Search - Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi, Oliviero de Fabritiis :: Classic Recitals: Elena Suliotis

Diva: Flawed but Irresistible

M. Keating | Minneapolis, MN USA | 12/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Suliotis inspired more criticism than any soprano who sang in the 60s and 70s. She was often accused of being a Callas wannabe, but she demonstrated over and over again that she was Suliotis! To hell with wannabe! I suspect she believed herself to be better than Callas. I my opinion she was.



Suliotis had a flawed instrument-just as Callas did. They were both often criticized for their chest notes, but both understood the dramatic shiver that can accompany a properly executed chest note. I defy you to find more emotionally moving notes than the ones delivered by Suliotis in Ponchielli's "Suicidio" from La Gioconda.



This CD displays Suliotis at her best and her worst. She did not receive the kind of training that other great sopranos expected, thus she sang with a natural, unbridled talent that soared toward ecstasy and fumbled toward mediocrity-sometimes in the same musical passage. In this CD you will hear every missed note, chopped passage, and hollow delivery. But you simply won't care, because you will also be borne aloft by her utterly gorgeous high notes, her lush low notes, her perfect use of chest notes, her unmatched passion for the character. You will weep and cheer at the end of each song-happy for having had the opportunity to enjoy this incredible singer.



Such a loss that her breakneck style of singing destroyed her voice so quickly. She must have known that she was shortening her career by her fiery style, but she was Suliotis. There was no other way.

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Amazing Vocalism and a Beautiful Woman!

Impostazione | New York City Area | 10/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this soprano! She is superb! That is my opinion. One would have to go back to Gina Cigna or Maria Caniglia to find a precedent to this remarkable soprano. She had a command of Verdi, Donizetti, and Bellini. Listen to the Verdi with special attention to her accent, then listen to the last act of Anna Bolena and be amazed at the flawless legato and floating tones. She has the tone color of the mature Verdi soprano.



Allow me to say this. I have read that she is accused of being a Maria Callas copy cat. I do not agree! Others would compare her to Callas for obvious reasons but though I enjoy Callas, she was not the only soprano who ever barked. Maria Caniglia's bite would make Callas look tame indeed. Suliotis had a stronger fundamental tone (Caniglia had the strongest of all), steadier high notes, a very smooth legato, and a ringing tone which does not match sopranos of the 50's and 60's. All this suggests that one must go back to an earlier time than Callas to find the true style of this artist.



You simply MUST buy the CD!



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