I have so many fond memories of being in productions with this completely unpretentious star. The general manager insisting that the steward for the men’s chorus remove his t-shirt with “The Opera’s not over until The Fat Lady sings” logo before Cristina got to the rehearsal. That’s exactly when she walked in, shrieked with delight at the shirt and ordered one express-shipped. Two days later, she swirled into the rehearsal wearing one in bright orange.

my god, the tones in the coloratura are absolutly separate, but it still holds together! incredible... beautiful voice.

Deutekom + Mozart = Heaven!

I find her voice to be among the most free of any Soprano, never forced & always with a free and exciting vibrato.

I have been listening to this aria for more than 20 years and I am never tired of listening to it again and again!

her coloratura technique is incredible

She nails this aria like no one else.

I personally love Deutekom and I'd like to say a couple things.. 1) We will never come across another huge voice like hers so agile and at ease in the high register. She has laser-like top notes crystal clear even more than a coloratura leggera. 2) Her staccato-legato technique is a technique she mastered NEXT to the traditional technique - if you bother listening to other recordings of hers you'll see she does florid passages in legato - unlike some gargling lady i won't name (Bartoli).

Whatever one may think of her unique fioritura technique, she proves the importance of a strong, developed chest register, and how it strengthens the whole voice and opens up the top register. Those low notes are just amazing.

That is one of the purest, loveliest renditions I have ever heard. Himmel auf Erden. I can't stop gushing over that voice.

Deutekom is my favorite singer of all time and to see the quote, "If Deutekom didn't exist, the Japanese would have invented her.", not only made my decade, not just day, but I almost choked to death b/c i happened to be eating my lunch while perusing and was taken that much by surprise with hysterical shock upon reading it.

People shouldn't go looking for flaws only to justify their knowledge. I don't think there's a soul that can say this isn't an absolutely amazing rendition. So what her coloratura is different? She could do the 'normal' way too, but it wouldn't be her. And honestly, she makes it work. Beautifully done. Thanks for the video.

This is such a perfect role for her - especially with the dramatic/lyric coloratura - and a powerful character.

One of the best versions! Brillant!

Vous savez, je mets cet air tous les jours Ca me donne de la force et du tonus. Merci encore. C'est fabuleux!!!!!!!

Comment vous remercier pour ce trésor que vous nous faites partager. Cette voix sublime est au dessus de toute composition ou musique, elle est tout à fait extraordinaire. Cristina Deutekom est surhumaine. Mille fois merci Eelco.

thank you so much, cristina, for all those wonderful performances and recordings you left for us. i feel so sad about because you have left us ... but you will stay with us in your music forever! rest in peace

the most best soprano in the world!

this sure is an EXTREME voice for an EXTREME composer

she was amazing , singing those coloratura as those were the most easy items - she was a very natural and not a contructed dramatic coloratura and a very friendly lady as well

what a voice truely one of the greatest interpretations i ever heard

Le famose "scale spaventose" di Martern aller Arten (come diceva Salieri in "Amadeus"). La più grande Konstanze e Regina della Notte di tutti i tempi. Brilliant, amazing, stunning, the best one: Deutekom!

Most important lirical singer of '900! Beatiful and perfect! Thanks

Ah....Deutekom .. excellent Konstanze. Koo-Koo clucks and all it is so much fun and such a strong voice with lots of heart. And let us all not forget excellent high acuti notes!

Sa voix est divine ...

Mozart + Deutekom = heaven

I think this is plain gorgeous.

I can listen to any recording of this aria, just to hear the ravishing introductory music. A real mark of genius.

Tu as raison elle est magnifique, spectaculaire.

Prachtig prachtig, wat een zangeres, en wat een geweldige compositie. HEMELS!

That's perfect tune 4:12 ❤

I FIND THIS LADY'S VOICE AND TECHNIQUE ....MESMERIZING !!!!!!

Love her clearcut almost staccato coloratura technique for this aria!she just meets the challenge head on...thank you for posting!

La mejor!!! Que coloratura!!!! Bravisima la Deutekom

Thanks a lot for this. I always just loved this woman's voice and never had a problem with her legato technique which is so much more pleasing that Bartoli's which I find harsh. I actually love it even if it's not traditional.

this is beautiful - I know about the 'clucking' but in this aria she is perfect

Nobody sings Queen of the Night Like her

Door God gezonden, ongeëvenaard Bravo Bravo

God, she sounds so young and fresh here..but still with that POWER

Spectacular, sensational.

I'm not a singer, but a bagpiper who recently fell in love with the particularly good opera sopranos (I hate those with slow wobble vibratos). I LOVE HER!!!!! In my opinion, this greatly missed Cristina had not only an amazing and orchestra-cutting 7-vibrato in her voice (AWESOME!), but on top of that, Cristina had something very rarely heard, if at all before and/or after her. What she had was the most crisp and most amazing roulades (runs) I've EVER heard! No wonder her vibrato was amazing but sadly rare. (Thing is, if you're good at both roulades and trills, it's very likely you'll also have an amazing vibrato too. Cristina "milks" these (sprinkles her own unique little touches on the runs), as one bagpiper friend of mine described). Usually, a lot of sopranos do the roulades and runs in little airbursts, and it usually sounds like they're forcing it to do them really quickly (unless they've naturally practiced it so they can do them at a naturally fast, instead of forcedly fast, rate). Instead of airbursts, however, Cristina's runs sound almost like she's doing a "v" or "B" sound between the notes... "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... Vavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavaaaaaaaa..." or something like that. I have no idea how she was able to do such crisp roulades, but I can tell you that I haven't heard anyone else do those runs like that. So, with her having recently left this world... I'm sure we can all learn from the passed greats who have gone before us. Particularly, both Laura Bretan and Denise Leigh (two of my favorite modern sopranos) learned to sing opera just by listening to records of the amazing Australian soprano Frances Alda, who slid between almost every single note like Laura Bretan does. Not to mention, who did some of the pieces that Denise did on her 2003 debut album. Anyone thinks her vibrato is too fast, I disagree. In fact I think Damrau's vibrato is waaaaaaaaaaay too slow, Damrau has a serious wobble. One other thing: I looked at the words and they're different syllabically speaking to what she's doing. Can anyone help me figure that out?

If Mozart had met Deutekom he could have written amazing stuff for her special voice

For those of you giving your disparaging 2 cents about Ms. Deutekom: 1. you probably don't sing or even have the faintest idea on what it takes TO sing. 2. As far as what you call her "yodeling" being so disagreeable to your ear, i'd like to bring to your attention other things like her sense of line when starting pianissimo and crescendoing at 7:06 - 7:18. Enough said.

Amazing artist, exquisite voice, Brava !!!

Fantastic, and Miss Deutekom has found a clever-fine-artistic way to manage, at the end of the aria, her extraordinary instrument.

Deutekom c'est le génie du chant. À chaque fois j'ai limpréssion de pouvoir toucher le ciel, l'univers. Cela est au-delà de la médiocrité humaine. Deutekom est spectaculaire.

Te most impresive voice I Ever heard, un every aria she sang, she Is fabulous,

I admire her since her coloratura is always clear and distinct no matter that is may be unorthodox. Many singers sound like slide whistles when they sing fast notes and are encouraged by their teachers and coaches to sing fast notes "legato" which only a hand full can do and still have clearly defined coloratura. I'd love to know who taught her this method of coloratura. Brava Cristina- come to NYC and give a class!!!

She's my new God(des)... her voice is such an inspiration to me singing, it's pure like a children one. PS: I'm a rock n' roll singer, but... you know, supreme art has no limit of genre xD

Thank you for such a wise, insightful, and certainly truthful comment. So rare around KZfaq. Thanks again!

05:00 I'm in heaven...

Qué soprano más maravillosa. Es alucinante. Por favor, enviad Traurigkeit por Deutekom.

Absolutely remarkable!

oooh that low note

if Deutekom had not existed, the Japanese would have invented her

Perfection.

Wow.

The best voice ever !!!!! Xxx

When you speak of singing coloratura do you mean the agility sections? Ms Deutekom sings her agility from the diaphragm like many other great coloraturas, Ms Sills, Dame Joan etc and NOT in the throat and larynx like Ms Bartoli mentioned above. That is the BIG difference in her voice and why the agility is so crisp and clear.

Brava 🎼🌷🌷🌷🌷🎼

Bravissima. She was severa times in Municipal de Santiago, Ópera Nacional de Chile. Unforgettable performances. Thanks you very much. Warm greetings from Santiago de Chile. Dr. Fernando Rivas-Burattini.

@eradesso eradesso, thank you for your comment. I would like to ask you for a favour though. Would you mind sharing with us a recording of Madam Deutekom in which she sings with florid legato passages? I've been trying to find one here on youtube but it's def hard to find one. I'm curious as to how she sang legato :) Thank you

@killerbunny123123 There are indeed two german versions for this aria. One goes: Doch du bist entschlossen. (But you are determined) Willig, unverdrossen (willingly, assidiously) Wähl' ich jede Pein und Not. (I choose all kinds of torment and misery) The second is: Doch dich rührt kein Flehen, (But no supplicvation can touch you) standhaft, sollst du sehen, (unwaveringly, you will see it) Wähl' ich jede Qual und Not. (I choose all kinds of ordeal and misery)

brava coloratura...

merveilleux

C'est vrai, elle est surhumaine. La meilleure version qui soit. Dommage que Solti ne l'ait pas choisie pour son Enlèvement. Ça aurait été encore plus époustouflant et merveilleux. La meilleure voix de tous les temps.

.............. la voce più particolare che abbia mai sentito, lo squillo e l'omogeneità in tutta l'estensione, uno strumento perfetto, l'agilità molto personale ma pazzesca, nessuno riesce ad imitarla e quando lo fanno sono ridicole...........senza fare nomi (bartoli)

@eradesso I agree with everything you have said. Deutekom is an exceptional and unique artist. I first encountered has as Konigin der Nacht in Solti's 1969 recording and I was captivated ever since. My favourite Deutekom recording is the Verdi Bellini and Donizetti arias - Son vergin vezzosa from I Puritani being a particular favourite! Where is this recording from? It's superb!

Vaya coloratura!!!!!

@jradetzky Sie haben recht, mehr gibt's da nicht zu sagen!!

C'est à frissonner de bonheur, personne, jamais personne, ne surpassera Deutekom et la terrifiante beauté de son chant magnétique, sidéral ! Mais quand elle chante Mozart, même le soleil se voile... Est-ce qu'il s'agit bien ici du Mozart Symfonie Orkest (dir: Charles Vanderzand) ?

Stunning. All the people slagging the legato need to wash out their ears :-/

Unica!

She sounds like the darker colored version of Mado Robin's voice

Brawississimo ! Brawississimo !

@harunrathore hehe yeah i wrote that comment 4 months ago....i did some research and after i found the music scores of the aria i got what was going on :) thank you so much for your effert though i appreciate it :)

@kngiht84 Just listen to most of her later (live) recordings of roles like Abigaille or Norma. There are a bundle of them on KZfaq...

Bonne Année!

Which recording is this? I have one of 1966/1968 (AVRO) but that comes nowhere near this recording. Each time I hear it it brings tears to my eyes.

I would like to know where this aria was taken from. Has there ever been a complete recording of "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" with Cristina Deutekom as Konstanze? Or was this some selected highlights from "Entführung" or some highlights sung by Cristina Deutekom. Unless I am much mistaken, she has never sung this part on stage. If this is part of a complete recording, who sings the other parts and is it still available?

by the way, has anyone gone further the clucking to notice the beautiful girlish voice?

Does anyone know whether the Mozart Album from which this is taken and won a Grand Prix Du Disc award is still available? I used to own it on vinyl but alas, all my discs went many years ago when i switched to CD.

well, since Bartoli is definitely over-recorded under any circumnstance, please point out audio/video proof where she sings legato roulades. We do have proof of Deutekom doing that, one off the top of my head being Sempre Libera.

@killerbunny123123 Later on, there are again two versions. The first goes: Ordne nur, gebiete, (Just go on ordering, demanding,) Lärme, tobe, wüte... (brawling, ranting, raging...) The other goes: Ordne nur, gebiete, (Just go on ordering, demanding,) Drohe, strafe, wüte... (menacing, punishing, raging...) Then both carry on: Zuletzt befreit mich doch der Tod! (Finally, death will set me free!)

Such so unique voice. Has she ever sung with Samuel Ramey and if so, are their any recordings

Le troisième air de l'Enlèvement est sublime. Il s'appelle Tristesse. Qui pourrait nous l'envoyer? Eskerrik asko.

ＲＩＰ

can someone explain to me how come there seem to be two versions of this aria??? Dessay sings one version but deutekom and sumi jo sing it with different lyrics...other words.....always in german but the last two lines are different.....how can this be? and which of the 2 is the original?

@Jovi ma dove i senti i cambi di registri??? Nei gravi va un po di petto ma mi pare giusto visto che è imposto un sib e che non è una nota esattamente da soprano di coloratura. La sua tecnica dello staccato mi ricorda molto un flauto. Particolare....a me personamente piace

does anyone know what she sings at 5:02 to 5:31. the parts in brackets are the words that i don't know what she sang. (Doch du bist entschlossen. Doch du bist entschlossen. Willig, unverdrossen,) Wähl ich jede Pein und Not. Wähl ich jede Pein, jede Pein und Not. Ordne nur, gebiete, Ordne nur, gebiete, (Lärme, tobe, wüte,)

@eradesso Hehehe I like your humor 'I wont name (Bartoli)'

There are only 14 lines in this aria. I'm convinced Mozart was a total sadist having such a long aria with no few lines

C'est vrai, son chant est surhumain.

I don't think it has anything to do with her being Dutch. Other Dutch singers don't sing like this. There are other non dutch singers who have this effect in their voices though. Margaret Price for instance had something similar in her voice. No one has it to the extreme of Deutekom though.

Algum BR com bom gosto aí??

@longlifeluke mangiato pesante?

sto sognando....

Where's the cluck?

Anthem for the MeToo movement

what a voice truely one of the greatest interpretations i ever heard and i heard diana damrau live at munic there is no difference