He's the WORST - La Donna è mobile | REACTION | Aria Explained
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- 🔥 Back with another Aria Explained, and this time the tenors are up!
It's impossible not to know the aria, La donna è mobile, from Verdi's opera Rigoletto - the melody is ubiquitous in mainstream culture, but do you know what it's actually about?! Let me help in this series, Aria Explained, where I break down what's happening in the aria and more often than not get carried away by the amazing singing. Today we're looking at Giuseppe di Stefano (together with Luciano Pavarotti and Jussi Björling)
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Clips used in this video:
🎼 Giuseppe di Stefano as the Duke of Mantua
• La Donna e Mobile in C...
🎼 Luciano Pavarotti as the Duke of Mantua - 1983
• Luciano Pavarotti - La...
🎼 Jussi Björling as the Duke of Mantua
• Jussi Björling sings "...
I've seen Rigoletto once, in a lacklustre production at L'opéra de Montréal. Back in 1997 I think. Still enjoyed it a lot. My girlfriend at the time was bored stiff, because even with the subtitles she couldn't understand much. But when we walked back home she was humming the tunes.
Oh and next time please do a Mozart aria.
Thank you Anna! I'm Italian but I don't know anything about opera. This aria and the fact that women are fickle was used against me in a past toxic relationship I had. Thank you for unveiling the true meaning of it ❤️
I think the Duke makes a lot of projection in that aria. He's the one who is fickle and unfaithful.
Tenor Joseph Schmidt 1904 - 1942 sings the very best cadenza at the end of this aria. You can find on YT his recordings in Italian and German. There is also a remarkable live recording from his concert at Carnegie Hall around 1937. Schmidt died of heart failure after fleeing Nazi persecution and seeking refuge in Switzerland in November 1942. The Swiss believed he was faking chest pains to get out of digging ditches in a work camp and refused treatment. Joseph Schmidt was barely 1.5m or 4 ft 11 in height. For this reason his short career was mainly in records of various productions,
true he was short and yet in the concerts on stage it did not matter, or in film a great Lyric tenor and the 1937 Carnegie hall hall "Live" ( La Donna e Mobile) he snag in Italian is the best Cadenza in the aria of anyone and it's live, no re- takes! he did studio record it in both German and Italian a great lyric tenor , he also sang Boheme complete in the opera house in Brussels with good reviews but hard finding a Mimi for him as he was just under five feet tall, his voice was very great as a lyric tenor and big enough to fill Carnegie hall with no amplification, yes sadly his ending as he was Jewish in that time, 1942 landed him in a Swiss internment camp after running away from Germany and Austria, he should of stayed in NY after the 1937 concerts he sang but returned on advice of his manager uncle, Mr. leo Engel, a sad ending at age 38 in 1942 and dead.
Good post about Schmidt you made and yes he did sing many concerts and also a few times in full opera productions, besides radio and concert recitals , they had a hard time finding a soprano shorter then he was, even the lady wearing flats and Schmidt in higher heel type shoes that raised his height a few inches, he was Born in Romania to a Jewish family and was first a Cantor in a synagogue, learning the liturgy in Hebrew was not hard for him, as he had a fine talent and ear, he later sang in German, some Italian and also a few French and English songs, his films where very popular in Germany playing a short man with a operatic voice and rarely lucky in romances almost like his own life, he died tragically alone in 1942 at age 38 after being placed in the Swiss internment camp, he had been caught up in occupied France, plenty of info is available if you google " tenor Josef Schmidt "
Hi Anna so I am going to make you jealous ( sorry😁) because I got to hear Giuseppe Di Stefano live in a concert. It was during my first full time opera season. He had been asked to sing for the anniversary concert of the Mediteranean Musical Circle in the opera house in Nice. Infact he had given the Circle's first ever recital when it was originally created, so that was why they invited him for the anniversary. He was in his 70s and he came on stage first of all to speak to his public. He humbly said that his great voice was gone now , but he wanted to share with us the songs of Paulo Tosti. He then proceeded to sing and with each song it all became more and more magical. His artistry was intact, his voice may have taken on a few wrinkles with age, but it was still beautiful and I will always remember it.
I just very recently started getting into opera. The first time I ever heard an aria was when watching Tom and Jerry as a kid. It feels so good to revisit something you watched as a kid and fully immerse yourself into many many years later.
As far as I can tell, that's how quite a few people have gotten into it! I know for sure that was my first exposure to it, although I didn't know what it was at the time. I even did a video about it - if you haven't seen it, maybe check it out and see if the Tom and Jerry is there! :D
@@operaanna I still go back to the episode which I remember it from. It’s called “The Cat above and the Mouse Below” and believe me when I say that the Baritone does such an amazing job. Probably one of the best versions of Figaro’s aria I have ever heard. Although that could be the childhood bias talking lol
@@joshnippleton3449 Love that! I'm also certain I didn't cover it in that episode, but I'd love to do a follow-up!
Dear Anna, this is my first time watching one of your videos, that popped up in my feed by accident (and what a delightful accident that was!!), a couple of minutes in I subscribed to the channel! Your energy and enthusiasm, and smile, are amazing! Keep up the great work, darling!
Oh my gosh thank you so much!! Glad to have you 🤗
I'm on a summer break right now but prepping lots of new things for the next season!
Thanks, Anna for analysis of this great aria from a great opera . Three other outstanding arias I also love ❤️❤️❤️ from this opera. - Caro Nome, Questa o quella, and perhaps my favorite from Rigoletto the intricate quartet Bella figlia dell amore. Thanks for these posts .
YESS!! I need to do Caro nome soon, and eventually it'd be great to look at ensembles, cause they have so much going on! ❤ Thanks for watching!
Tucker had a big spinto with power, I saw him and Jussi Bjoerling both first in the late 1950's and early 1960's saw the big powerful spinto tenor Tucker, he had a fine Cadenza also, as he also was a Cantor first and learned early on about that ability which requires a flexible voice and technique, he also was a great Canio live in Pagliacci I saw him sing it in 1973 in house at the Met. as was Del Monaco the great dramatic tenor and wonderful Otello, I saw him in 1959 in house singing Otello and then at age 19, I already knew Mario Del Monaco was a sensational Otello.
Male boasting seems to practically be a genre for arias! I wasn't especially familiar with the actual lyrics to this particular aria, but hearing you describe it keeps reminding me of "Madama, il catalogo è questo" from Don G. Thanks for this nice dive into the aria. Really interesting!
Absolutely!! Don G and the Duke definitely share some womanizing qualities 😏 Thanks so much for watching!
Thanks Anna. This is one of my favorite arias, but I
had no idea it was so misogynistic and dark. Still great to listen to though. Thanks for your cheerful and joy filled videos. You clearly love your vocation.
Thanks John! It's definitely confusing listening to it while pairing it with the text, but that also says something about the character and intention and makes it somehow more enjoyable in a way... So glad you liked the video
She left out some of the best ones of all time, like most of all schmidt, also the very powerful voice of tucker was excellent, with a fine cadenza and high B , and how about Polish tenor jan kiepura, a very good version, also tenor shicoff. The state of the art recording from 1950 was jan peerce and warren with German Soprano erna berger
4:02 Actually Rigoletto speaks (well, sings 😜) of her in the duet of him and his daughter. I'm speaking by memory but he tells something of her doing it with him because of kindness...
I can't think of any other opera in which the tenor is the villain.
Interesting, me neither!!
Queen of Spades!
Cupcake pants! Love it!
A link to Joseph Schmidt's live performance around 1937 from Carnegie Hall. Remember the primitive recoding recording equipment on which this was made possible. ruclips.net/video/4Behiv6m2S0/видео.html
WOW I need to showcase this recording. Stunning
@@operaanna from the same concert series his Una Furtiva Lagrima has amazing runs and a lengthy trill from about 4:44 ruclips.net/video/ljuCiuw5Y-o/видео.html
it was in 1937 and is fantastic he also had great high C's and even D flat, most of his recordings are from the 1930's of course a tragic ending at age 38. RIP.
@@diplomamilldoc8562 Yes, I agree!
Fantastic tenor Schmidt in this aria.
my father grew upo in the depression and only had an 8th grade education. but he loved Verdi and especially this aria.
please please please do Nessun dorma please.
Another good one! Keep'em coming!
Bjorling sings and open Eh, eh, then a covered huh on theBb. Then pen suhr! Pavaroti sings a covered eh, eh, eh up to that Bb. then pen suhr! Di Stefano is just the master of natural sounding singing. His diminuendos are so beautiful they are disarming.
It is really stunning
DiStefano blew his voice up at an early age with this technique. I can't remember Rudolf Bing's exact quote but something like DiStefano could have had a career that rivaled Caruso, but...... Bjorling, Tucker, and Pavoratti had long careers because of singing with proper technique. Thanks for a great, informative video.
Correct, agree!@@uofi1963
I think the item he's holding might just be a riding crop although I don't know why he would have one
Its a mystery... I'd have to see the whole thing I guess
I am wondering if it is a swagger stick. It was carried as a sign of authority by men of social and military stature in former times. The name provides a cue.
Nessun dorma with Pavarotti.
And, especially CORELLI
Miss soprano, you’ve chosen a profession where Italian most be pronounced correctly,
to begin with your name isn’t Aina but ANNA, Rigoletto isn’t but Rigoleto but RigoleTTo.
Lol I can't believe you came after my name
i love it
If I had never heard this aria I would never have listened to any operas. Verdi knew it was so catchy he withheld it from the tenor until the dress rehearsal so nobody would be humming it on the street. Did you know that it was Caruso who invented the card toss?.
PS Don't you think di Stefano and Callas were having am affair about this time? He was a womanizer and she was married to an old man, and they each hitched their wagons to the other's rising star. I don't care how popular he 'Pippo' was with Italians, he had a generic voice.
The original F* Boi song, but it is so catchy!
Hahahah a perfect description!
Nessun Dorman plis
Pavarotti was a fan of G. Di Stefano but in Rigoletto he was even better. Di Stefano was a great tenor but not the greatest while is voce was really the number one.
Addio, speranza ed anima...😙
JUSSI BJÖRLING?? PLEACE REACT!!!
🤩🤩🤩🤩
Jussi in house had an adequate size basically lyric tenor but it was never a large "spinto" voice but did give that impression on records, still very great in Lyric roles he did avoid Forza, Chener, Carmen, Juive, wisely but had some success with Aida in the smaller Opera houses in Europe, but only sang it here in Chicago in a run once, but with less success, a very fine tenor of perfection in many kinds of music, a greater artist then most tenors in his time or today.@@operaanna
Viva Verdi!
I Model myself after the Duke
13:16 there is no anglophone country in the world where "assassin" is a verb. Maybe. In the UK it would be "assassinate".
Otherwise: great insights into the aria.
Rigoletto is, in this century, a horrible piece of glorious music wrapping terrible social standards. Yuk, but: what a tune.
I struggle to know how to respond to it.
Strange things happen to your brain when there's a camera in front of your face 😂
@@operaanna That was rude of me, wasn't it? Sorry about that: we all knew what you meant.
@@davidgould9431 totally agree with you about the opera..ridiculous and horrible but such nice music all around!
You forgot to mention that Di Stefano was OFTEN Flat on the high notes, and his voice was ruined by 1960. His very POOR vocal technique, lifestyle choices, and because he sang too open without covering his voice were the main contributing factors of Di Stefano burning out too soon.
we should celebrate his best singing and not make snarky comments about his lesser performances.
@@diplomamilldoc8562 not a "snarky" comment, but a statement of truth that should serve as a warning to all young tenors. Carreras and many other tenors have followed in the path of Di Stefano in that they too burnt out too soon by being bad caretakers of their voices. Grigolo is more recent example of poor vocal management.
@@operadog2000 Ther are quite a few videos Rolando Villazon cracking, trying to sound like Di stefano
14:54 that is a staged scene of Di Stefano lip-syncing, and it's not a live performance.
Good to know! I didn't realize, although I guess I could've figuered it out, since he is STARING at the camera 😅
@@operaanna Well the Corelli RAI is under studio conditions, very good but his best and huge most famous role was in the opera Turnadot which fit him like a glove, there is a live Richard Tucker, the American great tenor (1913-1975) at age 56 on the Ed Sullivan TV show on you tube in 1970, singing Vest La Giubba, that is excellent, he sings it more over the top, then when I saw him do it in the opera house, none the less even older it was exciting when you saw him in house, it was like a jet plane landed in your living room,! in house if possible, is the best way to know a voice, he died in 1975 at age 61 after singing over 700 times at the Met . and in other cities and countries. I'm 83 now but have my memories of great singers, better then than now IMO.