MARIO DEL MONACO interview in English, Hartford 31 January 1957 

+Christopher Roberts Remember he's a tenor.

+eoselan7 yeah but a Dramatic one. Dramatic tenors have very dark and heavy voices, and powerful low notes.

What would they do with the low notes? Low notes where? in what roles?

@@photo161 О_о weird question a bit, wherever they are in score

Christopher Roberts , Del MONACO was used to talk that way in order to avoid to make his Voice tired !! Many Singers do it , like Nicola MARTINUCCI . Other Tenors were supposed to do it but, unfortunately, they never did it , so their Voices were very often TIRED and HUSKYI !!! Del Monaco was used to care s lot about his magnificent Voice !!!

To old 78 recordings of Zanatello, who outsung Caruso in NY. Caruso had powerful backers who ensured Zanatello did not sing in NY again, so he returned to Italy and built an open air opera house and banned microphones. He stated that only REAL singers would sing there. Caruso never did. Possibly, his voice wouldn't have reaches the back so well, but others did sing well there without microphones. When I was young, we had a lovely elderly neighbour who lived around the corner. Genevieve Hunkin. I don't think she was well know as she married and had a daughter and seemingly devoted her years to being a housewife and mother then. I used to sometimes visit her even when she sadly had to go into a care home. One time, the time she told me she had been a soprano, she explained that she was taught to "sing on a Whisper" and if done correctly the voice would carry.

He used a fake lightened speaking voice to save his vocal chords from tiring. His true voice wad more dark and deep. It s surprising to hear him speak that way.

@@zs1968 It's also just talking vs singing. The larynx is going to be a bit higher when talking

@@somerandomguy84 sure but Mdm lightened his speaking voice to avoid to be vocaly, tired.

@@zs1968 Oh I'm in agreement, more just saying that people tend to talk a little lighter in general

Franco Corelli was also like that.

Davvero bello! Che bella voce gentile! Vero?

One can only hope

@@xxsaruman82xx87 You seem to be active enough to reply soon, MDM says he taught himself in this interview. Is he joking like he did with his age here? I read multiple places he studied with Melocchi twice for lots of years.

@@buhnedej He’s joking. He was indeed Melocchi’s student.

Hold my beer xD

He, Corelli and a few others male and female up to around the late 80's maybe, that was it. They don't make 'em like that anymore. They broke the mold. Sadly, all the talent has gone and there are none to replace them. There won't be again unless they use the old techniques, don't party, booze, save their voices by not speaking loudly or shouting off stage, don't do drugs, don't smoke etc. I am certainly not saying they all do any of those harmful things now but I am sure some of them do.

Boris Van Druff He does, actually.

😂

Mario del Monaco was the greatest Otello while Franco Corelli the best don Jose in Carmen.

il suo inglese è tra i migliori,altro che" non era così male"...

@@radames5855 E vero, magari gli Americani parlassero l Italiano in tale modo.... anche I Francesi.

Yes, your right, so was Tucker's compared to MDM and Corelli, , so you cannot tell.

Jon Vickers had a very light speaking voice