Who is Your Favorite Soprano of All Time?

Carmela

What about Tony?

Johnny Boy.

OP had to know that the responses would be filled with character names from the TV show.

Anna Netrebko

Dawn Upshaw.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is my favorite. She was elegant, classy, and beautiful. Henry Kissinger even said he wanted to marry her.

Britney Spears for sure. She has like a 50 octave range or something. It's off the charts.

Tony.

Renee Fleming does not hold a candle to Callas, Schwarzkopf, Sutherland, Price, or Cabelle. Sorry, not sorry.

I don't know much about opera, but I did enjoy Joan Sutherland outsinging both Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Shore at 2:35 of this clip. Dinah humorously signaled the boom operator to lower the mic adjacently to her and Ella's mouths.

Jackie, Junior. Ehhh...he woulda been one if Vito hadn't whacked him for robbing Ralphie's card game. Poor Meadow. Poor Rosalie.

Dumbass Jackie shoulda let Vito give him a blowjob. Maybe he'da let him go.

[quote]Britney Spears for sure. She has like a 50 octave range or something. It's off the charts.

Literally off the charts.

She hasn't had a hit in years.

Caballe. What an astonishing voice.

DL used to love Leontyne Price.

[Quote]DL used to love Leontyne Price.

She's still alive at age 94!

R11 You'd have to be 200 years old to find that interesting. My god.

Shelly Winters

Diana Damrau

As I asked my dear old friend David Daniels (the countertenor) when he was going to see Caballe - where are they going to put the audience? Talk about a fat girl singing!

[quote] Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is my favorite. She was elegant, classy, and beautiful

Yes, but rather cold if not icy.

Montserrat Caballé, for the warmth and volume.

Here she’s holding a very high note for an astonishing EIGHTEEN seconds — Scroll to 1:10

What no Yma Sumac option?

R22 Is Maria standing on a plinth?

From your poll, I like Montserrat Caballe. I have an album with her singing "Casta Diva" and her rendition sends shivers through me even today.

Other memorable sopranos...years ago. I remember seeing Kathleen Battle on TV. The way she moved her mouth and lips reminded me of a bird. I also liked the majestic presence of Jessye Norman. She sang "Ave Maria" at Jackie Kennedy's funeral and you could hear a pin drop. Jessye's voice seemed deeper than most sopranos. Strangely enough, I can tolerate the voices of tenors for a longer period of time than sopranos.

I once answered this question “Teresa Stratas” and impressed an opera queen, so I’ll stick with her.

I'm surprised Cabelle won.

OP you have a very very glaring omission outside of Norman which is bad enough. One of the most beloved sopranos of the 20th Century. And if you don't know who I'm not telling you I'm so upset. Unforgiveable.

Tony, what an awesome voice

The Beverly Sillsbillys.

Was Birgit Nilsson married to Sylvester Stallone? Didn't she have a cameo in one of the Rocky movies?

Bear with me ,this needs a bit of explanation!

Desert Island Discs is a beloved BBC radio programme that has been broadcast since the 1940s. In UK terms, being invited to appear means that you have become a part of the Establishment. Prominent figures from all walks of life have appeared.

Guest are asked to imagine that they are being cast away to a desert island, with no other people and no shelter. They are asked about their lives, and what qualities they have that would help them cope. They are allowed to take eight records with them, which are played and discussed. They are given the complete works of Shakespeare and the Bible. They are allowed one book of their own choice, and one luxury which has no practical use.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf chose seven of her own recordings.

R33 lol I love Desert Island Discs.

Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, and Christopher Reeve are some of the VERY few Americans on the show that come to mind.

Schwarzkopf chose her own records to remind of her life.

R33 Fuck that's funny. Love that podcast. I've noticed a lot of classical artists tend pick a Joni Mitchell song to show that they listen to pop music.

Jessye Norman is the most recent diva I can think of who had a major gay following. Not saying the Damraus etc. don’t have devoted fans but the goddess-worshipping of Norman, Callas, Price etc. does not seem to be a thing today.

r36 La maggior parte degli uomini che adoravano Jessye, Maria, e Leontyne sono morti.

Montserrat Caballe is my choice for her warmth and effortless support of floating tone.

We had tickets for a recital Montserrat Caballe was giving at the Liceu in Barcelona. She cancelled at the last minute. After that I called her Monster Rat.

[quote] Who is Your Favourite Soprano of All Time?

1. Comparisons are odious

2. People who have ONE Soprano for All Time sound inflexible. Normal humans evolve over time.

Rankings so far

1. (Tie) Callas and Caballe

2. de los Angeles

3. (tie) Price and Schwarzkopf

4. (tie) Sutherland and Nilsson

5. Te Kanawa

6. Fleming

7. Popp

Schwarzkopf was my favourite in my 20s.

Gundula Janowitz in my 30s (see below).

Now in my 40s I realise that it's all illusion, recording techniques and the mood of the moment.

David Daniels, male soprano

^. Voice-wise or looks-wise?

[quote]This list is shitty without Renata Tebaldi!!!!

I love Callas’s response to being asked why she didn’t sing any Lieder: “I leave that sort of thing to Elisabeth.” But she does point out the impossibility of having a single favorite: none of them sing everything.

[quote]r39 Montserrat Caballe is my choice for her warmth and effortless support of floating tone.

Is she the only one on the list who sang with Queen?

Caballe is the most versatile with a huge range of roles but, oddly, didn't seem that comfortable in Verdi.

Price has the most beautiful sounding voice

But Caballe sang a great deal of Verdi. Are you saying she was more comfortable with Puccini and Bel Canto? I have a couple of friends who saw her at the Met in I Vespri Siciliani in the 70s and they said she was glorious.

R45 - voice-wise. The last time I saw a pic of his was his mugshot, and he wasn't looking too well.

Jessye Norman was, and always will be, THE QUEEN.

Even other huge stars in the classical singing world such as Thomas Quasthoff idolize her and reference her methods in their teaching.

I loved Jessye Norman’s voice. She had magnificent, regal presence.