So saddened by the tragic news. I saw Meistersinger 3 times in a 10 year span, and all 3 times, Walter was sung by Johan Botha. His physique didn't matter and I DID "see" and hear the personification of a young knight in his glorious singing. I guess I learned the transformative power of the art form called opera through this - there's something beyond what you see that moves you irresistibly. His Tannhäuser at the MET last year will also remain in my memory. R.I.P. Johan.
this is one of the most gifted singers of the last 30 years. He can sing in a variety of styles, languages, and dynamics. My opinion is that his voice is best suited for German repertoire, but he sings the dramatic Italian roles very well. I dont care personally what he looks like, he tries to act and maintain a presence of the character onstage. Bravo Johan!
I heard Botha sing Lohengrin live at Lyric Opera in Chicago - incredible. I honestly felt like the opera lasted 20 minutes - which it definitely wasn't!
La opera ya es su línea. Y el fraseo,la vocalización, el timbre de voz muy wagneriana, la actuación escenica insuperable. No me canso de verlo y oírlo. Nicolás de Mugardos.
Love his performance here. But what really impresses me is the breath control of the soprano in the end of the clip.. that last frase. Veeery long. Great
Have a listen to the John McCormack recording of Il Mio Tesoro from Don Giovanni. It is a magnificent example of breath control and sweetness which has never been equalled in a century of tenors.
....wonderful line of singing and dynamics. What are handsome looking guys for if they lack the voice? Wagner demands the utmost of a human voice. JB did deliver in an excellent way!
I was lucky enough to hear him sing Bacchus in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Lohengrin live - he had one of the most cultured and universal tenor voices of the present time. Few can do what he did. He will be sorely missed.
This is the first opera I've ever entirely watched, and he was the Walter. It's sad he died before I ever learned of his work, the first time I saw him emote in the introduction I couldn't help but smile, actually smile and feel a bit of elation! I don't even know why I did, but I did! I had expected the entire opera to be a more dry affair in my ignorance; beautiful voice aswell of course but I enjoyed his entire performance, for what my uneducated impression may be worth.
Wonderful. This is how I love to hear Wagner's music sung and performed. Thank you. Christian Thielemann is an exquisite and sensitive conductor! Dorothea :)
Beautiful melody, beautiful singing, beautiful opera ( saw it live 3x in one season in nyc, Levine's last year or so)...Botha was not silenced; he'll sing in the beyond if he wants.
I'm happy to report he was great in last year's Met Meister(2014)-and wonderful in this year's Tannhauser-that killer role-in fact the best live performance I've ever heard-great endurance Sure he's big-but like the young but still fat Pavarotti-he moves well, perhaps not light on his feet, but can move, and has an expressive face-and like Pav benefits from closeups
I hate invidious comparisons among performers and performances. That said, I simply love this prize song and wished I could him at the NY Met in person. RIP
You are so right Niel, The quest for a younger audience having only young thin pretty singers has given us singers like Klaus Florian Vogt in this Rep. Sad at best. NO one gave more in a performance than my friend Niel Shicoff.
There are very few tenors that have the voices with the ability to capture the partitura and the libtretto and, on top of that, the beauty of the music. Their unique voices can do that. But not without the extraordinary musical intelligence they possess. Johan Botha was one of the utmost intelligent and sensitive musicians ever. Thank you Johan for what you gave us.
This is so beautiful. Meistersinger is my favorite opera but in many ways is the scariest of Wagner. What are we to make of Hans Sachs leading to "pure German art." I always watch it transfixed but sometimes afraid of what it is to be a musician. Yes, we try to make beautiful things, but in the service of what? I'm getting old, and need to convince myself that beauty is enough in itself. Botha - what a 'pity. Not so many honest singers around, though there are some great ones.
Wonderful, stupendous, delightful. Sounds like a god (after three acts) and looks like he's genuinely transported. No wonder the chorus looks so involved. Thanks so so much.
Sounding so fresh after a long evening! Brava Johan. Ek is baie trots op jou en is is daardeur 'n spoggerige Suid Afrikaner! Jy is 'n ware kulturele ikoon- mag al jou lewensdrome bewaarheid word. Sterkte en . . . wys hulle!
This is wonderful! Matched only by an earlier recording of René Kollo. Bravo Johan! Makes me proud to be a South African. Wonderful acting by Ain Anger's Pogner, as well.
Perfecto. conmovedor hasta las lagrimas. confieso que del "Meistersinger"solo conocia la obertura.... y ahora me encuentro con esas melodias amadas como una maravillosa cancion, la orquesta ,perfecta tambien.
My countryman has done us proud and the Wagnerian roles truly are his fach and where the beauty of his voice is able to shine! Mooi skoot Johan ons is almal verskriklik trots op jou en hou aan met die uitstekende werk en verteenwoordiging van Suid Afrika in die buiteland! Just left to say a BIG bravo!
This guy is perfect for this lyric Wagner rep! I have to admit I do not like him as much in Italian rep like Otello and Aida, but for operas like Meistersinger, Lohengrin, and Tannhauser I think he is simply ideal! Beautiful performance!
Mi dovrei vergognare perché nessun italiano si è degnato finora di mettere il commento a questa pagina sublime dei MAESTRI CANTORI che è una delle più belle di Wagner, dimostrando in quale abisso di ignoranza musicale siamo caduti. Ebbene sarò io a riscattare tanto disonore affermando che quando ascolto questo canto, specie contrappuntato dal coro, mi sembra davvero di essere in Paradiso. W WAGNER
Pavarotti was called "Teddy Bear" for a reason and had the vocal goods to prove the complete opposite. Shouldn't matter about the weight unless you, the singer, is trying to lose it.
Descanse en paz Johan Botha, un gran tenor sudafricano/alemán con poco más de medio siglo de existencia. En este excelente vídeo hace más grande a Richard Wagner.
@coryisawake Heppner will be singing Otello with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, WDR Radio Chorus under Daniel Harding this September in Baden-Baden, Luxemburg, Dortmund and Paris.
Pity, Mo, it's only a sampler as the costumes, set and of course, Walther, Sachs AND EVA (what a discovery!)and the rest of this heavenly music are simply stupendous!
The problem is the advent of videos. He looks well enough--from a distance. (a G & S reference--points of you can place it.) He can sing under my window any time, and if he should climb in the window, I'll keep the lights down low
My girl friend Barbara had a very sweet high voice. She knocked them dead in the SF opera bars singing Glitter and be Gay. But it wasn't a big voice so when she went to Germany to sing opera she sang in the chorus. She told the story about singing Meistersinger. When the chorus was finished for a while they all when out to the movies. Then they would rush back for this scene. Meistersinger is long. But when it finally came to SF Opera and the curtain came down, I jumped to may feet and screamed "Encore, encore". I wanted to hear it from the top again. It's a hell of a show. I heard Ben Heppner the one time I heard the whole opera. The best tenor in this show IMHO is James King. More voice and better voice that any other in this part - at least that's my taste. I heard Botha as Otello. He's better cast in the Wagner. He sounds real good here. The problem is of course that Botha is much too fat. It killed him. He was a very fine singer with a sweet sound for a dramatic tenor. In a few decades this sort of thing (malignant obesity) won't happen. Medical science advances. It's not like there have ever been enough dramatic tenors.
@shaun20483 I have a feeling that Kollo is a bit low in tone almost always.... I must listen if Kollo sings this in tune.... Botha has a beautiful voice......Great singer.....
I am putting a "video response" here with me singing this aria,(if rexeterna does not stop it). Some years ago,my teacher then,Stuart Kale,tenor said I should try some Wagner arias.Today they are easyer for me to sing so I wonder...Will I sing Wagner and Verdi 2013, the year they were born??? Kári Friðriksson ,karifrid on youtube. Che gelida manina,Di quella pira,O soave fanciulla,Chella mi creda,Esultate,Dies Bildniss,Dalla sua pace,La donna e mobile,O sole mio,Mamma quel vino,Mein Lieber Swan
Thank you very much, rexeterna, though Fischer-Diskau is my favourite Sachs on Jochum's Die Meistersinger, but Struckmann is also very good here. But Merbeth, she is the best Eva of the lot! Beautiful voice & singing.
So saddened by the tragic news. I saw Meistersinger 3 times in a 10 year span, and all 3 times, Walter was sung by Johan Botha. His physique didn't matter and I DID "see" and hear the personification of a young knight in his glorious singing. I guess I learned the transformative power of the art form called opera through this - there's something beyond what you see that moves you irresistibly. His Tannhäuser at the MET last year will also remain in my memory. R.I.P. Johan.
What he died???? Noooo!! He was my Othello at sf opera. I love this video so much. He made this song pure magic.
he was the most convincing Wagner tenor since Kollo. He has a voice of sheer beauty and also a big volume.
Don't forget the fabulous Ben Heppner!
A great tenor voice silenced forever, may he Rest in Peace.
@Bruno56 No JB died of cancer. You're thinking of Oleg Bryjak and Maria Radner
@Bruno56 Whatever happened
Es ist traurig, dass dieser begnadete Sänger so früh von uns gegangen ist. RIP
Rest In Peace Johan BothaRest In Peace Johan Botha
this is one of the most gifted singers of the last 30 years. He can sing in a variety of styles, languages, and dynamics. My opinion is that his voice is best suited for German repertoire, but he sings the dramatic Italian roles very well. I dont care personally what he looks like, he tries to act and maintain a presence of the character onstage. Bravo Johan!
We lost a great South African today! R.I.P. Johan
we lost a great artist today.
Wunderschön. Zu schön, ihn unter Levine in einer klassischen Inszenierung live an der Met erlebt haben zu dürfen.
Dankie, Johan.🇿🇦💗
Wunderschön gesungen von Johan Botha sehr melidiös und einfühlsam, so hätte es auch Wagner geliebt 5 Sterne von mir!
No matter how many times one listens to this, one can never get tired of it, so beautiful is the singing and set. If only we can see the rest.
magnificent singer plagued by serious health problems. We are lucky to have many of his recordings
Love the ringing tone of his voice.
I heard Botha sing Lohengrin live at Lyric Opera in Chicago - incredible. I honestly felt like the opera lasted 20 minutes - which it definitely wasn't!
Such a loss for the opera world - very sad.
Extraordinary! We should be grateful that we can listen to this magnificent music and singing time and again.
La opera ya es su línea. Y el fraseo,la vocalización, el timbre de voz muy wagneriana, la actuación escenica insuperable. No me canso de verlo y oírlo.
Nicolás de Mugardos.
Love his performance here. But what really impresses me is the breath control of the soprano in the end of the clip.. that last frase. Veeery long. Great
Have a listen to the John McCormack recording of Il Mio Tesoro from Don Giovanni. It is a magnificent example of breath control and sweetness which has never been equalled in a century of tenors.
Ricarda Merbeth
Wonderful voice. Will be missed.
....wonderful line of singing and dynamics. What are handsome looking guys for if they lack the voice? Wagner demands the utmost of a human voice. JB did deliver in an excellent way!
I was lucky enough to hear him sing Bacchus in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Lohengrin live - he had one of the most cultured and universal tenor voices of the present time. Few can do what he did. He will be sorely missed.
I am so sad I never got a chance to hear him in either of those roles. He will be missed.
This is the first opera I've ever entirely watched, and he was the Walter. It's sad he died before I ever learned of his work, the first time I saw him emote in the introduction I couldn't help but smile, actually smile and feel a bit of elation! I don't even know why I did, but I did! I had expected the entire opera to be a more dry affair in my ignorance; beautiful voice aswell of course but I enjoyed his entire performance, for what my uneducated impression may be worth.
Danke vielmals von Herzen für dieses schöne Video! Was für eine herrliche Stimme!!! Just beautiful.
Wonderful. This is how I love to hear Wagner's music sung and performed. Thank you. Christian Thielemann is an exquisite and sensitive conductor! Dorothea :)
Johan is amazing.
Beautiful melody, beautiful singing, beautiful opera ( saw it live 3x in one season in nyc, Levine's last year or so)...Botha was not silenced; he'll sing in the beyond if he wants.
Toll gesungen. Schöne, schimmernde Stimme mit einem guten Volumen.
RIP Johan 🇿🇦 A great ambassador for South Africa and a great talent taken too soon!
I'm happy to report he was great in last year's Met Meister(2014)-and wonderful in this year's Tannhauser-that killer role-in fact the best live performance I've ever heard-great endurance
Sure he's big-but like the young but still fat Pavarotti-he moves well, perhaps not light on his feet, but can move, and has an expressive face-and like Pav benefits from closeups
Great singing. Especially of this aria! So damn hard
The best rendition of Walher preislied for all time....simply amazing
I hate invidious comparisons among performers and performances. That said, I simply love this prize song and wished I could him at the NY Met in person. RIP
So proud of you, Johan!
Amongst the best for sure- Botha. Superb Opera. Chorus are really substantial too:))
You are so right Niel, The quest for a younger audience having only young thin pretty singers has given us singers like Klaus Florian Vogt in this Rep. Sad at best. NO one gave more in a performance than my friend Niel Shicoff.
YES, Niel is my FAVORITE!!!
R.I.P. you great singer!
There are very few tenors that have the voices with the ability to capture the partitura and the libtretto and, on top of that, the beauty of the music. Their unique voices can do that. But not without the extraordinary musical intelligence they possess. Johan Botha was one of the utmost intelligent and sensitive musicians ever. Thank you Johan for what you gave us.
He was super... in all ways.
What a pleasure to hear such a talented heldontenor with such a lyic line and beautiful tone.
I love this opera. Chubby or not. Gorgeous voice. Can't imagine leaving .
Rest in Peace Johan botha!
Exquisite.
This is so beautiful. Meistersinger is my favorite opera but in many ways is the scariest of Wagner. What are we to make of Hans Sachs leading to "pure German art." I always watch it transfixed but sometimes afraid of what it is to be a musician. Yes, we try to make beautiful things, but in the service of what? I'm getting old, and need to convince myself that beauty is enough in itself. Botha - what a 'pity. Not so many honest singers around, though there are some great ones.
This is wonderful! Matched only by an earlier recording of René Kollo. Bravo Johan! Makes me proud to be a South African
he was awesome
Très jolie vidéo et quel plaisir d'entendre le ténor
Botha. il a une très belle voix !
Merci
Wonderful, stupendous, delightful. Sounds like a god (after three acts) and looks like he's genuinely transported. No wonder the chorus looks so involved. Thanks so so much.
Beautifully sung.TY for posting.
magnifique chanteur et grand technicien.Merveilleux Sigmund a Bayreuth 2015
Ich habe Bothas Werdegang beobachtet, er gehört zur den wenigen, die auch nach Generationen zu den allerbesten gehören. Sensationell!
Awesome- I really like this tenor.
You have to be inhuman to not be moved by this music and his voice.
Daniel Ard
I was never sweet on Wagner until the last year and a half or so. This particular excerpt was the bug that finally bit me.
So sad...RIP.
Sounding so fresh after a long evening! Brava Johan. Ek is baie trots op jou en is is daardeur 'n spoggerige Suid Afrikaner! Jy is 'n ware kulturele ikoon- mag al jou lewensdrome bewaarheid word. Sterkte en . . . wys hulle!
give credit to Thieleman for his restrained, dreamy, and mesmerizing influence on the orchestra
This is wonderful! Matched only by an earlier recording of René Kollo. Bravo Johan! Makes me proud to be a South African. Wonderful acting by Ain Anger's Pogner, as well.
Magnífico tenor de voz aterciopelada, gracias Johan Botha por habernos hecho soñar! Que brille para tí la Luz Perpetua
Perfecto. conmovedor hasta las lagrimas. confieso que del "Meistersinger"solo conocia la obertura.... y ahora me encuentro con esas melodias amadas como una maravillosa cancion, la orquesta ,perfecta tambien.
I heard him in Lohengrin at Lyric Opera in Chicago and he was great.
He has the most beauty voice as a Wagner Tenor since Rene Kollo.
My countryman has done us proud and the Wagnerian roles truly are his fach and where the beauty of his voice is able to shine! Mooi skoot Johan ons is almal verskriklik trots op jou en hou aan met die uitstekende werk en verteenwoordiging van Suid Afrika in die buiteland! Just left to say a BIG bravo!
Simply wonderful.
Excellent ,comme tour ours Botha
This guy is perfect for this lyric Wagner rep! I have to admit I do not like him as much in Italian rep like Otello and Aida, but for operas like Meistersinger, Lohengrin, and Tannhauser I think he is simply ideal! Beautiful performance!
Mi dovrei vergognare perché nessun italiano si è degnato finora di mettere il commento a questa pagina sublime dei MAESTRI CANTORI che è una delle più belle di Wagner, dimostrando in quale abisso di ignoranza musicale siamo caduti. Ebbene sarò io a riscattare tanto disonore affermando che quando ascolto questo canto, specie contrappuntato dal coro, mi sembra davvero di essere in Paradiso. W WAGNER
beautyful production
Pavarotti was called "Teddy Bear" for a reason and had the vocal goods to prove the complete opposite. Shouldn't matter about the weight unless you, the singer, is trying to lose it.
Excellent! TY
Incredible! Thanks for posting this!
Wirklich schön gesungen
R.I.P.
RIP 😢😢😢
This is music!
Tears my heart
Thanks for sharing this gem of unfortunatelly dead Botha. Just one thing, you wrote above Nurnbeg.
Superb singing by Johan Botha!
Thank you!
Que pena!!!! acaba de morir este gran tenor. Dios lo tenga en su gloria cantándole. descanse en paz.
R.I.P
absolutely right, i agree.
Superb.TY rexeterna for posting.
Descanse en paz Johan Botha, un gran tenor sudafricano/alemán con poco más de medio siglo de existencia. En este excelente vídeo hace más grande a Richard Wagner.
Para quienes no se sepan bien el alemán, el vídeo corresponde a la ópera "Los maestros cantores de Núremberg", con música y letra de Wagner.
Y que no se me olvide: "Los maestros cantores de Núremberg" se estrenó en 1868. ¡¡ Más de 4 horas y medio de espectáculo!!
@coryisawake Heppner will be singing Otello with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, WDR Radio Chorus under Daniel Harding this September in Baden-Baden, Luxemburg, Dortmund and Paris.
Grandioso!
Fucking fantastic.
Botha is singing Walther at the Chicago Lyric Opera, Winter 2013
DAS ist ein Stolzing...
wow, signore tamagno you're back from the dead!
Pity, Mo, it's only a sampler as the costumes, set and of course, Walther, Sachs AND EVA (what a discovery!)and the rest of this heavenly music are simply stupendous!
@Torquemada0 Agreed.Up there with the best half dozen or so versions ever.
The problem is the advent of videos. He looks well enough--from a distance. (a G & S reference--points of you can place it.) He can sing under my window any time, and if he should climb in the window, I'll keep the lights down low
Johan Botha sings like a young god
RIP
A legendary tenor... A quite a sandwich maker also.
very nice. also, james king, heppner in his prime, and, of course, kollo. my sentimental favorite, for all his shortcomings, is windgassen.
My girl friend Barbara had a very sweet high voice. She knocked them dead in the SF opera bars singing Glitter and be Gay. But it wasn't a big voice so when she went to Germany to sing opera she sang in the chorus. She told the story about singing Meistersinger. When the chorus was finished for a while they all when out to the movies. Then they would rush back for this scene. Meistersinger is long.
But when it finally came to SF Opera and the curtain came down, I jumped to may feet and screamed "Encore, encore". I wanted to hear it from the top again. It's a hell of a show. I heard Ben Heppner the one time I heard the whole opera. The best tenor in this show IMHO is James King. More voice and better voice that any other in this part - at least that's my taste.
I heard Botha as Otello. He's better cast in the Wagner. He sounds real good here. The problem is of course that Botha is much too fat. It killed him. He was a very fine singer with a sweet sound for a dramatic tenor. In a few decades this sort of thing (malignant obesity) won't happen. Medical science advances. It's not like there have ever been enough dramatic tenors.
Bravo!! no need to add more!
@hedgechair I really like your comment!!! I share the same sentiments about Kaufmann.
BTW - How many of us look prepared to appear in People, Hola or Paris Match?
@shaun20483 I have a feeling that Kollo is a bit low in tone almost always.... I must listen if Kollo sings this in tune.... Botha has a beautiful voice......Great singer.....
I am putting a "video response" here with me singing this aria,(if rexeterna does not stop it). Some years ago,my teacher then,Stuart Kale,tenor said I should try some Wagner arias.Today they are easyer for me to sing so I wonder...Will I sing Wagner and Verdi 2013, the year they were born??? Kári Friðriksson ,karifrid on youtube. Che gelida manina,Di quella pira,O soave fanciulla,Chella mi creda,Esultate,Dies Bildniss,Dalla sua pace,La donna e mobile,O sole mio,Mamma quel vino,Mein Lieber Swan
Thank you very much, rexeterna, though Fischer-Diskau is my favourite Sachs on Jochum's Die Meistersinger, but Struckmann is also very good here. But Merbeth, she is the best Eva of the lot! Beautiful voice & singing.
why talking about stupid things as weight and other silly problem...
questa ' una voce di paradiso che abbiamo perduto ma che ricorderemo sempre!!!!!!
... en esa epoca a la batalla no iban caballitos de hipodromo , sino caballos fuertes como el percheron, capaces de llevar a un tipo con armadura.