Nicolai Gedda delivers Gorgeously the usually omitted D5 of the Verdian Duet
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- Опубликовано: 2 мар 2018
- Highlighted comments from the commenters below:
-From Martín
"Arrigo even gets up to the high-D (a seemingly unnecessary piece of cruelty on Verdi’s part) in the last act with a certain amount of grace, although it’s not a note you’d want to hear first thing in the morning."
Source: www.classicstoday.com/review/...
it's located at the very end of the duet for soprano and tenor in Act V. The context suggests a soft dynamic for both, since the music is marked "p", but the presented Italian and French editions differ. In Italian, it IS a quarter high D that is written, has no alternatives, is ascended to from an already high spot, comes with the word "Addio" (falls on the vowel "i"), is marked "a piacere", "descends" but still remains laughably high, and is completely naked, but the note is essentially a flourish because the piece is in F major and already closing on the tonic (now, that's what you call being mean). In the French edition, it is a naked, quarter high C marked with a fermata that later descends in a cadenza-like fashion, on the words "Mon Hèlene" (falling on the second "e"). I'm not sure if this edition of the French score is correct or not (it's not uncommon for that sort of thing to happen), but if it's correct, it strikes me as very strange that it's the Italian one that contains the ridiculous tenor high note and not the French.
"Pedants will note that he ducked his high D in Act 5 but only the truly misanthropic would hold it against him."
Source: www.taminophile.com/2013/10/gu...
"Just one example among a fair number: As I recall, the mezzo-piano high D(?) in Henri's/Arrigo's last-act solo is not an oppure but is required in the score with no alternative offered and with a rallentando on the phrase to boot (If others know differently on this, please let us know)"
This one by Geoffrey Riggs, the author of the book on assoluta voices: rec.music.opera.narkive.com/Hz...
The French edition available at IMSLP is in rather poor state, very blurry in places, and doesn't list a solo number for Henri on the last act, which would be the fifth. It does, however, list one on the fourth. Even then, Henri looks positively DREADFUL. Just looking at his Act V, the tessitura is mortally high in duets and ensembles (A4 and B4s galore and entire phrases on F#4 levels of of high), he gets not one but two written high Cs, and even has to toss a bunch of trills! Eugh, I really doubt Verdi wrote anything harder for the male voice. 
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I was in the audience at the Met the opening night of this piece, Jan 31, 1974.
By incredible luck I was sitting on the house left aisle, directly behind Renata Tebaldi.
I did not have the nerve to even speak but what a memory, to have seen her, gracious as she was, to extending warmth to every one who came by and offered their words of appreciation and love.
This was the evening when Caballé stopped the show for some seven minutes of crazy applause after her last act aria.
How lucky and smart if you yo be there! What a memory you must have of that evening!!! Thanks for sharing that.
What a stunning Eve I g for you on many counts!
I also remember Tebaldi in the audience that night. VESPRI was a new opera to most of the audience and when they heard the orchestral opening to Act IV many recognized the tune as the familiar motif of DRAGNET, the popular TV detective series and began to react with surprise and amusement. A friend had to explain the reaction to a confused Mme. Tebaldi. With Caballé, Gedda, Milnes and Díaz all in superb form, I have never heard a better cast in this opera since.
Total beauty to get speechless.
Gedda was always great! One of the most fantastic things you will ever hear is his singing of Magische Tone from the Queen of Sheba on his recital disc. Such purity of tone and unearthly breath control…your hair will stand up on end!
If only "always great" were true. There are plenty of recordings where Gedda was not so great.
Gedda, podia cantar el Do4, Re4, Mi4, y el Fa4. era un tenor fuera de serie, voz hermosa, llena, potente, con agudos y sobre agudos seguros y generosos.
Listen to the 1973 recording of I Puritani with Beverly Sills as well. Nicolai Gedda holds all the high C-sharps, D’s and the F out for a good period of time, all in full voice and sounding just as rich and powerful as the rest of his range. This guy was the champ!!!
The F wasn't in full voice, was falsetto.
Was not falsetto! He could crescendo and diminuendo those mixed tones.
No, it was voix mixte, which is by far more difficult than falsetto and fuller in sound since a mix of breast voice and falsett
Void mixte
Voix mixte
The most noble of singers- Gedda, Splendid
Gedda was not only a great tenor.,he was a great musician . He was more versatile than most of the other top tenors of his day, able to sing in at least 7 languages(, and could speak about the same number and was well' read ') , in a variety of styles from lied through to lyric and dramatic opera . When I hear him, I just feel he really understands what he's doing technically and intellectually.
Brevíssimo!
The first time i read the score I was like, "WTF? A high D? For the tenor in a Verdian piece? What a rarity! Given that the Maestro seldom wrote higher than Bb or B because he didn't like high tenor voice." (I remember there is only one C in the alternate aria in Jérusalem). I searched on youtube, the first one I heard was Bonisolli (who btw also sang the C#5 in Tu che a Dio, it was really lovely), it was wonderful, the text was "Addio", a farewell from the very bottom of the heart, hoping it flies high enough to reach Elena. I really like some of these expressive, lyrical high note in a phrase from the tenor, it is quite tasty sometimes :)
this D5 is gorgeously done and it is lyrical yes... very beautiful singing
Nolan Go I thought tye same, in all tye music I've yeard from verdi, and scores I've read, I've never seen a note higher than a B natural. I MUST know what opera this is from, so I can get a score of it if possible haha.
Certainly a solid D5, but rather tonally ambiguous en route to the final F. Gedda was one of the greats for me, though. I love the quality of his solo voice and also his ability to blend in ensembles. A great share, Lohengrin O! Thanks.
Gorgeous...Thank you for this!
Yes, I agree. He did it brilliantly on transitioning from chest voice to falsetto, and then back from falsetto to chest. It is hard to notice the transitioning.
Gedda had high notes for days, months, years..
Always!
Феноменально
2:18
💖💖💐💐
Great
Is that Monserrat Caballe in the photo?
Big thanks to Martin for pointing this out.
Mamma mia Gedda...che grande
Wich opera is this one
I think this is "I Vespri Siciliani" . In French: "Les Vêpres Siciliennes".
la Callas dei tenori, il più grande in assoluto e non per bellezza di voce o presenza scenica ma per la tecnica assoluta che aveva
Although he does not SUSTAIN the High D, Domingo actually does sing it on the studio recording from around 1974. It’s only a passing note in the vocal line anyway so how Gedda handles it does not negate Domingo’s accomplishment. After all, as Domingo would say (al a Milanov),: these high Cs do not grow on trees you know! (not to mention high Ds).
That high D is on Falsetto.
Yes, I agree. He did brilliantly on transitioning from chest voice to falsetto, and then back from falsetto to chest. It is hard to notice the transitioning.
Not falsetto - geode maintained that he never sang falsetto....he said when he was placed very high, he shifted into a very high voix mixte that he could completely control and crescendo and diminuendo....he said you cannot control a falsetto like that...
Gedda was admired by the infamous Schwarzkopf, she has an interview in German where she talks about him in a kind way. On the other hand, I wonder if Schwarzkopf even had any idea of what a good tenor voice was cause she admired Placido Domingo over everybody and that man is a mess! Without being overly cruel, that man made a career by cracking more than actually singing.
"infamous!" cretin
The number of times I've heard Domingo crack is no more than other tenors, including his immediate peer Pavarotti. Domingo is human, not a machine, cracks will happen on occasion. Besides it's rather silly to overlook an entire 50+ year career of brilliant musicianship, professionalism and good singing to concentrate on some sporadic mishaps. Domingo is praised through the roof not just by Schwartzkopf, but by multitudes of other renowned singers such as Sutherland, Caballe, Nilsson, Krauss, Carreras, Kiri Te Kanawa, etc. The list is almost endless. Then there are the conductors who have worked with Domingo, none of which have ever had anything negative to say about him. I'm inclined to think your comment is based on a personal dislike for him more than anything else, which is fine as you're entitled to your opinion, as biased and incorrect as it may be.
@@tristanhnl the real great tenors very rarely if not never cracked ( Corelli, Del Monaco, Lauri Volpi, Di Stefano ....)
@@abcdefgh-db1to it's no secret that Domingo was never a "high notes tenor", never one who had easy high B's and C's. That's why he was jokingly nicknamed the king of the Bflats in contrast with his peer, Pavarotti. We need to reminder, fach is sometimes a very slippery concept. Some folks don't fit very neatly into categories. Jessye Norman amusingly and famously said, she doesn't like being put into a pigeon hole because she's not a pigeon. Domingo started off as a baritone because of his burnished tone, and low centre of tone. It was one teacher who worked with him and helped him transition to becoming a tenor. Hence, personally I can see how even though he's a tenor, the higher notes in the high register can be a challenge for him, particular the B's and C's.
But anyway my point still stands, there is way too much hoopla being made over how frequently Domingo cracks. Does he crack? Of course. As frequently as some opera aficionados claim? Far from the case. One or two anecdotal videos showing a crack is hardly proof enough. Imagine if a court of law operated using such fallacious logic.
@@tristanhnl He was much smaller in the theatre compared to Corelli or Caruso or even Di Stefano, he wasn't that great of a singer. You can put him in the "good tenor" category but definitely not great