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Great male singers of the past

108K views 555 replies 60 participants last post by  chicagomark 
#1 ·
#316 ·


Last night I was listening to one of my favorite tenors of all time. Fritz Wunderlich's tragic early death was surely one of the great losses of classical music of our time.
 
#317 · (Edited)
100% agreed. He had something very special, and seemed to only get better and better until that tragic hunting cabin fall.

It's painful to think about the recordings he could (and in all probability would) have made. Judging from his recordings, his voice got weightier and richer during the 1960's, yet did not lose its quality in the process. It's not that much of a stretch to imagine him eventually becoming the Lohengrin and Walther of one's dreams, as well as Max (Freischütz), Florestan and... In comparison, think of Peter Seiffert, who gradually went from a relatively light lyric tenor (singing light operetta and a terrific Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, among other things) to a top-notch Lohengrin and even Tannhäuser.

At least, Wunderlich recorded extensively during his all-too-short career. You are probably all aware of this already, but in addition to the "official" releases on DG, EMI/Warner and others, there are now three 10 disc sets of Wunderlich available at a bargain price:

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Another extraordinarily talented German tenor who died prematurely, was Peter Anders.

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While his basic sound was not quite as attractive as that of Wunderlich, Anders was equipped with a voice of rare quality and interpretative skills of the highest order. An example:

Sadly, Anders died in 1954 aged 46 following a car accident, still very much at the peak of his career. Another great loss to the world of opera.
 
#318 ·


Paul Knüpfer (1866 - 1920) was a German bass, and a specialist in German repertory, mainly Wagner and Strauss. He sang in Bayreuth for several seasons, and was also a regular in English theaters. His voice was rather flexible for a bass, and he enjoyed a great reputation with audiences and critics alike, until the last years of his career.



 
#319 ·
Ludwig Suthaus in Furtwangler's "Tristan und Isolde". For the noble masculine sound of his voice, which the recording captures well.

There's an amazing recording of Wolfgang Windgassen singing "Amfortas! Die wunde!" floating around. I'm sure he's done other things well but I rarely listen to complete operas.
 
#320 ·


Giorgio Merighi (1939) was an Italian tenor, singing basically Italian (Verdi and Puccini) repertoire, that always appeared on the verge of making a real breakthrough to stardom, but somehow never did. He sang in major theaters, from the MET to la Scala, with a beautiful voice and an engaging stage persona. There are also a few CDs available in the market.



 
#323 ·
One of my all time favorite singers: the great spinto tenor Anatolii Solovyanenko
I'm amazed that history hasn't recognized this amazing voice. imo, he's like Franco Corelli with a Ukrainian twist. he was an opera singer, but I find his recordings of traditional Ukrainian music the most beautiful


 
#324 ·


Vincenzo Bettoni (1881 - 1954) was an Italian bass that alternated the serious and the comic repertoires. He debuted while still a very young man, and he performed during most of his career at La Scala, as well as other Italian theaters. He was active also in England, France, Spain, South America,... His flexible and well-extended voice led him to tackle a big number of roles, including not only Italian opera, but also French and German.



 
#325 ·


Ferruccio Giannini (1868 - 1948) was an Italian tenor, that migrated very young to the USA, and there he was one of the first ever recorded operatic singers, still in the 19th century. He was also a celebrated teacher, and the father of the famous dramatic soprano Dusolina Giannini and the American composer Vittorio Giannini.



 
#327 · (Edited)
Ferruccio Giannini discography:

http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/talent/detail/40759/Giannini_Ferruccio_vocalist_tenor_vocal

He was making records in 1896! I would love to hear his Di quella Pira from that year. Judging from the high note at the end of the Miserere, it should have been a pretty good performance, as well as possibly the first on records. It's absent from this otherwise pretty comprehensive list of Di quella piras- do any copies still survive? Check out this site anyway because it's a hoot, though not all the links work.

http://www.francoisnouvion.net/tenorssingingdiquellapira.html

I think I love his Cielo e mar because it reminds me of Francesco Marconi, whose recording is the yardstick all others should be judged by, for me at least! Great to hear singing in that nineteenth century tradition.
 
#329 ·


George Ots (1920 - 1975) was an Estonian baritone, son of the tenor Karl Ots. For more than twenty years he was one of the leading baritones in the USSR, singing Russian repertoire as well as the more established roles of the Western repertoire. He also performed successfully in several European countries. A beautiful and polished voice.



 
#331 ·
#332 ·


Manuel Salazar (1887 - 1950) was a dramatic tenor from Costa Rica, the owner of a big voice, with brilliant top notes, and clear diction. He was trained in Italy, and sang there and in Latin America for several years, until he debuted at the MET in 1921. As many other singers, after his retirement in 1937, he was a vocal teacher in his native San José.



 
#334 ·


David Devriès (1881 - 1936) was a French tenor, born into a family of professional singers. His repertoire was also basically French, with a few incursions in Italian roles. Most of his career was spent in France, but the also sang in New York and London. His style of light-lyric tenor, was tipically French, and rather old-fashioned. Listening to his recordings, one can almost close the eyes, and pretend to be in 19th-century France:



 
#337 ·


Eugenio Fernandi (1924 - 1991) was an Italian lyric-spinto tenor that started his career in Italy, where he was a disciple of Aureliano Pertile, but singing abroad he included more dramatic roles in his repertory. He is remembered by his Duca, his Pinkerton, his Alfredo Germont, his Radames, his Riccardo... His voice looked always on the brink of cracking, but somehow he managed to keep it under control, mostly.



 
#338 ·


Mario Petri (1922 - 1985) was an Italian bass, that boasted a relatively large repertoire, but is mostly remembered by his Mozart and Rossini roles. He sang his first Don Giovanni in 1950, and soon he was required across all Italy to sing the role. He was also active in other European countries, and in the Festivals of Glyndebourne and Salzburg. In 1960 he changed his career, and became an actor and also a pop singer. An expressive and well-modulated voice, tough his timbre was not especially attractive.



 
#339 ·


Alexander Pirogov (1899 - 1964) was a Russian bass, the brother of Grigory Pirogov, also an operatic bass. Pirogov was for thirty years an stalwart of the Bolshoi, where he was a sort of rival to Mark Reizen. All his career was done withing the Soviet Union. He is mainly remembered by his Boris. A powerful, vibrant voice.



 
#340 ·


Giovanni Gravina (1872 - 1912) was an Italian bass. considered as a 'basso profondo', that sang basically the Italian repertoire, and split his career between Italy, South America and Russia. He lost his right eye as a result of being stabbed by the tenor Florencio Constantino during a swordplay in Rossini's ''Il Barbiere di Siviglia''. Apparently, Gravina never recovered and died from the injury after a few weeks.



 
#341 ·


Gaston Micheletti (1892 - 1959) was a French tenor, from Corsica, that was a regular of the Opéra-Comique during more than twenty years. His repertoire was basically French and Italian. A robust voice of spinto, but able also to tackle more lyrical roles. He is particularly recorded as Supervía's Don José.



 
#342 ·


Gastone Limarilli (1927 - 1998) was an Italian tenor, an specialist of the spinto Italian (and a little bit also French) repertoire, at the manner of Mario Del Monaco: Radames, Alvaro, Ernani, Don José, Dick Johnson, Calaf, Cavaradossi, Chénier, Canio, Manrico... and even explored some contemporary pieces by Alfano or Porrino. This was however a huge challenge for his voice, and he was able to sing in the major theaters only from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. A powerful voice, but, alas!, not so powerful after all.



 
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