I really do have to say that this is the most mesmerizing rendition of the doll song I have ever heard. Dessay's angelic voice here is at its prime. I DO like the slowness of the orchestra because it lets her sustain these incredible crystal clear yet warm Natalie sounds. Simply HYPNOTIC...
Dessay is the ultimate Opera artist: miraculous singer, gifted actress and a talented dancer. She is one of France's treasures!!! Vive la France! Vive Natalie!
Not exactly the theatrical interpretation I am used to, but vocally she performed the piece extraordinarily well in my opinion. Her delicacy and timing for each note is remarkable!! Staccato while crawling backward on the floor?? That alone is undeniably impressive.
I've never heard a coloratura - and I've heard a million - with more ease and perfect placement on the very top of her range!! Absolutely amazing high Aflat on the end! So musical, so totally involved and expressive dramatically. A complete opera singer in her repertoire!
I love paying attention to the reactions of the other characters... It makes the whole thing so real, powerful. The way that man in the back slowly takes off his hat at 3:07, the old lady at 4:07...
She is the perfect doll! I love Natalie! I do hope her vocal cords have not been permanently damaged, perhaps her voice has changed after the operation, not damaged as some say. I heard her at the Met sing in Guilio Caesare. She was fabulous and very acrobatic.
I've come back to this version so many times. In most renditions, it's a doll learning to be more animated and playful. In this version, it's a doll learning to be more human. Maybe not the most fun, but definitely the most beautiful.
Natalie Dessay is the most underrated opera singer I know. Her intonation is so perfect she makes your ears buzz with the wealth of overtones. And her range! Plus she doesn't abuse the use of vibrato the way every supposedly "great" opera singer does in our era. Instead, she uses vibrato purely as an accent, an embellishment that adds to the feeling of the music, as it was meant to be used, rather than letting it dominate her voice. This last point is one of the big reasons why so many people are turned off by opera. The habitual use of vibrato makes the listener have to fight to hear through it to the music. Plus many so called "great" singers use it to cover up what is actually sloppy control of intonation, or the vibrato itself makes them go off-pitch. After awhile, all the singing starts to sound the same to the casual, unschooled listener. And that's because the continual use of poorly controlled vibrato, which is apparently the current style for opera singing (lucky us), really does make everything sound the same. If people hate opera for its pretentiousness, as many say in so many words, it's the fault of voice coaches and artists who are content to follow tradition, instead of pushing past "what's done" to greater heights of creativity and refined expression. Kudos to Natalie. She deserves it.
En fait, je trouve que la simplicité de la mise en scène met vraiment en valeur la douceur de sa voix. Cette interprétation est ma préférée de toutes ses interprétations des oiseaux dans la Charmille. La plus tendre et la plus légère...
This interpretation is so magical. Olympia seems like the Little Mermaid in this, someone that is experiencing so many things for the first time. It is purely beautiful!
So much harder to sing this aria at this tempo. Her voice is so beautiful here and even more importantly, her interpretation. She is a great singing actress.
It makes me think that despite a short-lived existence like this doll everyone can still bring love, hope, and joy to anyone around. Like a shooting star, lighten everything up with your uniqueness and your magic. By performing this aria in such a extraordinary way Ms Dessay and her character are transcending time, defeating death and achieving immortality. This is a real jewel of RUclips, pure joy.
You know I must say, I'm not always her BIGGEST fan but holy COW she kills this! She makes it sound so easy- and she's so precise! When she's doing the crab walk around 5:00??? Jeez, that's not easy! Her voice has such clarity here! Love it.
I imagine many a purist having suffered an aneurysm from this, but I can't help and absolutely LOVE this interpretation of the scene and the tempo and I even feel it makes more sense than the original somewhat gaudy comedic doll scene - just my opinion :)
ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Talk about making high notes float, especially when she's moving on the floor and bending. WoW! She makes it seem so effortless...
It appears that they have set this scene in an asylum and Olympia is a woman who believes she is a doll. She has a similar vibe to the scary girl in "The Ring" film series.
Actually I kind of liked it, that everyone else are charmed seeing Olimpia, the automaton, as a real lady. But you're right; the costumes and sets are too modern by far
The slow tempo works perfectly in this setting (some sort of insane asylum). It makes it more haunting and creepy, an effect which I'm sure was intended. Beautiful singing, as always from Dessay. Not every soprano can do runs slowly.
c'est merveilleux d'entendre Natalie Dessay et "ces oiseaux dans la charmille" superbe! je ne peux m'empêcher de la mettre dans mes favoris" merci- odette
This is what I love about Opera, it can be adapted in many diffrent ways. Sure, Offenbach originally wrote Olymmpia as a wind up doll, but how many times have we seen sopranos do this at a recital and break and have their pianist wind them back up? I like this. I also think this not only shows off her technical prowess but her unbeatable tone, but like Sutherland who did it at the speed of light just to show... just my thought
Natalie Dessay has one of the most elegant vibratos in all of music. Nobody sounds like her when it comes to trills and vibrato. Sure, this could mean she isn’t using the same technique, but damn…. She sounds BETTER than most, so who can honestly fault her on technique?
Clicked on this performance out of curiousity..and goodness...what a wonderful surprise. Miss Dessay is magnificent as Olympia. Thanks for posting this rendition.
I love this interpretation of making her more like a newborn than a cartoon. It makes the performance more about the performance than the high notes, which actually go higher than written! Bravo.
She does each Olympia differently. "In Lyons, she wasn't a doll, but a human being, autistic, who was completely awake only when Hoffmann touched her. It was a very personal production in several senses, theatrically and musically." You can read the interview here: culturekiosque.com/opera/intervie/rhedessay.html
uhh Dessay is my favourite for sure... i love her sweet voice and her great technique, and i think she is perfect for this role. ^-^ the think that i most admire is that she never stops acting, no matter how difficult is the part of the song, she never stops and just sing, she is always in the character :3
Adaptation très particulière et passionnante de louis ERLO fascinante et très controversée par les sempiternels gardiens du temple. Olympia n'est plus une poupée mais un être pur (le seul ?) aimé par les détenus de l'asile d'aliénés. Donc rien de comique dans son interprétation lumineuse qui contraste avec la noirceur de l'ensemble. On reconnaît ici le grand Gabriel BACQUIER et, me semble-t-il José VAN DAM. Mise en scène très noire que Louis ERLO intitula "Des contes d'Hoffmann" tant il avait conscience de sa vision très personnelle (expressionniste ?) qu'il donnait de l'oeuvre d'OFFENBACH. Une publication vraiment très bien venue qui mérite des remerciements.
I really do have to say that this is the most mesmerizing rendition of the doll song I have ever heard. Dessay's angelic voice here is at its prime. I DO like the slowness of the orchestra because it lets her sustain these incredible crystal clear yet warm Natalie sounds. Simply HYPNOTIC...
I could watch this over and over again. Natalie Dessay is simply amazing. How can one not love this miraculous lady?! And yes, she nailed this!
Dessay is the ultimate Opera artist: miraculous singer, gifted actress and a talented dancer. She is one of France's treasures!!! Vive la France! Vive Natalie!
The only Olympia I need to hear forever...
Try Mady Mesple. You may broaden your opinion.
Absolutely!!!!
Dessay forever °°°°
Luciana Serra is the best imo
This aria really works well with the slower tempo. Very pretty. Dessay performs it wonderfully as usual.
I love this woman so much. I like the slower tempo too.
And it is very difficult in this slow tempo.
Goosebumps at 3:51. And that G sustained. The best version of this aria.
She sustains an Ab at the end!
Not exactly the theatrical interpretation I am used to, but vocally she performed the piece extraordinarily well in my opinion. Her delicacy and timing for each note is remarkable!! Staccato while crawling backward on the floor?? That alone is undeniably impressive.
omg the best ending of the aria i ever heard. sound samazing, bravo!
I've never heard a coloratura - and I've heard a million - with more ease and perfect placement on the very top of her range!! Absolutely amazing high Aflat on the end! So musical, so totally involved and expressive dramatically. A complete opera singer in her repertoire!
I really can't believe the human voice can do that.
I love paying attention to the reactions of the other characters... It makes the whole thing so real, powerful. The way that man in the back slowly takes off his hat at 3:07, the old lady at 4:07...
Gui Porto lovely
Yes this stage is so real, and her voice is increadible
Tout simplement extraordinaire... Je pourrais l'écouter toute la journée. Quelle merveille.
She is the perfect doll! I love Natalie! I do hope her vocal cords have not been permanently damaged, perhaps her voice has changed after the operation, not damaged as some say. I heard her at the Met sing in Guilio Caesare. She was fabulous and very acrobatic.
I've come back to this version so many times. In most renditions, it's a doll learning to be more animated and playful. In this version, it's a doll learning to be more human. Maybe not the most fun, but definitely the most beautiful.
Une extraordinaire Nathalie , talent , voix colorature splendide , un présence et un jeu d'actrice émouvants , bref Bravissima
OH. MYYYYYYYY GOODNESS. How impeccable was she?!?!?! I’m blown away.
The bare setting makes the aria even more emotional. And it's probably Dessay's best performance as Olympia. Wonderful.
Просто в захваті. Як можна так ідеально співати.І цей ангелький вигляд.Чудова акторка
,що буває рідко у оперних співаків.Браво,браво,браво.
I've never heard her before but all i can say is wow...incredible!
Natalie Dessay is the most underrated opera singer I know. Her intonation is so perfect she makes your ears buzz with the wealth of overtones. And her range! Plus she doesn't abuse the use of vibrato the way every supposedly "great" opera singer does in our era. Instead, she uses vibrato purely as an accent, an embellishment that adds to the feeling of the music, as it was meant to be used, rather than letting it dominate her voice.
This last point is one of the big reasons why so many people are turned off by opera. The habitual use of vibrato makes the listener have to fight to hear through it to the music. Plus many so called "great" singers use it to cover up what is actually sloppy control of intonation, or the vibrato itself makes them go off-pitch. After awhile, all the singing starts to sound the same to the casual, unschooled listener. And that's because the continual use of poorly controlled vibrato, which is apparently the current style for opera singing (lucky us), really does make everything sound the same. If people hate opera for its pretentiousness, as many say in so many words, it's the fault of voice coaches and artists who are content to follow tradition, instead of pushing past "what's done" to greater heights of creativity and refined expression.
Kudos to Natalie. She deserves it.
natalie dessay is one of the most highly regarded sopranos in the world
E
I love Natalie, but I wouldn’t say she is underrated. She’s well regarded and beloved.
En fait, je trouve que la simplicité de la mise en scène met vraiment en valeur la douceur de sa voix. Cette interprétation est ma préférée de toutes ses interprétations des oiseaux dans la Charmille. La plus tendre et la plus légère...
Elle est sublime !
Elle est fantastique également dans Coppelia.
4:05 what else could one do but adore her - pure loveliness, what power a wonderful interpretation
INCOMPARÁVEL! SIMPLESMENTE A MELHOR SOPRANO LÍRICO QUE JÁ OUVI E VI. MARAVILHOSA...
What an amazing tempo. Pure joy!
This interpretation is so magical. Olympia seems like the Little Mermaid in this, someone that is experiencing so many things for the first time. It is purely beautiful!
So much harder to sing this aria at this tempo. Her voice is so beautiful here and even more importantly, her interpretation. She is a great singing actress.
She's amazing. You can't even hear a strain in her voice even when she was seated and bent her upper body. Superb voice!
Even in this seemingly awkward production and very slow-paced version of this aria, Dessay burns down the stage. Contains bonus coloratura!
I love how in the beginning, she slowly faces the audience and the way she acts like she's new to the world:)
Amazing. She's one of those singers who can sing in even the most impossible positions. Truly enviable.
non ho parole, sono senza fiato
in un mondo che può nn sconvolgere più c'è ancora qualcosa di meraviglioso
je ne m'en lasse pas,cet air fait partie de mes préférés! et chanté par nathalie dessay!
It makes me think that despite a short-lived existence like this doll everyone can still bring love, hope, and joy to anyone around. Like a shooting star, lighten everything up with your uniqueness and your magic. By performing this aria in such a extraordinary way Ms Dessay and her character are transcending time, defeating death and achieving immortality. This is a real jewel of RUclips, pure joy.
¡¡Maravillosa Natalie!!
Esta extraaordinaria voz en todo su apogeo.
Gracias!
You know I must say, I'm not always her BIGGEST fan but holy COW she kills this! She makes it sound so easy- and she's so precise! When she's doing the crab walk around 5:00??? Jeez, that's not easy! Her voice has such clarity here! Love it.
Magnifique sublime!! une telle justesse, une telle interprétation!! Wahou
Wonderful voice! You've made my day. 👏 👏 👏
I imagine many a purist having suffered an aneurysm from this, but I can't help and absolutely LOVE this interpretation of the scene and the tempo and I even feel it makes more sense than the original somewhat gaudy comedic doll scene - just my opinion :)
ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Talk about making high notes float, especially when she's moving on the floor and bending. WoW! She makes it seem so effortless...
Thanks so much for posting this. Her voice is insane. I can't stop watching this.
Fantastic voice Natalie has!!! Great to listen and watch.
Quel talent de comédienne ! Quelle beauté ... On saisi ici toute la dimension de la Diva capable de monter jusqu'au contre-La
Natalie, je vous aime
It’s amazing she can make this sound like a lullaby.
It appears that they have set this scene in an asylum and Olympia is a woman who believes she is a doll. She has a similar vibe to the scary girl in "The Ring" film series.
Samara
4:02 might be the most beautiful sound to ever project from a human voice!
this video deserves more views. I've heard this song in so many versions. Nataly will always be my favorite forever!!!!
I really like this version the best. :) It's brilliant. Her voice is perfect, the setting is original and creepy...it's just all around great.
three G's and a sustained G#..oh my God.And it looks so easy for her...:P
For her is like drinking a cup of wine... Effortless
Queen of high g’S
Mais quelle MERVEILLE, on ne s'en lasse pas...
Comme je le regrette!
No entiendo como la gente no grita y aplaude mas!!! She is SPECTACULAR!!! ESPECTACULAR el final. Que tecnica.
It's a real treat to have this slower version to be able to discern all of the notes, but I can't imagine it would be easy to sing them like that.
Bravo à Nathalie Dessay. Une très belle interprétation. J'aime beaucoup sa voix et surtout la fin quand elle fait un contre la bémol. UN grand don !!!
This is one of my favourite renditions.
She has the most beautiful voice.
La plus belle interprétation !!! Merveilleuse voix !
This performance gave me goosebumps!!! Beyond Fabulous!!!
She owns this aria... certainly the best perfomer of this piece ever...
Tecnica a parte, è il colore della voce che è meraviglioso. E poi che interpretazione! Divina!
What makes this unique is that they made Olympia more human than a doll. It's a perfect way to inject plenty of sublime emotions.
Kudos Ms. Natalie!
so beautiful, since I've found this I can't listen to anything else
She sings as angelically and magically as always but WHAT IS WITH THE STAGING
Actually I kind of liked it, that everyone else are charmed seeing Olimpia, the automaton, as a real lady. But you're right; the costumes and sets are too modern by far
Ya. Quite unusual staging for this song.
I miss the windup key when she runs out of power!
D. Damrau is Queen of the Night, but Natalie Dessay is the Only Olympia. She is not human, omg, omg ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
This is so natural
The slow tempo works perfectly in this setting (some sort of insane asylum). It makes it more haunting and creepy, an effect which I'm sure was intended. Beautiful singing, as always from Dessay. Not every soprano can do runs slowly.
Wonderful!!! Her voice is soooo amazing. And I haven't heard any version better than this one!
This is INCREDIBLE! MY FAVE VERSION OF THIS SON BY FAR!!!!!!!
c'est merveilleux d'entendre Natalie Dessay et "ces oiseaux dans la charmille" superbe!
je ne peux m'empêcher de la mettre dans mes favoris"
merci- odette
This is what I love about Opera, it can be adapted in many diffrent ways. Sure, Offenbach originally wrote Olymmpia as a wind up doll, but how many times have we seen sopranos do this at a recital and break and have their pianist wind them back up? I like this. I also think this not only shows off her technical prowess but her unbeatable tone, but like Sutherland who did it at the speed of light just to show... just my thought
Natalie Dessay has one of the most elegant vibratos in all of music. Nobody sounds like her when it comes to trills and vibrato. Sure, this could mean she isn’t using the same technique, but damn…. She sounds BETTER than most, so who can honestly fault her on technique?
What a BEAUTIFUL Sound, it's like a crystal, beautiful ringing tones. BRAVA,BRAVISIMA
Clicked on this performance out of curiousity..and goodness...what a wonderful surprise. Miss Dessay is magnificent as Olympia. Thanks for posting this rendition.
This was heartbreakingly beautiful!
This is superb. Some people who comment here have nothing better to do than abuse artists. Bravo Natalie.
I love this interpretation of making her more like a newborn than a cartoon. It makes the performance more about the performance than the high notes, which actually go higher than written! Bravo.
OMG That's not humanly possible! 😨😨👏👏👏👏😍😍😍😍
Her g# is so rich at first I thought it was an f or lower. Then I repeated after her on my piano.
She carries so much weight on her high Ab, it is no surprise that she never sang higher than that lol
It's more like an a flat considing the piece is in a flat major :)
Its very pleasant to live in the world of operas, This opera is one of them...
She does each Olympia differently. "In Lyons, she wasn't a doll, but a human being, autistic, who was completely awake only when Hoffmann touched her. It was a very personal production in several senses, theatrically and musically." You can read the interview here: culturekiosque.com/opera/intervie/rhedessay.html
Un enchantement. Merci Natalie.
R.I.P earphones 6:00 SHE KILLED IT!!
Natalie Dessay is amazing! that last note...aaah wonderful
un puro placer de oirla! Merci Nathalie
The man in the back who slowly takes his hat off, is supposedly the stage director for the whole thing...
Incredible! I love the slow tempo.
..bravo.. bravo!!! how wonderful voice you have.. thank you!!!!
Unbelievable perfection.
uhh Dessay is my favourite for sure... i love her sweet voice and her great technique, and i think she is perfect for this role. ^-^ the think that i most admire is that she never stops acting, no matter how difficult is the part of the song, she never stops and just sing, she is always in the character :3
Браво! Восхитительно!
Thanks for uploading! I am going to see her perform at Carnegie Hall on March 12th, really looking forward to it.
A testament to her artistry! Impossible odds and she holds you spellbound!
thank you for posting this magical moment
The best, I've ever heard
Muito inspirador. Adorei. Grande interpretação.
Messa in scena originale.Interpretazione sublime
Adaptation très particulière et passionnante de louis ERLO fascinante et très controversée par les sempiternels gardiens du temple.
Olympia n'est plus une poupée mais un être pur (le seul ?) aimé par les détenus de l'asile d'aliénés.
Donc rien de comique dans son interprétation lumineuse qui contraste avec la noirceur de l'ensemble.
On reconnaît ici le grand Gabriel BACQUIER et, me semble-t-il José VAN DAM.
Mise en scène très noire que Louis ERLO intitula "Des contes d'Hoffmann" tant il avait conscience de sa vision très personnelle (expressionniste ?) qu'il donnait de l'oeuvre d'OFFENBACH.
Une publication vraiment très bien venue qui mérite des remerciements.
Beautiful 🥰
Natalie was born to sing this. Period.
We used to run to the met to hear her in Hoffman and Ariadne auf Naxos and it was amazing she always stole the show it was so amazing in person
Cristina Ramos brought me here but this woman is simply amazing. Her voice just transports into a different universe.
disha bhattacharya true
absolutely, no comparison!
perfect! exemplar! goose bumps!
🎤Absolutely true. Our favorite. She is, will be, Natalie Dessay.