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Great male singers of the past

108K views 555 replies 60 participants last post by  chicagomark 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Actually today my wife and I were comparing the legendary voice of Sergei Lemeshev with Oleg Pogudin, when they both sing Russian romances. Lemeshev has been said to be by far the best performer of these songs, but indeed: he is being outclassed by Oleg Pogudin, who has a Russian tenor voice (always some typical inward nasality to be noticed like with Dmitri Hvorostovsky) with unbelievable versality. I hope Pogudin will turn one day to opera as well!
 
#10 ·
Aksel Schiøtz (Tenor)
1906 - 1975



Although he was not primarily noted as an opera singer Aksel (Hauch) Schiøtz must certainly be consider one of the foremost male singers of the twentieth century as well as one of the most intelligent. Schiøtz, was born September 1, 1906 in Roskilde near Copenhagen. At the urging of his father who was an architect he enrolled at the University of Copenhagen in modern languages studies, receiving M.A. in 1929, and became a teacher He studied singing, first at the Danish Royal Opera School in Copenhagen and later in Stockholm with John Forsell, who was the teacher of Jussi Björling.

Aksel Schiøtz gave his first song recital in 1936. His operatic debut followed in 1939 as Ferrando in Così fan tutte at the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen, and he soon gained wide recognition as a Mozartean and as a Lieder artist. In 1938 he was discovered by the recording company His Master's Voice. In 1940 Denmark was seized by Hitler and Aksel's International activities had to be postponed. During the years of the war and the Nazi Occupation he sang in the Scandinavian countries and actively participated in the Danish Resistance.

After the conclusion of the war he was able to resume his career and in 1946 he made appearances in England. He was invited to record Die schöne Müllerin and Dichterliebe with Gerald Moore. He also appeared opposite Kathleen Ferrier in the first performances of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at Glyndebourne. Because of his successful recordings, he became one of the best-loved classical singers. His recorded output encompasses eleven CDs.

In 1946 Schiøtz survived an operation for a tumour of the acoustic nerve which left the right hand side of his face partly paralysed. He succeeded by sheer will-power to sing in a comeback recital in 1948. His career was again halted when in 1950 he developed a brain tumor which led to an impairment of his speech. However, he regained his capacities as a singer and gave concerts as a baritone

In 1955 Aksel Schiøtz entered a new career as a teacher for voice in Minnesota, Toronto, Colorado and Copenhagen. He was highly regarded as an excellent one. During this time he also gave master classes in the USA. Aksel Schiøtz died in Copenhagen on April 19, 1975

Beginning with Il mio tesoro from Don Giovann



My favorite recording of every Valley from Messiah with English to shame many native singers.



seven songs from Dichterliebe by Robert Schumann



In a lighter vein; notice again the almost perfect English pronunciation.



and finally four Brahms Lieder from 1960 when Schiøtz was singing as a baritone



Sorry to be so long but I am passionate about this singer. By the way I have all 11 of the CDs in 10 volumes. His Die schöne Müllerin which he recorded twice, is perhaps the best ever, but one can't include everything.

Rob
 
#11 ·
Aksel Schiøtz (Tenor)
1906 - 1975



Although he was not primarily noted as an opera singer Aksel (Hauch) Schiøtz must certainly be consider one of the foremost male singers of the twentieth century as well as one of the most intelligent. Schiøtz, was born September 1, 1906 in Roskilde near Copenhagen. At the urging of his father who was an architect he enrolled at the University of Copenhagen in modern languages studies, receiving M.A. in 1929, and became a teacher He studied singing, first at the Danish Royal Opera School in Copenhagen and later in Stockholm with John Forsell, who was the teacher of Jussi Björling.

Aksel Schiøtz gave his first song recital in 1936. His operatic debut followed in 1939 as Ferrando in Così fan tutte at the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen, and he soon gained wide recognition as a Mozartean and as a Lieder artist. In 1938 he was discovered by the recording company His Master's Voice. In 1940 Denmark was seized by Hitler and Aksel's International activities had to be postponed. During the years of the war and the Nazi Occupation he sang in the Scandinavian countries and actively participated in the Danish Resistance.

After the conclusion of the war he was able to resume his career and in 1946 he made appearances in England. He was invited to record Die schöne Müllerin and Dichterliebe with Gerald Moore. He also appeared opposite Kathleen Ferrier in the first performances of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia at Glyndebourne. Because of his successful recordings, he became one of the best-loved classical singers. His recorded output encompasses eleven CDs.

In 1946 Schiøtz survived an operation for a tumour of the acoustic nerve which left the right hand side of his face partly paralysed. He succeeded by sheer will-power to sing in a comeback recital in 1948. His career was again halted when in 1950 he developed a brain tumor which led to an impairment of his speech. However, he regained his capacities as a singer and gave concerts as a baritone

In 1955 Aksel Schiøtz entered a new career as a teacher for voice in Minnesota, Toronto, Colorado and Copenhagen. He was highly regarded as an excellent one. During this time he also gave master classes in the USA. Aksel Schiøtz died in Copenhagen on April 19, 1975

Rob
Wow! What an amazing voice!
 
#14 ·
Nicolai Herlea My favorite (non-Wagnerian) baritone by far. He would have been so much better known, had it not been for the Iron Curtain. He had such a great voice, perfect for the Italian canon. While he sang opposite Sutherland and Caballe, he never sang opposite Callas, as she unfortunately cancelled these performances (Tosca). He recorded extensively with Electrecord; most of which are available today. Live Met recordings exist of his Lucia with Sutherland and Don Carlo with Franco Corelli (what a pair!). He (deservedly) still has a very loyal following of fans.

Do check him out on youtube!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Herlea
http://www.cantabile-subito.de/Baritones/Herlea__Nicolae/herlea__nicolae.html
www.nicolaeherlea.com
 
#18 ·
Wolfgang Windgassen (1914 - 1974)


Never the most attractive of voices, but an intelligent, dynamic performer. He was *the* heldentenor of his generation, featured on several classic Wagner recordings. By overlooking a snub and agreeing to step in at the last minute to replace the younger, stronger-voiced, but inept singer initially chosen over him, he single-handedly saved the Solti Ring cycle.

 
#19 ·
Golden age:
Franco Corelli (8 April 1921 - 29 October 2003)
Tito Gobbi (24 October 1913 - 5 March 1984
Giuseppe Di Stefano (24 July 1921 - 3 March 2008)
Enrico Caruso (February 25, 1873 - August 2, 1921)
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (December 11, 1892-March 17, 1979)
Aureliano Pertile (9 November 1885, Montagnana - 11 January 1952)
Beniamino Gigli (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957)
Johan Jonatan Björling (5 February 1911 - 9 September 1960)

One of my favorites:



Here are some other videos:





 
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