The great Welsh Mozartian tenor will be 75 tomorrow so in his honour I'm posting a recording of "Il mio tesoro" from Don Giovanni(on the Decca label). Happy Birthday, Stuart!
I am Irish and I was 7 when John McCormack died in 1945. Now I live in Wales and am amazed and very impressed indeed by Stuart Burrows and his flawless version of this, one of the greatest tenor arias ever written. Da iawn, Stuart...
Listening after Bjorling, Alva, Dermota, Domingo, Florez, McCormack, I am impressed not only by the superb breath control, dynamic variation, beautiful voice and musicianship but also exceptional dramatic engagement with the character and the situation.
OMG! This is simply superb !! It's the very first recording I've been able to enjoy on the same level I have always enjoyed McCormack's 1916 version!! The tone, drama, breath control AND fioritura leave nothing to be desired. Is Burrows still with us?? If so, he'd be 85 now I think ..... A stunning artist! ROBERT WHITE
Thanks for posting this, for you've captured my thoughts perfectly. I first learned this aria from hearing the McCormack performance. It's such a high bar that I found all subsequent performances wanting in one way or another until hearing this one.
he's 86 now and doing well - Im his son, so check him out daily. Not bad health - apart from terrible arthritis. Apart from that he's as good as can be x
@@DRAIG4444 I greatly enjoyed this. My father was a great admirer decades ago but I perhaps failed to appreciate then what he understood. I hope the maestro is still going strong and that his arthritis does not plague him too much; it comes to us all sadly.
And here we go again! Oustanding version of this aria. I simply cant find any more pleasing versions around. Mozart, still with both tenderness and Voice as well!!! Not just ultra thin unsupported singing.
I can't believe my ears... He's got a voice tone very near to Dermota's (which I particularly love) but with a far better technique in every aspect. He's got everything, it's just ridiculous. And the wonderful orchestra direction is also to be saluted.
Merveilleux : chantant, tendre, fluide. Ce don Ottavio est viril et amoureux, courageux et ardent. Technique vocale à tomber, souffle parfaitement maîtrisé. Excellent tempo du chef. Les airs de Mozart pour ténor, sont des chefs-d'oeuvres incomparables, toujours très difficiles.
Ladies and gentlemen, behold a lesson in Mozart singing of the highest calibre. Amongst other things, the breath control here is simply second to none.
Marvelous!!!, how charming and sweet is his vocal emision, a master class for all singers...hope all the best for him in his birthday!!!, Bravo maestro!!!!
I have heard many versions of this great aria & in my opinion this is the best, Softness & power all in the right places.[ My choice ,] others obviously will have their own favourites.
I discovered this great tenor accidentally in 1997. I was removing some things from an unoccupied office when I founded an audio tape of Stuart Burrows. In the tape he sings popular Irish songs accompanied by piano only. I love his style and singular voice.
TY for this beautiful rendition. Because of YT posters I have found another great singer I was unfamiliar with. Beautiful voice and "breathtaking" technique (it seems he does not breathe.) Also true emotion, not just a perfect vocal excercise
Such a beautiful voice, wonderful technique, and breath control. And did he sing from 1:41 to 2:00 all on one breath? Why yes he did. I used to think Il mio tesoro was the only insipid piece of music Mozart ever wrote...and then I heard Stuart Burrows sing it.
If anyone is interested, a full video of Don Giovanni with Stuart as Don Ottavio is by Kirionline where Kiri Te Kanawa stars and Air Thomas Alan plays the lead. Check it out!
He’s been a favorite of mine for 50 (gulp) years now, starting with a recording of Tales of Hoffmann opposite Beverly Sills and Norman Treigle. His piano accompanied performance of Danny Boy is my favorite rendition of that lovely song.
I'm a great McCormack and Tauber fan, but was too late to hear them in person.Burrows was certainly the finest Mozart tenor I heard live, on many occasions at Covent Garden.
This is the best performance of this piece that I've had the pleasure of hearing. Theres a single note that doesn't ring out quite as clearly or as high a tenor timbre, but this performance is perfect. Absolutely AMAZING. He may have a record there for the mist nores, over time, in a run! Not even my previous favorite hit that run!❤ Bravo, sir. You are indeed a Maestro ❤
He was never underrated, he just didn't have Pavarotti's agent. From hearin him first in the 1960's there has been no other to compare in the Mozart repertoire, not even Gedda who was aMAzing!! This guy is superhuman and the go to example of how Mozart was to be ideally sung.
He had an excellent agent and chose to do what he wanted to do. Stuart Burrows was always in demand and let us remember that he was the only tenor ever to have had such a successful TV career as well as Opera and concerts. He was without doubt one of the greatest tenors and unbeatable in Mozart.
Lovely artist and very underrated he would deserve to be much more aporeciated for the great contribution he gave to Opera!!! Long life to Maestro Burrows!!!
Amazing version of the famous tenor aia. This is both smooth and exciting. Not usually to mozart tenor arias. For me Moazart tenors often is to much milk and sugar. I will also recomend Burrows in "Maria Stuarda" by Donezetti. Fantastic!
There is no doubt that Stuart Burrows has been underappreciated -plenty of others with much less talent have gained huge reputations -along with Tauber and McCormack this is one of the truly great performances of this difficult aria .
Better than this its almost impossible to do this aria. Sometimes when Operahouses put up Don Giovani by Mozart they omit or take out this aria because few tenors can do it perfect and they just leave it out. So they did in my hometown in Oslo, Norway some years ago and I was disappointed for that reason. Stuart Burrows is one of the greatest Mozart opera tenors in the world. He has understood the expression: Bel Canto.
Kjaere Oyvind, The aria wasnt in the original production but was added for the Vienna production as a simpler substitute for Il mio tesoro ,as the tenor there was finding the more florid aria hard. Supposedly his voice was heavier and as Mozart admired him as a singer, he decided to give him a break. So in that Premiere Il mio tesoro was omitted.Many opera houses do Urtext versions and in any case are often looking to shorten the very long operas. Hvorfor forstaar jeg ikke. Jeg sang begge tvaa i Oslo
coloratura in one breath - not easy - the inhalare la voce principle helps but stretching works even better - tried it after i read your comment good point
A highly respected rendition of this exacting aria. There are many very fine recordings of this piece,,so it is a phallacy to think that any particular artist is an "undisputed master" of it. McCormack's is good,,but then so are many others. It is a matter of personal taste.
Yes, it's that 'British tenor sound', with a slightly held/controlled quality. YOu find it with quite a few tenors of Burrowe's generation, Peter Pears was probably the most infamous example - see Dudley Moore's caricature on RU-vid of his singing! I find the sound quite appealing, myself.
Christophe Cesar it’s stunning breath control, but he would have taken a breath after “Sì” at 01:40... which doesn’t make it any less impressive, I admit!
This was something I noticed too. Apparently Mozart wrote it to be sung this way; the long coloratura passage plus the phrase after all sung on one breath. I've never heard anyone else besides Burrows who could sing it this way. The entire aria is brilliantly sung, I used to think this was the only boring aria that Mozart ever wrote...until I heard Burrows sing it. He is able to breathe life into dull Don Ottavio.
I thought this was the most insipid aria I'd ever heard until I heard Burrows sing it. It's lovely when it's sung by someone who can actually sing it. Burrows tone is elegant, even, and always fully supported. Also, from 1:41 to 2:01 is all sung on one breath, and he does so without running out of breath. They called him Lungs of Steel for a reason.
Oooh! I like this one A LOT! It has the breath control of MacCormack and the drama of Tauber. Wow -- i can't believe that i am 75 years old and never heard this version before. His Italian accent sucks, of course, but so it goes.
There's a mistaken notion below that because Mr. Burrows was able to sing that one phrase in one breath that he had "lungs of steel." The principal has little to do with the lungs, but the posture of the vocal chords which only permit a very small amount of air through them. To demonstrate, blow up a balloon and release it. Flatulent sound and immediate expression of all the air. Blow it up again, Now gently stretch the neck a little and notice how more tone color appears and the air lasts longer. Lastly, blow it up again, and stretch the neck as far as you can and listen to the piercing noise, and note how the air remains FAR longer in the body of the balloon. That, my friends, is breath control. I teach it.
Craig Nim Who's doing the stretching, pray tell? Reminds me of physicists telling of the Big Bang Theory from nothing, whilst showing someone blowing up a balloon. Praise Stuart, don't diss him.
bin don but I'm not dissing him, bin fon, I am a great admirer of his technique, which is not taught anywhere I know of outside my own studio. He got the concept, and employed it for a magnificent career and artistry. The stretch is emotionally based. You can hear kids doing it in church all the time. It really works amazingly well.
PIck up a balloon sometime, blow it up and let the air out. Flatulent noise and instant loss of air. Blow it up again and stretch the neck. What do you find? Air loss is minimal and the squeal you get from the stretched ends of the neck is the basis of what you hear from Mr. Burrows' singing noise. See how it works? The squeal governs the loss of air, so no breath support is needed. For this reason I tell my students "Breath smeth, its in the squeal" and I proceed to prove it.
He's got great lungs - even at 86 - and as his Son - trust me - I know lol - controlled breathing is the secret - AND not shouting - as we used to say - keep the powder dry until its needed
Hey everyone, if there are some hobby singers or professional singers who wanna have the main lyrics of this aria for training, here it is: l mio tesoro intanto andate a consolar, e del bel ciglio il pianto cercate di asciugar. Ditele che i suoi torti a vendicar io vado, che sol di strage e morti nunzio vogl'io tornar.
A knighthood has been conferred on two Pontypridd singers, Sir Tom Jones & in the past Sir Geraint Evans. It is a mystery to me why Stuart Burrows this superb singer (also from Pontypridd) has not been awarded the same honour. The Welsh population are not, as myth would have it, particticularly appreciative of fine singing despite the oustanding singers Wales produces e.g. Rebecca Evans. Appart from "music lovers" great Welsh singers remain unknown to the majority of their countrymen.
Very true, much of the Welsh public are musically almost illiterate these days. But I believe Stuart Burrows has never craved a knighthood. Perhaps it has been offered and not accepted. In this day and age they are bestowed on mediocre beings and, as ever, for services rendered in the boot licking department. Stuart will do for his many devoted admirers, we dont need "Sir" in front of his name. He heard that enough in his school teaching days no doubt. Which was his profession before his singing career began. The greatest Mozart tenor of his time- perhaps all time.
I'm sure Caruso would have liked Burrows, and you are entitled to have your preference for Burrows. That's not the point. Your comments about his "hideous glissando.."and "every assault on classic opera sound like "Mother Macree" to me" simply are not true. p.s. Was Caruso a pal or something to a relative of yours - "Rico"!
It's so foolish to compare Burrows to McCormack. They have two very different approaches, technically as well as interpretative. McCormack version is a cool detached masterful version. Burrows is more emotional. As for tone, MacCormacks tone is more exquisite and pure. Burrows', more velvety but muddled. A balance of these two approaches is the version by the great Peruvian tenor Luigi Alva, also in RU-vid, and live.
I find Burrows' voice a little kermit-like at times, what Germans would call a slight Knödel. As to the obsession with "breath support" that seems to be associated with this aria, it is admirable that he can sing such a long phrase, but I find that it makes no sense musically. Most early music scholars agree, as well, that the long phrases would have been broken up with breaths. For instance, after the 3 measure long F on "cercate", singers in Mozart's day would probably have breathed.
totally agree with someowho has SOME musical and compositional smarts! DARE we ask “what is the significance of the long melsima that everyone is so hyped about singing in one breath to the aria as a whole?” In terms of elucidating the drama or the text, it adds NOTHING. It is a total piece of fluff embellishing a dominant seventh chord. It has no emotional or dramtic signficance. NONE. Why is it there? *Showmanship.* Like stage lighting and efx. That’s it. Mozart has composed much gorgeous melody in the aria’s two very distinct dramatic segments “Il mio tesoro…” and “Che sol di stragi…” But this melisma in particular is hardly characterized as gorgeous melody. So why get all excited about singing something so utterly trivial in one breath? Aa purely technical trick here, devoid of dramatic and artistic meaning.
@@July-gp1tv Burrows did have intensive singing lessons! After winning a major singing prize at the 1954 Welsh National Eisteddfod he studied singing formally at Trinity College, Caermyrddin.
@@patrickpowero.n.z.m2773 He studied to be a teacher and music was a subject he was interested in but did not major in. He did not have singing lessons only sometimes sang there for fun. He also won the Eisteddfod in 1959 not 1954 and was already a teacher by then.
