Alagna seems to be flat in a lot of places here. Almost consistantly just a little bit flat. The note at 1:05 is excellent though. It is interesting how different singers make different parts of a single aria more important. That spot didn’t jump out at me in either of the previous performances, but here it did. Haha. For example, here the drama of 2:17 is totally dampened, whereas in Domingos performance (perhaps because of the conductor) that line really exploded. 3:15 is a little bit pushed.
Archive for January 22nd, 2010
Carmen “Flower Song” – Placido Domingo, 1978
January 22, 2010This voice has a sort of muffled quality to it. I don’t quite understand it, but its different somehow. It’s more apparent in the top. It doesn’t quite feel solid. It seems akin to standing on ice somehow. The notes slide in and out of each other. I’d hate to think that it is just the advance of the recording technology, but there seems to be a little more fire in this performance than in Bjorlings. Especially around 2:23. That didn’t jump out at me at all in Bjorlings, but here it definitely did. Also the drama of 3:32 is more emphasized here.
Jussi Bjorling – Bizet – Flower Song
January 22, 2010I like the music around 1:30 a lot. Those few descending figures from 1:30 to about 1:38 are nice. This aria doesn’t pack the power that I like. I’ll concede that 2:28 to to 2:38 is excellent music too. The pen-ultimate note around 2:58 is a little bit flat but that is forgivable.
