# Battle of the Opera Basses...



## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Here are 2 Bass arias:

One is sung by Mark Reizen and the other by Vladimir Matorin:











If my memory serves me Reizen was 75 when he sang the aria in the first posted video.

Matorin is in his 60ties in the second posted video. And Matorin is the lead bass at the Bolshoi here in Moscow?! So sad...Matorin wobbles all over the place. Compare Matorin with Reizen's tight and powerful rendition...Yeah, the aria is:Song of the Viking Guest by Rimski-Korsakov.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I doubt that Reizen was 75 in that recording. There's not a trace of aging audible in the voice.

Of course there's no contest here. This illustrates all too well the decline in vocal technique we've come to expect over the last couple of generations. Russia once produced some of the greatest singers in the world, exemplars of what was then called "Italian" technique, a term that had meaning back when Italy was also producing some of the greatest singers in the world.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Everyone gets old and some singers still want to sing even when they're way past their prime.

Wonderful to hear all the same.


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I doubt that Reizen was 75 in that recording. There's not a trace of aging audible in the voice.
> 
> Of course there's no contest here. This illustrates all too well the decline in vocal technique we've come to expect over the last couple of generations. Russia once produced some of the greatest singers in the world, exemplars of what was then called "Italian" technique, a term that had meaning back when Italy was also producing some of the greatest singers in the world.


Hi Woodduck,

Might you be familiar with what Reizen once said about Russia? "Russia - Country of Basses"

I take to heart your doubt about Reizen being 75 in the recording. There are plenty of "sources" that try to talk-up the prowess of singers in their senior years(70 and beyond). But instead of disparaging about the age of a singer we can focus on the artistry of the better singers that have elegantly performed whatever production they have participated in. A vocal pedagogue acquaintance of mine mentions that Matorin sings with a "vertical" voice whilst Reizen sings with a "horizontal" voice. The vertical voice does not project very well to the last row in the far end of the theatre, whilst the horizontal voice projects energy, phrasing, diction, and overall timbre excellently to the last row.


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

I think Reizen was 57 in that video as it appears to be from a 1952 recording.

Here he is at 90 - 90!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

This it totally astounding and frankly, it is actually more touching to me than even his younger, more vigorous stuff.
Did he ever perform at the Met?
As to singers in their 70's+ please do not doubt for one minute that there are some who just have youth written all over them including their vocal cords. My soprano mother died at almost 102 (with nary a wrinkle on her face) and although she finally developed a slight wobble in her 90's, I swear to you she never had a wobble at all before then and even in her 90's it was negligible. Magda Olivero is another example of superb voice control.

I don't doubt for one minute that handsome and dignified looking Mark Reizen had the goods to a ripe old age -- bless him.


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Admiral said:


> I think Reizen was 57 in that video as it appears to be from a 1952 recording.
> 
> Here he is at 90 - 90!


Yep,

Thats a classic video of Reizen - at 90 even. I saw it a year ago and I have shared with many astonished acquaintances.


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> This it totally astounding and frankly, it is actually more touching to me than even his younger, more vigorous stuff.
> Did he ever perform at the Met?
> As to singers in their 70's+ please do not doubt for one minute that there are some who just have youth written all over them including their vocal cords. My soprano mother died at almost 102 (with nary a wrinkle on her face) and although she finally developed a slight wobble in her 90's, I swear to you she never had a wobble at all before then and even in her 90's it was negligible. Magda Olivero is another example of superb voice control.
> 
> I don't doubt for one minute that handsome and dignified looking Mark Reizen had the goods to a ripe old age -- bless him.


I believe he never visited the Met but taught many vocalists for a few decades after retiring from the stage.


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