# Final Round: non piangere, Liu. Merli or Corelli



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)




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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I'm not fond of Merli's goat-like, bleating vibrato, though I can sort of get used to it. He overdoes the emoting at the climax, and his tempo is torpid verging on catatonic. How did he win last time? The other guys must have been terrible. Corelli overdoes the emoting too, but I can't complain about the sound he makes, and his tempo is sensible. Corelli it is.

I think I need some Bjorling.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

My boy Corelli, of course!


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Merli is my favourite Calaf but he ironed out his vibrato later on. Here I'll give it to Corelli.

This performance however, would win easily for me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Op.123 said:


> Merli is my favourite Calaf but he ironed out his vibrato later on. Here I'll give it to Corelli.
> 
> This performance however, would won easily for me.


I find Merli's voice peculiar, and his lachrymose inflections make him sound as if he's crying all the way through the aria. In this performance, which I gather is later than the other one, he sounds elderly as well as weepy. I'm not sure what to make of the character of Calaf - or of anyone in this strange fairy tale, frankly - but if he's ready to be beheaded for an ice princess I don't think he should sound as sentimental as this. My reaction is the opposite of yours: I would take any of the performances we've heard over this one.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I find Merli's voice peculiar, and his lachrymose inflections make him sound as if he's crying all the way through the aria. In this performance, which I gather is later than the other one, he sounds elderly as well as weepy. I'm not sure what to make of the character of Calaf - or of anyone in this strange fairy tale, frankly - but if he's ready to be beheaded for an ice princess I don't think he should sound as sentimental as this. My reaction is the opposite of yours: I would take any of the performances we've heard over this one.


I tried to do an early tenor round and was limited by the choices. Turandot came out late and may not have attracted the best singers. I also scoured the favorite tenor list by some savvy members of the forum for suggestions and that influenced my choices. The Nessun Dorma contest should be better, especially with my new assistant! I have many contestants so everyone should find someone to like.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I'm not fond of Merli's goat-like, bleating vibrato, though I can sort of get used to it. He overdoes the emoting at the climax, and his tempo is torpid verging on catatonic. How did he win last time? The other guys must have been terrible. Corelli overdoes the emoting too, but I can't complain about the sound he makes, and his tempo is sensible. Corelli it is.
> 
> I think I need some Bjorling.


He was a winner in a weak field, I think, whereas either of the two tenors in Corelli's round (Björling and Carreras) would also have been worthy winners. 

Corelli obviously wins this one.


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## Andjar (Aug 28, 2020)

I like Del Monaco's non begging, very slightly affectious and rather demanding rendition:


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Well it depends on whether I am in the mood for a purely sung, sad, and gentle aria with the last note exquisitely held to the very end, or whether I prefer the dramatic, passionate delivery that seems to say that Corelli "owns" this one.
Because I don't want my little spot in the corner to remain empty, I am going with Merli once again because he showed more pathos than drama.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Well it depends on whether I am in the mood for a purely sung, sad, and gentle aria with the last note exquisitely held to the very end, or whether I prefer the dramatic, passionate delivery that seems to say that Corelli "owns" this one.
> Because I don't want my little spot in the corner to remain empty, I am going with Merli once again because he showed more pathos than drama.


I must agree with others that the snail's pace of this Merli is not up to his original one. However, the very fact that he is and WAS able to show his best voice previously tells me that he has a natural ability to deliver a beautifuIly sung aria, so I don't feel too bad about this lesser Merli.
Corelli? Is Corelli!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Listening to this aria over and over prompts me to note that Puccini offers a dreadful temptation to conductors to wallow in a stagnant, viscous pool of syrupy sentimentality. Singers, particularly tenors, are similarly tempted to indulge in a maximum of lachrymosity. The maudlin dawdling and constant ritardandi can get nauseating. I just want to point out to Merli, Corelli and any other Calaf who hasn't read the libretto that Liu is the weepy one here, and that our crazy hero, who has just been described by Timur as having a "fierce heart," is merely taking a few minutes off from his mad quest to relieve a bad case of metaphysical horniness in order to tell her that she needs to buck up and look after old Pop, who's now less important to him than a human guillotine in Chinese drag. What doesn't need to drag is this aria, which, like so much Puccini, is inherently poignant and can only benefit from being performed with some spirit and spine.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

.............................................................................................


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

If we listen to verismo, and even Verdi, at least in tenor parts, we should be ready to a certain degree of weeping platitude. In this contest we have listened to the very best ones, mostly old masters. And what do we see? We understand why Strauss laughed at tenors in Der Rosenkavalier.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I like Merli's sophistication and poetry in this aria, but he almost sings it as if it were a song rather than a romantic opera aria.

Corelli is poetic too, but also extrovertly expressive.

I'm voting for Corelli, firstly because I prefer his more operatic approach and secondly because I just simply prefer his voice.

N.


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