How foetunate that the camera was there to record these unique,magnificent singers in two of their greatest roles;Mr Vickers with his heroic,clarion and slightly abrasive tenor illustrating for me how the "real" Otello would have sounded,and the MAGNIFICENT Renata Scotto singing superbly and bringing all her intuitive acting skills to the part of Desdemona.I wish I had seen these (truly) legendary singers "live" but I am so grateful that they were caught on film for posterity,where future generations will be able to observe what truly great opera singing is all about.
The greatest post WWII tenor and one of the greatest tenors of all time. His physical release was astonishing, by the way. I can't think of another tenor with such freedom. The technique is different but I'm reminded of how utterly free of tension Nilsson looked when she sang
It is so amazing to watch these two consummate artists interacting with each other. Not only the musicality and feeling in their voices, but the energy that occurs between them -- one feels almost as if one is intruding on an intimate moment, as they sing of the nature of their love and reach into each other's hearts to find themselves there. It's almost too private to bear. It makes the ensuing tragedy all the more poignant.
Superb - neither of these singers were in the first flush of youth, far from it. Do we have artists today capable of such wonderful delivery I ask myself.
In my early opera-going days, I saw Vickers and Scotto together on the Met stage in Otello, before the days of subtitles. They were monumental, although neither was the last word in vocal refinement. But they both knew how to bring out the drama of the characters.
GIÀ NELLA NOTTE DENSA Na noite densa, Vênus brilha no céu, vista Pelo casal Otelo e Desdemona, em dueto Que marca encontro de júbilo, ela ativista Do amor, poeticamente em tempo allegreto. Otelo revela: já na noite densa, todo clamor Se extingue, já meu coração está tremendo, Domesticado no abraço, fortalecido no amor. A guerra tinha trovejado, o mundo vendo Horrores e o casal valorizam os sentimentos. Ocasião idêntica com o momento planetário São sinais mostrados pela rosa dos ventos. A pandemia espalhando ao mundo a chance De fazer brilhar a luz, saindo do imaginário Mundo em que foi destruído, sem alcance. (*) (*) FERNANDO PINHEIRO, presidente da Academia de Letras dos Funcionários do Banco do Brasil. - GIÀ NELLA NOTTE DENSA (poesia), de Fernando Pinheiro. - in O mundo de Morfeu, de Fernando Pinheiro.
