Just listened to the Milnes version, and there's no question Merrill holds pitch better and has perhaps the greatest natural beauty of any baritone voice....probably the reasons why he remains my all-time favorite.
Merrill referred to Enrico in LUCIA as the ˋlousiest´baritone role ever written but he certainly scores supremely when singing the aria. I have an even earlier version of him singing the aria & also the 1961 recording with Sutherland where he gives one of the vocally greatest examples of straight forward operatic baritone singing that I have yet to hear. Actually, perhaps some chief competition, IMO, comes from the late Pablo Elvira whom I heard sing this aria twice, once on a live Sutherland live MET performance available on DVD & from a live performance in Prospect Park, Brooklyn in 1989.
Безусловно красавец, все в духе американцев, но самое главное- это достойный баритон великого Bastianini. Естественно заменить Bastianini просто не реально, а вот достичь тех высот и приблизиться к идеалу, который создал Ettore Bastianini, по моему мнению , Merrill , справился на все💯❗️💞✨✨✨👏
