# BASS TOURNAMENT (Quarterfinal 4): Reizen vs Ghiaurov



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Mark Reizen, Russia, 1895-1992 (defeated Christoff 15-3)






Nicolai Ghiaurov, Bulgaria, 1929-2004 (defeated Arie 11-3)






Aria: "I have attained the highest power" from Mussorgsky's _Boris Godunov_

Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

I prefered Ghiaurov's faster tempo and the fact that his Russian didn't sound so, well, Russian. Ultimately though, Reizen had the more natural bass voice which was well suited for this aria and one can hardly fault him for making the Russian sound like Russian even if one would much prefer if he made the Russian sound like Italian or even Germann. ну блин.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Both excellent, but I like the fact that Reizen adheres more to the written notes with no loss of expression. It's hard to compare two such fine bass voices when the acoustics and engineering of the recordings are so different. I kept wondering how each would sound if recorded like the other.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Oh my was this decision tough for me!
Reizen's deep bass tone grabs me and I find it very appealing, however Ghiaurov's dramatic, heartfelt interpretation, especially near the end could not be denied. The emotion that he evoked had an immediate impact upon me and even though I prefer the deeper bass of Reizen, being an active theater person all my life, I could not deny the depth of Ghiaurov's portrayal.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Easy peasy! (When I'm not listening to Plancon singing in French, Pinza singing in Italian or Kipnis, I'm listening to Reizen.)

Bonetan, how did you know who all my favourite basses were and then prepare such wonderful contests with them all in, just in time for me to come back and catch up with the listening?

N.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Being a Ghiaurov fan, I am voting for Reizen, even despite slightly nasal vocal production. He better conveys the complex phsycological states Boris is going through in this scene. Marvellous job!


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Ghiaurov is good enough, but Reizen is Godunov.

Couldn't resist. Apologies all around. Both are really quite good, but Reizen is hard to beat in anything he sings. He's an interesting example of the difference between nasality as a fault in an otherwise well built voice, and mask singing as the basis of a voice. Many would probably cite him as the latter, but voices built on mask/nasal resonance don't sound anything like Reizen, especially when he opens up and sings full voice.


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