Abordnet

How Zinka'd have flattened that runty, sy^hloaded commode-yap, La VanderFone-Crank! One shot of her zaftig, strong arm, and the lowlife phone-crank geek would 'communicate' in pure 'dentu-pulp' - only. This is why Zinka's career lasted  over 40 yrs...and on her farewell.the voice was as fresh as ever.......The greatest voice I ever heard..ch Whoa! I asked you to give me ONE example of Zinka'a great singing. You have thus far offered nothing. Notice how Leonard immediately responded to my request for a sample of Ms. Hong's singing.  Now, the greatest voice you ever heard.  Not even the greatest soprano, mind you, but the greatest voice!  OK, panel, what was the greatest opera voice you ever heard?  Does ANYONE think it was Zinka Milanov?  Even if you don't dislike her sound the way I do (and again, this is _base_d on very limited exposure to it)... greatest ever? Gheorghiu, whom your apparently diminished hearing now makes it difficult for you to hear, is not in my top ten, but her sound is far more beautiful than Milanov's. Paul Yes,  I think it was Zinka Milanov. Along with Tebaldi, among sopranos that I have heard live. They were the two greatest, and were both in a class by themselves. I have heard many great sopranos, such as Price, Caballe, and so many more, but Zinka and Renata were supreme. When I have a little more time, probably next week, I will post a podcast that shows what I consider to be the best of Milanov.I only saw her in the final 8 or 9 years of her long career, but the sound was incredible and unforgettable. Ed- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - OK, but you immediately limited it to sopranos.  I don't see how one mentions Milanov and the obviously (to me) superior Tebaldi in the same breath, but these are matters of taste. And I prefer Caballe to both of them.  Charlie somehow argues that the two recordings I own, Tosca and Cav, are not the real Milanov.  I understand that certain voices are more impressive in person, while others  (Bergonzi for me) sound better on records.  But it is difficult for me to believe that any environment would add beauty to the shrill top notes I hear in my Milanov recordings. Paul- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I love Caballe at her best, Paul, but even she was not in the same class as a Milanov or a Tebaldi. Their voices would fill the Met like a golden flood of sound that I have not heard since. It was really magical. I wish you could have heard them live. Even at the very end of her career, Milanov could sing gorgeously. I attended what turned out to be her final appearacne anywhere. It was an operatic concert with orchestra in Trenton, NJ is November of 1966. The Trenton Symphony made a great errror of judgement. In this two part concert, with one intermission, they put Zinka first, followed after the intermission by Tschaicovsky's 5th Symphony. Well, I would say that more than 90% of the audience left during the intermission. They were all there to see Zinka. She sang arias from Cav, Boheme (yes, Mimi's Addio) and others, but nothing prepared me for what she did in the entire final scene from Otello. We all sat there and realized that she had rolled back the years to maybe 1951, and pearls of gorgeous, round tone simply poured out of her mouth. She ended with a wonderful floated high Ab, and the place went wild. It was prime Milanov, in late 1966! A number of us went backstage to see her,and she was cheerfully signing programs and record albums that people gave her to sign, and she told everybody that she planned to sing opera concerts like this one for quite a while. She never sang in public again!! Best, Ed- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I can judge Tebaldi and Milanov only from recordings.  I saw Caballe live.  But for me, Caballe's recordings (especially of Puccini) are FAR better than Tebaldi's.  Compare their renditions of Doretta's aria (La Rondine) for one. Caballe has better control, a truer attack, and purer high notes. It is fine for you to tell me how wonderful she and Milanov were in person, and I believe you, but from what I have heard thus far,  De Los Angeles, Caballe, Freni - were all better singers than Milanov, and where the roles coincide, I prefer the first two to Milanov. However, I am eager to hear the selections uploaded by Mr. Loeb - the _link_ did not work for me. Paul