# TENOR TOURNAMENT (Round 1, Match #6): Domingo vs Lauri-Volpi



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Placido Domingo, Spain, 1941-






Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, Italy, 1892-1979






Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Lauri Volpi is new to me. His voice is so beautiful!!!!!!!! I go with him. Great, beautifully supported high notes.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Lauri Volpi is new to me. His voice is so beautiful!!!!!!!! I go with him. Great, beautifully supported high notes.


He's amazing! Check out his piano singing here:






Such control! The first time I heard him I immediately went to the piano to work on messa di voce lol


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Sorry I'm not a fan of either one on those recordings. 
I pass.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

When I listen to Domingo I sometimes recall Conrad L. Osborne writing that he was either the world's best second-rate tenor or the world's worst first-rate one. He sings this beautifully, except for the tight high C which he wisely gets off of as quickly as he can without short-changing the music. I hear nothing else to take exception to, but I nevertheless find Lauri-Volpi a bit more characterful, with more varied articulation (portamenti, dynamic changes). The very quick vibrato disturbed me at first but I got used to it; the acoustically naked recordings of the time make that trait more conspicuous. I've never heard anyone breathe before the last note though. What's that about?


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Lauri-Volpi, for the reasons given above and also for the peerless legato which Domingo can't match.

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Domingo isn't bad at all, despite a slightly tight top C (never his strong point) but Lauri-Volpi is just that bit more chracterful, just that bit more interesting, so I choose him.

Just as an aside, I'd like to add that in the early days of the free open air live relays from Covent Garden, which, in those days were shown in the small Covent Garden piazza, I attended a performance of *La Boheme* with Domingo as Rodolfo. I can't remember now who any of the rest of the cast were but as Domingo's voice filled the piazza with this aria, with the crowd listening in rapt silence, he did seem like the greatest tenor in the world. That was something to remember.


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## karajan1976 (Jun 7, 2019)

Domingo by far, more virile, way more natural, musical and fluid. Can't stomach that permeating Lauri-Volpi's goatish vibrato, I find it not tolerable, sorry.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

Hmmm. Neither really works for me. I'm sure Lauri-Volpi is technically brilliant (I heard that), but I found that he doesn't seem to portray the character for me. 

Domingo also does very little for me. Again, technically good, very clear, but also very clinical. 

Pass.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Domingo for me. He's ardent, he's passionate and he manages the top C much better than I expected (he doesn't transpose it down, while some other tenors did - Carreras, for example).
I get all the wows about Lauri-Volpi's voice, but, honestly, his performance is almost perfunctory/analytical and I find his lower register quite underpowered (check for "gli occhi belli" at around 2:40 - 2:45, it sounds woeful, coupled with his specific vibrato. Almost the same repeats at 3:15 - 3:20 on "Ma il furto non m'accora").
Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, Domingo rules this one. 1 to 14 but here it goes.

P.S. Thanks to Bonetan for taking pity on poor us, this whole scene (Rodolfo + Mimi + duetto) is one of the best love scenes in all opera genre. Can listen to this + Act 3 duet endlessly.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Azol said:


> Domingo for me. He's ardent, he's passionate and he manages the top C much better than I expected (he doesn't transpose it down, while some other tenors did - Carreras, for example).
> I get all the wows about Lauri-Volpi's voice, but, honestly, his performance is almost perfunctory/analytical and I find his lower register quite underpowered (check for "gli occhi belli" at around 2:40 - 2:45, it sounds woeful, coupled with his specific vibrato. Almost the same repeats at 3:15 - 3:30 on "Ma il furto non m'accora").
> Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, Domingo rules this one. 1 to 14 but here it goes.
> 
> P.S. Thanks to Bonetan for taking pity on poor us, this whole scene (Rodolfo + Mimi + duetto) is one of the best love scenes in all opera genre. Can listen to this + Act 3 duet endlessly.


Now you make me feel guilty for not at least attempting a vote. So I will help you out as I happen to agree with much of what you say. Domingo.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Domingo’s voice is warmer in his recording than Lauri-Volpi’s in his. I hear more tightness in Domingo’s voice (the second “chi SON,” for one) than just the high C, but that’s nitpicking. I’d developed an antipathy for Domingo even before his troubles with sexual harassment, so I’m biased. Lauri-Volpi’s recording does him no favors, but even so I pick him.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

I don't know what it is with Domingo. He's been so popular, but I don't get why. In the right role, he sings well and beautifully, but there often is just no emotional connection for me. Maybe it's just some sort of preference of mine that I only seem to enjoy hearing him in two roles — Don José and Radames. It felt like that here, beautiful singing but no emotional connection.

Lauri-Volpi's singing here also seemed bland, but also his vibrato was overly prominent and seemed to constantly be changing. This was really distracting and irritating, so I'll vote for Domingo for overall being more pleasant on the ears.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

adriesba said:


> I don't know what it is with Domingo. He's been so popular, but I don't get why. In the right role, he sings well and beautifully, but there often is just no emotional connection for me. Maybe it's just some sort of preference of mine that I only seem to enjoy hearing him in two roles - Don José and Radames. It felt like that here, beautiful singing but no emotional connection.
> 
> Lauri-Volpi's singing here also seemed bland, but also his vibrato was overly prominent and seemed to constantly be changing. This was really distracting and irritating, so I'll vote for Domingo for overall being more pleasant on the ears.


Domingo was like Caballe, very variable, when they were good they powered on all cylinders (Domingo's Verona Manon Lescaut before he was famous is an example of that). On an off night you'd be excused for thinking they would have preferred to be somewhere else.

N.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Lauri-Volpi still had that annoying vibrato at this point, but I would still take his extremely focused laser-sword sound over Domingo's effortful and amorphous sound any day. Domingo made some good recordings and was a pretty good actor when he was engaged, but his status as opera god has always confused me. Maybe you had to be there.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Lauri-Volpi still had that annoying vibrato at this point, but I would still take his extremely focused laser-sword sound over Domingo's effortful and amorphous sound any day. Domingo made some good recordings and was a pretty good actor when he was engaged, but his status as opera god has always confused me. Maybe you had to be there.


Domingo could be a superb actor. I was quite impressed with his Otello in a Met video, and Olivier said (roughly) "He acts the part as well as I do - and he has that voice!" (Dame Judi Dench saw Callas as Tosca in 1964 and made a similar remark, saying "It's grossly unfair!").

Domingo has never been one of my favorite tenors, but if "opera god" is a title that needs to be claimed by someone, who in our time can compete with him for the combination of voice, acting, looks, versatility and longevity?


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