His coordination, cover, lower register and falsetto development, and lack of constriction here are incredible. I hope people can really hear just how amazing this singing is; and at 57 years old no less. The embellishments are done accurately with ease and speed which is not easy for a bigger voice unless it is well coordinated as MacNeil's was here.
gerPzoidberg I am not sure what you mean by coordinated. We might mean different things. There is a great recording of him singing Nulla silenzio when he was 60.
We rarely get to hear this piece handled so well! Usually, the high baritone cannot impress in the low range, and the bass-baritone struggles in the upper range in this aria. Not so here! Macneil had all the vocal goods this piece demands and more.
McNeil’s Es and Fs on stage were often wide open, impressive, but ugly. Here, they are PERFECT, easy, resonant, chiaroscuro and still brilliant and huge.
I agree, but still you can hear that touch of openness that will affect his voice later on. And that technique a little bit larmoyant so common in american baritones (you can find it in warren, milnes, quilico etc).
57 yo here you say, amazing because I felt that the singing he did at the Met in the early 70's, especially in the new production of Il Tabarro was the greatest he was ever to do! .
The provenance of these recital selections would be good to have. Anyone out there know, because, if memory serves, MacNeil, having returned to the US, was not singing many recitals, and about this time was forming an association with the cincinnati College Conservatory. Anybody???
Fr Cornelius Mattei They're both from Hartford, Connecticut. Presumably MacNeil had a special relationship with the town, as it was where he lived and first studied voice-with Friedrich Schorr at the Hartt College of Music.
His coordination, cover, lower register and falsetto development, and lack of constriction here are incredible. I hope people can really hear just how amazing this singing is; and at 57 years old no less. The embellishments are done accurately with ease and speed which is not easy for a bigger voice unless it is well coordinated as MacNeil's was here.
MrCafiero He was 47 here. He was in his prime. By the age of 57 his voice was less coordinated, but still sounded great
gerPzoidberg I am not sure what you mean by coordinated. We might mean different things. There is a great recording of him singing Nulla silenzio when he was 60.
I will listen to it. Thank you
47
@@gerPzoidberg Yeah voices don't last forever, unfortunately.
We rarely get to hear this piece handled so well! Usually, the high baritone cannot impress in the low range, and the bass-baritone struggles in the upper range in this aria. Not so here! Macneil had all the vocal goods this piece demands and more.
McNeil’s Es and Fs on stage were often wide open, impressive, but ugly. Here, they are PERFECT, easy, resonant, chiaroscuro and still brilliant and huge.
I agree, but still you can hear that touch of openness that will affect his voice later on. And that technique a little bit larmoyant so common in american baritones (you can find it in warren, milnes, quilico etc).
Perhaps the best 'Votre toast'?
57 yo here you say, amazing because I felt that the singing he did at the Met in the early 70's, especially in the new production of Il Tabarro was the greatest he was ever to do! .
Strange that MacNeil didn't interpolate the final high-G. Still, bravo!
The provenance of these recital selections would be good to have. Anyone out there know, because, if memory serves, MacNeil, having returned to the US, was not singing many recitals, and about this time was forming an association with the cincinnati College Conservatory. Anybody???
Fr Cornelius Mattei They're both from Hartford, Connecticut. Presumably MacNeil had a special relationship with the town, as it was where he lived and first studied voice-with Friedrich Schorr at the Hartt College of Music.
Makes sense,,,,had no idea Schorr taught at Hartford. I knew one of his pupils from the 40s, Paul Matthen, who studied with him in NY.
2:04
His voice was perfect for that role. Did he ever perform the whole thing?