nella vita e sul palcoscenico è sempre e solo del monaco. ma non dobbiamo dimen ti care sua moglie che gli è stata sempre vicina e ha regalato a lui la sua promettente carriera. una grande donna accanto ad un ghrande uomo-artista. grfazie rina! anna maria
Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge and refined opinions. It's correct to respect Verdi in principle. And MDM is not my favorite singer. However, MDM couldn't be anyone else but himself, both onstage and off. Watching this set of videos confirms that, not only his singing, but his whole being was what many may call 'excessive' or 'extreme.' The man did nothing in moderation. Yet with MDM the purity of passion is fascinating and marvelous. He remained true to himself, at least.
Vedere questo documento oggi può fare soridere ma non dimentichiamo che Del Monaco faceva parte di una razza di cantanti ormai estinta, quella dei divi, degli animali da palcoscenico. Il suo investimento scenico, artistico e vocale era talmente grande che non potrebbe essere raggiunto da nessuno oggi.
Non credo siano tanto distanti, il messaggio di Verdi dal messaggio di Del Monaco... io penso che Verdi avesse approvato il canto e l'interpretrazione data da Del Monaco in Otello, in quanto Verdi stesso disse di servire prima il poeta e dopo il compositore... a mio parere MDM serve molto bene il poeta, un pò meno bene il compositore, ma sempre con rispetto della partitura... saluti
By trying to grow out of the shadow of Gigli, MDM turned to his specific formula and stuck to it. This formula is, arguably, incomplete by musical and artistic standards, because it was forged in response to Gigli, the consummate artist. And once MDM had established himself, it would have been difficult and risky to re-evaluate his approach and improve it. So for the remainder of his career, he stayed the course he had charted. Seen in that light, his career perhaps makes more sense.
I heard an interesting comment made by Corelli during his interviews with Zucker. When asked about MDM's singing being so big, he explained that in the late 30's and early 40's, the opera world was still dominated by Gigli. And MDM did NOT have a huge voice early on. But MDMs voice grew and he found his niche in singing in this super-heroic style, which was the one thing Gigli could NOT do. At first people dismissed him, but over time his approach took root with the public.
Absolutely true I saw him live in 1956 57 58 was backstage I was a young tenor 16 and 17 and he gave me some advice and I became very friendly with him and his wife Rina, he couldn't have been nicer to me I took pictures with him which I still have and I still have the memories and this is 2022 and I'm 82 and I remember it all as if it were yesterday Loved you and DM still miss you
If it was a Photo session he would have been in a studio, not on the street. Nice try, but they actually say in the documentry that he liked to appear in his costumes off stage, in hotels and on the street. Furthermore people have told me here in Venice that he did it before all his Otello performances at Palazzo Ducale
You fail to understand that tenors have different personalities and are not just tools in the hands of the composers.Each individual perceives the composers work different and therefore interprets it different acording to their own capabilities.Anyway i think Verdi would have liked the diversity of interpretation.
Bravo Bogdan I totally agree, MDM was a great artist and revelations from rags specially do not move me , he had of course its own minuses and faults , as every man , but I can him all forgive ...
Well, MDM is my favorite and has the best voice, far better than Di Stefano.There are at least 10 great tenors so everyone can have a favorite.This things you talk about like he was megalomaniac or narcisist don't even matter, even if it were true, from a historical point of view, it's just cheap talk that belongs in the tabloids and have nothing to do with MDM's on stage performances or recordings.
He clearly has done this for the cameras.I saw your comments and i have only one question how do you know what the composer intented and Mario del Monaco doesn't know.I think he is a very appreciated tenor with public and critics alike, so if you don't like him that's your right, but speak in your name and live the composers to rest in peace.
Verdi expressed his concern about Tamangno, the first Otello, whom he said (in a letter to Giulio Ricordi) was inclined to sing always loud and when he attempted to sing mezzavoce his voice was ugly and out of tune. In Otello, he continued "vi sono frasi larghe lunghe, legate da dire a mezza voce, cosa impossibile per lui" (Verdi's own words) "there are long, broad, legato phrases to be sung in mezza voce, something that is impossible for him"
I have to agree with you when you say that MDM was true to himself, excessive or extreme are words I would use to describe his singing and his person, judging from the image presented in these videos. I have difficulty with what you call 'purity of passion', it so often lapses into a too predictable cariciture of himself, or even high camp, as in his much admired Tokyo Pagliacci. But I appreciate your 'warts and all' approach, it's much more honest than those who worship the man as a god.
I think MDM knew perfectly well that his approach divided people into those who shunned him and those who worshipped him, and for those who worshipped him, the more over the top he did things, the greater the worship. I'm sure this was a factor in his behavior. After all, art forms are a haven for those who 'walk to their own beat.' On eht other hand, as you said, caricaturing himself takes away from the 'mystique' if you want to call it that, rather than adds to it.
It does indeed make more sense, moreover del Monaco's formula is much more dated than Gilgi. Singing like Gigli, stylistically not technically, would be nearly impossible today, but if a singer were to present a del Monaco style interpretation today he would simply never get on stage, indeed he would be sent back to study his solfeggio! The vocal technique is also not to be copied as its detremental effects can already be seen in Del Monaco himself despite his vocal resilience.
In the end Verdi accepted Tamagno, but he preferred another tenor called De Negri who was less of a trumpet but much more musical. Considering these observations by Verdi himself, I find it very hard to believe that he would have been very happy with Del Monaco's Otello whose dynamic range is between f and fff. If you like it, that's fine, go on enjoying it, but don't pass it off as the definitive Otello (the 'definitive' in operatic interpretation is a perverse concept in any case)
The composer, Verdi, writes precise expressive indications in the score, these are a starting point from which interpretation begins. If a pianist or a conductor behaved as Del Monaco they would not be accepted, singers are usually less precise than instrumentalists, but nobody ignores the composers written indications like del Monaco. Futhermore del Monaco is far from universally admired by critics.
Who says I can sing at all? it's hardly the point:-) Compare the version of vesti la guibba with di Stefano that you posted (thank yo), for example, with del Monaco in Tokyo singing the same aria, who reaches true depth? I believe di Stefano - who doesn't resort to gross over acting, niether physically nor vocally the way del Monaco does. In del Monaco the voice is fantastic but the rest is so overdone that it frequently borders on farce... honestly, I'm not trying to be nasty
If we are looking for the truth in Verdi or Puccini, we will not find it here. Those who believe that del Monaco is the definitive Otello or any other operatic part are fooling themselves. Enjoy him by all means if that's what you like, I quickly grow tired of his singing and, finally here in this documentary I understand exactly why: it's not about the music, it's not about the drama. It's all about MDM
Del Monaco was an enormous megalomaniac; this documentary is proof of the fact. All those portraits! The jewels! Strutting around in Saint Mark's square dressed as Otello, his singing along with his own records. He was devoted to HIS art, in other words the cult of Mario Del Monaco. Verdi, Puccini and the other composers were merely the vehicles for his narcissism.
wow, somebody talking about the narcissism of a big artist, having himself such a enormous ego to write here with no end and calling himself Czar! All this stupidities you are talking about MDM we did hear a hundred times. But they do not make them true.
It is this unquetioned acceptance of his artictic integrity, simplistically justified by his unbridled passion, that is unacceptable to me. I would not be at all disturbed by del Monaco if he were simply taken as an isolated case, the belief that he represents a standard by which all others need to be measured and that he belongs to a tradition of Italian singing, technically or stylistically, is a false credo that needs to be exposed.
His 'choice' early in his career to rarely sing piano, whatever the reasons, later led to a hardening of his technique whereby singing less than forte became impossible. His mannerisms or 'tics' became permanent personality features: nasal passaggio, sliding portamentos, questionable intonation, excessive histrionics, slack-jawed pronunciation. There was no going back, but this also implies a lack of critical sense which has to be taken into account when evaluating his artistic integrity.
I'm perfectly aware that singers have different personalities, and there is plenty of room within the bounderies the composer sets down for an artist to express themselves. What del Monaco does to Verdi's music in Otello is outside the acceptable basic rules of musical grammar! he often sings different notes and different rhythms, take the score in hand and you will see, he adds his own typical hysterics and cloak and dagger acting which wear thin very quickly, Otello becomes a raving lunatic!
As for your question, Who cares? I care, I care about hearing music interpreted in the spirit the composer intended. I care that one of the greatest voices ever given to a human being was misused to serve an over-bloated ego. I care that a vulgar mis interpretation is being passed down to later generations as being 'definitive', I care that many opera lovers are wallowing in a sort of unhealthy nostaglia for the past which is their excuse to indiscriminately criticise everyone who sings today
Obviously we operate on two different levels, I'm much more interested in the composer's message. The greatest this and the biggest that or picking your favourite tenor sounds more like football talk. The narcissism theory is my attempt at explaining why a singer who had all the right cards to be a great interpreter failed, or refused to respect the composers wishes... but you guys are obviously not interested in Verdi
