. In her couple of televised staged performances from the Met ("La forza del destino" in 1984 and "Aida" in 1985), her acting is clearly to the whole house, and is not "scaled down" for the TV "closer-ups." Her acting in "Aida" looks stagy and over-emoted that close up.
That last Met performance would also have been much better had Cornell MacNeil sung Amonasro, as originally planned. Yes, Simon Estes is "black like Price," but his voice is not weighty enough for the role, and his vocal weight does not come close to matching that of Leontyne Price, Fiorenza Cossotto, James McCracken, and John Macurdy. (Don't get me wrong: I like Simon Estes as a singer and as an artist - but I think that he was miscast in these particular performances of "Aida.")
@@jmccracken1963 ... I have to disagree with you a bit. I suppose it's a matter of preference, but I personally loved her grandiose gestures of those old school singers. Today Grand Opera is more focused on the appearance rather than vocal production. Opera is not the Musical Theater. However, I will agree with you on the Baritone.
I would have also preferred to have heard Cornell MacNeil in the role of Amonasro, as he was always one of my favorites, especially in his early years. Simon Estes was good but in a much lighter way. Very few Baritones had the ability of MacNeil in his prime. He was certainly a great singer in his own right. By the time of that Aida, he was not as vocally proficient and that may have been the reason he canceled his appearance? Not sure of that. But yes, it would have been an amazing complete cast with MacNeil. Oh BTW, I was in the house for that performance.
this is not aida, But Turandot. Corelli push his voice so much, but his partner is not human. Nilsson is truely Nordic Valkyrie...
Corelli says: Pur ti riveggo o mia dolce Aida (opening phrase) in Turandot? :D
@@LohengrinO Really? Nilsson is too much great, even Corelli couldn't beat her. Really unbelievable great soprano.
I have a lot of Corelli's aida recording, but he can't hold his phase with Nilsson. Nilsson is really gigantic voice.
@@DrFaust-ul2yn Clearly you did not listen very well to this recording. Obviously Nilsson had a big voice but it sounds like her voice cannot move fast enough here, Corelli completely overpowers her, because this was his regular repertoire.