# Tenor Rene Kollo....Opinions?



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

What do you think of this singer?
:tiphat:


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

I'm no opera buff, nor do I know what makes a good singer from a not so good one. But when I listen to my CDs that have Kollo on them, they go very well indeed. e.g. Parsifal (Kegel et al), Meistersingers (Karajan et al), Lohengrin and so on.

I think I like the sound of his voice


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## Music Snob (Nov 14, 2018)

Here is my own amateur take- 

Comparing Parsifal 1954 (live) with Wolfgang Windgassen and Parsifal 1970 (studio) with Rene Kollo, I have to say I much prefer Kollo’s timbre and inflection.

However, after listing to both versions probably hundreds of times, I’ve actually come to think that Kollo would never be able to pull off what Windgassen could in a live setting over all of those instruments.
I think in front of a microphone he is great, but I’m not convinced he is a workhorse on stage. I could be totally wrong though. Others know way more than me.


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## 1846 (Sep 1, 2021)

I've been listening to him in the Solti _Tannhauser_ this month, and I have several other recordings with him on my shelves. Very competent, serviceable tenor in demanding, mostly German roles. Not a big superstar, but very highly regarded and well-known as an artist.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

He's on my Bartered Bride and sings it very well but the tone doesn't sound like a top shelf big time tenor....hold Wunderlich as the standard and he doesn't sound anywhere near that good. BUUUUUTTTTTTT......He was the Lohengrin when the Met opened a new production in the seventies and I thought he was phenomenal. Gorgeous voice used with great style and commitment. Really one of my all time great tenor performances.

So my take is, a great tenor with a somewhat un-photogenic voice....based, however, on only two examples.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

I confess that I'm not a huge Kollo fan. The voice sounds too small and nasal as recorded, and as such he pretty much ruins Solti's Tannhauser and is a major blot on his Parsifal. He's more tolerable on Karajan's second Meistersinger, although he's no match for Heppner, Seiffert, or Konya. His Emperor in Die Frau ohne Schatten with Sawallisch is dreadful; it's a tough part, but that's no excuse for that kind of caterwauling.

I do really admire one of his recordings. Oddly, one of Wagner's most difficult roles, the young Siegfried, suited him surprisingly well when he recorded it with Janowski around 1980. He's not as good, although still acceptable, a decade or so later on the Sawallisch Ring cycle.


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## benyonge59 (Jun 6, 2020)

"Timbre and inflection" is spot on. I can't listen to any other recording of Das Land des Lachelns.


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