# HELDENTENOR TOURNAMENT (Quarterfinal 4): Lorenz vs Urlus



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Max Lorenz, Germany, 1901-1975 (defeated Skelton 17-1)

https://www.talkclassical.com/71632-heldentenor-tournament-round-1-a.html






Jacques Urlus, Netherlands, 1867-1935 (defeated Svanholm 13-3)

https://www.talkclassical.com/71582-heldentenor-tournament-round-1-a.html






'Winterstürme' from Wagner's _Die Walküre_.

Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

In neither of these performances do the singer and conductor seem able to decide on a tempo. The general tempo of each is within the range of plausibility, but Lorenz's band sets out at a hurried pace as if to get the introduction over with, while Urlus's group seems to need a few cups of espresso in order to wake up. Lorenz himself is fairly, though reasonably, fast to start, but soon begins jumping the beat and ends in a wild sprint, while Urlus, holding steady and filling out his extra time admirably, nevertheless feels impelled to end slightly faster than he started. 

Lorenz seems to be caught here in his vocal prime and, tempo notwithstanding, avoids the feeling of Judy Garlandesque hysteria which makes his later work uncomfortable for me. Urlus is vocally impeccable and sings with his usual fine line, but the slowish tempo, poor orchestra (if that's the word for it) and wretched recording undermine his effectiveness a wee bit. He also seems uncertain how to pronounce the unstressed final "e" in German. Different German-speakers do it differently, as do different singers, but Urlus does it in more than one way. Because he's Dutch? Not important, I suppose.

I've long known and admired Urlus' masterful vocal poise and legato in this, and with repeated listening I find the slow tempo no problem. These are both excellent performances, but the Urlus is unique and gets my vote. What a shame that we can't hear what he did with an entire role.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

The ''Mightyduck'' (the mighty is for his knowledges) has written everything. I voted though for my Landsman *Max,* who is very beloved to me. Nice fight here and thanks a lot.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Once again, not being a heldentenor devotee I can only choose the voice that appeals to me the most, knowing little else, and Lorenz seems to have not only a more appealing voice but also a more emotional sound and for those reasons I chose him.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Both fantastic voices, Urlus is delivering an impressive legato and it looks like the primitive recording tech actually means that much less hardware was in the way between performer and the recording media and somehow he sounds very clear to me so I can forget about the audio imperfections. Very nice effect. However, I don't quite like how he sang the very end of the piece and that's where Lorenz shines, with his style and power totally immune to any tempo fluctuations. Lorenz wins but only by a tiny bit and not due to the difference in audio quality.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Both very fine but, despite the vagaries of the recording, I found I preferred Urlus and I can't quite put my finger on why. I just preferred the actual sound of his voice.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I can’t fault either singer and would very happily encounter both in the theater on any night (how very lucky we’d be!). But if I must vote for one, I’d pick Lorenz for his slightly brighter, more heroic sound. He seems to have the measure of this part.


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