Date sent: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 18:26:45 EST
Subject: Re: Aida (no mean feat?)
To: vocalist
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Well, as far as I know... I have NOT seen or heard a recording of that
particular performance. But, I DO know that not many Aidas, if any at all,
sing anything above a High C (which is the highest note called for note-wise
by the role). The fact that she sang a High E astounds me... given the
tour-de-force of the combined scenes there - the confrontation with Amneris
immediately precedes the triumphal entrace of Radames. However, I have heard
many Aidas, and not a single one has done that. As a matter of fact, I don't
know whether it's a fact of mustering or a matter of "fach" and/or range. La
Callas could pull something like that off... she spent a lot of her career
popping High E's above large orchestration and chorus combined. However, most
Aidas that I have heard (with the exception of Nilsson, Price, and their
like) have been rather heavy-chested (vocally) and can pop the high notes
easily... but back off vocally when they reach the extreme of the higher
range. Now, in "O patria mia," it's called for. But during the triumphal
scene... Aida, near the end, is kind of "in the mix." Verdi, in my opinion,
seemed to place it that way purposefully - her grief is lost amongst the
various other things going on at the time. But that High E there would be
something I would not hold against La Callas' vocal character. It's a rather
"diva" move, if I must say so... and not many other Aidas, if any, have done
that.