@sugarbist how do you define “fabricated”. Not sure that I completely understand what you mean, but there’s an element of fakery that I associate with the term.
Mario Del Monaco had the most powerful voice of all tenors in his middle range, it is a great sound. Franco Corelli had the most powerful voice on his high notes. He was the only tenor that could sing alongside Brigit Nilsson, without being completely drowned out.
I agree that Mario del Monaco's power is unrivaled amongst tenors performing today, but claiming how powerful someone's voice is, is just an opinion. Even though Del Monaco is my favorite tenor, I don't think he had the most powerful voice of all time because nobody heard all the tenors of the past in person to make such a comparison of their vocal power, obviously. I think Mario Del Monaco was one of the top 3 most powerful tenors of the 20th century along with Jon Vickers and Franco Corelli.
I cried after the Del Monaco recording. You're absolutely right, the perfection is very moving. Everything in his singing just works so wonderfully well.
Indeed, a vocal phenomenon in the full extension of the word. "Mass of sound" one critic termed his voice production. Rodolfo Celletti wrote that Franco Corelli was a baritone with a tenor extension. Very true, the weight, extension and volume in emission of it thus patented it in theaters and open-air arenas.
@@KajiVocals That was written by Rodolfo Celletti in the early 1960s. A baritone friend here in Mexico told me some time ago that Franco could have been a baritone. Fortunately, he developed his tenor extension and was able to consolidate one of the most impressive high registers of the 20th century.
@@FranciscoArvizuH Yes, but singing a certain repertoire and being a biological voice type are not the same. Corelli was absolutely a natural tenor. And not even one with a particularly dark or low tessitura. The way he sings a high C would not be possible on a true baritone voice.
Pavarotti’s diction was impeccable. I actually like that he sings his closed vowels closed without trying to open everything… and of course he was heard in the hall, he lets the squillo do the work !
I heard Pavarotti in Tosca at the Met. I was sitting all the way up in the top balcony but could hear him very clearly. His voice projected fully over the orchestra. I do speak Italian quite fluently (it’s my 4th language) and I had heard Tosca before but I didn’t really know its text and lyrics. It was quite amazing that not only I could clearly hear Pavarotti from the top balcony but also I could make out every single word he was pronouncing, including the words sung on the highest notes. I could’ve written down every word he was saying.
I actually discovered open and closed Italian vowels listening to Luciano over and over in the Idomeneo recitativi in Salzburg and NY in the early 80s (I worked there, so, yeah, over and over and over). Everyone else was singing in another language.
Ive only gotten into opera recently, and i really like corelli for tosca, but i also have pavarotti up there with him. Any high lyrical song like che gelida manina is just pav all the way. Im undecided on who i like more for nessun dorma.
@@SomeRandomdUde14 It is almost a consensus that Di Stefano and Gigli sang Che gelida manina better than anyone else. Pavarotti was certainly better than most singers today, but he was even considered to light for Rudolfo when he first started singing it. Pavarotti also had no business singing Nessun dorma LOL! Calaf is a pure dramatic tenor role and Pavarotti didn’t have the voice for it. Same thing with Otello, Canio, Radamès, etc. FYI Corelli himself once said that Giovanni Consiglio sang the best rendition of Nessun dorma.
@@SomeRandomdUde14 It is great that you are learning opera. Nessun Dorma is suppose to be sung by a big and heavy voiced tenor, with very, very good high notes, which is why this opera is not that good for Del Monaco. Il Trovatore is similar, and Franco Corelli is supreme in that as well. Franco Corelli did Turandot much more then most tenors. Nessun Dorma is perhaps the easiest aria from that opera to sing. The problem is that in the final act the tenor has to sing many duets alongside a dramatic soprano. They have the biggest and loudest voices, they can easily completely drown out a tenor. You need a powerful, big voiced tenor to sing alongside Turandot. Brigit Nilsson mostly sang Turandot alongside Franco Corelli, she had the most loudest and powerful voice, Franco Corelli was the only tenor who could sing alongside her without being drowned out completely. They often had a friendly completion on who could hold the high C for the longest time. Check out a video, "Brigit Nilsson and Franco Corelli spit their vocal cord out on Turandot". They were legendary for these performances. Pavarotti does a nice enough version of Nessun Dorma that has become very famous, but he would never be able to play this role live on stage. I do think Pavarotti is the best in La Boheme, that is the perfect lyric tenor role. That being said I think both Del Monaco and Corelli has nice versions of La Boheme as well, as long as you are not expecting a light and lyrical sound.
@@ZENOBlAmusic Dear Zenobia, I agree with much of your statement. Corelli sang 53 performances of Turandot at the Met alone, and was in my opinion the premier Calaf of the last 75 years or longer. Del Monaco perhaps sang a handful of Calafs in Brazil with Callas early in his career. Keep in mind that Richard Tucker pretty well held his own in Turandot alongside Nilsson. At age 61 or so, Pavarotti did do the opera about 6 times on stage at the Met to decent reviews, but he couldn't climb the steps and sang through a cold in one performance. I think these tenors were all terrific in their respective fach. Enjoy
Thank you for this. As a teenager, I fell in love with opera and DelMonaco singing Aida in 1952 and then Franco arrived at the Met. (and then Luciano). But now having to listen to only recordings, Franco is the winner! His voice just touches the heart. (and he was kinda good looking, too) Blessed to have seen them so often and others at the Met also.
Thank you for sharing your insights on these incredible singers. Your comments help me appreciate their craft even more, and your reactions are priceless. I really enjoy your channel & your voice.
100% agree! People confuse the fact that he didn't so much (due to his repertoire) with that he couldn't. Plus his voice was enormous to begin with, so modulating his volume down was probably still plenty powerful. What is true about his voice though is he struggled to reach a comfortable high C. Again, not normally a problem given the repertoire he sang, but he wasn't above cheating it in the studio on occasion
@@tomvandongen8075 oh he did without a doubt. But some of his singing of the more romantic numbers, such as neapolitan canzoni are somewhat difficult to listen to.
@@SimonTBam yeah I listened to his O Sole Mio and definitely not a good fit for him! It's interesting that the comments under his rendition of Che Gelida Manina are full of people commenting how unusually lyrical and light his voice sounds... Not realising that it only sounds that way because it's sped up to bring it into three original key! Played slowed down, it's instantly recognisable as his voice. I still like it though actually
Loved every second of this! You can’t go wrong with these three 🙌 Also love that Pavarotti sang “Che gelida” in the original key (high B) and proved it’s just as beautiful.
@@Felix73able Puccini’s original key went from D major to G major (with the high B) and was done for the first 80 or so performances. After which, it was transposed to Db major - Ab major (with the high C) to accommodate the tenor singing it, supposedly because the line “ruban tutti i gioielli due ladri: gli occhi belli” was too low. It obviously worked well enough a half step higher, as Ricordi now exclusively prints it as such, but also, which tenor doesn’t want to show off a high C 😂🙋🏻♂️
What was this tenoral old singing! It was the golden age, and we have now the possibility grazia to RU-vid, to hearing all the recordings. Personal preferences are different, but in the time, in these were so much excellent tenors, everybody could chose his or her tenor-darling. My tenor darling is Franco Corelli, because of his masculine-singing and looking as a semi-god or god. And coming to the times we are living in, after Domingo-Pavarotti-Carreras-Shicoff is finito. The today´s tenors are Wiener-Sängerknaben Qualität bis zu ihrer Pensionierung. In my opinion tenor-singing is adé. Greetings from Vienna to all opera-enthusiasts worldwide.
Masculine singing you can find only in Mario del Monaco performances. Corelli is more like an always romantically involved hero. I love them both, but not exactly in the same repertoire.
@@johnfalstaff2270 For my understanding there were tenors former, and now there are not more tenors. Now on the opera-stage are singing so called tenors. We loved also Luis Lima. We loved José Cura also. Franco Corelli was the Marlon Brando on the opera-stage, wrote a critic. We loved also José Carreras. And Placido Domingo, also. With other words, we had former the possibility to chose tenor-darlings. Now this is not more possible. In the remaining time from our life, we will hearing our darlings and we thank for this possibility very much RU-vid. At the Vienna State Opera it was performed Falstaff in a very nice regie. Greetings to you, dear opera-lirica-enthusiast.
Thank you for the lessons. I don't know a thing about opera but when a singer brings tears to my eyes and I get very emotional I love him and will be a big fan for life
Corelli is really heroic! Seems so risky to be so bright in high notes. Very powerful. Thank you very much. Have you done the same with sopranos? I m a baritone too and I love sopranos!
@@KajiVocals you re probably right. As a baritone I was taught to cover (darken) the high notes, otherwise they won't go out and a squeak might be produced instead 😁
Corelli wasn't a lyric tenor, he was also a dramatic tenor. It is funny Lukas focused on his metallic sound, his voice was big, with depth and darkness. He could sound a bit like a baritone at times in the middle and lower register, he did train as a baritone in his early years. Corelli and Del Monaco basically sang the same repertoire, he was just better on high notes.
Three absolutely stunning tenors at the top of their class. I'd love a reaction video to some famous tenors with earthier timbres like Vickers, and Tucker! Two giants in their own right but they definitely don't get as much attention as Pav and Corelli!
Magnificent! I love these videos! Pavarotti was a very great singer, I saw him many times at the Metropolitan Opera Corelli was such a magnificent singer these singers were great artist and loved Music. I met Corelli at his Master Class he was a great teacher and very devoted to music and singing. Today singers focus too much on themselves…..more Narcissistic Pavarotti Mario Del Monaco Corelli were devoted to their art form. My parents saw Corelli and Del Monaco many times, I saw Pavarotti, I was also fortunate to see Bergonzi, his farewell recital.
And it seems to me that Corelli and del Monaco are not typical tenors. Their voices are relatively low, and high notes are almost always sung at maximum volume. Dramatic tenors
Great video! Promise to keep your secret....I won't disclose your appreciation for tenors! I will tell you that I know Pavarotti actually had every sound, every open and closed vowel, and every breath planned. It was just that he was so good at making it sound improvised. I sang with him a few times and was so lucky to actually discuss the intellectual approach to his technique. It was incredible and very detailed. I also had the chance to put my hands on his lower back to 'feel" his breath. It was like a machine in its efficiency and power. As far as closed vowels in the theater, those cut through like a knife. Lastly, about his "it" factor. That is unexplainable and certainly bestowed upon him by a higher power than we can understand. It was almost overpowering to sit two feet away from him when he sang....the goosebumps had goosebumps! lol Thanks for all your videos and especially this one. If you added one with Melchior, King and Wunderlich, I would find a way to send a case of Augustina your way! :-)
You're absolutely right. He described in his book. He started out with vocalising, and only vocalising, for half a year. Altogether he studied (privately) for six years before he sang his first role. Later he learned from Joan Sutherland everything about breathing and support. A very good example of how talent coupled with hard work and perseverance finally transition to a singing style that is being perceived as 'natural'. Actually the opposite is true. This principle applies to many people who have made it into the top ranks in music and sports.
Can I suggest you listen to Joseph Schmidt live recording of La Donna E Mobile from Carnegie Hall in 1937. Never have I heard such a cadenza as his. He also has squillo a plenty. Not bad for a tenor who barely stood 4ft 11.
His version of non piangere liu from turandot is first rate and the most emotional ive ever heard,also his recording of the mc cormack i hear you calling me is also something special
Or his Una furtiva lagrima with a trill at the end of the cadenza? Hermann Jadlowker also had a wonderful trill and sang Count Almaviva, Idomeneo, and Lohengrin. David Devries has a beautiful trill as well in an aria from Le Dame Blanche.
I actually heard somewhere Franco Corelli said to never (emphasis) sing in the mask, perhaps that brightness merely comes from the overtones from his pharyngeal space? Perhaps he is just truly gifted with a resonant voice.
2 года назад
Yes, Corelli said "Never sing in the mask, when you put the voice in the mask the throat closes"
Corelli said that most people misunderstand the mask. The mask is not singing nasaly but feels nasal which you can test by holding your nose and the sound not changing. It's very difficult concept to explain and if I remember correctly he explains it(way better)in the book great singers on great singing by Jerome Hines
Not like Corelli, it is a different universe. Corelli and Lauri Volpi had the biggest high notes by far. Look up "tenors singing the Csharp from Il Trovatore".
Due super tenori e un ottimo tenore...Del Monaco eccezionale in Vesti la giubba! La prodezza del piano dopo infranto è eseguita alla perfezione...! Pavarotti una prova molto convincente nel suo repertorio!!! Corelli uno dei migliori Calaf della storia!...!!!
The applause in Che Gelida Manina is cool. I wish we had more audience enthusiasm these days. There's a video cutting together two performances by Corelli of the "Vittoria!" in Tosca-- once in Parma, with raucuous applause after the high b flat (or a sharp, I suppose), which completely drowns out the next half minute of the "L'alba vindice appar...", and once in London, where the audience is stone cold silent and leaves Corelli audibly out of breath after he'd just held the high note for 10+ seconds. I know opera isn't just about high notes, I actually love the lines between Mario, Tosca and Scarpia after the high note, but....I still know I'd much rather be in the audience in Parma, and I'd much rather be Corelli in Parma too. That's the sort of performance you never forget. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KqzZtMMylYw.html
If they had singers like Corelli, del Monaco, Nilsson, Catarina Mancini, Luisa Tetrazzini, and Lina Bruna Rasa, you would hear thunderous applause. Singers are taught that chest voice is dangerous. Most who try to sing chest voice today fail miserably. Netrebko is a classic example. Using it didn't harm her voice, incorrectly using it did. She sounds like she's having a baby. You to hear that with Bumbry, Eileen Farrell, Lina Bruna Rasa, Virginia Zeani, Luisa Tetrazzini or Elvira de Hildago
Hi lucas. I saw you in Barber. Lots of fun!! I've seen 9 of the super stars of the last century, but Corelli is the ultimate. Saw him in Tosca, Fanciulla, Chenier and the Verdi Requiem. He deserves several whole shows. His Parma Tosca is like the one I saw him in. Out of this world.
Lucas .... you're the tops! I started out as a baritone. Retrained myself as a tenor sang 10 or 15 years as a tenor and now in my 60's I'm a high baritone again. It just takes too much maintenance to keep those last three notes secure. I wish in could show you my technique for securing the high C with the chest high and the shoulders back.
Corelli has an immense sound, in a way more impressive in the middle range, where it appears all the more thunderous. He was an interesting guy, apparently nervous most of the time, always practicing, never sure if he was gonna be able to sing.
Avarotti once said about La DIVINA " there will ibe another Tenots ienotsebaldi, a other Cabè,but there will nev7er be another Callas " as for tenors, i would say threre willbe another Ppavarotti, Del Monaco , but there will never be another Corelli !!!
Top, Top Video! Ich kann mich nicht so richtig entscheiden zwischen den Dreien! Ich habe sie alle mehrmals live gesehen/gehört! MdM 1965/1966, LP 1978/1986/1990/1994 und FC 1970/1971! Unvergleichlich und unvergessen!
What I think separates a great tenor from a good tenor is the ability to make a very technical exercise sound nothing like a technical exercise, but the natural outpouring of the soul across the vocal chords and high into the ether.
I just found this channel and this video is wonderful. You got a new subscriber to support your new career as a tenor-recovering-baritone! Nicely done!
Great reaction video! I have seen that video of Pavarotti hundreds of times and it is breathtaking every single time. Could you please do a reaction to the famous video of the gala with Merril/Tucker doing Forza del Destino's duet?
Monaco's sound is between Pavarotti & Domingo. Pavarotti is amazing, thanks to him thatwe could keep listening to opera. Corelli is similar to Monaco but brighter and powerful.
Del Monaco and Corelli had much bigger voices than Pavarotti and Domingo, they would not really be in-between Pavarotti or Domingo soundwise. They are real dramatic tenors. There hasn't been real dramatic tenors for decades now. And they were slightly different, Del Monaco was a more modern verismo dramatic tenor, Corelli leaned slightly more towards being an older prewar heroic tenor.
I also think that a reason for Pavarotti being so popular with the general public after 1990 is that he is the looks the part of an opera singer so much. His upper body, his face, his name (and of course voice) just screams opera. The audience would have been wowed by many more singers vocally but Pavarotti was really marketable as the epitome of an opera singer.
5:25 I think you misunderstand covering... it’s not supposed to make your voice weaker or more muffled. It’s supposed to do the very opposite. Yes the vowel rounds but it’s more about letting the voice and resonance stay free so the voice keeps both its depth and edge. It’s not supposed to become “veiled” or swallowed (which frankly is a problem you have with your own singing; wrong resonance adjustment through that part of the voice)
You are sooooo funny.....❤ What Pavarotti had was a PERFECT DICTION, the real CANTO SULLE LABBRA, and a PERFECT TECNIQUE. And a very beautiful color of the voice
MDM will never be forgotten ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JIbopOdVt_Q.html Although for me Corelli is a very very close second. Bearing in mind the MDM was a dramatic and Corelli a spinto so it's unfair to try and objectively compare them. Type of voice is personal preference really.
Interesting comments, apart from your ”skip the chorus” bit. As a professional opera chorister, it’s a completely different vocal skill just like solo singing, which of course we do too! Would have been nice to hear a more technical explanation to the top of the tenor voice, ie angle of resonance and vowel mod, tongue retraction, some do some don’t. But hey, you’re a baritone ;).
Amazing reaction my friend Lucas!!....In 2017, the music world was shocked by the bursting onto the scene of a 22-year-old singer named Dimash Kudaibergen, who performed on the famous Chinese competition show for professional singers called “The Singer”... It was just It was necessary for this young man to make his first appearance, making a cover of one of the most difficult songs in the world, a famous French composition called "S.O.S. D'un Terrien En Détresse", to be considered from that moment on as the best singer in the entire planet....No one in the musical field had ever seen a human being, being able to reach vocal ranges above 7 octaves and several semitones, that is, all 88 keys of a digital piano, which reaches a little more than 7 octaves and as if that weren't enough, sing the more than 12 languages...He can sing like a Tenor, Baritone, Medio, Soprano, Messosoprano, etc....Since then all kinds of experts (Vocal coach, analysts, singing teachers, youtubers, reactors, etc.) have dedicated themselves to reviewing their presentations to try to understand how someone can sing this way...The incredible thing is that that presentation in China was in 2017 and 5 years have passed since then, but what Dimash has done in these 5 years is to further improve his wide vocal range, which is currently practically above of the 8 octaves... The Covid pandemic stopped his concerts worldwide, all with tickets sold in just seconds, via the internet, but at the same time it ended up catapulting him to the top of popularity worldwide...Anyway, since I think you are one of those reactors who have not yet met this impressive singer, here is the link of that presentation in China in 2017, with the song S.O.S. and I would like you to mention my name as the person who recommended him to you...You have to be prepared because you ar going to receive an avalanche of views, comments and new subscribers....I leave you one more recent video than the others, so it does not have the same number of views as the previous ones, which have millions of views, but it is a more complete video, with an intro, subtitles in several languages and with the improved quality of audio and sound....ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bDX3FhmyNac.html
I've been following Kudaibergen for 5 years or so. Without any doubt what he does leaves you flabbergasted. However, there is a backstage video with him and Bocelli where it becomes quite clear that Kudaibergen couldn't sing as a top tenor. If he can't hold up against Bocelli, who is certainly not a top tenor in the world of opera, then of course he couldn't against the real guys. His strenghts' lie somewhere else. To say "it ended up catapulting him to the top of popularity worldwide" is certainly an exaggeration as here in the west only few people know him. Why do you think you feel a need to introduce him to Lucas Meachem if he was the top popular singer in the world? See what I mean.....
@@jenspflug7473 That's why I want an expert like Lucas, tell us his opinion about the Dimash's skills... That's all...And you don't have to be angry just for nothing...Are you an expert?...Live your life and let the others live in peace.
@@jenspflug7473 Singing classical lied or opera acoustically is vastly different than what Kudaibergen does amplified. His range is exaggerated, it’s just not possible. The lower part of his voice is fairly weak and as you rightfully point out, in that video with Bocelli, who isn’t the greatest singer in the world either, you can clearly hear Dinash voice is patchy technically. His greatest strength is his fantastic falsetto which is beautiful.
@@susandrakenviller3683 Firstly, you should have adressed the initiator of the comments, Roimer Lopez, who obviously can't get his head around it. Secondly, how can you technically exaggerate one's range to that extend? Thirdly, his voice may also be patchy but compared to a top tenor he's lacking voice strength. If you cannot outsing Bocelli, well then...... Kudaibergen is in a league of his own that has nothing to do with classical singing, but with a USP that makes him unique and most likely a rich man.
If there were some basses you'd like to listen and react to, who on the top of your head can you think of? For me, it's Ezio Pinza, Tancredi Pasero, Jose Mardones, Nazzareno de Angelis, Paul Robeson, Jerome Hines, Sam Ramey, Boris Christoff, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Cesare Siepi, George London, Marcel Journet, Gottlob Frick, Martti Talvela, Nicola Zaccaria, and Feodor Chaliapin.
@@aaron.anchored.in.christ I know. But, he had one of the darkest bass-baritone voices. He sang Don Giovanni, Boris, Wotan, Scarpia, Mephistopheles, Escamillo, and Hollander, which are considered written for a heavy dramatic bass-baritone voice and he has one that's obviously recognizable. He would have had an opportunity to sing Attila, Count Rodolfo, Giulio Cesare, Khovansky, Princes Igor and Galitsky, Don Basilio, Moses, Mustafa, Maometto, and Selim.
@@victorchristy1706 I never said he couldn’t sing bass roles. George London was one of the only true bass-baritones who sang both bass and baritone successfully.
Awesome video! I would actually love to hear your rendition of Vesti la Giubba as I think it only goes as high as A4? I know you're a baritone but we all know that note is comfortably in your range!
Well, Pavarotti sang the aria a semitone lower. It's also curious that you mention Corelli having so much "ping". He's always spoken against "singing in the mask" as it "closes the throat".
I think most tenors would think of Corelli’s voice as dark and rich rather than forward or bright ( clearly it is both ) but its funny that you as a baritone are more impressed with the ping and brightness. I do think you could be a tenor if you wanted but probably not worth the crazy amount of work it would take to rebalance your whole voice, when you already have a nice career going and sing beautifully as a baritone.
His voice is SUPER bright. What makes it sound “dark” is the open throat and a naturally interesting timbre. A lot of opera pundits online try to apply a general technique to every good singer, when in reality Corelli sang in a way that doesn’t really work for everyone. He was unique in that he was able to get away with unmodified vowels on much higher pitches than most tenors would be comfortable singing on.
@@vittoriopreti7412 He started lightening his middle register on purpose, that is perhaps part of what he learned from Lauri Volpi, it is the bel canto way of singing, you lighten your middle register and resolve on top.
Please do some other tenor reactions! I never get enough of Corelli. Del Monaco singing Wagner (Walküre) would also be fantastic. And Di Stefano. So to fall in love with...
@@LucasMeachem1 How exciting! If it's not for this time then maybe for the next time, but I'd like to suggest this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2gdNMRg37ng.html&pp=ygUjZnJhbmNvIGNvcmVsbGkgbHVjaWEgZGkgbGFtbWVybW9vciA%3D. It's the Lucia di Lammermoor sung by Corelli. Very interesting that he didn't like the role. It was too difficult for him, alledgedly (?)
Pavarotti seems to have the perfect balance of brightness and warmth in his voice. His high vibrato sounds like a blade slicing the air and yet is also a massage for our ears. Whereas Corelli is every bit as bright but his high notes are almost too sharp and lack the same warmth. Still an incredible sound, but Pavarotti’s voice creates a certain wavelength for our ears to grab onto and ride to the end of the earth with.
I think it has to do with the quality of the audio recording. As much as the Golden Age enthusiasts like to use old recordings as examples, I find them to be quite terrible most of the time.
It is the video quality of the recording, some old recordings only emphasize the squillo in the voice. Listen to "Meco All'altar Di Venere" that studio recording captures Corelli's sound much beter. Corelli had a very rich and full voice a golden sound. Corelli had perfect chiaroscuro, he was a master of high notes as well. He was also great at doing diminuendos. Mario Del Monaco is also great, there are thousands of Lyrics tenors, but heavier voiced tenors such as Corelli and Del Monaco are rare and nonexistent.
