Which opera singer do YOU think has the most beautiful vocal tone/color?

Question

Which opera singer do YOU think has the most beautiful vocal tone/color?

Answer 1

after reading some of the good answers which reminded me of some singers that didn't immediately come to mind and dreadful answers;



Soprano: Te Kanawa, Sutherland, and Tebaldi came in my head but for pure sheer vocal beauty it goes to Caballe

Mezzos: Graham, Larmore, Graves, von Otter, von Stade there are so many but my vote is for Rita Gorr

Tenors: Pavarotti, Schipa, Wunderlich, Simeneau ... in the end Tagliavini

Baritone: London, Warren, Merrill, Fischer-Diskau but in the end it must be Hampson

Bass: love Terfel, Ghiaurov, Ramey, Plishka, Morris, but I going for Siepi



I know I've left out so many greats (as far as tonal beauty goes) but this is what came to mind

Answer 2

Different horses for different courses, a beautiful Bellini voice would be totally wrong for Wagner



great tenors; Gigli, Corelli,bergonzi, Pavarotti,Windgassen

Bass/baritone; London,Gobbi,Shaliapin

soprano; callas,flagstad,tebaldi

Contr/mezzo; ferrier

a poor list but mine own



if I had to choose only one it would be either Gigli or Pavarotti......but in the end for all his technical faults I suppose GIGLI

Answer 3

For all the hype, IMO the most beautiful voice in opera at present is Renée Fleming - listen to her 4 Last Songs, for example.



(My two favourite female vocalists are Birgit Nilsson and Joan Sutherland, but I'd never describe them as beautifully voiced.)



In recording history, I'd also mention Mark Reizen, Alfredo Kraus and Montserrat Caballé.

Answer 4

For me, there's no contest: the incomparable Kirsten Flagstad, as recorded in "1936":



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dfbZ6S6DU4&eurl=http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A0oGklSClwtJd_oAU.xXNyoA?ei=UTF-8&p=Kirsten%20Flagstad&SpellSt



Thought you might enjoy this little "tidbit" - "Metropolitan Opening Night season - "1938":



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdUEXt-gkX8&feature=related



One possible contender for this accolade, was the great Eleanor Steber:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZpM26RhYkw&feature=related



Enjoy,



Alberich

Answer 5

Female: Renée Fleming or Kathleen Battle

Male: Bryn Terfel

Answer 6

For me, Jessye Norman and Marian Anderson immediately come to mind.



Norman is so well known for her power, and although I love it when she does "big" music, she still maintains that wonderful presence even when singing softly.



And as far as Marian Anderson goes, well, let's just say that there's a reason that Toscanini called her voice something that comes along only once every hundred years.





Hmmm....apparently I have a soft spot for powerful black women...

Answer 7

My vote is for Susan Graham, hands down. Wow. To be fair, I personally know her MORE for her performances of songs/Lieder/etc than for opera. But regardless of the genre, if she's singing, I'm listening!



For men, I HAVE to put in a vote for Lauritz Melchior, the greatest Tristan ever!

Answer 8

Good grief, lots of good answers, but where is Martinelli?but thanks to those who mentioned Gigli, Gobbi, Tebaldi and some of the greats from my day.

Answer 9

Felicity Lott. She has given a beautiful interpretation on CD of 'Les Illuminations' by Britten. It was written for a tenor voice, and I can't think of anyone else who could have produced such a lovely performance. The purity of the tone (and I think this is what you are considering) is remarkable.

Answer 10

Pavarotti is without doubt my favorite tenor - superlative voice.

I find it a lot more difficult to pick with the ladies however and much of the time it depends on the part that they playing.

You can't go wrong with Sutherland and Price - they are the obvious answers - personally I like Mirella Freni (esp. for Puccini) and I also like Katia Ricciarelli.

I like Cecilia Bartoli (however she has an annoying tendency to over roll her "R"s which I find rather grating).

For Bass / Baritones - I like Sherill Milnes, Hermann Prey and the incomparable Samuel Ramey (who I saw recently as a very evil Scarpia).

Answer 11

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Answer 12

I don't think I can really tell you who is the best, because that would be purely down to individual preference. But for me, I love:



Kiri Te Kanawa - especially at the height of her vocal abilities. Listen to her 1979 recording of Strauss's "4 Last Songs". The sheer warmth and purity of tone took my breath away. And of course her Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.



and Placido Domingo. I always think these two were the best operatic pair ever. Their numerous performances of Verdi's Otello easily testify to that.



I also like Kathleen Battle's voice...but not as much as Dame Kiri's :)

Answer 13

Very hard decision here so I'm going to narrow it down to four people: two men and two women.



Best female voice goes to soprano Renee Fleming. I've heard her sing "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess" and her voice just took my breath away. Another "best female" is none other than Beverly Sills.



Best male voice goes to baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. His voice is simply incredible (I also have a crush on him but that doesn't matter). Another "best male voice" goes to Placido Domingo. He does a great Canio from "I Pagliacci."



HONORABLE MENTIONS:



Female: Deborah Voigt, Leontyne Price, Anna Netrebko, Maria Callas, etc.



Male: Jose Cura (and I also have a mad crush on him, too), Jose Carerras, Luciano Pavarotti, Bryn Terfel, etc.

Answer 14

Anna Netrebko is one as is rene Fleming. However, listen to Montserrat Caballet, the retired Spanish diva, whose soprano voice was unparalleled.



Some like Ceclia Bartoli, but her breathiness at times gets in the way. For tenors, there is grea JosephJoseph Schmidt ( I think that is the spelling). I have heard lots of his recordings. He is dead, short, and negative during the Nazi era in Germany necause he was Jewish, but unparalleled, and I cannot emphasize this more. There are some videos of him tCheckeckj Youtube maybe.

Answer 15

Hands down, KATHLEEN BATTLE! No one compares to her in terms of sheer vocal quality. My second choice for female voices would probably be Dawn Upshaw.



And then there's Pavarotti, may he rest in peace... good grief that man had a gorgeous voice! But the one man that no one has mentioned yet, the voice that makes me melt, is Jussi Bjorling. What an incredible instrument he had...

Answer 16

My picks: Bryn Terfel & Thomas Quasthoff. Why? Because lied is zillion times better than opera!!!!

Answer 17

For me it's a tie between Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Bryn Terfel, because they both sing not only opera but also much else and both have good voices. Though then again I'm much more into countertenors and bass-baritones than those far too loud tenors!!!

Answer 18

Most Beautiful Opera Singers

Answer 19

Pavarotti is a great opera singer and I recall hearing another woman sing opera...I read that her voice was bell-like and it was true...But I can't remember the name..

Answer 20

Anna Netrebko - for contemporary singers.



Best voice ever ever - Maria Callas

Answer 21

For full blown opera I LOVE Mina Foley!

She is AWESOME!



For modern classical I like...

Hayley Westernra

and

Enya.



P.S the spelling may be wrong on some of the names sorry =/

Answer 22

im sorry i dont listen to opera music