The Barber of Seville
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 13 June 2009
Audio of the Month, June
The Barber of Seville is a well-known and much appreciated opera. It was Rossini's 17th, at the age of 24. With music set to a play by Beaumarchais, the opera had it's first performance in Rome in 1816 but had everything but a smooth premiere. First entitled 'Almaviva, ossia L'Inutile Precauzione' (Almaviva or the useless precaution), anecdotes tell about a booing audience, allegdly Paisiello supporters (Paisiello had composed a "Barbiere" of his own which premiered in 1782), stumbling singers, broken instruments and animals being chased on the stage. The work was soon recognized, however, as Rossini's greatest work, a view that has widely survived over time.
This month's Audio of the Month features the aria "Ecco, ridente in cielo" from the first act of the opera, sung by Count Almaviva. Geoff Mallinson has selected the following voices: Koloman von Pataky (1928), Luigi Infantino (1948), Petre Munteanu (c1953), Richard Conrad (1963), Matthew Polenzani (2005) and Kenneth Tarver (2005).
Did you miss AM for May? Unfortunately, monthly features are not always notified here on the index page, but make sure you follow the forum and the subforum dedicated to the Audio of the Month feature there.
Jussi Björling (1911-1960), Sweden's greatest tenor of all times.Jussi Björling (1911-1960) has for long been poorly represented here on Grandi Tenori. Luckily, the reputed Maltese architect and mulitfaceted artist Richard England has allowed one of his articles on the Swedish tenor to be reprinted here. England speaks of the "celestial tenor from the North," a man that had "burnt the candle at both ends," as Björling had confessed to his son not long before his premature death in 1960, aged 49. At that point he was a sick and tired man. Yet, "nowhere on record will you find such intensity and soaring sounds of continuous unbroken rich vocal splendour," England concludes. Björling was, after all, the tenor Caruso's widow said resembled her husband's voice the most. In 1951, after one of Björling's performance at the Met, Dorothy Caruso handed over the costume her Enrico had worn as the Duke in Rigoletto. "You are the only one worthy to wear Rico's crown," she told Björling. In England's mind, she was completely right.
› AM: June 2009: La Forza del Destino
› AM: May 2009: Maître Pathelin
› Articles: Tenors: Jussi Björling
The Force of Destiny
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 18 April 2009
Audio of the Month, April
Verdi's opera La Forza del Destino was first premiered outside Italy, in St. Petersburg, at the end of the year 1862. Verdi was at the height of his career, financially very safe and considering going into retirement. But he did not, he was convinced into writing another opera and could eventually not even settle for the original score after it's premiere. Several revisions followed. The version most frequently performed since is the one that was first performed at La Scala Milan in 1869, and in which Don Alvaro gets to live at the end, instead of plunging into death, jumping from a cliff. Tenors that do not need to jump, include Barry Morrell (1960s), Flaviano Labò (1961), Bruno Prevedi (1964), Gianfranco Cecchele (1966), Giuseppe Giacomini (1996) and Taro Ichihara (1999). They form part of Geoffrey Mallinson's Audio of the Month for April and the aria is: La vita è inferno all'infelice (which translates into something like "Life is a hell to those who are unhappy").
Some may have missed the February feature, which was Offenbach's opera "The Tales of Hoffmann" and the aria "Va pour Kleinzach," featuring Richard Tucker, Sandor Konya, Neil Shicoff, Waldemar Kmentt, Rolando Villazon and Nicolai Gedda.
A special mention also to Keith Shilcock's short biography on British tenor John Boulter, currently living in New Zealand.
› AM: April 2009: La Forza del Destino
› AM: February 2009: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
› Tenors: John Boulter
New Years Day Quiz
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 31 December 2008
Ten Tenors: Can You Guess Them?
Don't forget to check the forum tomorrow on New Years Day for our special New Years Tenor Quiz. Yes, it was meant to be published tonight, but circumstances make it impossible. Geoff Mallinson has come up with ten tenors it might not be so easy to guess. Give it your best shot and tune in tomorrow. Happy 2009 to all our readers.
Christmas Again...
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 23 December 2008
Audio of the Month:
December & Christmas Special
Christmas is upon us again and December brings two feature articles: our regular Audio of the Month plus a Christmas Special AM.
Our regular article is all about Donizetti's La Favorite. First performed in Paris in 1840, at the Royal Academy of Music, the opera was one of Donizetti's most hurried works and relied heavily on elements from previous compositions. The lead role was for the tenor, Fernand, a novice monk who has fallen in love with Lenor, the King's mistress. The role of Fernand was created by Duprez and it showpieces perhaps some of the most notable moments in belcanto history singing for tenor, the aria chosen for this AM being no exception: Un ange, une femme inconnue (Una vergine, un'angiol di Dio). The voices are: Christy Solari (c1930-35), Roberto D'Alessio (c1925-30), Jaume Aragall (1968), Alfredo Kraus (1971), Franco Bonisolli (1974), all singing it in Italian, and Roberto Alagna (2003), who sings the aria in the original French. The article is, as usual, written and compiled by Geoff Mallinson.
With Christmas yet again on our doorsteps, we have decided to give the readers a special seasons treat and give you further six selections of memorable singing in a Christmas Special AM. With the help of Keith Shilcock and Nick Scott, who both have provided two clips along with Geoffrey Mallinson's two, the Christmas special feature four opera duets and two songs. Click below to see which.
With that, it only remains to wish our readers all the best for the festive season and don't forget to tune in on New Years Eve: There's a special New Years Quizz awaiting; are you capable of guessing ten tenors? Find out on New Years Eve. Merry Christmas!
› AM: December 2008: La Favorita
› AM: Christmas Special 2008
A Masked Ball
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 15 November 2008
Audio of the Month, November
Verdi wrote the opera "Un Ballo in Maschera" in the second half of the 1850s and after struggles with censorship and several rewrites, the opera finally premiered at the Teatro Apollo in Rome in 1859.
In this month's AM, we've chosen a duet from the opera between Amalia and Rodrigo, "Teco io sto," and the voices are: Giuseppe Di Stefano and Antonietta Stella (1956), Giuseppe Zampieri and Gre Brouwenstijn (1958), Franco Corelli and Regine Crespin (1964), Carlo Bergonzi and Leontyne Price (1966), Flaviano Labo and Montserrat Caballe (1969), Jose Carreras and Katia Ricciarelli (1977) and Jaime Aragall and Mara Zampieri (1985). As always, the article is written by Geoff Mallinson.
Gianni Raimondi Dies At 85
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 25 October 2008
One of the greats leaves us
Maria Callas and Gianni Raimondi in Anna Bolena at La Scala (source, La Scala)› TENORS: Gianni Raimondi
› External link: Gianni Raimondi at Wikipedia
› External link: A farewell to Gianni Raimondi, La Scala
Cavalleria Rusticana
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 18 October 2008
Audio of the Month, August
Cavalleria Rusticana is undoubtedly one of the most popular operas to date, written by Pietro Mascagni and first performed on May 17 1890. Turiddu's goodbye to his mother, "Mamma, quel vino è generoso" from the last act is the featured aria for the August AM and as usual the article has been written by Geoff Mallinson. Tenors are: Giovanni Martinelli (r1927), Achille Braschi (r1952), Daniele Barioni (r1960), Eugenio Fernandi (r1960s), Gianfranco Cecchele (r1967) and Corneliu Murgu (c1980). There is also a mystery voice.
Mignon
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 27 June 2008
Audio of the Month, June
Partly what changed my opinion on Di Stefano was hearing him sing "Ah, non credevi tu" in recording from 1947. It was pure beauty. This wonderful aria from Thomas Ambroise's opera "Mignon" is material for Geoffrey Mallinson's Audio of the Month for June, and apart from Di Stefano, singers include Alfred Piccaver (1914), André d'Arkor (1931), Anatoli Orfionov [or Orfenov] (1940s), Georgi Vinogradov (1948) and Roberto Alagna (2001). Courtesy of Keith Shilcock, the biography on Orfionov has been added to the tenor library.
If you missed last month's AM, try it now.
› AM: June 2008: Elle ne croyait pas
› AM: May 2008: Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön
› Tenors: Anatoli Orfionov
Why Di Stefano Was Unique
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 8 April 2008
Audio of the Month, April
It is one month since Giuseppe di Stefano (1921-2008) passed away and we remember the great Sicilian tenor with an honorary Audio of the Month featuring 14 of his most memorable recordings. The article is written by Dr Neil Kurtzman.
› AM: April 2008: Why Giuseppe di Stefano Was Unique
"Wagner's music is better than it sounds."
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date March 2008
Audio of the Month, March
Friday 21 March 2008
The 2nd installment of "Winterstürme" is ready and includes further 6 renditions of the aria: Modest Menzinsky (1910), Riccardo Martin (1911), Cesare Vezzani, Lauritz Melchior (1931), Piero Pauli (1933) and Robert Dean Smith (2001). There is also a 2nd Mystery Voice.
› AM: March 2008: Winterstürme, Part II
Tuesday 11 March 2008
Woody Allen once said about Wagner's music that he can't listen that much to it, "I start getting the urge to conquer Poland!" According to Mark Twain, "Wagner's music is better than it sounds." And this month it will sound on GT - Geoff Mallinson has chosen the aria "Winterstürme" from Wagner's Die Walküre and the tenors include: Viñas (1908), Borgatti (1914), Urlus (1915), Widdop (1926), Martinelli (1958) and Remedios (1973).
› AM: March 2008: Winterstürme
Giuseppe di Stefano Dies
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 3 March 2008
The World's Most Beautiful Voice Silenced
Giuseppe di Stefano died today
in his home in Santa Maria Hoe, north of Milan, The Associated Press reported today. He was 86 and had according to his widow never recovered from the injuries sustained in an attack at his family's villa in Kenya in November 2004. With the death of Luciano Pavarotti in September last year, two of the most beautiful tenor voices this century are gone.
› Forum: Commemorative thread
› GT Feature page
You Are My Heart's Delight
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 8 February 2008
Audio of the Month, February
Lovers of Lehar's music are in for a treat as Geoffrey Mallinson present the aria Dein ist mein ganzes Herz from the opera Das Land der Lächelns (The Land of Smiles). A vehicle for Tauber (1935) he is naturally among the tenors selected, and the list is completed by Dermota (1929), Schmidt (1929), Craig (1964), Krenn (1971), Rolf Björling (1980) and Bonisolli (1985). Happy reading and listening.
› AM: February 2008: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz
Asciak Turns 85
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 28 January 2008
Celebrates birthday with CD release
All the best wishes to Maltese tenor Paul Asciak who turns 85 today, 28 January 2008. On the occasion, Michael Storrs Music launches a compilation CD with the tenor, gathering material from Asciak's career in the 1950s and appearing for the first time on CD. "It's a very happy moment," Asciak reported to the Times of Malta yesterday and added: "These are old soundtracks that used to be recorded from the audience. With today's technology the team has managed to remove the hiss to bring out the freshness and clarity of the voice. It's quite a mixture of emotions - while thrilled with the end result, at the same time you want to cling to its authenticity."
› web: Paul Asciak official website
› web: The Times of Malta
› web: Michael Storrs Music Label
Happy New Year
Posted by Grandi-Tenori.com | Date 5 January 2008
Colin Bain In Memoriam
Wishing you all the very best in 2008. As a follow-up to Colin Bain's article on the aesthetics of the recordings of Gigli, I am publishing Barry Ashpole's article in memory of Bain, who passed away in June 2007.
› Article: Ashpole: Premium Beer & Vintage Port Wine: Reflections on Friendships Distant
