Aria of Don Basilio from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. New York 1976 Titus, H. Price, Samuel Ramey, Gramm; S. Caldwell Please, no copyright infringement intended! He is brilliant!
Sings with such confidence, agility and authority, even at this young age. Great command of language and pronunciation. Certainly among the best of his generation.
Voce bellissima si sa, ma quello che mi colpisce sempre in Ramey è la perfetta dizione unita al fascino di una voce tra le più interessanti della fine del XX secolo
That Samuel Ramey was one handsome so-and-so. That he was a great basso is beyond question. For some reason, I love looking at what he does with his hands. BTW -- if anyone on here hasn't seen his Don Giovanni, look at the finale (with Kurt Moll I believe). It's fabulous.
i saw this everyone in the cast was amazing the city opera had some of the most wonderful productions often better than the met -this production was brilliant
Maravilloso Ramey!!!! me encanta, uno de los mejores bajos con excelentes graves y agudos, tuve la oportunidad de verlo en el Teatro Colón y una voz magnífica
Thanks so much for posting this! The audience, sounds like every one of them, knew they had just experienced something very special and important in the world of opera singers. Of course we all know the kind of career Ramey would rightfully enjoy, but to hear an aria known as playful turned into a masterpiece…This was, is, a moment still resonating decades later.
I know someone who heard Ramey in this role in Los Angeles back at the very beginning of Ramey's career. My acquaintance said that this tall, skinny guy walked out on stage and started singing, and everyone just sat there with their mouths open, absolutely stunned by the extraordinary and beautiful voice that they were hearing.
The PBS Special got me into Ramey and Opera. I have even listened to other Basses and watched their Performances. Ramey owns the Devil and Mephistopheles . I grew up a RocknRoller , primarily British Rock , and have urged some Heavy Metal Heads to check out Ramey. For those Elitists with screwed up critical acumen and maybe tone deaf ears who diss Sam Ramey , well , Ramey appeared in Europe at a gala with Pavrotti and other Singers and apparently it was a rough audience and not a good night. Pavrotti remarked " Ramey was the only one who didn't get booed ."
Texto Original: (02:13) La calunnia è un venticello, un'auretta assai gentile che insensibile, sottile, leggermente, dolcemente incomincia, incomincia a sussurrar Piano piano, terra terra, sottovoce, sibilando, va scorrendo, va scorrendo va ronzando, va ronzando; nell'orecchie della gente s'introduce, s'introduce destramente, e le teste ed i cervelli, e le teste ed i cervelli fa stordire, fa stordire e fa gonfiar. Dalla bocca fuori uscendo lo schiamazzo va crescendo prende forza a poco a poco, vola già di loco in loco; sembra il tuono, la tempesta che nel sen della foresta va fischiando, brontolando, e ti fa d'orror gelar. Alla fin trabocca e scoppia, si propaga, si raddoppia e produce un'esplosione come un colpo di cannone, come un colpo di cannone. Un tremuoto, un temporale, Un tumulto generale che fa l'aria rimbombar! E il meschino calunniato, avvilito, calpestato, sotto il pubblico flagello per gran sorte ha crepar. E il meschino calunniato, avvilito, calpestato, sotto il pubblico flagello per gran sorte ha crepar. Texto en Español: (02:13) La calumnia es un vientecillo, una brisita muy gentil, que imperceptible, sutil, ligeramente, suavemente, comienza, comienza a susurrar. Bajo, bajo, a ras de tierra, en voz baja, sibilante, va corriendo, va corriendo, va zumbando, va zumbando; en las orejas de la gente se introduce, se introduce hábilmente y las cabezas y los cerebros, y las cabezas y los cerebros hace aturdir y hace hinchar. Una vez fuera de la boca el alboroto va creciendo, toma fuerza poco a poco vuela ya de un lugar a otro; parece un trueno, una tempestad que en medio del bosque va silbando, atronando, y te hace de horror helar. Al final se desborda y estalla, se propaga, se redobla y produce una explosión, ¡como un disparo de cañón! ¡como un disparo de cañón! Un terremoto, un temporal, un tumulto general que hace agitar el aire. Y el infeliz calumniado, envilecido, aplastado, bajo el azote público podrá considerarse afortunado si muere. Y el infeliz calumniado, envilecido, aplastado, bajo el azote público podrá considerarse afortunado si muere.
Amazing voice, remarkable performance! I have never heard this aria performed in such a mesmerizing way. Thank you so much for sharing this, my new favorite. Samuel Ramey is such a talent!
English translation Calumny is a little breeze, a gentle zephyr, which insensibly, subtly, lightly and sweetly, commences to whisper. Softly softly, here and there, sottovoce, sibilant, it goes gliding, it goes rambling. Into the ears of the people, it penetrates slyly and the head and the brains it stuns and it swells. From the mouth re-emerging the noise grows crescendo, gathers force little by little, runs its course from place to place, seems the thunder of the tempest which from the depths of the forest comes whistling, muttering, freezing everyone in horror. Finally with crack and crash, it spreads afield, its force redoubled, and produces an explosion like the outburst of a cannon, an earthquake, a whirlwind, a general uproar, which makes the air resound. And the poor slandered wretch, vilified, trampled down, sunk beneath the public lash, by good fortune, falls to death.
Samuel Ramey is Superb! Interestingly this is done a step lower then when I did it in 1988. Also our Stage Director set it in 18th/19th Century Spanish Southwest America . . . think Zorro :)
For many people this production was the first time they had ever heard Ramey. Sills and company took this production on the road, and an acquaintance of mine heard the production in Los Angeles. He said that when Ramey started to sing, he and his friends were all sitting there stunned, and saying "Who IS that! They were all bowled over by Ramey's voice. In this performance here, the audience probably felt the same way, and just started applauding before the orchestra finished.
While, yes, Ramey is magnificent, you never heard Siepi. Why choose? I saw them both live many times in this role, yet never compared them, but reveled in their uniqueness.
He's singing it in C here. On CDs he sings it in the original key of D. Originally Figaro, Bartolo, and Basilio all sang in roughly the same tessatura. Modern tradition is to take Figaro up (interpolated high Gs) and Basilio down (get rid of the top Fs).
This aria is butchered more often than not... Refreshing to hear it done as a piece of music actually worth listening to :) On the other hand, it is deceivingly difficult to do right!
+ranigema I took the time to translate your comments. You say Ramey sounds like a soprano in contrast to other basses? You obviously don't know what a basso cantante is. A basso cantante is a legitimate bass. The voice of the basso cantante is lighter and more flexible than that of the dramatic bass or the profundo. Perhaps you just prefer the sound of a dramatic bass or a basso profundo, and like to slam the basso cantante voice. Either way, you're showing your ignorance. To say: (and this is the translation of part of your comment) the bass voice (the real one ) nowadays no longer exists and for this reason young people take ramey for a god." is just plain nasty, and again shows that you have no understanding of what a basso cantante is or else that you disagree with music experts and think that a basso cantante isn't a real bass. I, myself, prefer the sound of the basso cantante voice to that of the dramatic bass or the profundo, but I would never try to claim that only the cantante or only the dramatic or profundo represents the bass singing voice. The bass voice can be divided into other categories too, but I have included only these three for the purpose of simplifying my comments. If you don't like Ramey's voice, that's fine. Opinions on singers differ, and I would never say that you're not entitled to your opinion. What I object to is that you are slamming Ramey's voice by saying that he isn't really a bass. Please go back to your Ghiaurov and Christov recordings and allow the rest of us to enjoy Ramey's glorious voice.
bodiloto You go all over RU-vid making nasty comments about Ramey...and you've been doing it for years. It seems to be your only activity on RU-vid. You really hate him and I suspect it's personal, not something objective, like simply not liking his voice. What happened? Did you come on to him, and he refused you?
I agree: to my ear, Ramey was indeed a basso contante (2nd passagio @ C#). But he also did a heck of a job singing bass-baritone roles (Rinaldo and Gounads Faust come to mind) with many F#s and even G naturals. Sad to me, his very late stuff (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-INF9r5jju0A.html) are so dark, I wonder if he used steroids?. This recording though is awesome. I would say he was in the best of voice.
Don Basilio is a voice teacher who is also a teacher in a church music school. His clothing reflects his position as a church official. Most of the costumes here reflect the character's profession, but they are exaggerated. Hence the "Gothic church tower" headpiece Ramey is wearing.
Maybe not in Milan, but I don't even believe that. I saw Sam give a recital in Venice, in 1991 (I believe). It was at La Fenice, not long before it was torched by thugs. Sam might not be well known by the general populace, but among opera fans he certainly is. Most of the audience at that concert were locals, and they gave him a standing ovation and umpteen curtain calls. And I'm sure you know that if the Italians aren't impressed, they will boo an artist right off the stage. They even booed Pavarotti off the stage at La Scala once (that I know of). One of their own. They've booed American artists too, from time to time, but never Sam Ramey.
I played Ramey's Attila in Venice in the late 80's when the audience demanded a "bis" DURING the performance. (The complete performance is floating around youtube somewhere.) My Italian colleagues said that hadn't happened in that theater since the 50's. In the early 80's I heard a performance of L'Italiana in Algeria with him and Horne, also at La Fenice, and he got more applause than she did -- the flexibility of his voice at the time was astounding, proprio delizioso!
Désolé, mais je trouve que le baryton ici ne nuance pas bien tous les degrés nécessaires à l'expression de la calomnie que Rossini permet au départ. Grande puissance vocale mais peu de finesse expressive. Dans cet air il faut beaucoup de nuances et d'expressivité dans les cordes vocales. Ce n'est pas Mefistofele.
great performance but lacking the fantastic acting of Furlanetto, whose voice is just as good, and his performance beats Ramey's because of his clever antics.
Furlanetto is a marvelous actor, one of he very best in opera ever. I'd respectfully disagree with you that his voice is as good as Ramey's. To my ear Ramey, has always had the better voice; a more beautiful vocal tone, a greater range of colors and shadings in the voice, more versatility (everything from Rossini to Verdi to baroque to Gounod, and on and on.), and certainly Furlanetto's voice has never had the flexibility and agility of Ramey's. I've heard both live as Boris Godunov...and I actually preferred Ramey's performance, vocally and acting-wise. I've heard them both as Don Quichotte (Furlanetto live and Ramey on DVD), and again I thought Ramey's acting was superior to Furlanetto's in that particular performance of that particular role. Overall, I'd still say, however, that Furlanetto is the better actor. Incidentally, I've heard both of them as Filippo II in Don Carlo, and prefer Furlanetto's performance.
