Renata Tebaldi

[Tsaraslondon]

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant mid range - the middle part of the voice, up to G if I'm not mistaken. That's because although Minnie demands a spinto voice of some power, it doesn't lie all that high.

I'm not aware that Tebaldi sang any religious works? She may have sung the Verdi Requiem early in her carreer, but I'm not even sure she did. And I doubt very much she sang Carmen or Manon  . Do you have links for those youtube vids?

She certainly sang the Verdi Requiem, and it remains a mystery to me why Decca never recorded her in the work. She is superb in the extracts I have of her singing it under Toscanini's baton.

[Lilas Pastia]

I seemed to recall she sang it under Toscanini but my memory is not too clear on details. IIRC he chose her when she was a mere 22. I couldn't find any info on an actual concert, let alone recorded extracts

[Tsaraslondon]

I seemed to recall she sang it under Toscanini but my memory is not too clear on details. IIRC he chose her when she was a mere 22. I couldn't find any info on an actual concert, let alone recorded extracts

Well there's this once. I think it's the same performance I have excerpts from. The sound isn't great, but Tebaldi is spectacular.

http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Requiem-Deum-Preludes-Overtures/dp/B00005228Z/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1199039307&sr=1-5

[wagnernn]

Here ate the links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAmVTVJojSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBE6D0eVN9w
Perhaps Tebaldi didn't sing complete Manon

[wagnernn]

I remeber that Tebaldi sang Mozart's Requiem (With Karajan?).How about this performance?

[Lilas Pastia]

Thanks for the vids, wagnernn. They show the artist still in good voice, but unfortunately they also highlight all that was wrong with her. In another thread (the Harnoncourt one) it is mentioned that Harnoncourt will not conduct Strauss because he had such immense talent but did not use it ("at its fullest" is what I suppose was implied).

Think of the talents parable (excellent description here, just read the first very short paragraph) .  "Talents" in that particular context is a monetary unit, but it also symbolizes what the gods have entrusted us with. With such immense gifts as those Tebaldi had, it is very unfortunate that she chose to always stay within a very narrow comfort zone. That is exemplified by her refusal to learn singing in other languages. The Carmen habanera is really eloquent in that regard... . Another unavoidable fact is that despite singing in her own language she is unwilling (unable?) to make anything of the words - admittedly she was singing quite late in her carreer, but there's no escaping the fact that she is making choices here, and she sacrifices verbal meaning for the sake of vocal production. A video is worth a thousand words 0:)

I know that Tebaldi is most often compared to Callas, but apart from the contemporaneousness and the fact they shared and often alternated on the same italian stages, I think she might best be pitted against Leonie Rysanek. Here is an artist similarly endowed and who shrewdly husbanded similar vocal resources and artistic abilities. And yet she developed incessantly, never ceasing to explore and evolve. She never sacrificed anything artisticaly. When she couldn't (or wouldn't) sing Sieglinde or Lady Macbeth, she went for Medea, Salome and Elektra . When that proved too much for a 60-year old, she went for Klytamnaestra and Kostelnicka. It's beyond me that there are still people pining for Tebaldi when they could have so much better.

[wagnernn]

Oh,please help "Translate" this Hymn into modern English 0:)
Ah! turn me not away, receive me, tho' unworthy!
Hear Thou my cry, behold, Lord, my distress!
Answer me from Thy throne, haste Thee, Lord, to mine aid,
Thy pity show in my deep anguish!
Let not the sword of vengeance smite me,
Tho' righteous Thine anger, O Lord!
Shield me in danger, O Regard me! On Thee, Lord, alone will I call.
O Divine Redeemer! O Divine Redeemer!
I pray Thee, grant me pardon, and remember not my sins!
Forgive me, O divine Redeemer!
Night gathers round my soul; fearful I cry to Thee;
Come to mine aid, O Lord! Haste Thee, Lord, haste to help me!
Hear my cry, Save me, Lord, in Thy mercy;
Hear my cry! Come and save me, O Lord!
O, divine Redeemer! I pray Thee, grant me pardon,
And remember not, O Lord, my sins!
Save, in the day of retribution, from Death shield Thou me, O my God!
O, divine Redeemer, have mercy! Help me, my Savior
Tebaldi sings this Hymn beautifully