# TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Corelli & Bastianini vs Kaufmann & Tezier



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Franco Corelli, Italy, 1921-2003

Ettore Bastianini, Italy, 1922-1967






Jonas Kaufmann, Germany, 1969-

Ludovic Tezier, France, 1968-






Who's singing did you prefer and why?

*the duets will come after the remaining voice types have had their tournaments


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

No contest - I've loved the Corelli-Bastianini for years - they've got those great voices, steeped in the Italian tradition, and they're beautiful! 
The modern pair do a good job and they've good voices, but I prefer the Italians.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

I also went for the Corelli-Bastianini. I agree that the modern pair aren't bad in any way, Corelli and Bastianini just have the better voices; this is particularly when Corelli hits the high notes. The only quibble I would have with the older recording is that Corelli's voice seems a decent bit larger than Bastianini whereas Kaufmann and Tezier are better matched (although they don't manage to tower over the orchestra as Corelli can).


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Bastianini and Corelli, in their vocal primes, have the edge. I was listening to the other pair without watching (which seems to me a good idea in these sing-offs), and I thought I was listening to two baritones. Kaufmann is an odd singer whom I sometimes like and sometimes don't, but I feel no need to discuss his quirks here. Bastianini and Corelli are the genuine article, and fortunately for the former the music of this scene calls for no subtleties.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Kaufmann and Tézier are certainly two of the best singers of recent times and they are very good here. It's just that Corelli and Bastianini are better, so a fairly easy choice.

Not that it affected my decision, but I hated the modern staging. It just seems completely at odds with Verdi's magnificent music.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Modern staging is horrendous. Kaufmann and Tézier are very good vocally and I would agree they sound almost as two baritones here. Still, no contest.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

The acting was kind of better in the second one although the chemistry between them seemed lacking, and in the first one Corelli looked at the director too often while Bastianini had a complete lack of acting at all. 
The second staging deficits were so off-putting and ridiculous that I had to try to put them out of my mind which left me to concentrate on the voices only. 
In the end, Bastianini and Corelli rose well above the other two for me so my vote goes to them.
(For some reason I can never get my sound high enough. I wonder if it's my sound box or just this particular website.)


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

MAS said:


> No contest - I've loved the Corelli-Bastianini for years - they've got those great voices, steeped in the Italian tradition, and they're beautiful!
> The modern pair do a good job and they've good voices, but I prefer the Italians.


I do get a certain pleasure and thrill from Kaufmann's high notes, though they're a little driven.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> I do get a certain pleasure and thrill from Kaufmann's high notes, though they're a little driven.


For me there's a pleasure in hearing so baritonal a voice reach them. Not quite the excitement of hearing Melchior's voice do the same, of course.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> For me there's a pleasure in hearing so baritonal a voice reach them.


I would find the top notes thrilling if the darkness wasn't artificial. I shall dub this the Leonard Warren effect. Dishonest singing lol


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> I would find the top notes thrilling if the darkness wasn't artificial. I shall dub this the Leonard Warren effect. Dishonest singing lol


Kaufmann's own ideas about the development of his technique are interesting. He seems to feel that the darkening of his timbre is what saved his voice from strain and burnout, and that it's therefore "natural" for him. I have to say that the voice is holding up well; he's 51 and, I believe, wobble free, unlike a majority of would-be dramatic tenors nowadays.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> Kaufmann's own ideas about the development of his technique are interesting. He seems to feel that the darkening of his timbre is what saved his voice from strain and burnout, and that it's therefore "natural" for him. I have to say that the voice is holding up well; he's 51 and, I believe, wobble free, unlike a majority of would-be dramatic tenors nowadays.


Yeah I remember reading a bit about that a while back and it was very interesting. I'll seek that out again. And if that's the case it's very impressive. But as you said he is darkening...and other tenors are darkening, and Netrebko's darkening, and Hvorostovsky's darkening (rip), and Tezier's darkening, and Abdrazakov is darkening, Nucci, Furlanetto...and now we've got an entire generation of bad dramatic singing because these are our "stars" and everyone's thinking 'this is how the dramatic rep is supposed to sound', including the teachers and singers coming up. I'm sure Kaufmann's teacher has done well since his pupil's ascension, but we know what that means. And I'm not blaming this all on Kaufmann, who darkens more effectively than the rest, but this kind of singing has got to go. I'm sorry Kaufmann fans, but I can't accept what's happening to this art form. So we better come up with a vaccine because it's an systemic epidemic in a pandemic. I wish I knew more emics, but I'm not an academic...


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> Yeah I remember reading a bit about that a while back and it was very interesting. I'll seek that out again. And if that's the case it's very impressive. But as you said he is darkening...and other tenors are darkening, and Netrebko's darkening, and Hvorostovsky's darkening (rip), and Tezier's darkening, and Abdrazakov is darkening, Nucci, Furlanetto...and now we've got an entire generation of bad dramatic singing because these are our "stars" and everyone's thinking 'this is how the dramatic rep is supposed to sound', including the teachers and singers coming up. I'm sure Kaufmann's teacher has done well since his pupil's ascension, but we know what that means. And I'm not blaming this all on Kaufmann, who darkens more effectively than the rest, but this kind of singing has got to go. I'm sorry Kaufmann fans, but I can't accept what's happening to this art form. So we better come up with a vaccine because it's an systemic epidemic in a pandemic. I wish I knew more emics, but I'm not an academic...


Although I agree with much of what you said, I must think twice when it comes to Netrebko. I doubt that she purposely has darkened her voice. I think it's more likely that at the menopause stage it simply has just started to happen naturally.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

Both are excellent pairs. I have this theory that certain tenors and baritones are made for each other, their voices just blend beautifully. Bastianini and Corelli, Carreras and Cappuccilli, Domingo (back when he didn't suck) and Milnes, Kaufmann and Tézier, Kwiecien and Polenzani. They all seem to have special chemistry (although Kaufmann has it with Hampson too).

This is especially important for Don Carlo, Forza, Roberto Devereux, Eugene Onegin and Pearl Fishers, where the tenor/baritone relationships are super intense. Ballo too to a degree but they have no duet there.

That run-slide attack by Jonas is still so impressive  And Ludovic's Carlo is so ECSTATIC about being threatened with a blade. :lol:


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

For me, Corelli and Bastianini.

I know I must be missing something re Kaufmann and Tezier. Tezier makes no impression whatever on me. With Kaufmann he makes an impression...I just don't like what I hear: There are times between the graininess of his sound and the curtness of his phrasing I don't think I've heard a less mellifluous sound in this music. They are not helped by very leaden tempi - at times it practically grinds to a halt.

Rather unexpectedly, Corelli and Bastianini's metallic and vibrant voices sound practically _honeyed_ by comparison.

Corelli's voice stands out in this company both in terms of volume and vocal glamour. They do not make anything especially novel out of this scene but they did not miss any of the opportunities offered them.

Comparisons with some ancient records like Caruso/Amato and Martinelli/De Luca suggest there is more to this music than even Corelli/Bastianini reveal but we have heard precious little to compare with them since, perhaps with the exception of Tucker/Merrill and that inspired performance at Bing's Farewell.


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