# Final Round: Ah Mes Ami. Pavarotti, Kraus, Alagna



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The cabaletta begins around 4:30 minutes in on every singer's video.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I don't need to listen again. Kraus's bumptious swagger is irresistible. The others are just singing, quite stunningly in Pavarottti's case, a bit more effortfully in Alagna's case. I'd rather have seen the delightfully youthful Florez and Camarena here, but I suspect I'd go for Kraus in any case.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I love Alagna, but this is not one of his best. I’ll stick with Pav.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I like Alagna in French repertoire (and this opera always feels French to me despite having been written by an Italian) but he's better in roles like Werther, Roméo, Hoffmann and Des Grieux. This aria needs someone who can ping out those top Cs with effortless ease and, of the three we have left, I think Kraus does that. Pavarotti is just a bit more effortful.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I like Alagna in French repertoire (and this opera always feels French to me despite having been written by an Italian) but he's better in roles like Werther, Roméo, Hoffmann and Des Grieux. This aria needs someone who can ping out those top Cs with effortless ease and, of the three we have left, I think Kraus does that. Pavarotti is just a bit more effortful.


When I can agree with so many of you who are my betters at this there is hope


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Let's make a tie.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

The tenor with the High "C"'s please.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

"Shaughnessy's Survival Guide to Successful Game Play" -

Chapter One - Always go with "Maria Callas" - Always - Even if she's not one of selections - It doesn't matter - Just go right ahead and make her one - All they'll see is "Callas" and "_mes amis_" - 

No one will even notice that they're entirely different arias...

Merely mentioning her name itself is like uttering a magical incantation - Kind of like "abracadabra" except a lot easier to spell...


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Shaughnessy said:


> "Shaughnessy's Survival Guide to Successful Game Play" -
> 
> Chapter One - Always go with "Maria Callas" - Always - Even if she's not one of selections - It doesn't matter - Just go right ahead and make her one - All they'll see is "Callas" and "_mes amis_" -
> 
> ...


With this crowd. There are other opera discussion venues with lots of Callas haters, which luckily we lack. I think a lot of time the fuss is justified... she is fabulous. I just don't like her voice after the mid 50's much. Her artistry is never in question with me.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I feel slightly guilty that Florez missed out on the final round as I have been busy the last couple of weeks and am only catching up on TC now.

That said, I think I prefer Pavarotti's fuller tone overall in any case.

N.


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## ganchan2019 (Oct 14, 2021)

Woodduck said:


> I don't need to listen again. Kraus's bumptious swagger is irresistible. The others are just singing, quite stunningly in Pavarottti's case, a bit more effortfully in Alagna's case. I'd rather have seen the delightfully youthful Florez and Camarena here, but I suspect I'd go for Kraus in any case.


I heard Kraus do this opera live in Dallas. He was always ridiculously secure up top, so you never had to worry about him even with 9 high Cs on the agenda. The auditorium that Dallas used back then had kind of a "dead" acoustic that trapped some of the sound behind the prosceium arch. Kraus hit the final high C, apparently noticed that the sound wasn't traveling to his satisfaction, and strode casually forward beyond the proscenium until the high C he was still holding suddenly doubled in volume.


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## ganchan2019 (Oct 14, 2021)

Speaking of Kraus and swagger in this aria, here's what it looked like in a typical live performance. As the subtitle at the end points out, he was 59 years old at the time.


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