I am a fairly young guy but I think that Alagna is one of the best tenors ever heard! At La Scala, when he left the stage, he was not sang well, but in his best years had a voice in the world's most beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful! Has always the same color, the same stamp! Acute large and beautiful! An accurate passaggio, larynx always in position! A voice so beautiful that it moved! Great Alagna!
He's an opera singer. He's entitled to his tantrums. You could say he's carying on a tradition that dates back to the days of Cafarelli and others. I think he sang this beautifully. For all you Pav fans, alagna was once hailed as the next Pavarotti. Btw, his walking out after being booed at La Scala wasn't a tantrum. In his interview, he reveals that he was absolutely mortified and felt like "the floor opened up beneath me." He couldn't sleep for days.
I cannot watch this aria without tears welling up. Alagna may not be the greatest tenor today, but he is IMO the greatest acting tenor, and he infuses this piece with all the passion it demands.
Continuing from prev comment: Alagna's interview about the incident can be found on youtube. It's all in Italian, however, so if you don't speak it, you'll be up a creek if you don't have a translator. The jist is that he thought the audience didn't want him and he was respecting their feedback. He also mentions that he lost considerable sleep and suffered enormous mortification as a result of it. People need to let that lie. His singing is wonderful.
Thank you sincerely for sharing this. This quintessential love story is a profoundly moving experience. If it does not bring tears to your eyes, you have no heart. If it does not make your spirit soar, you have no soul.
Superb wonderful performance his acting is amongst the best I have ever seen his voice is wonderful made me a sad yet happy person ...........kandyman ....
This video is fantastic! I never heard Alagna sound so magnificent............absolutely beautiful performance! incredibly glorious voice. I know what others have said, but, Listen to this!!!!!!!!!!!! and there is a recording where it's very close to this! by him.........How I'd love to have been there! Elizabeth, Salinas, CA
And, by the way, best high C I've ever heard. Of course a high C, or any high note for that matter, is hardly the most important thing to comment on, but I just wanted to share this, it's really the most magnificent high C I've ever heard.
The lovely Mimi is played by Leontina Vaduva. This is wonderful music and warms the soul...and he is marvelous as Rodolfo in La Boheme. Thank you for posting it.
WOW! Wonderful! That's Alagna as I would always like to hear him. Beautiful timbre. I expected a more explosive high C but still, the colour is superb!
MUY BIÉN ALAGNA, se escucha buena voz y con potencia, en resumen, hermoso. En otra interpretación comenté que estaba mal y recibí insultos, pero sí estaba mal; ahora no, es hermosa y gran interpretación.
Okay, "Happy Actor" , by my count, Alagna has appeared as the lead tenor in (at least) 25 operas since he won the Pavoratti contest in '89, somehow he has managed to function even though you guys still keep writing him off - he just got great reviews for his "Trovatore" at Covent Garden in London & will do a "Carmen" there in October & in NYC in January at the Met. Maybe the voice is not the same, but he is still Alagna.
@Loganberrymusic You're quite correct, it's a biological impossibility to sing anything above the passagio (around E-F-F# - all tenors are different) without head voice. Anyone claiming to sing entirely from the chest or saying that it is possible is wrong.
He has such a beautiful sound here...open and natural. I've heard him lately and the voice sounds very dark and pushed, most unfortunate. I think he is following the same path that Di Stefano did, in singing roles that are inappropriate for his voice. Oh well, at least we of clips like these...
If you put it on mute and watch him sing, you would think he is a bass. This is why his sound is so dark and covered (even on E flat). He does a great job with this aria, but would sound better with some brightness in his upper middle register.
i'm with you on that one... i used to be so so on him. But his early stuff is actually quite good. His voice has just really declined in recent years, yet continues to sing roles not suited for him, i.e. Aida at La Scala... but thanks to youtube, we can enjoy some of his better performances like this one...
@JohnnyBlowstar There actually is a version of this song performed by Alagna available on iTunes. Though it's not quite as mesmerizing as this performance, it's actually pretty close.
Grande Alagna! Es una lastima que su elección en el repertorio no ha sido el mas acertado y ha influido en su emision vocal. AUnque aqui estaba aun su voz sana, creo que el Rodolfo podria haber esperado un poco mas. Sus Nemorinos y Romeos son memorables. PAvarotti en una entrevista dice que cuando le escuchó por primera vez notó que a Alagna le gustaba cantar cosas mas grandes de las que debía, y se lo dijo. No hizo caso.
Well he is fantastic, but also see the mexican army like Villazon or specially David Lomeli singing this, the winner of Operalia is singing this also with Domingo at Los Angeles Opera this year. Alagna is great but this guy too and is a little more humble
@viv3147 I think you mean head voice, which is not the same thing as falsetto. Chest voice and falsetto do not mix - that would be like trying to whisper and yell simultaneously. Also, I don't think it's possible for a man to sing a full voiced high C without using some head voice.
Actually no, even yelling a high C still has "head" voice in it. It's actually physically impossible to phonate that high without using the cricoid cartilages to stretch the vocal folds, and the chest will no longer be the predominant resonance at that range.
Alagna est de très loin le meilleur ténor actuel, seul Marcello Alvarez sur quelques interprétations se hissent au niveau.... Les autres sont trop inconstants pour le moment. Celles et ceux qui n'aiment pas Alagna sont les mêmes qui n'aiment pas Domingo......et ce sont donc les mêmes qui se trompent!
You can keep Pavarotti or Jose Carreras, this man is so obviously the natural heir to Caruso. And sang rather better before he got involved with La Gheorghiu. Sadly, this version isn't available on CD. :-(
Yes, that did sound a bit constricted or something. Rest was all very good, although it was SLOW. Still, that could well be the MDs doing, not his. The C was good, and there IS more to the aira than that one note.....
I first met Alagna in !994 and thought we had a new star, sadly he frittered his talent away and became what I call a "ten year tenor". They sing all they can all over the world , often outside their repertoire and ruin their God given talent. Here he is extremely good.
If you like Alagna, you'll like James Valenti. He's on youtube and has a website, jamesvalentiDOTcom. He's an American just starting out but he has landed a gig at La Scala. Enjoy
Actually, Puccini was part of the Verismo style of opera. Portamentos or "scooping" as you call it is actually stylistic for this piece. It was done tastefully and more so, beautifully. Do some research before you start ruining TRUE opera lovers reputations.
Dejense de estupideces Roberto Alagna es un gran tenor, que no sea como Luciano, es otra cosa, pero canto perfectamente esta aria, y no necesita de ningun calderon ni ocho cuartos.
I have a lot of troubles in my life, but I must say when I can listen to beatiful music like this, they go away for a while.
I am a fairly young guy but I think that Alagna is one of the best tenors ever heard! At La Scala, when he left the stage, he was not sang well, but in his best years had a voice in the world's most beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful! Has always the same color, the same stamp! Acute large and beautiful! An accurate passaggio, larynx always in position! A voice so beautiful that it moved! Great Alagna!
Je crois que Roberto Alagna a atteint la perfection.
Bravo Alagna, superb singing and one of the sweetest high C's ever...
He's an opera singer. He's entitled to his tantrums. You could say he's carying on a tradition that dates back to the days of Cafarelli and others. I think he sang this beautifully. For all you Pav fans, alagna was once hailed as the next Pavarotti. Btw, his walking out after being booed at La Scala wasn't a tantrum. In his interview, he reveals that he was absolutely mortified and felt like "the floor opened up beneath me." He couldn't sleep for days.
His singing here is really exquisite. One of my favorite renditions of this aria. I believe I became a fan of Alagna after hearing this.
I cannot watch this aria without tears welling up.
Alagna may not be the greatest tenor today, but he is IMO the greatest acting tenor, and he infuses this piece with all the passion it demands.
What a majestic singer - fabulous voice. If I could sing like that I would not be living in this kip.
1 of the best! this was him just hitting his prime!
Continuing from prev comment: Alagna's interview about the incident can be found on youtube. It's all in Italian, however, so if you don't speak it, you'll be up a creek if you don't have a translator. The jist is that he thought the audience didn't want him and he was respecting their feedback. He also mentions that he lost considerable sleep and suffered enormous mortification as a result of it. People need to let that lie. His singing is wonderful.
Long time ago,but allways marvellous to hear.He has such a voice,his high tones and breathing technique are high class.
Thank you sincerely for sharing this. This quintessential love story is a profoundly moving experience.
If it does not bring tears to your eyes, you have no heart. If it does not make your spirit soar, you have no soul.
Perfect Rudolfo. Amazing voice, looks right. Acts well. All the right ingredients!!
Superb wonderful performance his acting is amongst the best I have ever seen his voice is wonderful made me a sad yet happy person ...........kandyman ....
What a wonderful high C! probably the best I've ever heard!
Alagna is a terrific tenor, and a delight for us opera fans. Thanks for posting
This video is fantastic! I never heard Alagna sound so magnificent............absolutely beautiful performance! incredibly glorious voice.
I know what others have said, but, Listen to this!!!!!!!!!!!! and there is a recording where it's very close to this! by him.........How I'd love to have been there! Elizabeth, Salinas, CA
alagna it`s amazing! what a voice...
And, by the way, best high C I've ever heard. Of course a high C, or any high note for that matter, is hardly the most important thing to comment on, but I just wanted to share this, it's really the most magnificent high C I've ever heard.
he's so good and a beautiful voice!
One of his Best Performances ever!!!!
Such beautiful music.... and he is wonderful. A joy to watch and brings tears of pleasure to my eyes. Thank you for posting it. Judi
wow, this is the alagna that i love
Gorgeous. This excerpt epitomises all that is wonderful about opera. Absolute 5*.
Beautiful and lyric... wish he sang like this all the time!
The lovely Mimi is played by Leontina Vaduva. This is wonderful music and warms the soul...and he is marvelous as Rodolfo in La Boheme. Thank you for posting it.
i miss this alagna, he was so good here!
Bravo, bravo!!
Wow! what a voice...
He's very good, isn't he? And a convincing actor as well.
WOW! Wonderful! That's Alagna as I would always like to hear him. Beautiful timbre. I expected a more explosive high C but still, the colour is superb!
fantástico alagna,bravo!!
Indescribably beautiful.
Beautiful couple...
Bravo Roberto
So touching ...
Bravo Roberto!!!
What a performance! I'm touched! it moves me very much, especially the end... what an end my gosh!!! :o
Thanks for sharing this masterpiece!
Meraviglioso!!
Alagnia en su mejor momento.
Bravo!
Bravoooooooooooo!!
Roberto alagna me fascina, su tecnica, su bella voz, los pianisimos, en fin todo lo que canta, es uno de los grandes de este siglo.
totalmente de acuerdo contigo
MUY BIÉN ALAGNA, se escucha buena voz y con potencia, en resumen, hermoso. En otra interpretación comenté que estaba mal y recibí insultos, pero sí estaba mal; ahora no, es hermosa y gran interpretación.
Okay, "Happy Actor" , by my count, Alagna has appeared as the lead tenor in (at least) 25 operas since he won the Pavoratti contest in '89, somehow he has managed to function even though you guys still keep writing him off - he just got great reviews for his "Trovatore" at Covent Garden in London & will do a "Carmen" there in October & in NYC in January at the Met. Maybe the voice is not the same, but he is still Alagna.
stupenda opera
me gusta mucho especialmente Alagna en la boheme
Beleave me, if I had a voice like that I would not be living in a kip like this.
okay, he is GOOD!
un 10!
Roberto and Angela both were very young!
genial
@Loganberrymusic You're quite correct, it's a biological impossibility to sing anything above the passagio (around E-F-F# - all tenors are different) without head voice. Anyone claiming to sing entirely from the chest or saying that it is possible is wrong.
He is the 4th tenor for sure.
he smacked it.
Wonder!
i just wanted to comment that too!
He has such a beautiful sound here...open and natural. I've heard him lately and the voice sounds very dark and pushed, most unfortunate. I think he is following the same path that Di Stefano did, in singing roles that are inappropriate for his voice. Oh well, at least we of clips like these...
Le va bien este rol, si señor.
k'moet zeggen====mooie stem ,gaat door merg en been
Alagna at his best here. I hear that he has burned out in recent years. Tis a shame if true.
de acuerdo
in fact, this version/acting might even top ol pavs in my opinion xD
If you put it on mute and watch him sing, you would think he is a bass. This is why his sound is so dark and covered (even on E flat). He does a great job with this aria, but would sound better with some brightness in his upper middle register.
C'est magnifique vocalement ca meriterait peut etre un peu plus de liberté musicalement. Mais ca reste exceptionnel
i'm with you on that one... i used to be so so on him. But his early stuff is actually quite good. His voice has just really declined in recent years, yet continues to sing roles not suited for him, i.e. Aida at La Scala... but thanks to youtube, we can enjoy some of his better performances like this one...
freu mich schon auf st. margareten
@JohnnyBlowstar There actually is a version of this song performed by Alagna available on iTunes. Though it's not quite as mesmerizing as this performance, it's actually pretty close.
Grande Alagna! Es una lastima que su elección en el repertorio no ha sido el mas acertado y ha influido en su emision vocal. AUnque aqui estaba aun su voz sana, creo que el Rodolfo podria haber esperado un poco mas. Sus Nemorinos y Romeos son memorables. PAvarotti en una entrevista dice que cuando le escuchó por primera vez notó que a Alagna le gustaba cantar cosas mas grandes de las que debía, y se lo dijo. No hizo caso.
And the difference between Pavarotti's and Hadley's is even further.
Sorry, by 25 operas, I mean 25 different roles; he has appeared in many more than 25 operas since '89.
Well he is fantastic, but also see the mexican army like Villazon or specially David Lomeli singing this, the winner of Operalia is singing this also with Domingo at Los Angeles Opera this year. Alagna is great but this guy too and is a little more humble
@viv3147 I think you mean head voice, which is not the same thing as falsetto. Chest voice and falsetto do not mix - that would be like trying to whisper and yell simultaneously. Also, I don't think it's possible for a man to sing a full voiced high C without using some head voice.
Listen to Aragall, he sings this perfectly and with respect to the score.
This is the original key
Actually no, even yelling a high C still has "head" voice in it. It's actually physically impossible to phonate that high without using the cricoid cartilages to stretch the vocal folds, and the chest will no longer be the predominant resonance at that range.
@iltrovatoremanrico but it was a falsetto/chest c, not just chest
I know ex. what you mean; bless you.
Much as I dislike Alagna as a person, if he sang this to me, and this well, I'd fall for him... He is simply irresistible here!
well,if the "high C part" is in F sharp major, than it is high C sharp =o)
i agree, his phrases are all cut up!
who is? Puccini or Alagna?
Alagna est de très loin le meilleur ténor actuel, seul Marcello Alvarez sur quelques interprétations se hissent au niveau....
Les autres sont trop inconstants pour le moment.
Celles et ceux qui n'aiment pas Alagna sont les mêmes qui n'aiment pas Domingo......et ce sont donc les mêmes qui se trompent!
You can keep Pavarotti or Jose Carreras, this man is so obviously the natural heir to Caruso. And sang rather better before he got involved with La Gheorghiu.
Sadly, this version isn't available on CD. :-(
The difference between this high C and a real high C is that this is a B and not a C!!! Just a thought!
Yes, that did sound a bit constricted or something. Rest was all very good, although it was SLOW. Still, that could well be the MDs doing, not his. The C was good, and there IS more to the aira than that one note.....
I first met Alagna in !994 and thought we had a new star, sadly he frittered his talent away and became what I call a "ten year tenor". They sing all they can all over the world , often outside their repertoire and ruin their God given talent. Here he is extremely good.
If you like Alagna, you'll like James Valenti. He's on youtube and has a website, jamesvalentiDOTcom. He's an American just starting out but he has landed a gig at La Scala. Enjoy
You shoul see though Pavarotti in Scala 1979. Maybe the finest version of this aria ever!
Che son?.....
that didn't sound like a High C... that sounded like a High C sharp! O.o
you are wrong friend, you are picking holes in paradise!
Menos mal que no es Pavarotti, porque si así fuera el mundo de la lirica sería muy aburrido poues todos los tenores cantarían igual!
Try Mirella Freni :P
Actually, Puccini was part of the Verismo style of opera. Portamentos or "scooping" as you call it is actually stylistic for this piece. It was done tastefully and more so, beautifully. Do some research before you start ruining TRUE opera lovers reputations.
This is not Angela
Dejense de estupideces Roberto Alagna es un gran tenor, que no sea como Luciano, es otra cosa, pero canto perfectamente esta aria, y no necesita de ningun calderon ni ocho cuartos.
why
Gefaellt mir viel besser als Kaufmann!