# Round 2 Parigi O Cara: Gheorghiu/ Alagna, Gruberova/ Schicoff, Fleming/ Calleja



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)




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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I’m torn between the Love Couple and Shicoff/Grubrerova. I like Calleja but my antipathy to Fleming puts that pairing out. 

I could murder the one who filmed the Alagnas for the unsteady camera that made me queasy. I also listened to them without the picture so Roberto’s cuteness wouldn’t sway me. I can’t say they did anything wrong, apart from his penchant to occasionally sing above the note. I liked her dress, she always dresses like a prima donna should. She also sings very well, and matches his ardor.

That the Shicoff version is from a staged performance helps quite a bit, and Shicoff does his usual fine job of embodying the character and singing the crap out if it (this is good). Gruberova, who I don’t usually respond to, was affecting and her lines beautifully sung with careful attention to dynamics - this is not to say Angela didn’t - and the action complemented the vocals. 

As I said, I like Calleja, who usually sings like the singers of yesteryear but Fleming… (shudder). 

I suppose I’d give it to Shicoff/Gruberova since they touched me more. But if Calleja had a different soprano, I’d vote for him, because he is so good.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

My favorite pairing is Fleming and Calleja. I enjoyed Gheorgiu as much or more than Fleming but after listening to a few of these I was ready for Flemings more overt response. I did not find her over the top.Calleja had a few weird phrases but overall is just perfect for the piece and I thought sang it very well. Sorry Nina but I do not like Neal Shicoff. He just sounds like he has a technique where he requires too much force to keep the sound going and that accounts for, to me, lots of strange sounds. Gruberova I thought was affecting but the singing technique really to me seems strange… Phrases so unsupported here and there that they almost Sounded like a pop singer. I think if Alagna had studied voice he could’ve been a great opera singer.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Any competition that begins with Tito Schipa (in the first of yesterday's trio of performances) is likely to have a hard time impressing me thereafter. These three tenors are a diverse group, as are their sopranos. None of them really satisfy me. 

Alagna and Gheorghiu give a rather standard "concert performance" - nothing bad, nothing notable. I do like a slightly slower initial tempo; this feels a little too waltzy. Gheorghiu, in the interest of expression, modifies it a little when she's singing alone. 

Schicoff and Gruberova are the most interesting pair, both of them working hard to dramatize the piece. As part of a whole theatrical experience this may work reasonably well, but Schicoff wreaks havoc on the musical line with his word-by-word emphases (and does he always make love wearing glasses?). Gruberova gets Violetta's illness into her voice, which is fine. But this team isn't for listening.

Calleja is very tender, if a little tentative-sounding; I hear him carefully producing (generally pleasing) tone rather than abandoning himself to the music. Fleming is...Fleming. The woman who can't just sing a thing without doing stuff to it.

Though Alagna and Gheorghiu don't move me, neither do they offend me. I find I have to vote for them.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

ScottK said:


> ...
> I think if Alagna had studied voice he could've been a great opera singer.


Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Becca said:


> Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!


Not as mean as all that Becca! When he made his splash the word was that he was self taught. He has a fine voice, artistic intentions and is one of the leading tenors of his day. I just don't think he made it into the Upper pantheon and I think he would have had he trained his instrument more.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I knew this would get a diverse reaction. I wish I could have had Alagna and wife from an opera as opposed to a recital performance. I chose the one where they were the youngest. Schicoff I chose for Nina. I have questionable taste sometimes but i like Fleming better than most people here. Sometimes if I like a singer as a person like I do Renee I give them more slack.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

None of these completely satisfied, though all of them have something to commend them.

Of the tenors, I liked Calleja best, while noting Woodduck's critique that he sounds a little too careful. I saw this Fleming/Calleja partnership in this production at Covent Garden, and he was the most impressive thing in it. He didn't sound at all tentative in the first and second acts, so maybe his reticence here is an attempt at solicitude that doesn't quite come off. Fleming overdoes everything, as indeed she did in the earlier acts. Her Violetta moved me not one jot.

Shicoff and Gruberova probably worked better in the theatre as part of a complete performance. Gruberova overacted a bit at first, but calmed down for the _Parigi o cara_ section and was actually quite touching. I appreciated her attempt at a slighty sick tone too. Shicoff's vocal production bothered me a bit, but he acted the part well.

It's hard to compare these to the Gheorghiu/Alagna coupling, as they are singing in concert, the duet completely divorced from its dramatic setting - and this comes across as very much a concert performance. They both look and sound lovely.

So where does that leave me? Completely undecided is where it leads me, that's where.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Tsaraslondon said:


> *Of the tenors, I liked Calleja best, while noting Woodduck's critique that he sounds a little too careful. I saw this Fleming/Calleja partnership in this production at Covent Garden, and he was the most impressive thing in it. He didn't sound at all tentative in the first and second acts, so maybe his reticence here is an attempt at solicitude that doesn't quite come off. *
> 
> The first time I saw Calleja it was in Lucia and in the last act it was much the same. The aria proper was definitely on the tentative side but he opened up some for the Tu che a dio. The tentativeness that you guys are picking up on, I'm guessing, may be part of his make up.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Surprise, surprise, surprise.
First of all, I decided not to even bother voting on the basis of the sopranos who were all equally fine.
I am a tenor lover first and I had to concentrate on their voices to pull the couple through.
As many already know, I adore Shicoff's voice and expected it to be a no brainer. Well, I was wrong. I closed my eyes and listened to the voices and I instantly chose Calleja who has that golden age sound I so love. So there it is.
When I finally decided to look at their performances, I thought that "the Bobbsey Twins"were doing their glamor bit and were more intrerested in how they looked than anything else.
I also found Fleming to be over-acting, but Gruberova and Shicoff were the most believable and sincere.
Still, that voice of Calleja's won out over all.

(BTW: Shicoff has no first "c" in his name. Only 1 "c" please.)


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

ScottK said:


> Tsaraslondon said:
> 
> 
> > *Of the tenors, I liked Calleja best, while noting Woodduck's critique that he sounds a little too careful. I saw this Fleming/Calleja partnership in this production at Covent Garden, and he was the most impressive thing in it. He didn't sound at all tentative in the first and second acts, so maybe his reticence here is an attempt at solicitude that doesn't quite come off. *
> ...


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