I saw him in concert in the early 70's and he was marvelous. Great voice and interpretations. He ended the exciting evening singing Shendoah very softly to cool us down.
@@cristovaomendoca8164 Yes, agreed. Many people in singing, athletics, etc..., continue past their prime. Maybe they have difficulty facing the end of their career, leaving the applause and adulation. Maybe the higher they got in their profession, the harder it is to walk away from it. Guess each persons' reasons will differ. Milnes did not address the quality of his later singing in his autobiography - only that after the surgery he had to sing less, and sing less demanding roles. You are right imho, that some of his late singing is hard to listen to.
As you may not know, this was well after burst capillaries in his vocal chords and 'corrective' laser surgery began to wreak havoc on his voice. He was, for about 15 years, regarded as the leading baritone in the world - and with very good reason. This performance is definitely nowhere near his best (for reasons mentioned above). He was definitely up there with Warren (as Warren's own wife - and many others - acknowledged), and superior to Bechi and Granforte...neither of whom were ever close to being considered the leading baritone in the world. Levine, Bohm, et al..., certainly didn't think he was the most overrated baritone of all time.
Milnes, compared to basically most of the baritones of his time and before, had extensive musical preparation (studied conducting as well) which gave him a good deal of reliability as a singer. Yes, other baritones might have had a much more beautiful or perhaps powerful instrument than him, yet Milnes instrument was very refined and his discipline and artistry enabled him to deliver magnificent and profound interpretations of the core dramatic baritone roles. As SwissArmyTenor says, it's no wonder that some of the best conductors of the second half of the 20th century wanted to work with him and I would trust their judgement more than anyone else...
