...and remember this was a "live" performance...one take...That penultimate high B flat, 4"10 is the most beautiful I have ever heard from the mouth of any tenor including Caruso himself...absolutely stunningly beautiful!
Gran voce. Non so spiegare il motivo, Ma questa voce colpisce al cuore. Forse sarà per la naturalezza con la quale la canta. Come se stesse recitando un copione in teatro. Ha una voce stratosferica, massiccia, robusta. È sublime veramente. Ancora una volta sono d'accordo con lei.
Caruso, en mi opinión, entendió como muy pocos lo entienden hoy, que el instrumento vocal del cantante, no sólo es lo que va de las cuerdas vocales en adelante, sino que la totalidad de la persona del cantante mismo. Se daba por entero en cada interpretación como si se le fuera la vida en cada nota, jamás reservó algo para después. Tal vez ésto contribuyó a su enfermedad final y a su temprana desaparición.
Struggente, intenso fin dai primi accenti. Tratteggia con intelligenza ogni sfumatura di questo Eroe decadente mirabilmente ritratto, in quest'aria interpretativamente difficilissima, nell'atto di declinare il paradigma della sua fragilità ed insieme della sua grandezza. Commovente. Nessuno meglio di Caruso sa raccontare la differenza fra emozione e sentimento. Irraggiungibile.
El maestro no grita hace su pieza sin aparente esfuerzo calibrando sus notas magicas como todo un principe en este dificil genero de la opera mientras a otros se le explota la garganta su gracia es el milagro de lograr su tecnica aparentemente sin esfuerzo en lo que radica su extraordinaria capacidad.
I heard his version of Vestí la Giuba on a television commercial when I was only a kid. I didn’t know it was his song until I began yesterday while searching for some vinyls on Etsy for a 1913 Victrola I recently purchased at an antique store. I believe my admiration will continue to grow.
Merveilleux Caruso le chef de file d une lignée de très grands ténors aujourd’hui disparus !! De nos jours nous avons des ténors --------- qui chantent !!
En mi opinión, de las dos grabaciones que hizo Caruso de esta aria, ésta (la última) es la mejor y superior a la que grabaron los demás tenores. Es la perfección. ¡Saludos!
Thank you so much for posting Tom! As always, Caruso is in his own, divine separate league, the reference for all tenors! How impressive his genius is, particularly when you consider that to the difference of all the tenors who came after him and could listen to recordings of his interpretations he managed to create the optimal interpretation based on his unique intelligence, sensitivity and talent.
This Transfer is almost as good as mine which came out in 1956 on a LP Record called The art of Caruso Volume one and Reissued under licence by His Master's Voice and the LP is Called The art of Caruso Volume one Record Number CSLP-510 and the Recording was first Made in 1911
After listening to Caruso again in a long time, I remember why I think he was the best of them all; second is Placido Domingo. Both men have that darker undertone that lyric tenors have (and that I like best), but can still belt out notes in the higher register. too! 😍
This 1911 version I don't have...thanks for posting! In the later recordings he sounds much more dramatic and powerful than in the earlier ones, although still retaining the quality and beauty of his earlier voice.
Record the modern tenor or any singer with the old techniques of recording and the answer to who is best will be known. They dare not do it, because the truth will be known!
Fine with me :-) The performance is absolutely devine,through ... Get to think of the rock bands of the hippie age. Many specatular songs - mostly on heavier stuff than a few drinks :-)
@OperaFanCantor You are very welcome, Ilan. I also think that Enrico was in a leaque on his own. An empathetic genious.... A Caruso quote that may interest you: “Jewish cantors employ a peculiar art and method of singing in their delivery. They are unexcelled in the art of covering the voice, picking up a new key, in the treatment of the ritual chant, and overcoming vocal difficulties that lie in the words rather than in the music.”
Mr Tom,in my country,there lived a singer with a voice of imense quality.his name was Zavaidoc and had opera training but sang romance and Romanian folk music, check the song De cand ne-a aflat multimea
Caruso la più bella voce, anche perché con estrema intelligenza la preservava con cura. ..mai una nota troppo lunga e forzata, così i suoi incisi risultano perfetti.
Desejar a amada ao lado de um sol poderoso,é uma linda imagem,tanto para dimensionar um sentimento grandioso,quanto para demonstrar a grandeza da amada
The wonder recording for this time. Благодарю, Том Фйоркер. Sorry, by russian. Shaljapin for me is the best voice of 20 c.. He sang Nyne Otpuscaeshi Ныне отпущаеши в изгнании as refugee... Dramatic deepness of soul takes from big troubles. For example, I don't ... Mea culpa. I must d'not sadly you. But what makes ?... century was to evil, it
I really enjoyed that! I wish we could have heard him sing with Maria Callas. Their voices were well matched. Oh, also: at timeline 4:52 in the recording I can here someone whisper, "He's had a highball". ;-)
Yield to Caruso and no one else.It's wonderful that you and I may prefer our favorites over Caruso, but it's also important to keep things in their proper prospective.My favorites are Di Stefano, Del Monaco Corelli and the great Lauri Volpi.I do enjoy other wonderful tenors like Cortis,Campagnano,Barioni,Fillipeschi,Pertile,Bjorling,De Muro,& Schipa. For true understanding of how an aria or song should be sung or interpreted ,I do turn to Caruso.Enjoy
@@sugarbist after listening to the Great Enrico Caruso in "Cavalleria rusticana", Tamagno told the music critic, "he left us all far behind." Sorry for stylistic mistakes in the text.
@drmpeacesage Unfortunate that the recording technique was so poor at the time. But at least we HAVE recordings of his voice. IMO we can still hear his extraordinary voice and empathy the best in the old 78's. If you search YT for /watch?v=9CAl7--JZTU (with the usual YT dot com before it), I've uploaded a digital transfer from an original 78. 50% of his voice is lost, but tune in (play it several times) and I think you'll understand why hearing Caruso sing was something people never forgot.
@wiseroldfart Well, that's fine with me that you prefer Björling in this aria. Jussi had a gorgeous lyric voice and his upper register was great, This wasn't actually the upload I referred to. Uploaded a digital transfer directly from an old 78. But I guess it wouldn't make any difference. The trouble with Caruso's recordings is of course the bad quality that only allowed for some 50% reproduction of his voice - according to people who heard him in the house and listened to the recordings.
Dear Tom, Bjorling was fine in the studio but did not get good reviews singing Aida at the Chicago Opera House. His performance was suppose to be a lead up to sing Radamas at the Met but never happened. A 91 year old friend of mine who passed away about 4 years ago told me he heard JB at the Met about 5 times in the 1950s and dismissed his voice as being pretty but small. Yes, your description of JB seems accurate. Enjoy
@@sugarbist I like Bjorling, Gigli, Pavarotti and all the other great tenors since Caruso. But I don't think any of them had the intuitive empathy for the operatic roles or the songs as Caruso. He was indeed one of a kind - at least in my opinion.
@@tomfroekjaer You probably know this but I will post it for the visitor's to your this site. Martinelli was asked at a party, "Was Caruso that good"? His answer was," If you take my voice, Lauri Volpi, Gigli & Pertile's voice & make into one, We could not shine Caruso's shoe's"
@@tomfroekjaer Still, A great tribute from Martinelli who my Dad said was terrific in the opera house. IMO, Caruso was the best tenor ever, even though He was not my favorite. People cannot understand this statement when I make it. Growing up in the 1950s 60s Del Monaco Corelli Di Stefano & in a lesser way Tucker dominated my listening habits and they somehow remain my favorites even though I love so many different voices. Caruso was mesmerizing and every tenor was in awe of his artistry
I hope I don't get hate mail but I just cannot appreciate Caruso's singing with the ancient recording technology. I wish he had lived twenty years longer and been able to leave records with clearer sound.
No hate; it's a common complaint. We all wish we had better recordings of Caruso, but there's only so much the sound engineers can do with what we have. If you dig Caruso (I do) then the more you listen the more the static becomes just background.
Being Danish I'm not that familiar with American slang, but according to my Dictionary of American Slang a highball is either a 'salute' or 'A drink containing a portion of whiskey mixed with soda, and served usually with ice in a high glass.' ....
Yes, talking about a mixed drink here. There's a discussion on this at You Tube "watch?v=qjZkAmE5ID0", a recording of Caruso and Geraldine Farrar singing "Un po'-di vero c'è" from Madama Butterfly. In Farrar's first entrance, rather than singing "si, per la vita" some people think Farrar sings "he's had a highball" to let the recording engineers know that Caruso had been drinking.
The recording horn was not ideal for stringed instruments, so many of these old recordings were arranged for brass/woodwinds so that they could be picked up by the recording horn. Part of the specialness of Caruso was his ability to project his voice loudly enough to produce great recordings.
Pav. was definitely a fine lyric tenor with beautiful diction & technique.However I did feel that Pav.sung through some arias with these 2 attributes, but otherwise sang as if it were an exercise and not really interpreting well or with feeling.Other than "O Sole Mio" his Neapolitan songs were really less than desirable.Caruso was the foundation & original interpreter for every tenor that followed.This is partly the reason why great tenors like Pav.Corelli,Del Monaco&many others yield to Caruso&
Ha! What do we as outlanders know about Italian diction? Italians will tell you Pav was not popular in Italy precisely because they considered his Italian diction to be so poor. Many Italians will cite to Di Stefano as an example of good Italian diction. Yes, you are by far not the only one in perceiving Pav as simply reciting songs, instead of the conveying the emotion inside of them. But there are much better singers than him who are guilty of the same, such as Tucker, Gedda and Bjorling. This is the difference between the artist and the opera singer. There was a time when Pav tried a lot harder though. Listen to his first "Che Gelida Manina", from April 1961. You will find it on RU-vid. Any trouble finding it let me know. /// Pav can never be a great singer of Neapolitan canzones because he lacks the proper amount of "scuro" in order to sing the songs properly and convey the emotion well. His "Tu Ca Nun Chiagne" (at least the one I've heard) is usually a half-step higher than it is normally sung, due to his inability to provide a proper richness to the lower notes. The result is a somewhat screechy version, which leaves the listener feeling short-changed in some way.
@@mickey1849 Dear Mickey, Both my parents spoke Italian fluently & studied voice in Italy during the war. I was basically brought up listening to opera & Neapolitan songs. This in itself does not make me an expert, but remembering many conversation's my parent's had among ourselves & with musical friends, I feel they had a pretty good handle when critiquing many singer's which of course influenced me. I can only give you my opinion. I believe that GDS, Del Monaco, & Pavarotti had beautiful diction. Emotionally, I think early Pav. was more impressive, but later he seemed to rely on his beauty of voice and had to work on the emotional side. All &all, still a great lyric tenor. Early Di Stefano was remarkable & perhaps the most beautiful voice I ever heard. His emotion was innate "HOT'' & had no problem being intimate with his listens. MDM also had impeccable diction, with a beautiful clear Bronze like heroic sound, but different of course, with an ability to express rage & anger like no other tenor before or after, creating a niche for himself in the dramatic repertoire. Early Tucker, perhaps as a lyric spinto sang with excellent Italian and was received extremely well in Italy. Later on his Italian was still very good but he started some heavy accenting which was not pleasing for many listeners. Still a great tenor who was better in the house than on records. JB was an impeccable singer with more emotion live than on records, but still too cold for me. JB & Gedda were fine tenor's that sang in many different languages. I hope I didn't make things worse for you. Enjoy
@@sugarbist No. Thank you very much! It's learned opinions like these that help me sharpen my own perceptions. I read somewhere else where another Italian said most Italians were not enamored of Pavarotti's diction at all. It's nice to hear some informed feedback from someone pushing the other way. Tucker I did not like in the beginning, but he has grown on me somewhat. I feel about JB and Gedda the same as you. It's a Scandanavian trait, keeping emotions under wraps; and not to be unlearned once learned, save for divine intervention. Del Monaco, yes, yes, and YES to everything you said. I can only wonder how beautiful his voice might have been, had he been focused more on beauty than on power. Pav's voice is wonderful in light lyric roles. I LOVE watching him play the Duke of Mantua. Unfortunately not the best for singing many canzones or heavier roles because his light voice lacked the "scuro" necessary. But still a wonderful voice. I loved his smile. When he smiled it was like the sun was shining. In learning various Italian songs or arias Pav is usually one of my "go to" people. Not because he has the best rendition, but because I seem to very readily pick up his pronunciation in all parts of the song. One thing I noticed about him, when he is making an "official" recording of sorts (like for a record label) he takes great care in his pronunciation; I can definitely HEAR the difference between that and a "common" performance. /// Thanks for your feedback! :)
@@sugarbist I totally agree with all of the above. Except I would rate Lanza as an excellent canzone singer. Lanza is one of my "go to" people when studying a new canzone. Five years in an opera house would've done him wonders. He left us too early--just as he was on his way there. :(
Very powerful voice and pretty pleasant. No wonder Caruso is considered the best ever. Lanza has a more pleasant voice, but is not as powerful. Pavarroti ia slightly less in power and pleasantness. Bocelli is more pleasant and a little less powerful. Caruso still remains the best.
the emotion etc in his singing is very hard to hear as its all mono and poorquality recordeing i agree with the one calling caruso the best . I read about him beeing a bari-tenor. correct i always forget his name tough there is one that had a range of no less then 5 octaves (only veryvery few have that like roy orbison and m carrey) really love him too but he's no caruse nor is/was Paverrotie (tremendes voice btw and good second or 3th anyway)
First...it was a long time ago... second..please be-carefoul, becouse Caruso it was not a full Tenor, was a bari-tenor, thats the reason of Pavarotti Idol...Caruso was the only classic sanger whi can singing deep and high......very impressfull and difficult.
Antonio Paoli "The King of Tenors" he lost his fight with Caruso for Caruso had control over the New York Opera Houses of the time and wouldn't sing in any of them if they allowed him to sing there. Paoli had to stay in Europe and when WW I broke out he was left without a market. Here is the same song from Paoli recorded at a similar point in time. Judge for yourself and I invite you to read the Biography of The tenor of Kings as we was called in Europe. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-taCNiJOxbuE.html
