# Nicolai Gedda (1925-2017)



## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

I became saddened by the passing of one of opera's greats, Nicolai Gedda, who left us last month at the age of 91. I in particular cherish his Lehar, Barber, Offenbach recordings. He was as consummate of a musician as he came, and the love for singing is apparent in everything I heard. I have the misfortune of not seeing him live, but his recordings compensate in every meaningful way.

http://www.forumopera.com/breve/deces-de-nicolai-gedda

Please share your thoughts on this great, versatile singer.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Superb singer and artist, supremely versatile, and an excellent linguist. If I recall correctly, in Barber's _Vanessa_ his English was at least as clear as Eleanor Steber's. He did nothing poorly, and luckily his recorded legacy is extensive.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Superb singer and artist, supremely versatile, and an excellent linguist. If I recall correctly, in Barber's _Vanessa_ his English was at least as clear as Eleanor Steber's. He did nothing poorly, and luckily his recorded legacy is extensive.


Truly a superb linguist (I'm hard pressed to find any weaknesses in his articulation). He probably sang beyond his prime (he showed some vocal strains by the early 1980s), but his voice remained quite as glorious, even on rehearing.

I would have like to hear him tackle more of the Russian repertoire, though: Mussorgsky, Dargomyzhsky, Tchaikovsky, Shebalin's "Taming of the Shrew" would have been a nice vehicle for his singing (or even Rubinstein's "The Demon"). Given his role in Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth" as Sergei, how interesting it would have been if he did Mazeppa or even Kochubey in Tchaikovsky's stirring, epic masterwork.

But with all that is said, I'm still thankful for his artistry and a heck of a legacy he left behind.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Great singer outstanding tenor, love his Rodolfo with Freni an his participation in Thais with Sills.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Wow, he certainly had a long life! I'm way too young to remember him in his prime. I believe, though, that my mom heard him as Tamino in THE MAGIC FLUTE at the Met in 1966 or 1967.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bellinilover said:


> Wow, he certainly had a long life! I'm way too young to remember him in his prime. I believe, though, that my mom heard him as *Tamino in THE MAGIC FLUTE* at the Met in 1966 or 1967.


This is of course enshrined in Klemperer's classic recording. It tended to be overshadowed by Wunderlich's account for Bohm but is a very fine performance in its own right


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

They kept his death secret for a month. I remember it was the same when Birgit Nilsson died.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Sad news! Possibly the greatest tenor of the latter half of the twentieth century: elegant, versatile and idiomatic.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

*Nicolai Gedda Sings Le Postillon de Longjumeau and Vecherny Zvon*

I have loved Gedda's voice sing I was a young, aspiring singer and performing with the Yale Russian Chorus. He sang brilliantly in Swedish, Russian, his French was impeccable (I have never heard a better recording of some of the Manon arias), Italian, English, and he could apply more blends of chest, voix mixte, head voice, falsetto, and more colors to his voice than any other singer I can think of. An incredibly gifted singer and a consummate musician.

His recording of the famous aria from Le Postillon de Longjumeau from the operetta of the same name was justly something of a sensation, as he progressively sings a high G, high B, and then a phenomenal high D followed by a cadenza to high C on the three choruses. This was the first tenor I ever heard sing well above high C.

Here is that aria with video, sung in 1952 as his role debut at the Royal Academy of Stockholm. Unfortunately it is in German here, but the French version is easily found as well:






Gedda sang with absolutely everybody and excelled in every area he tackled: Faust, Alfredo, the Duke of Mantua, Nadir in the Pearl Fishers, the four roles in Tales of Hoffman, Don José, Benvenuto Cellini, Nemorino, Don Ottavio.

As a lover of Russian music, of course I early bought a vinyl album of him singing Russian folk songs. Here he is singing the famous Russian song Vecherny zvon / Вечерний звон / Evening bell.






Thank you great Maestro for a lifetime of enjoying your incredible musicianship and singing. RIP.

Kind regards,

:tiphat:

George


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Every time I would hear a certain tenor's voice that I could not identify, it turned out to be Gedda's voice. For some odd reason, even though it was a voice that appealed to me, I never could pin it down as Gedda's.
The other day on Sirius I heard a wonderful _Romeo et Juliette_ and loved the tenor who was singing along with Freni and sure enough it was Gedda.

RIP dear Romeo.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

Wow, Nina, that's interesting. I could never mistake it for any other.

:tiphat:

Kind regards,

George


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

DavidA said:


> This is of course enshrined in Klemperer's classic recording. It tended to be overshadowed by Wunderlich's account for Bohm but is a very fine performance in its own right


Yes. Gedda shines in this historic recording (although I agree that no one could compete with the sheer _prettiness_ of Wunderlich's voice), and both Gundula Janowitz as Pamina, with her incredible vocal sheen, and Lucia Popp as my personal all-time favorite Queen of the Night, make this recording a treasure and one of my few Mozart CDs that I must listen to regularly.

:tiphat:

Kind regards,

George


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Spookily enough, I was thinking of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (another favourite singer) this morning over breakfast, a split-second before I turned to the Obituary page in _The Guardian_, where I was confronted by Gedda's own obit. Like DFD and Bergonzi, Gedda was one of those great singers who seemed as if they were "always there" and that they'd go on forever. It's always sad when they finally leave us, but what pleasure they've given us, and what magnificent legacies they've left behind.


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

Not very apropos after this discussion of Gedda's linguistic abilities, but here he is in a very well-sung Masked Ball in Swedish...






(the King Gustaf III version, naturally...)


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

graziesignore said:


> Not very apropos after this discussion of Gedda's linguistic abilities, but here he is in a very well-sung Masked Ball in Swedish...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The real king and queen of Sweden.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Barelytenor said:


> His recording of the famous aria from Le Postillon de Longjumeau from the operetta of the same name was justly something of a sensation, as he progressively sings a high G, high B, and then a phenomenal high D followed by a cadenza to high C on the three choruses. This was the first tenor I ever heard sing well above high C.
> 
> Here is that aria with video, sung in 1952 as his role debut at the Royal Academy of Stockholm. Unfortunately it is in German here, but the French version is easily found as well:


_Postillon_, by the way, is a delightful and amusing opera, once very popular, that has almost disappeared from the repertoire on my side of the Atlantic. I can't imagine that a revival by the Met or some other major company would not be enjoyed, provided we could hear it sung well.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

I'm not an opera buff, and not all that fond of the tenor voice in general. But Gedda's voice was delightful and his ability to sing convincingly in a range of languages lent a depth to his performances. By all accounts, he was a nice man, too.


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