# TENOR TOURNAMENT (Bonus Matchup): Tauber vs McCormack



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Richard Tauber, Austria, 1891-1948






John McCormack, Ireland, 1884-1945






Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I've never liked the Irish-tenor nasality of McCormack's tone, though I can admire his often elegant style and fine diction. Tauber's voice acquires an oddly intensified, pressurized quality at the top which puts me off - it sounds like a different voice - but, again, I can admire his work for other qualities. I guess I find a little more dynamic variety in Tauber here, so I'll vote for him, though I don't feel strongly about either one.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

I'm not a huge fan of either TBH. I think on pure singing Tauber is slightly more listenable, but only slightly.

There's something odd about the McCormack recording - it's got a very odd rumbling bass frequency running right through it that clearly isn't an artifact of the original, and distorts a lot of the sound.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I'm going for McCormack because he surmounts the technical difficulties of the aria better, singing the coloratura before the second statement of _Il mio tesoro_ in a single breath. Like most tenors Tauber has to snatch an extra breath half way through and speeds up to help him get through. McCormack does it even better in this version, where he disguises better the snatche breath before the word _tornar_ which introduces the long coloratura passage.






This version has become something of a classic for that reason. The only other tenor I've heard who manages the same feat is, wait for it, Domingo, on his first recital album for RCA, though when he recorded the aria again for EMI some years later he has to take two extra breaths.

That said, there are other tenors I prefer in this aria.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I was surprised that these tenors, both known for their vocalism, were disappointing in these recordings. Tauber sounds coarse in places, and McCormack is swamped by the orchestra - a badly balanced recording. I prefer McCormack's despite the bad sound.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I know that Tauber is everybody's "French Toast" but for some reason McCormack's voice came through as the more involved of the two of them -- not that I really felt either one of them did this as well as it could be done by someone else.
McCormack by default.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

I love them both, and refuse to choose!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'm going for McCormack because he surmounts the technical difficulties of the aria better, singing the coloratura before the second statement of _Il mio tesoro_ in a single breath. Like most tenors Tauber has to snatch an extra breath half way through and speeds up to help him get through. McCormack does it even better in this version, where he disguises better the snatche breath before the word _tornar_ which introduces the long coloratura passage.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This McCormack performance is a fine one and would probably have altered my vote. Still, neither is a favorite singer.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Neither works for me, but McCormack particularly makes better job with the fiorituri. I didn't expect Tauber to sound so out of place, so easy enough to cast my vote.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

McCormick is nigh perfect and would beat most all of his competition. Just not Tauber. I only knew his name and had never heard him before, but he had a supernaturally beautiful voice in my opinion. Tauber sang well stylistically, but it was the glory of the sound that won me over. His sounds likely trumps other factors in his singing of this aria. After reading the other reviews I am afraid I am a minority opinion . Oh, well. Tenors are not my specialty.


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