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- Nov 2, 2013
Huh, didn't even Medvedeva get 56? That's sorta nuts...Not if you get a fast headstart like Alysa Liu starting on a 69 pcs in her first com.
Russian Senior Test Skates 2021 - Free Skating
- Thread starter CrazyKittenLady
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Yeah, she has the push of the US Fed now behind her as the top US lady. But all the other big Fed skaters will also have that push, so it will come down to the actual performance. And on that front, the Russian ladies really have nothing to fear.
58 at Nepela then 67 at SA. Almost 10 points from one comp to another.
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- Jul 17, 2018
Watered down content, and lost the battle of the Master and Margarita programs to baby Mishin skater earlier today—his is much better IMHO
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2016
Totally agree!Sasha, Liza, and Anna!
I was disappointed by most of the programs. Especially the first group, wow. Darya's program doesn't fit the music, she skates well, the transitions are all there, but there's no bigger picture they create with that choreography. Maiia... 
The others skaters...
Aliona was the biggest disappointment for me, because she was always my favorite. But why is her musicality completely gone now? This music has so much to offer, but she skates right through it.
Anna Her arms are a bit distracting. And is this really the program she always wished to win the Olympics with?
Liza's program was as expected, slightly better than last year. With a big audience, it will work for her. Artistically she isn't the best, but she is definitely a performer.
I didn't notice if there were any changes to Kamila's Bolero, because there was always so much going on, it was hard to remember. I still don't care for this program.
Sasha... she was the best for me. I always thought she should go in the direction of a Brian Joubert program, no complex choreo, just a strong image on the ice and some memorable moments in between and then let the music and the quads do the work for her and they did. I think the choreo sequence was a bit weak and the step sequence could use more expression, but other than that it was good. I'm also happy she no longer does two 2As after the first two quads, because this always looked weird, those tiny jumps after those huge quads.
The others skaters... Aliona was the biggest disappointment for me, because she was always my favorite. But why is her musicality completely gone now? This music has so much to offer, but she skates right through it.
Anna
Her arms are a bit distracting. And is this really the program she always wished to win the Olympics with?Liza's program was as expected, slightly better than last year. With a big audience, it will work for her. Artistically she isn't the best, but she is definitely a performer.
I didn't notice if there were any changes to Kamila's Bolero, because there was always so much going on, it was hard to remember. I still don't care for this program.
Sasha... she was the best for me. I always thought she should go in the direction of a Brian Joubert program, no complex choreo, just a strong image on the ice and some memorable moments in between and then let the music and the quads do the work for her and they did. I think the choreo sequence was a bit weak and the step sequence could use more expression, but other than that it was good. I'm also happy she no longer does two 2As after the first two quads, because this always looked weird, those tiny jumps after those huge quads.
Well, today was very interesting. Overall, I was disappointed in most of the programs or performances. Sasha though….wow! My standings for the free skate portion:
10) Elizaveta N - Performing to Little Mermaid
. This is a program you should choose if you are skating in the Novice event. Wish she went with something classical and fixed her rotations on her jumps. She is not ready for a Grand Prix event. Maybe, a challenger event later on in the season.
9) Sofia S - She looks deflated even during warm up. I think she is discouraged that she doesn’t have a chance with all the talent coming from Russia. She is a natural performer. However, she is not ready to execute her triples. I don’t think there even was a triple triple combo. She should aim to place in the top 8 at her Senior Grand Prix event. Then, compete in two challenger events and hopefully try to stay in the 24 in the World Standings to try to get one more year.
8) Ksenia S -
My most disappointing performance of the night. I change my mind about her attempting a 4T. After not executing this jump, she looked bothered during the rest of the performance. She should aim to just get her triples back and stay with the technical content she executed during her junior year. She doubled jumps here and didn’t successfully land a second 3T in any of her combos. I love her program and artistry. I hope she doesn’t get lost this year. But, this wasn’t a good outing for her.
7) Elizaveta T - Good attempt on the first 3A and then popped the next axel. When she doesn’t execute her 3A’s, she really doesn’t have a good technical content layout and her skating skills aren’t that good. However, I loved the energy of the program. She fell on a jump. Forgot which one. But, the jump layout she attempts doesn’t do her any favours.
The Eteri girls were clearly in a class of their own in this portion of the event.
6) Daria U - I think she is my favourite of the Eteri girls. I like her program as it will force her to work in her artistry. They said she had a rough practice. So, I guess this was a good first outing. However, she could be in trouble from making it to the Grand Prix final if she falls like she did today and doesn’t execute a combo. If she lands all her triples and is consistent though, she will be tough to knock out from the podium.
5) Kamila V - I hate this program. Bolero doesn’t suit her at all. Wish she went back to her Junior Worlds free skate program. She will rely on her talent if she is to podium at the Olympics. I think she should let go from attempting a 4S. Instead, she should go for two 4T and a 3A. She wasn’t close to landing that 4S. Her 3A was the highlight. I think this is becoming her most consistent ultra C elelemt and maybe should just stick to clean layout with three 3A across her programs. Aliona has the record with just this one element and no quads. Her first 4T with the Euler was barely landed and wouldn’t have been considered a combo. That is why I put here in this place. The second 4T should be removed as she doesn’t have the stamina for such an element deep into the program. Her combos at the end are scary looking. But, good for her, for landing them. Overall, I think she would have placed 2nd place at this event due to such a good short program. But, bolero has to go…and she should go for less ultra c elements in her individual Senior events to guarantee a spot in the Grand Prix finals. I think skating in the same rink as Sasha is pushing her to go for too much. She needs to remember that Anna won Worlds Champs without any landed quads over Sasha. Nobody can beat a clean Sasha. But, the chances of that is less than 50%, at this moment.
4) Maia K - She is really picking up steam. I placed her 3rd in the Sp and now 4th in this free skate. I love her 4T 3T combo at the beginning and maybe she should go for two 4T instead of the 4S that she popped into a double. I guess they are trying the same route as they did with Anna S where two different quads allow her to perform her best two triples twice. Other than a fall in the second half, she managed to get all her combos in. To me, she will be duking it out for a Grand Prix final slot with Daria, Alysa and Kaori and Rika? I like this program for her. Makes her look fierce.
3) Anna S - I think I will be rooting for her this year. I like her programs and just coming from an injury, this was a good outing. I could tell she went for her combos early on and they were really good. Love her lutz loop combo as she is the only one executing it well these days, wish that combo was worth more points. Just really solid skating as she skated cleanly and her artistry is good enough to place her in this spot. Nice to see her back. As per Worlds, I don’t think she even needs a quad to make it to Grand Prix finals. But, if she is close to landing a quad, she should attempt one in lieu of the double axel.
To me the highlights were the ones that came from Plushenko last year. I’m so happy they are back with Eteri.
2) Aliona K - Welcome back Aliona. She flew into that triple axel. I think this is the best 3A I’ve ever seen from a woman. So, it was awesome to see her execute it here after attempting none in practice. Everything she does deserves high GOEs due to sheer quality. She skated cleanly minus an under rotation in her last jump, the lutz. She really flies into the 3F 3T combo. I like her free skate more than the short. But, it isn’t what I would choose to highlight her skill set. To me, she is fighting against Anna S for the third spot for the Olympics team. I don’t see how they can leave Sasha or Kamila. Also, Anna S. is the World Champion and three time Russian Champion. I will be so sad for the girl that misses out as they all have outstanding resumes.
1) Sasha T - Wow! I’m speechless
! What an amazing performance, this free skate can beat all the men with the exception of Nathan Chen and maybe Yuzuru Hanyu. But, even Hanyu doesn’t have the flip and lutz like Sasha does. Her 4F was spectacular. The 4S was amazing In practice and I think it was underrotated here. This is the one element I might remove due to history of her crashing in jumps after failing to execute thus jump. But, the 4Lz’s were magnificent. I think though, that she should reduce her technical content. It worked here. But, she should be careful not to attempt too many quads. She doesn’t need them considering her closest competitors here only landed one successful ultra c element each. I’m really confident with her chances this year and I love the red hair and the Cruela program suites her feisty and double dare personality.
Anyways, this was a great event. I can see Eteri having 5 skaters into the Grand Prix final. If she is lucky, she could have all six which would be mind blowing.
10) Elizaveta N - Performing to Little Mermaid
. This is a program you should choose if you are skating in the Novice event. Wish she went with something classical and fixed her rotations on her jumps. She is not ready for a Grand Prix event. Maybe, a challenger event later on in the season.9) Sofia S - She looks deflated even during warm up. I think she is discouraged that she doesn’t have a chance with all the talent coming from Russia. She is a natural performer. However, she is not ready to execute her triples. I don’t think there even was a triple triple combo. She should aim to place in the top 8 at her Senior Grand Prix event. Then, compete in two challenger events and hopefully try to stay in the 24 in the World Standings to try to get one more year.
8) Ksenia S -
My most disappointing performance of the night. I change my mind about her attempting a 4T. After not executing this jump, she looked bothered during the rest of the performance. She should aim to just get her triples back and stay with the technical content she executed during her junior year. She doubled jumps here and didn’t successfully land a second 3T in any of her combos. I love her program and artistry. I hope she doesn’t get lost this year. But, this wasn’t a good outing for her.7) Elizaveta T - Good attempt on the first 3A and then popped the next axel. When she doesn’t execute her 3A’s, she really doesn’t have a good technical content layout and her skating skills aren’t that good. However, I loved the energy of the program. She fell on a jump. Forgot which one. But, the jump layout she attempts doesn’t do her any favours.
The Eteri girls were clearly in a class of their own in this portion of the event.
6) Daria U - I think she is my favourite of the Eteri girls. I like her program as it will force her to work in her artistry. They said she had a rough practice. So, I guess this was a good first outing. However, she could be in trouble from making it to the Grand Prix final if she falls like she did today and doesn’t execute a combo. If she lands all her triples and is consistent though, she will be tough to knock out from the podium.
5) Kamila V - I hate this program. Bolero doesn’t suit her at all. Wish she went back to her Junior Worlds free skate program. She will rely on her talent if she is to podium at the Olympics. I think she should let go from attempting a 4S. Instead, she should go for two 4T and a 3A. She wasn’t close to landing that 4S. Her 3A was the highlight. I think this is becoming her most consistent ultra C elelemt and maybe should just stick to clean layout with three 3A across her programs. Aliona has the record with just this one element and no quads. Her first 4T with the Euler was barely landed and wouldn’t have been considered a combo. That is why I put here in this place. The second 4T should be removed as she doesn’t have the stamina for such an element deep into the program. Her combos at the end are scary looking. But, good for her, for landing them. Overall, I think she would have placed 2nd place at this event due to such a good short program. But, bolero has to go…and she should go for less ultra c elements in her individual Senior events to guarantee a spot in the Grand Prix finals. I think skating in the same rink as Sasha is pushing her to go for too much. She needs to remember that Anna won Worlds Champs without any landed quads over Sasha. Nobody can beat a clean Sasha. But, the chances of that is less than 50%, at this moment.
4) Maia K - She is really picking up steam. I placed her 3rd in the Sp and now 4th in this free skate. I love her 4T 3T combo at the beginning and maybe she should go for two 4T instead of the 4S that she popped into a double. I guess they are trying the same route as they did with Anna S where two different quads allow her to perform her best two triples twice. Other than a fall in the second half, she managed to get all her combos in. To me, she will be duking it out for a Grand Prix final slot with Daria, Alysa and Kaori and Rika? I like this program for her. Makes her look fierce.
3) Anna S - I think I will be rooting for her this year. I like her programs and just coming from an injury, this was a good outing. I could tell she went for her combos early on and they were really good. Love her lutz loop combo as she is the only one executing it well these days, wish that combo was worth more points. Just really solid skating as she skated cleanly and her artistry is good enough to place her in this spot. Nice to see her back. As per Worlds, I don’t think she even needs a quad to make it to Grand Prix finals. But, if she is close to landing a quad, she should attempt one in lieu of the double axel.
To me the highlights were the ones that came from Plushenko last year. I’m so happy they are back with Eteri.
2) Aliona K - Welcome back Aliona. She flew into that triple axel. I think this is the best 3A I’ve ever seen from a woman. So, it was awesome to see her execute it here after attempting none in practice. Everything she does deserves high GOEs due to sheer quality. She skated cleanly minus an under rotation in her last jump, the lutz. She really flies into the 3F 3T combo. I like her free skate more than the short. But, it isn’t what I would choose to highlight her skill set. To me, she is fighting against Anna S for the third spot for the Olympics team. I don’t see how they can leave Sasha or Kamila. Also, Anna S. is the World Champion and three time Russian Champion. I will be so sad for the girl that misses out as they all have outstanding resumes.
1) Sasha T - Wow! I’m speechless
! What an amazing performance, this free skate can beat all the men with the exception of Nathan Chen and maybe Yuzuru Hanyu. But, even Hanyu doesn’t have the flip and lutz like Sasha does. Her 4F was spectacular. The 4S was amazing In practice and I think it was underrotated here. This is the one element I might remove due to history of her crashing in jumps after failing to execute thus jump. But, the 4Lz’s were magnificent. I think though, that she should reduce her technical content. It worked here. But, she should be careful not to attempt too many quads. She doesn’t need them considering her closest competitors here only landed one successful ultra c element each. I’m really confident with her chances this year and I love the red hair and the Cruela program suites her feisty and double dare personality.Anyways, this was a great event. I can see Eteri having 5 skaters into the Grand Prix final. If she is lucky, she could have all six which would be mind blowing.
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I think this captures it. It's not really choreography as such, but at least it's not choreography for the sake of choreography either. It works with her speed, she's improved her glide, and if she hits her jumps, the program will remain explosive. I do hope she shows a tiny bit more excitement and variation in speed once she reaches the "triples section" at least. She's already brought it home at that point, might as well let it start showing. (the Biellmann needs to go, though, it's strange choreo for that music, and she doesn't even need it for the level)
One guy at the test skates checked with binocular a judges' monitor. He've checked the following results for ladies free skate: Trusova 190.72 (TES 119.52+PCS 71.20), Kostornaya 153.96 (80.76+73.20), Khromykh 145.72 (77.34+70.40), Usacheva 138.65 (68.75+70.80), Tuktamycheva 122.90 (55.90+68.00). For others he couldn't see (for Shcherbakova he could only check PCS as 75-76 points). Here is his profile with Russian comments on this: https://www.sports.ru/profile/1058759829/comments/
I was pleasantly surprised by the short programs and depressed by the free skates.
Sinitsyna... she looks unhealthily skinny(I've seen pictures of her mother, and she is very skinny too btw). I'm very un-PC about these things. I believe elite sport often requires extreme diets that in normal people would be considered unhealthy. I really hope they have a good nutritionist looking over her.
OT: I'm also very un-PC on "mental health"... I think the worst thing one with mental health issues can do is to openly talk about it to the public as that can increase anxiety about what the public now think about you... and you can sulk in whatever sympathy they give you. Keep it between yourself, friends, coaches, and psychologist.
Samodurova... much, much better than her short program... which was not good.
Tuktamysheva... I only caught parts of her FS. That year she won Worlds she had a FS that both exalted her and was fun... and this one lowers here(come on with those hand movements) and while it tries to be fun the energy is off.
Khromykh's FS music(Moulin Rouge) is terrible and a comic choice but there are moments where it seems like they put some actual thought into the program.
Kamila's Bolero is just an awful, awful vehicle for her.There's nothing interesting in it at all and it actually accentuates some of her bad qualities that can be papered over which more airy lyrical music. I personally think that part of the reason they chose Bolero because sometimes Kamila has somewhat jerky movements on ice(she moves elegantly doing movement doing off-ice choreography) and they thought they could kind of cover that up. But it really amplifies it. I think they also chose it because she's doing quads and it's somewhat "masculine" music that monotonous enough they could easily rework the program if they had to.
Regardless, it should go. Bring out Storm for the FS and cut in whatever music you want with it. If you bring Bolero to the Olympics, it won't received well by the public. And what concerns me about Team Eteri is that it seems like they don't even care anymore.
Usacheva's FS is hilariously tropic and comically uncreative . It's like they thought "this music fits her" and have her do what she always does. The formalism is obnoxious. She should go back to last years program which while tropic had charm to it.
Kostnaias' FS is very empty... I think it will come off better with 2 3A.
Sherbakova's FS is nice in the beginning. The music cut she uses for the final three jumping passes is the best she's used for that portion of her program(she always has a music cut for her final three jumping passes). But the program delfates towards the end and I really hate the double spins in the end of the program. I wish those spins were spaced around the program more.
Trusova's FS is comical. I like it even though I know it's bad in it's own way and doesn't exactly scream "Olympics". It gave me a smile. But I forsee problems trying to warm up all those quads in the competitive warmup. The clean 4S she did in warmups could honestly be in the running for the greatest jump done in the history of figure skating. But the 4S is IMO the most problematic jump and the one I'd probably get rid of. And that goes for Kamila and Maia too.
Sherbakova and Trusova were the only ones from Team Tutberidze I felt skated with soul... like they were performing and not Eteri's and Danni's puppets or wanna be mirror images on the ice.
Someone in Russia really needs to sit back and ask hard questions about choreographing long programs... because nobody there is doing a good job with it. I think the key is to do a better job separating the different types of elements around. Ideally, there should be 3 or more different sets of jumping passes rather than 2. Ideally, you should not have 2 spins done right next to one another. The directionality on the ice should try to be less predictable. Choreographic sequences should be a moment.
I'm actually cheering hard for Plushenko to be successful. He has an artistic point of view but seems for more open to learning and delegating that than Eteri.
Sinitsyna... she looks unhealthily skinny(I've seen pictures of her mother, and she is very skinny too btw). I'm very un-PC about these things. I believe elite sport often requires extreme diets that in normal people would be considered unhealthy. I really hope they have a good nutritionist looking over her.
OT: I'm also very un-PC on "mental health"... I think the worst thing one with mental health issues can do is to openly talk about it to the public as that can increase anxiety about what the public now think about you... and you can sulk in whatever sympathy they give you. Keep it between yourself, friends, coaches, and psychologist.
Samodurova... much, much better than her short program... which was not good.
Tuktamysheva... I only caught parts of her FS. That year she won Worlds she had a FS that both exalted her and was fun... and this one lowers here(come on with those hand movements) and while it tries to be fun the energy is off.
Khromykh's FS music(Moulin Rouge) is terrible and a comic choice but there are moments where it seems like they put some actual thought into the program.
Kamila's Bolero is just an awful, awful vehicle for her.There's nothing interesting in it at all and it actually accentuates some of her bad qualities that can be papered over which more airy lyrical music. I personally think that part of the reason they chose Bolero because sometimes Kamila has somewhat jerky movements on ice(she moves elegantly doing movement doing off-ice choreography) and they thought they could kind of cover that up. But it really amplifies it. I think they also chose it because she's doing quads and it's somewhat "masculine" music that monotonous enough they could easily rework the program if they had to.
Regardless, it should go. Bring out Storm for the FS and cut in whatever music you want with it. If you bring Bolero to the Olympics, it won't received well by the public. And what concerns me about Team Eteri is that it seems like they don't even care anymore.
Usacheva's FS is hilariously tropic and comically uncreative . It's like they thought "this music fits her" and have her do what she always does. The formalism is obnoxious. She should go back to last years program which while tropic had charm to it.
Kostnaias' FS is very empty... I think it will come off better with 2 3A.
Sherbakova's FS is nice in the beginning. The music cut she uses for the final three jumping passes is the best she's used for that portion of her program(she always has a music cut for her final three jumping passes). But the program delfates towards the end and I really hate the double spins in the end of the program. I wish those spins were spaced around the program more.
Trusova's FS is comical. I like it even though I know it's bad in it's own way and doesn't exactly scream "Olympics". It gave me a smile. But I forsee problems trying to warm up all those quads in the competitive warmup. The clean 4S she did in warmups could honestly be in the running for the greatest jump done in the history of figure skating. But the 4S is IMO the most problematic jump and the one I'd probably get rid of. And that goes for Kamila and Maia too.
Sherbakova and Trusova were the only ones from Team Tutberidze I felt skated with soul... like they were performing and not Eteri's and Danni's puppets or wanna be mirror images on the ice.
Someone in Russia really needs to sit back and ask hard questions about choreographing long programs... because nobody there is doing a good job with it. I think the key is to do a better job separating the different types of elements around. Ideally, there should be 3 or more different sets of jumping passes rather than 2. Ideally, you should not have 2 spins done right next to one another. The directionality on the ice should try to be less predictable. Choreographic sequences should be a moment.
I'm actually cheering hard for Plushenko to be successful. He has an artistic point of view but seems for more open to learning and delegating that than Eteri.
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Good! My placements seem to be in agreement with the judges. At least in regards to these five
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- Oct 10, 2020
TL/DR I don't like Eteri.
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- Aug 4, 2020
I really really hate that bolero programme. any chance they might change it? It was so off today. valieva's SP was good, FS was a mess.
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- Nov 24, 2006
I'm okay with it. Nathan isn't exactly putting on a dance recital in between his quads. What I wish for Sasha and her Team is to focus on her edging, her crossovers, and just moving from pointA to pointB with speed, sureness, and deep edged skating. The choreo is fine, as little as there is, if she just moves across the ice like a champion. She'll never have Kamila or Anna ballet arms and extension, but she doesn't really need it if she improves her speed and edging.
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- Jul 11, 2018
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totally agree with you. it felt empty today, but again i don't think this is going to be her actual layout
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- Feb 10, 2014
But Callas never sang Nessun Dorma, nor would she have. She sang the role of Turandot.
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- Nov 24, 2006
In Sasha's FF yesterday, I was postulating the perfect layout for her. I was pretty close, but I never thought she'd plan BOTH of her 4lutzes in the back half!!!!! But I will admit that I was wrong, her layout is MUCH better that way. It makes sense. If she gets the "easier" 4toe out of the way in the first half, then she can go into the first 4lutz with little pressure, and if she hits it with a combo (preferably 3toe), all she has left is the --E-3sal combo to do in one of the final two jump passes. If she misses the first 4lutz though, she'd best do another 4toe and not risk a FALL + COMBO deduction on the 4lutz (It's still a risk to do 4toe, so maybe a backup if she really isn't feeling her quads would be a 3lutz? But I think if Sasha misses her first 4toe, she'd be able to do some kind of combination after the second 4toe). If she hits the first 4lutz-toe, she has ZERO pressure going into a second 4lutz of getting the F+C deduction. I just didn't think she'd have it in her to do both 4lutzes in the back half!!! Wow. She absolutely MUST go to the Olympics if she is skating like this. If she hits this program, she will be on the podium for sure, if not Gold.
This was my proposed Sasha layout, nearly the same:
Plan A: 3a, 4f, 4s, 4ltz-3t//////// 4ltz-3t, 4toe-Eu-3sal, 3ltz. BaseJumpValue= 83.89
In comparison:
with Kamila doing 3a, 4sal, 4toe-2toe, 4toe///// 3lz-3toe, 3flip-E-3sal, 3lz with JumpBaseValue= 66.71
with Anna doing 2a, 4flip-3toe, 4flip, 4lutz///// 3Lz-3Lp, 3flip-E-3sal, 3Lz = 70.48
with Aliona doing 3a-2t, 3a, 3lp, 2a /////////// 3f-3t, 3f-E-3s, 3lz. = 53.55
Sasha's TES from jumps is so much higher than the other three, and they also have to skate cleanly too, not a small task.
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I assumed that's what they meant. I've seen people substitute Nessun Dorma as the name for Turandot opera. My original comment was about how I'd only ever like to hear Pavarotti or instrumental Nessun Dorma (song), and I got the replies about Callas, and thought they were calling the opera "Nessun Dorma" instead. Searching "Maria Callas Nessun Dorma" on YouTube does give you this though, lol:
Puccini: Turandot - Act 3: Nessun dorma!
Provided to YouTube by Mo.To. RecordsPuccini: Turandot - Act 3: Nessun dorma! · Maria CallasPuccini: Turandotâ Mo.To. RecordsReleased on: 2011-01-01Composer:...
www.youtube.com
If there is a Nessun Dorma (song) recording by Callas, I'd love to hear that too! I bet @elektra blue would know if it exists, lol.
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