A super demonstration of what is called "a ringing voice". Moreover: his clear diction is not sacrificed for a 'sempre legatissimo'. (Not to mention all the other qualities.)
George London has always been my favorite Boris. This particular recording shows why. It is only lacking in that there is no chorus... the off stage, gradually crescendoing voices (heard here only as strings) add an incomparable level of metaphysical power to the death scene.
Quelle chance ont eu ceux qui on entendu de telles merveilles en live. Il nous reste les enregistrements, qui nous consolent de ce qu'on entends actuellement.Immense !
Time stops literally ... George London transcends the interpretation of Mussorgsky's music by the power of his vocal and physical presence, by the weight that separates musical impression from expression. All these components are at hand and aim to "tetanise" the music. There are other interpretations to listen to: Hans Hotter (in German) or Boris Christoff. Thank you for this beautiful video!
I don’t think the language has anything to do with it. London was suffering from gradual paralysis of one of his vocal cords. This began in 1961. I heard him in 1962 and he was still able to sing around this. In the English performance on RU-vid it is 1964, his vocal condition was rapidly worsening. In another year and a half, his voice was virtually gone. There are several great Boris broadcasts of London from the 50s.
He was a great voice for Boris, good musicianship, good Russian. What I don't get from him, as from many in his generation, that he has made a total inner identification with the character. I.e. he hasn't become the character. There is still is just a singer up there singing ABOUT a character. I like Hines better personally but it is just personal taste.
How did you get that from this performance? He showed a detailed level of character, emotion, and development even though it's a concert setting, and it's significantly easier to do that with costumes, staging, etc.
what u are describing is the singers of today: inner identification. in his generation there were still some singers who did fully become the character, something Callas was a master at. I don't mean to bring other singers into this, but here London manages to do an amazing job even in the concert setting.
He certainly gives a good impression of the person and his plight. I’m looking forward to seeing other versions, now. For me, tomorrow is the 2021 Met version streaming to our theater in the Virgin Islands. 🌴💐.
