Most of the time, I really
dislike Maria Callas' voice (Sorry, everyone. I know that's a special kind of
operatic heresy.) She made some truly dreadful sounds. (Gluck – see below)
Sometimes, I really like Maria Callas'
voice. She made some absolutely lovely sounds (now and then)! (Bellini – see below)
Speaking of Bellini, almost
everything he wrote sounds the same to me – even the bits that I already know.
Almost everything Gluck
wrote also sounds the same to me – even the bits from Orfeo/Orphee; although I
definitely like Gluck better than Bellini.
Anna Moffo had a pretty
spectacular voice (I know, that's not really news.) At least Bellini is really pretty when she sings it.
Véronique Gens also
has a spectacular voice, especially when she’s singing in French.
James King sounded pretty darned good back in the early 60s – even singing Gluck in German.
Vesselina Kasarova has at
least three voices, and she uses them all to great effect, especially in this
Orphee excerpt in the Gluck program. (It's credited to an RCA CD, but I think it's the same
performance as on this DVD.)
Richard Croft's voice is
still god-like. (Also not news, but...oh my!)
Google Chrome continues to aggravate by automatically translating (or trying to translate) any page that's not in English. OTOH, it does provide a hearty giggle now and then. For example, this aria from I Capuleti e i Montecchi entitled
"O, fifty flip" (O, quante volte).