Search - Cheryl Studer :: Coluratura Arias

A surprisingly good recital!

V. Chau | San Diego, CA | 03/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cheryl Studer has been much maligned in recent years. Her repertoire was too large, too varied, and too unequal to be any good for her vocal health. She was just like Callas in that respect. She sang Wagner's heavy roles and then switched to coloratura ones. This could not have been very good for her voice. It is too bad that she left bad recordings of "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "Rigoletto". In this recital, she tackles some difficult coloratura arias. The results are adequate. Her voice is warmer than Deutekom's and she does the runs properly, no glottal gurgling here. Her trill is very nice. Sometimes, one wishes it to be better, as her trill is not uniformly good throughout the disc. Her runs are well done, but some sound quite careful. High notes are attacked with precision and are well pitched. However, some of them are quite squeaky. Characterization is given a good attempt, but it is not always convincing. Her Violetta is disappointing dramatically. Her diction is fantastic. Any comparisons with past sopranos who also recorded the same arias will inevitably find Studer lacking. Some people may not like her open-throated attack on some notes. When she does this, her voice sounds quite raw.This disc is rather short, so it seems unfathomable that the producers did not include the cabaletta to "Casta Diva". This situation is particularly perplexing as all the other arias are given with their cabalettas. Also, "Ah, bello a me ritorna" is not a particularly challenging cabaletta, at least technically. Surely Studer could have handled it."

Great recital with some reservations

V. Chau | 04/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cheryl Studer is fantastic on this recital disc. She really has an amazing coloratura technique. You don't get Sutherland or Sills' total control of the dynamics of coloratura singing, but you do get above average coloratura singing. Ms. Studer has a nice, large voice. It is a bit androgynous and not as attractive as Caballé's or Sutherland's, but at least it is warm and vibrant. Some people say she has a hollow tone to her voice. I don't hear it. Some people just hate her. She is a great artist. She probably provokes Callas fans because of her Callas-like versatility in singing different roles and Sutherland fans because of her dramatic coloratura voice and above-average coloratura technique.On this recital, she does some arias well and others competently. She has a real trill, but it is not uniformly good throughout the disc. I was really convinced by her rendition of the "Sonnambula" aria. Amina is really not for her voice, but here, she sings one of her arias really well. She ends it with a full-throated high note. If only all her ending high notes on this disc were full-throated. Her Violetta is too forceful. "Sempre libera" sounds mad rather than happy and flighty. "Casta diva" could be a bit more ethereal. Also, it was unnecessary for the producers to cut the cabaletta. The aria from "Il Trovatore" really suits her. Leonora is a role that she probably would have sung well. She has the trills that Verdi requests. Too bad she has stopped singing due to vocal decline. Lucia is not a role that suits her. Her voice is too robust and forceful for portraying the mentally unstable heroine. Her rendition of the Prologue from "Lucrezia Borgia" is nice, but Caballé is really the model for how "Tranquillo ei posa . . . Com'è bello!" should be sung. Her Rosina is quite successful. However, the last high note is very squeaky. "Bel raggio lusinghier" is really not up to par with Sutherland's version on "The Art of the Prima Donna". The final high note is squeaky and the runs are quite careful.This recital is great, but do not expect perfect vocalism. It is a touching reminder of the former great artist that Ms. Studer was."

Competent coloratura singing

Steven A. Peterson | Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL) | 12/28/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Cheryl Studer, apparently, is one of those sopranos who attempted to sing a wide range of roles--from Wagner to Donizetti. The liner notes suggest that Richard Bonynge convinced her that the coloratura roles "need a warm, womanly quality, not always available to a girl-like coloratura." I'm not sure that I accept that thesis at the outset, but there is the start.



Three cuts to illustrate her work here:



"Ah! non credea mirarti. . .Ah, non giunge" From Bellini's "La Sonnambula." The first segment is sung pretty well. She shows a nice trill early on. There are a handful of vocal affectations here and there. She has a richer, darker voice than many taking on coloratura roles. Next, the well-known cabaletta. She shows good vocal agility. Ornamentation is okay. The higher notes feature some harshness here and there. The repeat is more florid. Trills later on are not as good as the inaugural one.



"Regnava nel silenzio. . .Quando rapito in estasi." From Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." "Regnava nel silenzio" is capably sung. There is, as noted before, some harshness in higher notes. There is also uneven trill technique. The cabaletta follows. It is solidly sung. The repeat features more embellishments. This is decently sung--but not at the level of a Sills or a Sutherland.



"Una voce poco fa." From Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia." Again, some harshness with higher notes, as well as those notes when she sings with "power." Not so attractive a sound. She provides us a competent--but not compelling--version of this work. The final note has a strangled quality to it.



My own view is that Studer is surely better than, say, Gencer, but not anywhere near Sills or Sutherland.

"