MICHAEL SPYRES "Se di lauri il crine adorno" Mozart's MITRIDATE 

Incroyable, extraordinaire,quelle aisance !BRAVO!!

Man sings an impossible aria with beauty, ease of production and technical perfection, and 3 people clap. Wow.

actually insane that he ornaments the recapitulation and makes it even harder. incredible.

One of the best arias for tenor ever. Simply wonderful.

Wow what's with the limited applause. That was an incredible rendition.

Incredibile... Perfetto!!

He's a beast ! Love him

His voice is so beautiful!! His singing so perfect.. The best !! Shakes my heart...Bravo!! This is an example how to sing well!!

Wonderful voice accompanied by his fine musicianship.

This is mindboggling! Tenor Michael Spyres makes the dauntingly difficult role of Mitridate seem like a walk in the park. And on top of that, his recording of this aria, surpasses even the legendary rendition by Bruce Ford at Covent Garden which I was certain would never be surpassed. And to render the feat even more unbelievable, he adds ornamentation which makes this aria even more impossibly difficult to sing, and yet sings it with absolute control and poise. It's a SCANDAL that he is yet to debut at the Metropolitan Opera, particularly considering that he is American!

Es perfecto, hace lo que quiere, voz de barítono, tenor y también contratenor a veces que le he visto 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻es un placer oírle

Imagine getting the chance to see this rare masterpiece in person and the production looks like this

Michael Spyres, a force of nature

Este hombre es un genio !!! Tiene un fraseo irresistible.

Got to give the edge to Bruce Ford, still, on this aria.

Voz maravilhosa!

Grandioso! 4:01👏🏻👏🏻

I realise there probably isn't much market for it, but I wish they'd release this production on DVD. It's such a smart concept. As for whether Spyres is the equal of Bruce Ford... he is maybe a bit flashier, Ford maybe a bit smoother, but it's all irrelevant really, isn't it. Spyres is singing this role now, and is surely better than anyone else around at it; Ford isn't singing anything any more. I understand that forensic cross-generational comparison is part of the fun of being an opera fan, but it seems awfully ungenerous somehow to do it with singers who are actively singing the role right now, holding their performance up to the light and declaring it just not quite as good as one from 30 years ago that you never actually saw. Spyres has written recently (I think on Facebook) about how he saw the video of that production with Ford when he was younger, how he loved it and loved Ford's singing in it, how it became his dream to sing in that production one day. And a couple of weeks ago I saw him do just that and maybe I'm a sentimental fool but I found it very moving (and this is before you get to his singing, which was outstanding). Both Ford and Spyres are wonderful singers, but you can only see one of them now. Let's live in the present.

Tout simplement INOUBLIABLE. Nous avions déjà eu la chance d'entendre votre Arnold dans Guillaume Tell à La Monnaie. Merci maestro pour ces grands moments.

I find this performance about equal to Bruce Ford in sheer sound. But the effortlesness.... My God it is magnificent! Bravo bravo bravo!

So elegant and good !!! Fantastic

Não me canso de ouvi-lo...

Saw this production, mr Spyres was a ma zing

I can hardly express how much I love the direction and staging!

Damn, this is probably as good of a rendition as Bruce Ford! I didn't think it was possible.

If any politician would have a speech such as this, I'd vote him without checking which party is from))

This is as good a recording of Michael Spyres as I've heard...It is also as good a recording of this piece as I've heard, and I thought that Bruce Ford was the man, and haven't been able to understand why more wasn't made of Ford in his prime. Sypres has a few scoops in his voice early in this, but overall the ease of delivery and the ornaments are remarkable. Ford was a "bigger" voice it strikes me and delivered without the scoops, but also without the ornaments. I think one always has to include in any of these discussions Rockwell Blake whose voice seems grainy by comparison and yet it is "unique" and once heard in such a piece as this, it is never mistaken as some one else when heard again...."that's Rocky".....but again to Spyres.....what ease in such a demanding piece.

Incredible!

He is so good!

Bravo Michael!

Magnifique voix sublime!

Bravissimo!

Brilliant!!!

Fabuleux !

❤❤❤❤❤

Meraviglioso!!!!

Único. Formidable. Sublime.❤️

Extra beautiful! I vote for Mithridate!

Es interesante como Mozart escribe esta que es su primer ópera Italina con ejes temáticos muy parecidos a los de La Clemenza di Tito, su última ópera.

Wonderful

Очень красиво! Wunderbar!

How is anything this beautiful?! This rivals my first real kiss with a boy.

molto bravo e bella voce

Love ❤️

Un cantant que surt de la normalitat. Vull dir que es un tenor extraordinari.

Stupendo

Great tenor!!!,the staging is very creative;they put Mitridste as a modern politician (guess that they omited the fact of been a "warrior king";anyhow,nowadays liders look like that,even if deciding social affairs or war!!!,bothly mean and untrue politicians commonly!!!)

💕👏

bravissimo

As it happens I'm reading a history of the end of the Roman Republic. I read Plutarch's account about twenty years ago but this is a modern retelling of the story of Mithridates. He was not a nice guy. He killed every Italian in Pontus. That was about 80,000. He killed a lot of Celts too.He was a sort of Hitler or Stalin. But the story of the opera is also interesting. Mozart was only 14 when he wrote it. The cast treated him badly. He was just a kid they thought. The lead tenor Guilemo d'Ettore couldn't sing runs. So he badgered Mozart to write an opening aria with lots of slow but large leaps. That's why it sounds the way it does.

Wow

Indeed I have great respect for Mr. Spyres and enjoy many of his embellishments. But Bruce Ford stands alone in this role with a balanced voice throughout and true Mozartian style. This said I cheer other tenors tackling this repertoire. Moreover I am curious why he is not yet at the Met.

quite good, even everything is in the nose.

Este señor es un auténtico monstruo.

Bravo miguelito

Could a full lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, and heldentenor sing this aria. The range sound like a mix of bass parts with tenor high notes. 3:58 C3 low C up to C5 high C 4:04. Fully 4:46 B2 low B. (B2 - C5)

What incredible technique and control! My only critique is a personal dislike of the ornaments at the final ascent. Took away from the line for me a bit, but man what a voice.

Monster

It's true ...why he is not yet at the Met. Rossini wait

bravo! visto che oggi si urla solo! almeno uno che canta con gusto

Se di lauri il crine adorno fide spiaggie, a voi non torno. Tinto almen non porto il volto di vergogna e di rossor. Anche vinto e anche oppresso io mi serbo ognor l'istesso e vi reco in petto accolto sempre eguale il mio gran cor.

I think the limited applause may be because they are French. I believe it is the custom to be more reserved with applause during the performance, at least in my experience.

Bravo, ma la mezza voce non è il falsetto

Ford´s rendition can´t be better than Spyres´. Humble opinion.

Singing: Excellent. Staging: Not so much.

BRUCE FORD NUMMER 1 😜

Wonderful tenor !!But the Reggie not !!!

The audience was not very impressed...

There a few unpleasant sounds in the 2nd part.

Trying to impose modern individuality in Mozart's music trying to as if it's a speech to a load of journalists doesn't really work.Ford sings it as if he is a servant of the music and it's mood and it's far better as a piece of art

So nasal

God awful production. It affects his singing too. He is not technically sound here. Messy and crass in places. Too many scoops and sudden fortes up high.

Che regia vergognosa!