[quote=“Merneith, post:13, topic:821688”]
For comparison, I found this compilation of forty different recordings of the aria:
I still like Edda Moser, who is on at 3:10. I appreciate how she takes her time.
For some reason, Maria Callas wasn't in that compilation clip - probably because she's so damn good. She makes it sound so easy, when the previous 40 make it clear that it's not.
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In that compilation, I liked Edda Moser the best, too. She doesn't seem to squeak the note out. She just hits the note securely, seemingly no harder than the other notes, and moves on. Impressive.
As for Callas, the soprano in vid you cite sounds nothing like her. Commenters ID her as Lucia Popp.
I loved singing this, although I’m out of practice to try it now. At least in public. 
Roderick, to answer your question, first there aren’t really that many sopranos who have the range to reach and sing the top notes. Training will help you overcome some of that. You can sort of punch into some of the notes by forcing air through rapidly (pretend your lungs are an accordion and you’re jumping on them - you’ll get a noise out of it, but you’re taking your chances). The result tends to be graceless and not as controlled. Even if you do have the range, adding volume and sustained, yet effortless (seeming), force to the piece is harder at the upper end of your range.
To do it well, you need a soprano with the range, the skill, the training, and the practice.
I should delete my account.