Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

[marionravenwood]

NPR has a whole aria up. This is a ridiculously famous Handel song, but with good reason. Scroll all the way down to number nine. It plays an ad first.

Ombra mai fu

There is also an interview with vocal clips. (It's kind of creepy: she talks about her sister's death a bit.)

Comments

[chanel19]

I don't know much about opera, but that was really lovely.

[marionravenwood]

I don't either, really, but "Ombra mai fu" is one of the most famous Handel songs outside of the "Messiah." A million years ago when I was a voice student it was considered overdone--everyone wanted to sing it because it's so catchy and pretty, but it's really not a good song for voice students because that sustained first note ("Oooooooombra.....") is just devilishly hard. Listening to it now reminds me what a simple, beautiful song it is.

Hunt Lieberson's version is remarkable because of her phrasing. It's really unusual, not at all the way you usually hear this song sung. Her singing has a transparent quality--you don't hear her technique, you don't hear her voice, you just hear *her*. You can listen to this other npr piece that contrasts her with Renee Fleming, who is certainly no slouch either, but Fleming, to me, is showier and not as intimate.