# Round One: Non piangere, Liu. Piccaver, Oehman, Merli



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)




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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Well this one was tough because none of them were my idea of the aria. Piccaver sings too much in the mask for me - the sound is too nasal.
Oehman sounds like he was singing in another language (German?) and I really require Puccini's Italian sound in this aria. 
So by default, Merli wins the crown.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Well this one was tough because none of them were my idea of the aria. Piccaver sings too much in the mask for me - the sound is too nasal.
> Oehman sounds like he was singing in another language (German?) and I really require Puccini's Italian sound in this aria.
> So by default, Merli wins the crown.


Yes, German. Everything was sung in native languages till after mid 20th century.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Didn’t like Piccaver - nina foresti is right - he’s unbearable, sings through his nose most of the time. 

I liked the Swedish Oehns, but only Wunderlich can get away with singing Itslianin German and make it work (to my ears).

Merli has unclear diction, it seems he’s pronouncing the words, but in an effort to sing _legato, _slightly occludes the consonants. He wins, but by default.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Easy, Merli, my favourite Calaf.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

This is a diverse assortment. I've always been on the fence about Piccaver, a superb and stylish singer with impeccable legato whose timbre is just a bit too nasal for comfort, alhough that's more pronounced here than on some other recordings. His singing of this is impeccably smooth and without exaggeration, and he takes it at a perfect tempo, unlike the others who drag it out as if Liu were already dead.

Oehman, Nicolai Gedda's teacher, disappoints me after his miraculously expressive recording of the "flower song" from _Carmen _which was my introduction to him. The German doesn't help, and his expressive intentions don't quite add up to a coherent whole, especially at the dirgelike tempo.

Merli, a powerful dramatic tenor with a distinctive, and for me excessively tremulous, vibrato, offers the most authentic Puccini here, despite - have I mentioned this yet? - a mercilessly draggy tempo. Calaf was a signature role that suits him more or less ideally, and though I'd rather hear Bjorling or Corelli in the part I'll give him first place here.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I don't happen to mind vibrato -- as a matter of fact I find it appealing (as in Joseph Calleja) but Merli's was excessive.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I know what people mean about Piccaver's nasality, but I actually quite liked his version, though I preferred Merli, who got my vote. Didn't like the Oehns version. I agree with MAS, Wunderlich is the only singer I don't mind singing Italian opera in German.

Anyway, Merli wins easily.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> I don't happen to mind vibrato -- as a matter of fact I find it appealing (as in Joseph Calleja) but Merli's was excessive.


Of course vibrato is essential. We don't want singers who sound like factory sirens at lunch hour. But people do have differing tastes and tolerances in vibrato, as in everything. Calleja's is fast and narrow but not quite what Italians call _caprino_ ("goat-like"). Merli's is a bit goaty for my taste, but he was certainly a strong and important singer in dramatic roles such as Calaf, Otello and Chenier.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

Piccaver, for me.

Piccaver's legato is exceptional, singing like an artist. He does sound a bit like he's singing through clenched teeth but I don't know the mechanism: it doesn't impede the tone. Nice to hear a distinct performance.

Oehmann sounds a bit square and dull: could be the transfer but the voice sounds unsteady here.

Merli does not do it for me. If Piccaver is singing through slightly-gritted-teeth, Merli is girding his loins to breath at the slow pace. He is not too explosive and largely skirts sounding lachrymose: I'm impressed with how he manages the climax. I just find it a bit loud and wanting in imagination: his tone occasionally reminds of more characterful singers like Martinelli.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Revitalized Classics said:


> Piccaver, for me.
> 
> Piccaver's legato is exceptional, singing like an artist. He does sound a bit like he's singing through clenched teeth but I don't know the mechanism: it doesn't impede the tone. Nice to hear a distinct performance.


Nice to see a vote for Piccaver, even though I picked Merli. Piccaver's timbre may be a matter of taste, but he did indeed sing like an artist, one who left a large body of excellent recordings. He was a protege of Mattia Battistini and in the 1910s and '20s a popular star of the Vienna State Opera, where he performed leading roles.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Well, if there's one thing I've learned from all these contests, it's that I can't stand the voice of Piccaver, which sounds unpleasantly nasal to my ears. Is there a goose loose? Honk! Honk!

Oehman is new to me, so I was glad to give him a try. I'm impressed how he manages to sing in German with good legato and still has an italianate feel to his style. He does stray below the note at times, but there is much to admire here.

Now, Merli I do know (he was in the first complete recording of the opera - is this that version?) He is simply wonderful and I love the plangent tone of his voice. Surprisingly he doesn't completely overtake Oehman (who had more refinement).

Merli wins, but I'm intrigued to hear more Oehman.

N.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

I've chosen Oehman, a totally new name for me, because he was otherwise. His singing is tender, calm, non-hysterical, what is rarely seen in verismo, maybe a bit too slow, but it (and a wrong language) doesn't spoil it.


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