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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #886 on: 17:19:57, 23-08-2008 » |
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I'll keep an eye out for a cheap copy. I managed to pick up the Vickers/Karajan performance for £3.25 the other day, largely to hear Freni's Desdemona. Will give it a spin now that the cricket has finished. I enjoyed this recording, for the most part. The opening storm was as dramatic as I've heard and Freni is simply delightful; her Willow Song and Ave Maria are up there with the very best. Jon Vickers is highly dramatic, full of excitement, even if the voice is not as fresh as his recording with Serafin in 1960. He has a tendency to croon which strikes me as mannered, but he has such a ringing tone to his voice. Peter Glossop's Iago is a mixed bag - bland for the most part, although he tries to do something with the words. He is similar in many ways to Aldo Protti. Gosh! These are difficult.
2 - possibly Bergonzi?
2 is not Bergonzi, but it is another tenor who never sang the role on stage, whilst Nos.4 and 6 have probably sung the role on stage more than any other tenors. |
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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MabelJane
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« Reply #887 on: 21:53:31, 23-08-2008 » |
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Number 2 sounds like Pavarotti.
I thought number 6 had Domingo's steely ring but it's not him - is it Mario del Monaco?
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« Last Edit: 22:08:13, 23-08-2008 by MabelJane »
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Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #888 on: 21:55:53, 23-08-2008 » |
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Number 2 sounds like Pavarotti.
Indeed it is, MJ! From a concert performance he gave, conducted by Solti. I cannot imagine him on stage in the role, but his is an intelligent reading of the role, worth hearing. Te Kanawa is his creamy-toned Desdemona, Leo Nucci is Iago. Any idea about the others? |
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« Last Edit: 21:58:25, 23-08-2008 by Il Grande Inquisitor »
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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perfect wagnerite
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« Reply #889 on: 22:04:49, 23-08-2008 » |
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Otello No 4 appears to be singing from behind a pillar ...
I'm going to have another pair of guesses. The rather metallic tone of No 4 and the way he hogs the high note leads me to plump for Mario del Monaco.
And, as an outside guess, I'm going to go for Atlantov for No 6.
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At every one of these [classical] concerts in England you will find rows of weary people who are there, not because they really like classical music, but because they think they ought to like it. (Shaw, Don Juan in Hell)
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MabelJane
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« Reply #890 on: 22:09:20, 23-08-2008 » |
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Oh! I just modified my post to include Mario del Monaco - but as number 6!  |
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Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #891 on: 22:09:49, 23-08-2008 » |
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The rather metallic tone of No 4 and the way he hogs the high note leads me to plump for Mario del Monaco. The master of 'can belto', but what a voice! This is from his later, stereo recording, conducted by Karajan on Decca and is probably my favourite, despite Protti's somewhat disappointing Iago*. Del Monaco's ringing tones and Tebaldi's touching Desdemona are wonderful; he comes in for a lot of stick about the volume of his voice, but he could sing quietly when he needed to...it's just that he often chose not to!  *Apparently, Bastianini was engaged to sing the role, but was sacked from the project as it appeared he hadn't learnt the role; odd, considering he had Iago in his repertoire. His 'Credo', caught on live performances, was quite something. And, as an outside guess, I'm going to go for Atlantov for No 6.
Nope! You're gonna kick yourself.... |
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« Last Edit: 22:12:07, 23-08-2008 by Il Grande Inquisitor »
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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MabelJane
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« Reply #892 on: 22:14:52, 23-08-2008 » |
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I love number 3 - reminds me of someone but I can't think who! That intake of breath... I haven't listened to my old recordings for about 30 years - I used to recognise lots of the tenors on those 78s!
Perhaps it is Domingo in number 6? In a poor recording so it sounds old?
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Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #893 on: 22:17:17, 23-08-2008 » |
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Perhaps it is Domingo in number 6?
Yes, it's Plácido - not one of his three studio recordings (which would be an interesting comparison in themselves) but from a 1976 La Scala performance, which just crackles along conducted by Carlos Kleiber. |
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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perfect wagnerite
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« Reply #894 on: 22:24:13, 23-08-2008 » |
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And might the somewhat baritonal No 5 be Vinay? the Toscanini recording? (as it happens, I was listening to Vinay in baritone mode this afternoon - his Telramund under Sawallisch at Bayreuth). Otello No 4 appears to be singing from behind a pillar ...
Er, as you were - only one of my computer speakers was working  |
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At every one of these [classical] concerts in England you will find rows of weary people who are there, not because they really like classical music, but because they think they ought to like it. (Shaw, Don Juan in Hell)
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MabelJane
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« Reply #895 on: 22:28:20, 23-08-2008 » |
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Caruso?
Edit - should have said number 3 - but IGI knew which one I meant!
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« Last Edit: 22:39:57, 23-08-2008 by MabelJane »
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Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #896 on: 22:31:35, 23-08-2008 » |
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And might the somewhat baritonal No 5 be Vinay? the Toscanini recording? It is indeed Ramón Vinay. I bought the Naxos restoration of the Toscanini a few months ago, and it also includes the spoken introdctions for NBC which add a sense of occasion - how different the continuity announcements from the States are these days! The sound is quite remarkable for 1947. The opera was broadcast over 2 weeks: Acts I and II on 6 December, Acts III and IV on the 13th. I also have the Covent Garden Vinay performance from 1955 in which he sounds even more baritonal. The sound is not as good, but his performance is, if anything, even finer. Otello No 4 appears to be singing from behind a pillar ...
Er, as you were - only one of my computer speakers was working Aha! Del Monaco is pretty much on the left-channel only in that excerpt. The libretto booklet shows a photo of him singing the Esultate!  Caruso?
Yes!  Giving us our final role-call: Otello No.1 Jon Vickers Otello No.2 Luciano Pavarotti Otello No.3 Enrico Caruso Otello No.4 Mario del Monaco Otello No.5 Ramón Vinay Otello No.6 Plácido Domingo Otello No.7 Francesco Tamagno |
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« Last Edit: 22:42:15, 23-08-2008 by Il Grande Inquisitor »
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #897 on: 22:54:44, 23-08-2008 » |
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« Last Edit: 23:03:45, 23-08-2008 by Il Grande Inquisitor »
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #898 on: 22:09:55, 28-08-2008 » |
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Time for a new question... in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lysander declares to Hermia, "Fair love, you faint with wand'ring in the wood, And to speak troth, I have forgot our way"...
Name situations where either characters 'get lost' or lose something!
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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Eruanto
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« Reply #899 on: 22:14:16, 28-08-2008 » |
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Siegfried in Götterdämmerung: Ein Albe führte mich irr, dass ich die Fährte verlor
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« Last Edit: 22:21:29, 28-08-2008 by Eruanto »
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"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set"
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