Shirley Verrett 1931-2010

[whipped guy]

The opera world lost another prominent figure from the recent past, mezzo-soprano turned soprano Shirley Verrett. I always thought that she was a natural mezzo and sounded better as such, but she had other ideas for her distinctively smooth, rich, and velvety voice… In any event, the majority of her recorded legacy concentrates on mezzo and second soprano roles such as Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia, Jane Seymour in Anna Bolena, Neocle in L'Assedio di Corinto, Adalgisa in Norma, etc. She eventually sang the title role in Norma, plus the lead roles in Tosca and Aida. Another soprano role was that of Leonora in Fidelio… However, I am partial to her other Leonora… the title role in La Favorita which she sang brilliantly at the MET opposite Pavarotti.

[+ Charlie]

I hadn't realized how old she was. I liked her better in mezzo roles, before she switched to soprano--same for Bumbry. What really made her reputation, however, was when she stepped up in an emergency to sing both Cassandra and Dido in the same performance of "Troyens" at the Met, a true tour de force. I was living in London at the time, and it was the talk of the opera community there the next day.

[+ Italiano]

I saw her Lady Macbeth at La Scala in 1978, and that was an unforgettable experience! She was such a FANTASTIC Lady, my only alternative (and quite different) to Callas', and a step above Dimitrova's.

I also recall a recital at La Scala, about 1981, where she sang among other beautiful things a fantastic "Pace mio Dio" from Verdi's La Forza. Not so fond of her Norma or Tosca (even with some good moments). And of course fantastic in most of the mezzo repertory she sang. I found her middle range (just above her beautiful chest tones) was a bit weak.

But she definitely deserves a special place in the world of opera stars.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgiqYe46mwM

[leigh.bess.toad]

I am horribly saddened by the news of the loss of Shirley Verrett. A truly remarkable artist.

 

However, unlike others, with my screen name, I can only think of one tribute: a 1977 performance by La Verrett with Zubin Mehta of the Liebestod.

 

 

I find this to be a simply incandescent performance of which too few are rarely seen these days. Even though she obviously could not have performed a complete Isolde on stage, this performance is simply remarkable for the depth of emotion she brings to it. It is one of my favorite recordings of the Liebestod on Youtube. I get chills every time I hear it. However, tonight it is twinged with sadness.

 

And thanks for a magnificent artist who gave so much to so many of us for so many years in so many roles.

 

RIP Ms. Verrett -- you were a magnificent artist. You have given me and others countless hours of joy and excitement. You will be remembered among the greats of yours and all generations.

 

And thank you.

[whipped guy]

Lee... Thanks for posting this... I always hear Nilsson's voice in this piece even though she was most likely a half size too big for it... well Nilsson was a size too big for just about everything she sang! At any rate, it is always good to hear a really distinctive voice sing this piece and a voice that doesn't embody any aspects of the warrior Brunhilde... I think you get what I mean, a more feminine sound. Plus the voice is distinctive in a positive way... I can always identify Verrett's voice when I hear it. It is not often like that with many of todays homogenized sounding singers.

 

Now the best part... She sang Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate just prior to this on that live telecast... Now that's versatility... Nilsson probably would not have pulled that one off as sucessfully... well, perhaps early in her career when she did sing Mozart, but the coloratura always gave her a bit of grief... as per her recording of Don Giovanni (a favorite by the way)... but Leinsdorf has to slow things down for the concluding section of "Non mi dir". Now Verrett on the other hand got though the technical difficulties of Rossini's The Siege of Corinth with flying colors... as I said that's being versatile!!!!

 

Yes, she was special!

[leigh.bess.toad]

Lee... Thanks for posting this... I always hear Nilsson's voice in this piece even though she was most likely a half size too big for it... well Nilsson was a size too big for just about everything she sang! At any rate, it is always good to hear a really distinctive voice sing this piece and a voice that doesn't embody any aspects of the warrior Brunhilde... I think you get what I mean, a more feminine sound. Plus the voice is distinctive in a positive way... I can always identify Verrett's voice when I hear it. It is not often like that with many of todays homogenized sounding singers.

 

Now the best part... She sang Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate just prior to this on that live telecast... Now that's versatility... Nilsson probably would not have pulled that one off as sucessfully... well, perhaps early in her career when she did sing Mozart, but the coloratura always gave her a bit of grief... as per her recording of Don Giovanni (a favorite by the way)... but Leinsdorf has to slow things down for the concluding section of "Non mi dir". Now Verrett on the other hand got though the technical difficulties of Rossini's The Siege of Corinth with flying colors... as I said that's being versatile!!!!

 

Yes, she was special!

 

Birgit is my gold standard for this work. But I find Shirely's performance to be so completely different as to make it almost an entirely different piece. More feiminine and earthy in a way. I am just drawn to this performance.

 

She was a remarkable artist. Unlike you, I do have difficulty identifying her voice. In spite of perfect pitch, an exceptionally trained ear and years of vocal training, the number of singers I can identify by sound is, for some reason, limited: Price, Scotto, Pavarotti, Nilsson, Milnes, Horne, Correlli are among the liimited few -- but it's a great few.

 

And like you, I do love the Nilsson Giovanni. It is a remarkable performance and one of my favorites. But the thought of Birgit trying the Exsultate Jubilate is almost giggle-inducing.

 

We are losing the stars of my youth and it saddens me and makes me realize how really old I am getting. But for their contributions to the world of opera, and to the joy and excitement the brought me, I am forever in their debt.

 

RIP Dear Shirley. You were a truly unique and remarkable artist. And you will be remembered forever in the hearts and ears of fans everywhere.

[whipped guy]

She was a remarkable artist. Unlike you, I do have difficulty identifying her voice. In spite of perfect pitch, an exceptionally trained ear and years of vocal training, the number of singers I can identify by sound is, for some reason, limited: Price, Scotto, Pavarotti, Nilsson, Milnes, Horne, Correlli are among the liimited few -- but it's a great few.

On a good day I am pretty good at identifying voices and that was my favorite portuion of the old Texaco Opera Quiz. There is usually something that tips it off. Still some voices elude me.. one person told me that Freni and De Los Angeles are quite distinctive and those are two that I simply can't figure out. As for Verrett I find the voice very distinctive and especially when she makes a "you" sound in words such as "un" and "udir" etc.

 

 

And like you, I do love the Nilsson Giovanni. It is a remarkable performance and one of my favorites.

it was the first opera set that I owned... and Siepi and Corena (another distinctive voice!) will forever be the Don and Leporello! Valletti (again easy to identify) is also a favorite Also I think Nilsson is perfect until the final moments of "Non mi dir"... and Price was better suited for Elvira as opposed to the Anna that she normally sang. I also love the fact that the Leporello/Zerlina duet from the Vienna version is included.

 

We are losing the stars of my youth and it saddens me and makes me realize how really old I am getting. But for their contributions to the world of opera, and to the joy and excitement the brought me, I am forever in their debt.

 

RIP Dear Shirley. You were a truly unique and remarkable artist. And you will be remembered forever in the hearts and ears of fans everywhere.

Ditto... but please think of some special way to resist getting old... !!! ;)

[+ Charlie]

I also find some voices very easy to recognize (Bjorling or Bergonzi, for example), yet I almost never recognize Domingo, even though I have heard him countless times live and in recordings. I am one of those who does recognize de los Angeles right away--something about the vibrato speaks directly to me--but I also can't detect Freni until I have listened to the performance for several minutes.

[leigh.bess.toad]

In a way this discussion on recognizable voices is also sad for another reason: All these voices are of an older generation, when that distinctive voice was so cherished. Today who can we say is truly that distinctive voice that is immediately recognizable -- precious few. For me the obvious is JDF - Florez is the only truly distinctive voice. Rene Pape is also easily distinguishable But very few others. We have no Price, Nilsson, Scotto, Cossotto, Horne, Pavarotti, Corelli, McCracken, Hotter, Milnes, Dieskau, Callas, Sutherland (although she was easy to spot because I couldn't understand a word of what she was singing ). We have no great Norma, Otello, Tristan or Isolde, Brunnhilde or Wotan. It is with fear and trepidation I hear of someone takikng on Norma. I'm afraid I will never get to see the T&I I have in my head live of Nilsson, Windgassen, Hotter. And I worry. I was at the Rheingold broadcast several weeks ago. I am 55 years old. The theater in town was probably 90%+ filled (which was great). But I know I was among the youngest 10% of the audience. The homoginizagtion of sounds is taking away a lot of the thrill for me. Yes the performances are good, the singing is of a good consistant quality. But there is no star power. There is a sameness to much of it. I hope that Pape will become the Wotan I think he is capable of. But who would be Brunnhilde?

 

Verrett was of that earlier generation. A remarkable talent from mezzo to soprano who could do it all. Who today could sing magnificent versions of both the Liebestod and O Don Fatale? Verrett could and did. Her Eboli was the best. I consider myself blessed to have heard most of these artists live. Even though she was before my time, I mourned the loss of Giulietta Simionato this year - the Verdi mezzo being almost non-existent nowadays (save Zajick). The directors have taken over the opera houses and I fear not for the better. The voice teachers of today are leading to the homoginization. It seems that only rarely will we be allowed to hear a magnificent artist such as Stephanie Blythe because of the body issues. I fear Pavarotti today would not have made it. Understand, as a gay man I am more than thrilled to look at hunkentenors and barihunks all day long. But I don't think you would ever confuse Melchior or Warren for either of those.

 

And I wonder who will the 8 year old of today be able to remember with such vivid recall as we all seem to have of our favorites when he is our age 50 years hence. Life is a pendulum and perhaps it will swing back. I hope so. But I worry that so much will have been lost and will never be able to be recaptured.

 

And more's the pity.

[+ Charlie]

I started going to live performances only 50 years ago, so I never saw some of the legendary singers of the 40s and 50s, like Flagstad, Melchior, Warren, Milanov, Steber, Bjorling, Olivero, etc. But I remember my elders lamenting that the singers you laud above, the stars of my youth, were no match for the ones they remembered (my mother used to go on about Rosa Ponselle). So today's youngsters may have the same memories of Fleming, Florez, Netrebko, Zajick, etc.

[leigh.bess.toad]

I started going to live performances only 50 years ago, so I never saw some of the legendary singers of the 40s and 50s, like Flagstad, Melchior, Warren, Milanov, Steber, Bjorling, Olivero, etc. But I remember my elders lamenting that the singers you laud above, the stars of my youth, were no match for the ones they remembered (my mother used to go on about Rosa Ponselle). So today's youngsters may have the same memories of Fleming, Florez, Netrebko, Zajick, etc.

 

Charlie -- I agree -- to a point. There will always be the Flagstad v. Nilsson debate. That one will never be reseolved. And Magda Olivero can outsing many of the sopranos on the world stage today and she's 100 (which is frightening). I do love that woman so much. But I just don't see the depth of unique talent, especialy in certain voice types. The Wagnerian wing is virtually decimated. We have no true Brunhilde, no Tristan, no Hans Sachs. The Verdi mezzo is gone save Zajick. The Verdi soprano is is left us besides Radvanovsky -- they won't let Millo near the Met. Doing a Don Carlo where you need all 6 standouts is next to imposssible. Instead we get cookie cutter voices. All good, all competent. But none spectacular. That is what makes JDF so special -- his gift is unique. Fleming to me is more marketing than anything. In certain rep she is very good (Strauss for example). But her repuation to me is more of an operatc MILF.I don't think anyone could put her against a Milanov, Steber, Ferrell, Price, Tebaldi, Freni, Scotto, Olivero. On the whole, I would rather have a Pilar Lorengar or Teresa Zylis-Gara any day of the week for the sheer consistency and beauty of the voice.

 

I will grant the greatness of prior generations. I willl grant the greatness of current talent. It just seems to me that the depth of that current talent is what is missing. It isn't that it isn't there. It is the uniqueness of that talent that is missing. And that's what I fear is missing. And I grant it may well be the ravings of an old man. Similar to the ravings of old men from every generation. But I try to take those prior ravings into account and I'm afraid for the future of the art for we love so dearly.

[whipped guy]

Lee I agree with so much of what you say... I find most of today's voices all sound alike except for Florez and a few others... We certainly don't have a Rolando Panerai whose voice embodied all the sunshine of "La Bella Italia"... Not one voice of such a calaber... Or a Luigi Alva, yes he was a tenorino... but the voice was distinctive. Shoot! Even a forth rate soprano such as Rosanna Carteri had a distinctive voice!!!!! Not to mention Gencer who was not good enough to get a recording contract!!!!

 

So, while we will never be treated to the Forza or Tristan of one's dreams... we do have singers today who can negotiate Handel and Rossini... and since I love Rossini I am like a pig in "you know what" to be able to hear his great serious operas sung in a fashion that he might have recognized. I think that there should be more use of head voice by the tenors... but that is a compromise for our 21st Century ears... Though we might soon be able to hear it done correctly. Heck if we can accept a countertenor we should tolerate a tenor singing the highest tones in a strong falsetto... It may come soon!

 

So there is a chance for us Rossinians... and not much hope for the Wagnerians, Verdians, and even the Puccinians!