Some artists coast through these evenings and some do the job they're paid to do - they ARE the person they're portraying. Remarkable in every respect.
Agreed , I heard McCracken in S.F in concert and he had the biggest Tenor voice i've ever heard. It was bigger than MDM and Vickers and Domingo by far. McCracken never really got the just credit he deserved as he was our greatest Heroic Tenor.
Easily the greatest American dramatic tenor EVER, and quite arguably the finest Otello as well, with over 560 live performances total - he was uniquely suited for it in every way. Awesome 'total' performer, with huge heart & soul. ! of the real singing-actor titans of history!
As a young student I had the pleasure of turning pages for a piano-conductor rehearsal of Otello at the Ravinia Festival-- then seeing the performance as well. McCracken was quite amazing. You know-- we need to reclaim this art form from the microphone voices. McCracken was a visceral, exciting Otello-- undoubtedly with personal "quicks" but he was a great singer.
I loved that! What perfect diction! What FEELING! What a robust lower range! The power - and that thrilling high note at the end! What a GREAT Otello! !
Not only the greatest Otello I ever heard live (I did hear the incomparable dal Monaco, but at the very end of his career, when his health wasn't good, so I don' wish to count that.)but the only one where you weren't constantly afraid he wouldn't get through the evening. Quite the contrary, at the end of the evening, you had the feeling he could have sung three encores.
I found this the most moving aria from the 1983 gala. McCracken's shear humanity blew me away. I hate the fact that the camera is so far away at about 3:37.
On Amazon you can get a CD of King, Wagner and Strauss, but also including two lenghty excerpts from Otello--an opera he never recorded in its entirety. It is terrific.
"VivaRenata" El más grande "Otello" en la historia operática es el GRAN RAMÓN VINAY, EN VOZ, INTERPRETACIÓN, FRASEO Y OTROS MERITOS MÁS. Del Monaco se sentía muy orgulloso de que el Gran Vinay le dijera que podia ser su sucesor en "Otello", lo dice en entrevistas.
Note also his powerful acting. Now Vickers and McCracken were quite different overall. But each was a a great dramatic tenor, a great operatic actor, AND a great artist --
His top sounds a bit tight to me too but I actually like his sound particularly the middle and lows, very nice smooth tone. Good interpreter too I think
Gran interpretación. Está a la altura del mejor interprete de "Otello", en la historia de la opera mundial, el gran tenor chileno Ramón Vinay. Depués vino M. Del Monaco, Jon Vikcers,James McCracken,hay otros que estan bién. Domingo ha sido pretencióso al interpretar "Otello"pero no le dá su registro ni la voz para hacerlo como se requiere. BRAVO JAMES MCCACKEN .
(Read below first) Here is an example of just the opposite, a wise conductor and a young tenor. The tempo suposedly too slow, but in fact it controls Bjoerling'd fire for a real impact at the finale. Bjoerling alone would have cut it quicker and more intense throughout, but would have missed the almost almost surprising emergence at the end, the conductor's, not the singer's merit.
Discussion of his choice of accesories have no place here. He WAS a great dramatic tenor, moreover, a HELDENtenor. I spoke to his wife after the Met rift, and she said that that was his main interest. She also told me of his (then) upcoming project of Schoengerg's Guerrelide, and how excited he was to do it. . I really don't understand why he didn' get hfired to do more German repertoire.
McC used main force sheer effort with honesty and sincerity because he had no squillo ping natural resonance didn't bloom on top why his voice sounded SMALLER than it actually was also why real spintos could sing many of McC roles so successfully Domingo of course sang everything-many spintos sang Samson, Canio etc. Tucker, Coreli etc.
As to Fidelio. Do you think it was sung by huge Wagnerian heldentenors in 1805? In fact many "lighter" tenors have sung it, Right now at most a spinto, Jonas Kaufmann I heard it at Glimmerglass certainly a non-Vickers type of voice doing it this production and the weight of sound is much more what Beethoven expected, . McC should have been a great Fidelio (at least according to you) but strangely he wasn't Others-Ridder,Villars,Botha,Seiffert(when younger) Peerce, etc. even Gedda recorded it
have you BEEN LISTENING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HALLUCINOGENS I have already stated my admiration for him, and find myself defending him but these ridiculous exaggerations don't help his reputation-he was underappreciated but was hardly the second coming and basically sang spinto roles You heard Melchior? how about Tamagno McC voice wasn't bigger than MDM Vickers or Tucker for that matter-and had more leather than squillo As I said now there are only recordings and he falls short on many
Per carità...dalla metà degli anni 70 ad oggi...ce stata una forte sopravvalutazione delle "voci" ecco con risultati devastanti.Rispetto rispetto per VERDI egli altri...Rispetto per i grandi interpreti...Del Monaco etc
I thought this is a place to discuss and appraise performances What started me off where these silly exaggerations I saw But there is no willingness to yield on any pt. but just more overwrought generalizations I tried to provide another perspective an irony being that in other settings I'm defending him and trying to keep his accomplishments alive If this what you guys think and he means so much to you- who am to intefere with your pleasure?
Even the Otello which I LIKED I still wouldn't put it in front of Vickers Vinay we must include MDM I like Martinelli, some Domingo maybe then McC And all the spinto roles I mentioned would anyone take him before a list of other names? I said he should have gone truly dramatic earlier in his career but like MDM could he have been a real helden? I just saw a poll of 20 top recorded tenors no one mentioned our friend why?
Yes life is not fair! remember when Vickers got the then rare TV Otello McC left the Met in ahuff But with all due respect for his (and that's all he had-Vickers had half a dozen other roles he was supreme in) wouldn't you have picked this supreme artist over just a very good Otello? I didn't gloat over it I thought it sad fo McC but Vickers was and remains greatness and not just the volume of his voice which was huge but from so many interpretive aspects Yes life is unfair but art rules
(Read below first)... to help the singer keep pace and economize. At the end Levine, who has a 60 +- orchestra to his command and pretty young and energetic can easily arise a roar as he did, but he left MacCracken drwon somewhat. The kind smiling and applause on his part towards the elder tenor, is a facade. There is no real consideration here. Otherwise, I emphasize, would slow down tempo and intensity, take some of the fire from the beguinning and middle keep enough for the energetic peak.
Y que opinan de como la canta Mario lanza, la técnica y la interpretación? ¡El también es de la vieja escuela! MARIO LANZA ES EL MEJOR PARA MI GUSTO What do you think about Mario lanza, his technic and feeling? He's old school too! MARIO LANZA IS THE BEST FOR ME
Si! SOBRE TODO. CUANDO LA CANTA EN VIVO CON SOLO PIANO EN SU CASA EN UNA GRABACIÓN EN VIVO, LA RESONANCIA QUE TENIA MÁS EL COLOR DE AU VOZ ERA UNA MARAVILLA
Cuidado ...no digan eso...q aquí saltan los puristas, descartan y descalifican a Mario Lanza, por no hacer carrera en la ópera. Pueden creer q hay gente así? Si lo hay...hoy.me tope con un animal q dice q el concierto de los 3 tenores es una aberración.
That is just untrue-I heard McCraken live many times-prob 6 Otellos alone-It was not bigger than Vickers who in the middle was simply huge-not bigger than Corelli-please-Ok with Domingo-and I'm sure those who heard MDM who take issue with your statement I think he was a great Otello-is undervalued-but it was a strange voice in some ways-why he had trouble finding other good roles-toward the end I thought the Tannhauser was good-maybe he should have sung more Wagner
That was his problem he didn't know what his voice was maybe until the end when he did Tann If he was the huge dramatic tenor you say-he really wasn't-where were the helden roles he should have sung? Vinay (also a baritone) beyond Otello sang the Ring Lohengrin TRistan!!! MaC could have sung Siegmund/Parsifal etc. even his Fidelio was rarley sung and little acclaimed McC w a very good Otellobut not a distinquished spinto who listens to his Calaf or Manrico too bad he found his way so late
Non capisco il spagnuolo molto bene, ma posso capire che anche Lei critica Domingo per la sua superbia. Un tenore abile in altri contesti, ma l'interpretazione d'Otello apertenga ad una categoria di voce che non è la sua. Non siamo totalmente d'accordo, se leggo il suo commento accuratamente - secondo me il più grande interprete d'Otello di tutti i tempi fu il Del Monaco.
Who is the opera going public?-silly remark most of the "opera going public "would agree with me. I like McCracken, and think he is not given enough acclaim-however your affection for him may color your view. Most his role were spinto roles anyway-and Corelli's voice was simply bigger-not to mention his high notes-I also heard Vickers many times except for the very top his voice dwarfed McCraken Come on he had a high C-I heardhisPira e.g. at the Bing Gala but to call it stupendous
he's gone, soon we'll be, so stop talking about him live-all these people only know recordings again IMO (having heard him live in about 20 operas) for those reading this was not my live experience OK such over statements People will ask either this guy exaggerates-is he a relative? but why is McC reputation incommensurate with these descriptions? Much like MDM who"everyone" acknowledges had a huge sound live the live experience is not how we judge him IMO volume isn't everything
Very mature interpretation. It seems to me that that Levine shadowed McCracken's finale. He is 61, perhaps ill, but putting 110% effort and energy. This particular aria it's very deceiving for it changes anf fluctuates in mood. Each mood takes it own energy, when the moment comes for the finale if the energy it's not carefully guarded, it wont be there. McCcraken's finale, although strongwas a bit tired. And while not Levine's fault, still, a wise conductor can slow down intensity...
until fairly recently and doctoring are they " horrifying" ? and live recordings are still honest Of course, that's all we have now an experienced ear can extrapolate much from them even to some degree size of voice Would it be better not to have say Caruso on record ?we know why he was great even without knowing the precise volume We know from them why McC was admirable but not so great He may be the acme of singing for you the forefront etc. but then there's little to talk about
Putting remarks like ignorance aside, maybe you weren't listening carefully? At this pt who cares about our contradictory perceptions of his voice size? this is the same with MDM soon only the recordings will remain size isn't what a recorded legacy is about Other than his Otello what else does "WORLD" opinion speak of? You can read my favorable comments below but without the live experience the negatives in his voice stand out throaty, tightness lyricism? and what of interpretation?
Why not rely on your own ears and making your own case? The Corelli thing was all in your mind I heard it from Corelli's own lips when asked if was a dramatico- he said I am a lirico-spinto You make these absolute statements-doesn't work with this subject who had the most this or that Both Tucker/Corelli had very big voices never heard one thought of as bigger but MDM was apparently huge our friend McC alas is not in that league But today it's the recorded legacy we judge them by
Instead of calling names why don't you offer some facts? Why don't you channel Bing about who had the better c? I never said Corelli was a dramatic tenor I said his voice was bigger than Mc There is some doubt than Mc really was- he should have been he would have had a better career Outside of Otello and Samson(which spintos do)-at Met he sang Carmen, Canio, Trovatore,Aida, Calaf, tried Alvaro all Corelli/spinto roles (awful Calaf by the way) did Fidelio (also done by lighter voices)
I'm beginning to think it's either some relatives or the same person here but these silly exagerations DO NOT help his memory He was not a great spinto and Corelli's Calaf and McC were not even in the same UNIVERSE or were the rest and he should have been a great Florestan but wasn't I like the guy and you can read my comments below and elsewhere just looking for the truth My best recommendation is to hear the recordings yourself-if you can find them-and draw your own conclusion
It feels like a tragedy to love this repertoire, to have had a chance to go the Met in the late 1970's and earlier 1980's, and what you get is McCracken, Vickers and James Levine! What a travesty - this is pathetic and he wasn't any better when I heard him live, and as for Levine - no comment.
i have no favorite opera singer. I like Gigli and Domingo. But this is to laugh. The accent the pronunciation? You think Domingo stole his Otello? Like Corelli who cancelled Adrianna Lecouvreur 60 minutes before begin of performance, that Domingo would fail. Domingo is one of the best and the others also. The 1979 Otello? I am happy it was Placido Domingo. And not this goose.
Mind blowingly beautiful. Easily one of the finest Otello's if not THE finest
Some might see this performance as "old fashioned." I see it as immense. The power of Verdi's music and every word sung with passion.
Some artists coast through these evenings and some do the job they're paid to do - they ARE the person they're portraying. Remarkable in every respect.
What a voice...artist...unico...GRANDE JAMES MCCRACKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the clip!!!
His voice isn't for Otello, beautiful voice
Agreed , I heard McCracken in S.F in concert and he had the biggest Tenor voice i've ever heard. It was bigger than MDM and Vickers and Domingo by far. McCracken never really got the just credit he deserved as he was our greatest Heroic Tenor.
¡Qué voz!!!¡Qué artista tan extraordinario!!!
Easily the greatest American dramatic tenor EVER, and quite arguably the finest Otello as well, with over 560 live performances total - he was uniquely suited for it in every way. Awesome 'total' performer, with huge heart & soul. ! of the real singing-actor titans of history!
James MacCracken a wonderful man and a great Artist-Very underated-God bless Him R.I.P peace and love
Jimmy was a wonderful singer and is very much missed, God bless Him..
As a young student I had the pleasure of turning pages for a piano-conductor rehearsal of Otello at the Ravinia Festival-- then seeing the performance as well. McCracken was quite amazing. You know-- we need to reclaim this art form from the microphone voices. McCracken was a visceral, exciting Otello-- undoubtedly with personal "quicks" but he was a great singer.
WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE! JAMES McCRACKEN TRULY ONE OF THE GREATS!
This is just amazing! Amazing performer and still a great voice for his age!
I loved that! What perfect diction! What FEELING! What a robust lower range! The power - and that thrilling high note at the end! What a GREAT Otello!
!
The finest American dramatic tenor, by far.
A little past his prime (ONLY a little). But still uber-imposing.
No one like McCracken today.
Not only the greatest Otello I ever heard live (I did hear the incomparable dal Monaco, but at the very end of his career, when his health wasn't good, so I don' wish to count that.)but the only one where you weren't constantly afraid he wouldn't get through the evening. Quite the contrary, at the end of the evening, you had the feeling he could have sung three encores.
LOVED IT
one of the best i have heard.
Sublime!!!!!!!!
The very best Otelo of all times is this guy! Great , simply great!
Wonderful James...
I don't know why, I like this video very much. McCracken returns to the MET triumphant. Bravo!
ONE OF THE BEST EVER! LOVE McCRACKEN!
Magnífico! 👏👏👏
I still love his "Prize Song".....I think he was such a great heldentenor...
Such a visceral performance! I remember when I first saw it the night of the original broadcast. So exciting!
Voz bien colocada y no engolada como la d Domingo.
I always thought James was underrated, he really was pretty good
Bravo!!!!!
I found this the most moving aria from the 1983 gala. McCracken's shear humanity blew me away. I hate the fact that the camera is so far away at about 3:37.
That was absolutely thrilling.
One of the Greatest!
Really good singing especially for his age, nice finale
Bravo!!!
On Amazon you can get a CD of King, Wagner and Strauss, but also including two lenghty excerpts from Otello--an opera he never recorded in its entirety. It is terrific.
언제 들어도 너무 멋지다!!
McCracken was one of the best but James King was also one to be reckoned with. Check out his Fidelio excerpt on RUclips
Wunderbar!
"VivaRenata" El más grande "Otello" en la historia operática es el GRAN RAMÓN VINAY, EN VOZ, INTERPRETACIÓN, FRASEO Y OTROS MERITOS MÁS. Del Monaco se sentía muy orgulloso de que el Gran Vinay le dijera que podia ser su sucesor en "Otello", lo dice en entrevistas.
Note also his powerful acting.
Now Vickers and McCracken were quite different overall. But each was a a great dramatic tenor, a great operatic actor, AND a great artist --
its soo good!!!
I got his autograph right after this: he was drenched and on the verge of cardiac arrest.
Io son l'ulime ancella.
His top sounds a bit tight to me too but I actually like his sound particularly the middle and lows, very nice smooth tone. Good interpreter too I think
wonderful
Gran interpretación. Está a la altura del mejor interprete de "Otello", en la historia de la opera mundial, el gran tenor chileno Ramón Vinay. Depués vino M. Del Monaco, Jon Vikcers,James McCracken,hay otros que estan bién. Domingo ha sido pretencióso al interpretar "Otello"pero no le dá su registro ni la voz para hacerlo como se requiere. BRAVO JAMES MCCACKEN .
Uno dei migliori Otello ???
Ne conosco un centinaio migliori di questo signore...
(Read below first) Here is an example of just the opposite, a wise conductor and a young tenor. The tempo suposedly too slow, but in fact it controls Bjoerling'd fire for a real impact at the finale. Bjoerling alone would have cut it quicker and more intense throughout, but would have missed the almost almost surprising emergence at the end, the conductor's, not the singer's merit.
Mio Dio. Non si può sentire. Un disastro. Per pietà del signore, non sopravvalutiamo un tenore inadeguato per Otello.
Un grande...
You are welcome, it is good to see how many enjoy my MET83 videos
AWESOME
Fine!
Now, THIS is amazing! At his age! Superb! He, James King, G. Giacomini - best Otello's. Then come del Monaco and the rest.
Del Mónaco fue el mejor Otello. A mi personalmente me gusta este tenor q Domingo.
@Otellomir And I just regret that I was not a couple of decades older and this is what I heard at the Met - so sad.
Vinay, Del Monaco y McCracken, grandes Otellos que yo recuerde.
Discussion of his choice of accesories have no place here. He WAS a great dramatic tenor, moreover, a HELDENtenor. I spoke to his wife after the Met rift, and she said that that was his main interest. She also told me of his (then) upcoming project of Schoengerg's Guerrelide, and how excited he was to do it. . I really don't understand why he didn' get hfired to do more German repertoire.
His eye-talian is a bit "white boy" in pronunciation, but what a voice!!!
McC used main force sheer effort with honesty and sincerity because he had no squillo ping natural resonance didn't bloom on top why his voice sounded SMALLER than it actually was also why real spintos could sing many of McC roles so successfully
Domingo of course sang everything-many spintos sang Samson, Canio etc. Tucker, Coreli etc.
@TsarBovov I've always thought that may account for McCracken's irritated look at the end of this selection.
As to Fidelio. Do you think it was sung by huge Wagnerian heldentenors in 1805? In fact many "lighter" tenors have sung it, Right now at most a spinto, Jonas Kaufmann I heard it at Glimmerglass certainly a non-Vickers type of voice doing it this production and the weight of sound is much more what Beethoven expected, . McC should have been a great Fidelio (at least according to you) but strangely he wasn't
Others-Ridder,Villars,Botha,Seiffert(when younger) Peerce, etc. even Gedda recorded it
have you BEEN LISTENING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HALLUCINOGENS
I have already stated my admiration for him, and find myself defending him but these ridiculous exaggerations don't help his reputation-he was underappreciated but was hardly the second coming and basically sang spinto roles You heard Melchior? how about Tamagno McC voice wasn't bigger than MDM Vickers or Tucker for that matter-and had more leather than squillo
As I said now there are only recordings and he falls short on many
Per carità...dalla metà degli anni 70 ad oggi...ce stata una forte sopravvalutazione delle "voci" ecco con risultati devastanti.Rispetto rispetto per VERDI egli altri...Rispetto per i grandi interpreti...Del Monaco etc
Del Monaco di un altra categoria, tra i tenori americani nell'Otello preferisco Maurice Stern a McCracken.
I thought this is a place to discuss and appraise performances
What started me off where these silly exaggerations I saw
But there is no willingness to yield on any pt. but just more overwrought generalizations
I tried to provide another perspective
an irony being that in other settings I'm defending him and trying to keep his accomplishments alive
If this what you guys think and he means so much to you- who am to intefere with your pleasure?
I think its also cause he was pissed that the met passed him up for the telecast of otello in 78...
Even the Otello which I LIKED I still wouldn't put it in front of Vickers Vinay we must include MDM I like Martinelli, some Domingo maybe then McC
And all the spinto roles I mentioned would anyone take him before a list of other names?
I said he should have gone truly dramatic earlier in his career but like MDM could he have been a real helden?
I just saw a poll of 20 top recorded tenors no one mentioned our friend why?
James me gusta más q Domigo.
James McCracken (December 16, 1926 - April 29, 1988) THE BEST OTELLO EVER !!!!!
Yes life is not fair! remember when Vickers got the then rare TV Otello McC left the Met in ahuff But with all due respect for his (and that's all he had-Vickers had half a dozen other roles he was supreme in) wouldn't you have picked this supreme artist over just a very good Otello?
I didn't gloat over it I thought it sad fo McC but Vickers was and remains greatness and not just the volume of his voice which was huge but from so many interpretive aspects
Yes life is unfair but art rules
I thought he left in a minute and a huff. lol dude should have stayed away he was so fugly
(Read below first)... to help the singer keep pace and economize. At the end Levine, who has a 60 +- orchestra to his command and pretty young and energetic can easily arise a roar as he did, but he left MacCracken drwon somewhat. The kind smiling and applause on his part towards the elder tenor, is a facade. There is no real consideration here. Otherwise, I emphasize, would slow down tempo and intensity, take some of the fire from the beguinning and middle keep enough for the energetic peak.
Why?
Y que opinan de como la canta Mario lanza, la técnica y la interpretación?
¡El también es de la vieja escuela!
MARIO LANZA ES EL MEJOR PARA MI GUSTO
What do you think about Mario lanza, his technic and feeling?
He's old school too!
MARIO LANZA IS THE BEST FOR ME
Si! SOBRE TODO. CUANDO LA CANTA EN VIVO CON SOLO PIANO EN SU CASA EN UNA GRABACIÓN EN VIVO, LA RESONANCIA QUE TENIA MÁS EL COLOR DE AU VOZ ERA UNA MARAVILLA
Cuidado ...no digan eso...q aquí saltan los puristas, descartan y descalifican a Mario Lanza, por no hacer carrera en la ópera. Pueden creer q hay gente así? Si lo hay...hoy.me tope con un animal q dice q el concierto de los 3 tenores es una aberración.
That is just untrue-I heard McCraken live many times-prob 6 Otellos alone-It was not bigger than Vickers who in the middle was simply huge-not bigger than Corelli-please-Ok with Domingo-and I'm sure those who heard MDM who take issue with your statement
I think he was a great Otello-is undervalued-but it was a strange voice in some ways-why he had trouble finding other good roles-toward the end I thought the Tannhauser was good-maybe he should have sung more Wagner
That was his problem he didn't know what his voice was maybe until the end when he did Tann If he was the huge dramatic tenor you say-he really wasn't-where were the helden roles he should have sung?
Vinay (also a baritone) beyond Otello sang the Ring Lohengrin TRistan!!! MaC could have sung Siegmund/Parsifal etc. even his Fidelio was rarley sung and little acclaimed
McC w a very good Otellobut not a distinquished spinto who listens to his Calaf or Manrico too bad he found his way so late
Non capisco il spagnuolo molto bene, ma posso capire che anche Lei critica Domingo per la sua superbia. Un tenore abile in altri contesti, ma l'interpretazione d'Otello apertenga ad una categoria di voce che non è la sua. Non siamo totalmente d'accordo, se leggo il suo commento accuratamente - secondo me il più grande interprete d'Otello di tutti i tempi fu il Del Monaco.
Brava...Del Monaco eternamente il DIVINO
Who is the opera going public?-silly remark most of the "opera going public "would agree with me. I like McCracken, and think he is not given enough acclaim-however your affection for him may color your view.
Most his role were spinto roles anyway-and Corelli's voice was simply bigger-not to mention his high notes-I also heard Vickers many times except for the very top his voice dwarfed McCraken
Come on he had a high C-I heardhisPira e.g. at the Bing Gala but to call it stupendous
es Eduardo Inda......
he's gone, soon we'll be, so stop talking about him live-all these people only know recordings again IMO (having heard him live in about 20 operas) for those reading this was not my live experience OK
such over statements
People will ask either this guy exaggerates-is he a relative? but why is McC reputation incommensurate with these descriptions?
Much like MDM who"everyone" acknowledges had a huge sound live the live experience is not how we judge him IMO volume isn't everything
Very mature interpretation. It seems to me that that Levine
shadowed McCracken's finale. He is 61, perhaps ill, but putting 110% effort and energy. This particular aria it's very deceiving for it changes anf fluctuates in mood. Each mood takes it own energy, when the moment comes for the finale if the energy it's not carefully guarded, it wont be there. McCcraken's finale, although strongwas a bit tired. And while not Levine's fault, still, a wise conductor can slow down intensity...
DEL MONACO E' INARRIVABILE..........................
until fairly recently and doctoring are they " horrifying" ? and live recordings are still honest
Of course, that's all we have now an experienced ear can extrapolate much from them even to some degree size of voice
Would it be better not to have say Caruso on record ?we know why he was great even without knowing the precise volume
We know from them why McC was admirable but not so great
He may be the acme of singing for you the forefront etc. but then there's little to talk about
Non è granché...
Putting remarks like ignorance aside, maybe you weren't listening carefully? At this pt who cares about our contradictory perceptions of his voice size? this is the same with MDM soon only the recordings will remain size isn't what a recorded legacy is about Other than his Otello what else does "WORLD" opinion speak of?
You can read my favorable comments below but without the live experience the negatives in his voice stand out throaty, tightness lyricism? and what of interpretation?
E' una caricatura orribile di otello povero verdi
Grazie, mi sento meno solo
Along with Vickers, one of the best. Sorry but Placido did not compare.
Why not rely on your own ears and making your own case? The Corelli thing was all in your mind I heard it from Corelli's own lips when asked if was a dramatico- he said I am a lirico-spinto
You make these absolute statements-doesn't work with this subject who had the most this or that Both Tucker/Corelli had very big voices never heard one thought of as bigger but MDM was apparently huge our friend McC alas is not in that league
But today it's the recorded legacy we judge them by
56??????????
se ve mucho mas viejo, yo le calculaba unos 75 :S
mario lanza's version is amazing!
Instead of calling names why don't you offer some facts? Why don't you channel Bing about who had the better c?
I never said Corelli was a dramatic tenor I said his voice was bigger than Mc
There is some doubt than Mc really was- he should have been he would have had a better career
Outside of Otello and Samson(which spintos do)-at Met he sang Carmen, Canio, Trovatore,Aida, Calaf, tried Alvaro all Corelli/spinto roles (awful Calaf by the way)
did Fidelio (also done by lighter voices)
I'm beginning to think it's either some relatives or the same person here but these silly exagerations DO NOT help his memory
He was not a great spinto and Corelli's Calaf and McC were not even in the same UNIVERSE or were the rest and he should have been a great Florestan but wasn't
I like the guy and you can read my comments below and elsewhere just looking for the truth
My best recommendation is to hear the recordings yourself-if you can find them-and draw your own conclusion
@RodTenor He should perhaps have stayed home. The voice is dead.
dunrob36 Oh please! Give it up.
Good but nowhere near the Vickers' or Del Monaco reddition. Perhaps age had left its mark... I don`t know but it`s really a bit sad to hear.
For you. I was thrilled when I saw it on TV, and again just now, 35 years later!
It feels like a tragedy to love this repertoire, to have had a chance to go the Met in the late 1970's and earlier 1980's, and what you get is McCracken, Vickers and James Levine! What a travesty - this is pathetic and he wasn't any better when I heard him live, and as for Levine - no comment.
i have no favorite opera singer. I like Gigli and Domingo. But this is to laugh. The accent the pronunciation? You think Domingo stole his Otello? Like Corelli who cancelled Adrianna Lecouvreur 60 minutes before begin of performance, that Domingo would fail. Domingo is one of the best and the others also. The 1979 Otello? I am happy it was Placido Domingo. And not this goose.
Non mi piace, voce strana e brutta... ma visto che è americano, deve essere un bravo cantante? non sempre.
Del monaco is dramatic,cecchele is dramatic,Giacomini is dramatic but not him...
del monaco is dramatic,cecchele is dramatic but not him....
My god, this is bad conducting.
Gosh, the neck adornment does not help. Does not look good with the tux top. Maybe a denim jacket. Should have wore formal neck wear.
Pessimo. La voce non è neanche avanti come dovrebbe.