# Placido Domingo's Wagner singing.............



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

How do you feel about it?
Like it? Not?

As a Wagner fan, I didn't like it at first, but I have come to like it a lot.

You?
:tiphat:


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

Quite good but not memorable..


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## expat (Mar 17, 2013)

Really struggling with his German in the Sinopoli Tannhaueser


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

expat said:


> Really struggling with his German in the Sinopoli Tannhaueser


I struggle with Tannhauser with or without Domingo.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I think he sounds too fluffy. I prefer harsher voices for Wagner.


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## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

have to admit i liked him in that Vienna production of _Lohengrin_ under Abbado circa late 1980s.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

I like him in Meistersinger, Lohengrin and Tannhauser, works fine for me. Not that my recommendation is needed.

Is there a list of roles he has sung and/or recorded?


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## AndyS (Dec 2, 2011)

I quite like his Tannhauser. His Tristan under Pappano wasn't bad either. He's not particularly idiomatic and he's not the best you'll hear in any of these roles but he's fine enough


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Only heard him as Lohengrin with Cheryl Studer and I enjoyed the performance very much.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Has there ever been a more over-rated tenor than Placido Domingo? Pavorotti in his prime ran rings around him.

Wagner and Domingo? Go back and listen to Melchior.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

hpowders said:


> Has there ever been a more over-rated tenor than Placido Domingo? Pavorotti in his prime ran rings around him.
> 
> Wagner and Domingo? Go back and listen to Melchior.


Well, I'm too young to have heard Pavarotti in his prime, but I have experienced both him and Domingo on recordings/videos and it seems to me that it depended on the role which one was "better." For instance, I don't think I'd be able to enjoy Domingo as the Duke of Mantua in RIGOLETTO; as far as I'm concerned, it's Pavarotti's role, and the same is true for Rodolfo in LA BOHEME. On the other hand, I have a very, very hard time imagining Pavarotti as Otello (even though I know he sang it in a concert verson) or as Hoffmann, or in any German opera. I do enjoy Pavarotti as Rodolfo in LUISA MILLER, though for me Domingo has just a bit of an edge in that one. And I wouldn't call Domingo overrated but rather overexposed. He's always been one of my favorite tenors; it just seems to me that there were times when he was stretched too far, so to speak, and given assignments on recordings that would have been more apt for other tenors.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

hpowders said:


> Has there ever been a more over-rated tenor than Placido Domingo? Pavorotti in his prime ran rings around him.
> 
> Wagner and Domingo? Go back and listen to Melchior.


I certainly wouldn't say that. His Caveradossi in Tosca for Levine was fabulous - one of the best. For Otello take Domingo any time. Just depends what the role was. Certainly Domingo has proved one of the most versatile singers ever. And as for comparing him with Melchior? Surely somewhat unfair as Melchior is almost universally reckoned to be the greatest ever Wagner tenor. Perhaps compare Domingo and Melchior singing Pinkerton might be a fairer comparison!


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Bellinilover said:


> On the other hand, I have a very, very hard time imagining Pavarotti as Otello (even though I know he sang it in a concert verson) or as Hoffmann, or in any German opera.


Yeah, Pavarotti's Otello studio recording is pretty ridiculous in my opinion. And to think that Corelli didn't sing Otello because he thought that his voice wasn't dramatic enough for the role (!), kinda shows how Corelli was the humble guy in reality.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

When I heard Domingo's recording of Tristan, I could only think that Wagner, who admired the Italian-trained singers of his day, would have been delighted to hear his music sung with such clarity, line, and tonal beauty. Sometime around mid-century we got used to big beefy Germans with dark, leathery voices in Wagner's tenor roles - not to mention sopranos with similarly ponderous voices - and decided that that sort of sound was "idiomatic" for Wagner. Well, Franz Volker and Frida Leider weren't beefy and ponderous, and I doubt that the Schnorr von Carolsfelds were either (except visually!). Perhaps because I'm not German, Domingo's slight accent doesn't bother me a bit.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> When I heard Domingo's recording of Tristan, I could only think that Wagner, who admired the Italian-trained singers of his day, would have been delighted to hear his music sung with such clarity, line, and tonal beauty. Sometime around mid-century we got used to big beefy Germans with dark, leathery voices in Wagner's tenor roles - not to mention sopranos with similarly ponderous voices - and decided that that sort of sound was "idiomatic" for Wagner. Well, Franz Volker and Frida Leider weren't beefy and ponderous, and I doubt that the Schnorr von Carolsfelds were either (except visually!). Perhaps because I'm not German, Domingo's slight accent doesn't bother me a bit.


Yes he sounds good as Tristan:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Sloe said:


> Yes he sounds good as Tristan:


This was an ealier recording, not part of the complete recording with Nina Stemme. The complete recording is better, and Stemme is better than Voigt.

Domingo was wise not to take on this role in the theater.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

His Lohengrin with Solti is excellent. That being said, Lohengrin is technically one of Wagner's earlier operas, so it doesn't require the same kind of heft as some of the later roles.

Domingo seems, on the whole, better suited for these earlier, more "Italienate" roles because they're closer to his specialization. I haven't heard his Tristan yet but I doubt that it would convince me otherwise.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Celloman said:


> His Lohengrin with Solti is excellent. That being said, Lohengrin is technically one of Wagner's earlier operas, so it doesn't require the same kind of heft as some of the later roles.
> 
> Domingo seems, on the whole, better suited for these earlier, more "Italienate" roles because they're closer to his specialization. I haven't heard his Tristan yet but I doubt that it would convince me otherwise.


Do listen to it though. On a recording the heft problem isn't a problem. As sheer vocalism, he beats any of the modern competition except Vickers, and his third act is quite deeply felt. The Stemme/Domingo/Pappano isn't my favorite _Tristan _recording, but I'm happy to have it.


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