
Originally Posted by
schigolch
Discussing about Rossinian tenors, it's useful to know that they are usually divided into two groups:
Baritenore (Leicester, Otello, Rinaldo, Pirro, Rodrigo di Dhu,..) is a rather dark, robust voice, with his tessitura basically central, with jumps to the high notes, capable of some 'coloratura di forza'. Andrea Nozzari was the great singer for those roles, during Rossini's lifetime. A recent good example is the American tenor Chris Merritt.
Contraltino (Lindoro, Rodrigo, Don Narciso, Don Ramiro, Giannetto,..) is a singer more at ease with the top notes, the tessitura is placed higher and he is able to perform more extended and difficult 'coloratura di grazia'. Giovanni David was one of the leading singers at the beginning of the 19th century, and we have a wonderful tenor for these roles today in the Peruvian Juan Diego Flórez:
There are also roles like Argirio that are somewhat in between both types, though in this case more inclined to the 'baritenore' type:
About singers of the past vs. current singers, I basically agree with The Conte.
The last few decades, however, has been really good ones for Rossini's singing.
I sort of like also the recent release of Spyres and Brownlee.