# BARITONE TOURNAMENT (Semifinal #1): Merrill vs Bastianini



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Robert Merrill, USA, 1917-2004 (defeated Hvorostovsky 16-12)






Ettore Bastianini, Italy, 1922-1967 (defeated Kelsey 15-3)






Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Wow, that was hard. In fact, I'm still not really ready to vote. They are both good but not perfect renditions that I enjoyed quite a bit. Their voices are similar, with Bastianini's being just a touch darker. In fact, the renditions are so similar that if you start both videos at 3:38 they sing in an almost perfectly synchronized duet for about 10 to 15 seconds. I discovered this as I was trying to do small comparisons to set them apart. They even have some of the same flaws. Currently leaning just a hair towards Bastianini because I think some his phrases were a touch sweeter, but it's a much, much closer race than any so far.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Though I'd be happy to hear either of these renderings in an opera house, what they impress on me is how difficult it is to sing Verdi really well. Anyone looking for a consistent tonal stream that can be steered, shaded and colored with no loss of quality or break in legato needs to look elsewhere. In this case I think I prefer Merrill by a whisker; Bastianini has an exciting sound but sounds uncomfortable bringing the volume down, which is probably why he does it too rarely (in other performances I've heard as well). 

Neither is a patch on Amato or Stracciari.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Both sang it exceptionally, but with Merrill being a touch nasal in the first part of the aria, I'd say Bastianini is the winner.
Plus, Bastianini's voice opens up beautifully in the slow part and he handles top register with more ease (but not always hitting the correct pitch, check the most problematic part: 3:40 to 3:47).


Woodduck said:


> Bastianini has an exciting sound but sounds uncomfortable bringing the volume down, which is probably why he does it too rarely (in other performances I've heard as well).


I think Woodduck nailed the problem here.

Still, I voted for Basianini, but he won just by a small margin.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

Merrill, for me.

Bastianini excels by dint of his exciting voice, native Italian diction, there are times I think his singing is a lot more exciting than Merrill.

However, when Bastianini was singing at less than full throttle - e.g. 3.37-4.13 starting "O dolcezze perduto, o memorie" - at least in that live performance, there was a distinct drop-off in quality. He negotiated it but there was little pleasure in it. 

Merrill managed this change more effectively - it is the most imaginative part of his performance - and this meant, for me, that the scene held together better. Besides more care for dynamics, Merrill's voice is luxurious in its own way. 

Admittedly there are a few bumpy patches e.g. 2.24-2.47 which are a bit too gusty for my taste, which is one reason I am not more emphatically in the Merrill camp and this was a more closely matched contest than the previous ones, for me.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Woodduck said:


> Though I'd be happy to hear either of these renderings in an opera house, what they impress on me is how difficult it is to sing Verdi really well. Anyone looking for a consistent tonal stream that can be steered, shaded and colored with no loss of quality or break in legato needs to look elsewhere. In this case I think I prefer Merrill by a whisker; Bastianini has an exciting sound but sounds uncomfortable bringing the volume down, which is probably why he does it too rarely (in other performances I've heard as well).
> 
> Neither is a patch on Amato or Stracciari.


Indeed. Afterwards I listened to Battistini for reference and "consistent tonal stream that can be steered, shaded and colored with no loss of quality or break in legato" is the perfect description of what I heard there. The only flaw was somewhat weak low notes, but other than that it's just not even close. There's a lot of talk online about decline since the 50s, but comparing singers like Battistini and those you mentioned with this pair of accomplished singers shows that a comparable decline took place in the first half of the century.

As for this poll, I voted for Bastianini purely because I found his rendition more consistently involving each time I played them.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

What is so wonderful is that we all have our precious ears to hear what attracts us the most. 
I am not really one to "study" each and every note. I kind of let the entire aria wash over me instead. It's just my way.
They were both splendid so what it came down to for me was hate vs. hurt. 
The aria is written with much hatred which Merrill followed through effectively and completely but Bastianini added a component of hurt and by so doing took the more surface feeling of hatred and brought it too a deeper level of feeling which appealed to me much more.
So my vote goes to Bastianini.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This was hard. Neither is perfect and they both have similar failings. Ultimately I went for Bastianini, mostly because I prefer the sound of his voice and fely he handled the _O dolcezza_ section better, but it's quite close.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Definitely a tight race as other have stated, but I'm giving the nod to Merrill. This is my favorite audition piece because it shows so much and so few can meet all of the arias demands. Imho the most impactful part of the aria is the cantabile section where some lovely tender singing can really separate the men from the boys. To my ears Bastianini is not quite up to the task and sounds out of his element here. Merrill wins for me by having a more beautiful voice in the most beautiful section. I think the rest of the aria is almost too close to call.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I'm afraid I'm spoiled forever with "Eri tu." It's my misfortune (?) that the very first time I heard this aria, about 50 years ago, before I knew _Ballo_ at all, was in a 1914 recording by Pasquale Amato. After reading Conrad Osborne's very astute and detailed analysis of various baritones from the 1910s to the 1960s singing this, I ran out and bought an Amato collection, and this is what I heard:






I was stunned, never having heard such singing. It's a lesson in the art and technique of singing, and it still breaks my heart, every time.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> I'm afraid I'm spoiled forever with "Eri tu." It's my misfortune (?) that the very first time I heard this aria, about 50 years ago, before I knew _Ballo_ at all, was in a 1914 recording by Pasquale Amato. After reading Conrad Osborne's very astute and detailed analysis of various baritones from the 1910s to the 1960s singing this, I ran out and bought an Amato collection, and this is what I heard:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OMG! Now THAT'S exactly what I was referring to in my above post. Do you hear the hurt and sadness that comes through the anger? That was extremely special and heartfelt. Thank you for that.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Woodduck said:


> I was stunned, never having heard such singing. It's a lesson in the art and technique of singing, and it still breaks my heart, every time.


Absolutely beautiful.

Amato was the first Jack Rance. (The premiere cast was Destinn, Caruso, and Amato. No wonder it was Puccini's most successful premiere.) I'm just trying to imagine hearing Rance's music sung with that sense of line, shading, and flexibility. So often Rance is barked. All great opera, including verismo (which Fanciulla isn't really even though it's lumped in), should be sung with this bel canto technique.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Puccini sung as bel canto. There's a Te Deum too. Too bad it isn't Minnie dalla mia casa instead, but still it gives you an faint glimpse of what it must have been like.

Anyway, I'll stop driving this ot.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> OMG! Now THAT'S exactly what I was referring to in my above post. Do you hear the hurt and sadness that comes through the anger? That was extremely special and heartfelt. Thank you for that.


You're welcome. It's a recording I feel compelled to share with everyone when the subject of discussion suggests it. It strikes me as absolutely authentic and ideal Verdi singing, true to the score yet rhythmically free in the service of expression. I love the mournful coloration Amato produces by means of covering the tone, and the dynamic control, legato and portamento are exemplary of both technique and style. The thing is, only a rock-solid technique makes these expressive effects possible, and that's one reason we just don't hear men singing like this today. Given our extensive recorded legacy stretching right back to the days of Verdi's own singers, I can find no other good explanation of why singers shouldn't do these marvelous things with their voices.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Amato was the first Jack Rance. (The premiere cast was Destinn, Caruso, and Amato. No wonder it was Puccini's most successful premiere.) I'm just trying to imagine hearing Rance's music sung with that sense of line, shading, and flexibility. So often Rance is barked. All great opera, including verismo (which Fanciulla isn't really even though it's lumped in), should be sung with this bel canto technique.


That premiere must have been fabulous. I recall a photo of Caruso with a noose around his neck, and Destinn to the rescue.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

It is clear to me on first hearing that Merrill has no idea what he is singing and is in many places fluffing the Italian and, rather, making vaguely Italianate nonsense syllables. Not a bright singer. Immediately at the opening he sings "Alzati! Lá tuo figlio a te conced*e*" rather than "conced*o*" which is the proper first-person singular. But it gets much worse, as rather than "e lo trarrá il pugnale" he sings something that sounds like "tra la la lera". And so on. He also seems to have gone to the Richard Tucker School of Vocal Dramaturgy, inserting a bunch of jerks, sobs, fits, and starts rather than actually singing the drama (and much contrast: hatred for his friend's betrayal and the emptiness of his heart, longing for "lost sweetness") inherent in the text.

Bastianini, a native Italian by the sound of it, actually narrates a story with considerable mastery and more contrast than I expected. No questions, hands-down a better interpretation than the Merrill version.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I'm afraid I'm spoiled forever with "Eri tu." It's my misfortune (?) that the very first time I heard this aria, about 50 years ago, before I knew _Ballo_ at all, was in a 1914 recording by Pasquale Amato. After reading Conrad Osborne's very astute and detailed analysis of various baritones from the 1910s to the 1960s singing this, I ran out and bought an Amato collection, and this is what I heard:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Goodness, yes! That portamento and the overall tone of resignation and sadness. Yet sung with a level of technical perfection all but lost today. Very impressive.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I agree that the competition is incredibly close here. Merrill has the more beautiful voice and a more open sound in general, however Bastianini has a greater command of the text and is more expressive, so Bastianini won this one for me.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I'm going to make a stab at this. Both are better than anyone today. Really hard to pick. Merrill has much more of an American sound and a brighter more youthful quality to me. They both have ridiculously beautiful and well trained voices. Emotional involvement from both. I am going to give a slight edge to Bastianini because his tonal quality is so arresting to me. Hope I did okay. I'm branching out more with male singers in my golden years.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I'm branching out more with male singers in my golden years.


So that's what getting old is called! Lately I'm finding it takes longer in the morning to start feeling golden. Some days I get no farther than aluminum or pewter.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> So that's what getting old is called! Lately I'm finding it takes longer in the morning to start feeling golden. Some days I get no farther than aluminum or pewter.


You not only super bright but notably witty! Happy Holiday, sir! I call them golden for me because I've never been happier than now and because I have been living in the most ideal senior housing with great rent and wonderful people for the past 3 years and should be able to spend the rest of my days here. I even have an opera buddy in the building!!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> You not only super bright but notably witty! Happy Holiday, sir! I call them golden for me because I've never been happier than now and because I have been living in the most ideal senior housing with great rent and wonderful people for the past 3 years and should be able to spend the rest of my days here. *I even have an opera buddy in the building!!!*


Holy crap! I live in senior housing too but I doubt that anyone here cares about opera. In fact no one anywhere I've lived since 1980 has cared about opera. If I thought I could stand Seattle's weather again I'd turn in my application. I'm happy for you though.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I’m fascinated and a bit saddened by the thought that bright, intelligent and witty people such as Woodduck and Seattle are living in senior housing. I assume and hope it is by choice. I’ve told my wife that I’ll go into what we call sheltered accommodation here only if I am completely infirm and can’t look after myself. I won’t tell you her reply but it indicated that I might be there already given how little I do about the house! You guys take care and hopefully we will all get out of this horrendous situation soon. I like this thread btw.

My good lady sends her regards and Christmas wishes to those whom she refers to as “my little sad musical friends”. We had words. Mostly hers!:lol:


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm fascinated and a bit saddened by the thought that bright, intelligent and witty people such as Woodduck and Seattle are living in senior housing. I assume and hope it is by choice. I've told my wife that I'll go into what we call sheltered accommodation here only if I am completely infirm and can't look after myself. I won't tell you her reply but it indicated that I might be there already given how little I do about the house! You guys take care and hopefully we will all get out of this horrendous situation soon. I like this thread btw.
> 
> My good lady sends her regards and Christmas wishes to who she refers to as "my little sad musical friends". We had words. Mostly hers!:lol:


Sheltered housing in the UK is not what you might think. My mother, who, at 97, now has dementia and lives in a care home, moved to what we would call sheltered housing when she was in her seventies. She was alone, having been widowed at the age of 47. She had her own flat (which she owned) and was completely self sufficient, with the added reassurance that, should she need it, help was just an emergency alarm bell away. For most of the time she was there, her busy social life went on as normal. It was only when dementia started to take its toll in her mid nineties that she had to move into a home. My partner's grandmother, who is 103, also lives in a flat in sheltered housing. A fiercely independent woman, she too lives alone in a very nicely appointed flat, but again with help is at hand should she ever need it. She is fortunate that her son, my partner's father, lives close by, so has someone to do her shopping, but she is still incredibly active. Sheltered housing is not the same as a care home and can provide a sense of community that older people don't get when living elsewhere.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Don't feel sorry for me!!!!!!!!!






My apartment is twice the size of my old one, I have plenty of room, the building is very well taken care of and I have it decorated like a gay man who lives with his grandmother. All that plus the best view in the city on our deck and I pay the same rent I paid when I moved here 35 years ago to Seattle. Daily card games and tons of friends in the building.






What you can't see are my turntable and the huge collection of vintage opera LP's I was given this fall with TONS of Sutherland!!!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

^^^ Like Seattleoperafan, I'm quite content in my living situation, which is basic but meets all my practical needs. The only difference between this sort of senior housing and any other comparable accommodation is that my rent is based on a percentage of my income under a federal program. The US has two such programs, under two different agencies, HUD (urban) and USDA (rural); some places utilize both subsidies. I think an amalgamation of all housing subsidies under one agency would be more efficient, but the present arrangement isn't too difficult to navigate. Places under these programs vary quite a bit in what they offer; this one offers little but a simple apartment, while some offer activity programs, exercise rooms, and other amenities. I've lived in several others, but my present apartment is roomy, with a pleasing floor plan. I'm fortunate to occupy a second-floor unit at the end of a wing, giving me an extra window and a panoramic view of the mountains that border our lovely valley. Life under Covid is a bit lonely, but I do have a comfortable nest, which is more than many have right now.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I’m pleased that two of my favourite TC compatriots are doing fine and living a comfortable life even in these desperately trying times. I’m not sure if I hadn’t met my wife when I did, after being divorced and having just turned forty, I would have survived as a single person. I was feeling extremely sorry for my self back then and who knows how my life might have turned out. As it happens I have a very contented life with a six year old granddaughter that is the light of our lives since we didn’t think it would ever happen. Stay safe everyone and have a super Xmas. Here’s to a great 2021 with lots of fantastic music to listen to. Sorry about ending with a preposition!!:lol:


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> ^^^ Like Seattleoperafan, I'm quite content in my living situation, which is basic but meets all my practical needs. The only difference between this sort of senior housing and any other comparable accommodation is that my rent is based on a percentage of my income under a federal program. The US has two such programs, under two different agencies, HUD (urban) and USDA (rural); some places utilize both subsidies. I think an amalgamation of all housing subsidies under one agency would be more efficient, but the present arrangement isn't too difficult to navigate. Places under these programs vary quite a bit in what they offer; this one offers little but a simple apartment, while some offer activity programs, exercise rooms, and other amenities. I've lived in several others, but my present apartment is roomy, with a pleasing floor plan. I'm fortunate to occupy a second-floor unit at the end of a wing, giving me an extra window and a panoramic view of the mountains that border our lovely valley. Life under Covid is a bit lonely, but I do have a comfortable nest, which is more than many have right now.


I wish you could send me a photo of that view. You are in Ashland, correct? I think of it as warmer and drier than Seattle.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I wish you could send me a photo of that view. You are in Ashland, correct? I think of it as warmer and drier than Seattle.


Ashland is warmer than Seattle in summer and colder in winter, as befits its inland location and higher elevation (about 1000', I think). We benefit from the moderating Pacific air but are sheltered from much of the precip we'd have without a broad mountain barrier, while the coast directly west is very wet and generally cool year-round. Unlike Puget Sound ducks, Woodduck rarely goes more than a day or two without seeing the sun, even at this time of year. For those who like the contrasting feel and color of four seasons, ours are distinct but never extreme. I know I sound like a chamber of commerce, but the climate really is exceptional here.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Don't feel sorry for me!!!!!!!!!
> View attachment 147729
> My apartment is twice the size of my old one, I have plenty of room, the building is very well taken care of and I have it decorated like a gay man who lives with his grandmother. All that plus the best view in the city on our deck and I pay the same rent I paid when I moved here 35 years ago to Seattle. Daily card games and tons of friends in the building.
> View attachment 147730
> What you can't see are my turntable and the huge collection of vintage opera LP's I was given this fall with TONS of Sutherland!!!!


Your home looks fab-u-lous! Can I come and live with you? I'm almost house-trained!:lol:


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Barbebleu said:


> Your home looks fab-u-lous! Can I come and live with you? I'm almost house-trained!:lol:


If you come here drop by. It is just a studio, though. I have many passions but interior design is near the top. I do a daily feature on Facebook of interiors I pick out and I have about 10 different friends that critique the rooms and some get really, really bitchy LOL. I also used to be a garden designer with a garden that got in many magazines and now I obsessively photograph gardens and often I get over a hundred likes on Facebook per photo on some groups. I also have 40 Youtube videos of my Toastmaster speeches with over 60000 views. My mother encouraged my brother and me to have lots of interests. She gets the credit.


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