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Great male singers of the past

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#522 ·

Josef Traxel (* 29. September 1916 in Mainz; † 8. Oktober 1975 in Stuttgart) was a German operatic tenor, particularly associated with Mozart roles and the German repertory. He studied at the Darmstadt Conservatory, but was conscripted into the army before beginning his career. However, he was able to make his debut in Mainz, as Don Ottavio, in 1942,
 
#523 ·
Cesare Siepi Sings "O tu, Palermo" Like a God LIVE

Can I play too, Pugg? Although I am a high baritone I can only sound remotely like Siepi early in the morning before I warm up. The bottom note here is a low F although Siepi could sing down to a resonant low C. He has always been one of my favorite singers, both interpretively and just in terms of the lush, dark quality of his sound. Enjoy! This performance of the beautiful aria "O tu, Palermo" from I Vespri Siciliani dates from 1957.


Kind regards, :tiphat:

George
 
#524 ·
Can I play too, Pugg? Although I am a high baritone I can only sound remotely like Siepi early in the morning before I warm up. The bottom note here is a low F although Siepi could sing down to a resonant low C. He has always been one of my favorite singers, both interpretively and just in terms of the lush, dark quality of his sound. Enjoy! This performance of the beautiful aria "O tu, Palermo" from I Vespri Siciliani dates from 1957.
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Of course you can, the more the better.
 
#525 ·

Eugene Conley - - Cielo e mar

Eugene Conley (March 12, 1908 - December 18, 1981) was a celebrated American operatic tenor. Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Conley studied under Ettore Verna, and made his official debut as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1940. In 1945, he first appeared with the New York City Opera.
 
#526 · (Edited)
Tenor Eugene Conley with High Notes Out the Ying-Yang!

This is "Vieni fra queste braccia" from Bellini's I Puritani, a well-known bravura aria for tenor with some extreme high notes. Luciano Pavarotti was famous for his rendition of this, but Conley does it every bit as well, with longer phrases. Twice.

I grew up in North Texas where both Eugene Conley and another famous tenor, Thomas Hayward, hung out after their professional careers were over. Conley was Artist-in-Residence at the University of North Texas in Denton, and Hayward was Artist-in-Residence at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. I sang many a duet/trio/quartet/sextet (and even one septet, the "Questo è un nodo avviluppato" from La Cenerentola) with various singers who were students of one or the other, most notably Gary Lakes, tenor, who studied with Hayward. Lakes thought he was an Irish tenor at the time á la John McCormack; it was a few years later that he went out to Seattle and developed into a credible Wagnerian tenor. I myself studied briefly (and privately) with another vocal coach at SMU, Bruce Foote.

Anyway. Enjoy this tour de force aria from Eugene Conley! (His voice and technique remind me a bit of Alfredo Kraus, do they you?)


Kind regards, :tiphat:

George
 
#527 ·
Tenor Thomas Hayward Sings "Torna a Sorriento"

Given what I wrote above regarding Eugene Conley, it is only right to give equal time to Thomas Hayward (1917-1995). Hayward's cousin was the great American baritone Lawrence Tibbett. Hayward won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air along with baritone Robert Merrill. Hayward performed with the New York City Opera and the Met and was principal cover for Jussi Bjoerling. He sang Cavaradossi, Pinkerton, the Italian Singer in Rosenkavalier, Faust, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, and for years had his own radio show called Serenade to America. Here he is singing the famous Neapolitan folk song. He has a bit of a glitch on the second verse; such are the perils of live performance. But it's a glorious voice, and we singers are actually ... human. Enjoy!


Kind regards, :tiphat:

George
 
#528 · (Edited)
Pugg said:

Paolo Silveri - Guglielmo Tell - Resta immobile

Paolo Silveri was born on December 28th 1913 in Ofena (province of Aquila). Although being of almost the same age as Bechi (born 1913), Gobbi (1915) and Taddei (1916) his career only started with some delay
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Fine high notes and excellent legato are evident on this recording of the difficult high-baritone aria "Resta immobile" from Guglielmo Tell. It would nevertheless come as a great surprise to most listeners that Silveri performed professionally not only as a bass (early in his career), as a baritone singing Verdi well, and as a tenor, taking on the role of Verdi's Otello before (wisely) deciding to stay with the baritone parts.

Thus endeth your Operatic Trivial Pursuit clue for the day.

Kind regards, :tiphat:

George
 
#530 ·

Hermann Prey in Don Carlos, Death of Posa

Hermann Prey (Berlin, Germany, July 11, 1929 - Krailling, Germany, July 22, 1998) was a German baritone.

Prey became famous among other things for his interpretation of the role of Figaro in the operas of Mozart and Rossini and with his interpretation of the songs of Schubert. He was close friends and also sang a lot with the tenor Fritz Wunderlich.
 
#532 ·
Barelytenor said:
Given what I wrote above regarding Eugene Conley, it is only right to give equal time to Thomas Hayward (1917-1995). Hayward's cousin was the great American baritone Lawrence Tibbett. Hayward won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air along with baritone Robert Merrill. Hayward performed with the New York City Opera and the Met and was principal cover for Jussi Bjoerling. He sang Cavaradossi, Pinkerton, the Italian Singer in Rosenkavalier, Faust, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, and for years had his own radio show called Serenade to America. Here he is singing the famous Neapolitan folk song. He has a bit of a glitch on the second verse; such are the perils of live performance. But it's a glorious voice, and we singers are actually ... human. Enjoy!


Kind regards, :tiphat:

George
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Why do the forgotten singers of yesteryear sound better than the "stars" of today?
 
#534 ·
Pugg said:

Hermann Prey in Don Carlos, Death of Posa

Hermann Prey (Berlin, Germany, July 11, 1929 - Krailling, Germany, July 22, 1998) was a German baritone.

Prey became famous among other things for his interpretation of the role of Figaro in the operas of Mozart and Rossini and with his interpretation of the songs of Schubert. He was close friends and also sang a lot with the tenor Fritz Wunderlich.
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July 22--sad day for Mr.Prey----nice day for moi
 
#535 ·
The Conte said:
:confused:

You really think that he has anything over Calleja in that piece? I'd prefer Florez or even Kaufmann over this version (not to mention a few of today's singers who aren't tenors).

N.
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Hayward's vocal production and legato are impeccable. Offhand I'd say he's marginally better than Calleja, though all I have to go on is this heavily miked, overresonant version on YouTube.


Florez seems to give it a bit of a "pop" treatment:
He also loses breath support and tone at phrase ends.

Kaufmann:
A bit strenuous, lacks legato.

Staying with non-Italians, If I want power, squillo, legato, the whole package - I'll take Melchior:


To reinforce my point about forgotten singers of yesteryear, try the Italian Francesco Albanese (1912-2005). Listen to the dynamic control.


When I hear a tenor that good on a Met broadcast, I'll let the world know.
 
#536 ·

Herbert Ernst Groh; "Jungfrau Maria!"; Alessandro Stradella; Friedrich von Flotow

Herbert Ernst Groh (27 May 1905 - 28 July 1982) was a popular Swiss tenor. Groh was born in Lucerne and subsequently studied in Zurich and Milan. One of his teachers was Carl Beines, who also taught Richard Tauber. He began his operatic singing career in Darmstadt in 1926, with engagements following in Frankfurt
 
#537 ·
Russian Bass Mark Reizen Sings Famous Aria from Boris Godunov LIVE

The great (and extraordinarily musical) Russian bass Mark Osipovich Reizen (1895-1992) performed until well into his 90s. He was among the foremost interpreters of Boris Godunov but also sang Pimen, Mephistopheles in Faust, Don Basilio in Barbiere, and Prince Gremin in Eugene Oregon, whose aria he performed at the Bolshoi for his 90th birthday. He was a tall man with a commanding stage presence, a rolling basso voice, fantastic legato and a wonderful mezza voce that extended to some amazing high notes, which he also had in abundance. Here he is singing the famous aria from Boris Godunov "I Have Attained the Highest Power" / достиг я высшей власти. Enjoy!


Kind regards, :tiphat:

George
 
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