# The Four Best Singers in the World



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Caruso's quote about il Trovatore. Is what he said true? Is il Trovatore the opera above all others in terms of placing the highest demands on the singers for a successful performance?


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Caruso was being pretentious, and was making a broad and generic opinion about one particular opera, based on his observations, as well as the demands of HIS role in the opera.

Different roles will place different demands on different singers, all of which have different skills sets they bring to any particular role, song, or set of songs.

That said, if you were making a list, Il Trovatore probably would be very high on it.

But I think that you're taking his quote out of context. 

A successful performance of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” is relatively easy, according to Enrico Caruso. All that is needed are the four greatest singers in the world.

That is quite different than saying it is the most difficult to sing. He's simply saying that you can have a "successful" performance if you have the four greatest singers in the world.

For example, let's say that Meryl Streep said, "A successful performance of Edward Albee's “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is relatively easy. All that is needed are the four greatest actors in the world." While the roles are demanding, it doesn't mean that the roles really place "the highest demands on the actor's in order to have a successful performance".


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

pianozach said:


> Caruso was being pretentious, and was making a broad and generic opinion about one particular opera, based on his observations, as well as the demands of HIS role in the opera.
> 
> Different roles will place different demands on different singers, all of which have different skills sets they bring to any particular role, song, or set of songs.
> 
> ...


That said, what opera does actually place the highest demand on its singers?


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Bonetan said:


> That said, what opera does actually place the highest demand on its singers?


On singers or performers? In the latter case, I might opt for _Siegfried_ or _Salome_--operas which make extraordinary vocal demands on what are supposed to look like fit, attractive teenagers.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

amfortas said:


> On singers or performers? In the latter case, I might opt for _Siegfried_ or _Salome_--operas which make extraordinary vocal demands on what are supposed to look like fit, attractive teenagers.


No just the singers...


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tristan and Gotterdammerung would be top of my list for soprano and tenor. The nomination of Il Trovatore, along with several other Verdi operas such as Aida, really fit the bill for the statement in than you need all 4 voice part leads to be strong to really have a successful performance for a Verdi opera. I think the mention of Il Trovatore specifically could also mean that the plot is rather stupid, unlike most of Verdi's operas, but the vocal demand on the 4 principles requires singers to be at the very top of their game to pull it off. With four great singers you forget about the plot and revel in the vocal Olympics.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I agree with Caruso's thinking. It is harder to find 4 top of the heap talents than 3 in one opera.
I vote for _Adriana Lecouvreur_ with Olivero/Corelli/Bastianini/Simionato. Maybe not the most difficult opera but in terms of superlative talent you can't get much better than those 4. It's a home run.
I think that might be why he chose _Il trovatore_ because again what is needed are four top singers, and the opera itself has many more difficult arias to conquer.
I personally might add _Lucia di Lammermoor_ which also requires four outstanding singers, including the Mad scene which isn't exactly a piece of cake.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

_Les Troyens_ ... a heroic tenor who can do all 5 acts, two very different mezzos, a baritone and two basses, not to mention at least one more mezzo and throw in a pants-role soprano for good measure. And then there are the supporting roles!


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

It probably is a very tricky opera to cast.

If you have four or five star singers, it might be hard to convince them that this ensemble opera is their best choice.

The tenor part is very exposed but you are often the star of the show. However, if you can sing Leonora, might you not prefer to sing Violetta and be the star of that show? Similarly, if you are a real Verdi baritone then you've perhaps already enjoyed top billing as Rigoletto or Macbeth.

There are arguably more difficult individual roles out there for these voice types but as an ensemble the combination of weighty flexible voices is tricky. 

Is Aida even harder to cast? Gli Ugonotti asks for every voice type but is rarely performed. I Puritani is another ensemble making hellish demands. I've no doubt Wagnerians can make suggestions too.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

_Trovatore_ is intolerable to me without the four greatest singers in the world, which means that, since Ponselle, Shumann-Heink, Caruso and Battistini are dead, it's always intolerable to me.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Woodduck said:


> _Trovatore_ is intolerable to me without the four greatest singers in the world, which means that, since Ponselle, Shumann-Heink, Caruso and Battistini are dead, it's always intolerable to me.


Don't be so closed-minded. Give Claudia Muzio a chance!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

These days, for _Il Trovatore_, I can find only one soprano who can do the rôle of Leonora justice: Sondra Radvanovsky - and that was years ago. She had the vocal weight, color, _acuti_, flexibility, dramatic chops, the agility, trills, musicality, dynamic control, breath control, etc. to do justice to the rôle. Anja Harteros? 
I can't think of any tenors for Manrico today. Who is singing the role today who has the requisite qualifications? No tenor I I can name in the last 50 years had *all* of what was required. Even Corelli had his deficiencies, but he was the most exciting.
The only mezzo-soprano today I can name for Azucena, and that has surely passed her by, is Dolora Zajic. Or *I* must be past it! Fiorenza Cossotto was my ideal a couple or three decades ago. 
Do we have good baritones and basses who can sing Verdi (properly) these days? I haven't been reading of any. 
Suggestions?


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

Just having four great singers isn't enough - for a really good Trovatore, they need to be compatible and in balance. Quite often one person steals the show (and it's usually the mezzo).

Take the old Met version from '88. On paper you have four great names. In reality you have a shrieky Wagner soprano who has no business doing this (and sounds like Turandot), a great tenor who however looks 20 years older than his "mom" and can't act, an already-amazing young mezzo, and a great baritone slightly past his prime who can still get by on experience and skill. Add to that a very impractical set (that staircase looks dangerous as hell) and horrendous glittery costumes and you have a park-and-bark monstrosity.

If you compare to the 2015 Met version, the singer levels are varying but they are fairly balanced out and they are performing on a such a level of white-hot intensity it works better. (Also, it helps when Ferrando is good and not some aging comprimario.)

MAS: Tézier is one of the best Verdi baritones today. He's been filmed in a Paris and a Madrid production of Trovatore and he's scheduled next season for the Met, but do they choose him for HD? Naaaah! He could eat Kelsey for breakfast.






(the young bass here also does Ferrando regularly and he's quite good at it but my favourite is Kocán)

My dream cast today would be Harteros, Tézier, Rachvelishvili, and maybe? Castronovo. He hasn't done Manrico yet but he's a great singing actor and he managed to make Gabriele of all people sympathetic, so I trust he could make Manrico somewhat less punchable than he usually is.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

amfortas said:


> Don't be so closed-minded. Give Claudia Muzio a chance!


She had her chance. Addio del passato.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Bonetan said:


> That said, what opera does actually place the highest demand on its singers?


Well both Callas and Lilli Lehmann would have said *Norma*, and Lehmann said something along the lines of it being easier to sing all three Brünnhildes in one night than one Norma. As she did indeed sing all these roles on stage, she should have known.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Well both Callas and Lilli Lehmann would have said *Norma*, and Lehmann said something along the lines of it being easier to sing all three Brünnhildes in one night than one Norma. As she did indeed sing all these roles on stage, she should have known.


You're speaking of the title role only? How are the other roles in difficulty?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Bonetan said:


> You're speaking of the title role only? How are the other roles in difficulty?


Very true, though Pollione seems quite hard to cast. It really needs a heroic voice with a florid technique and a good top C.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Very true, though Pollione seems quite hard to cast. It really needs a heroic voice with a florid technique and a good top C.


Interesting, I can hardly think of even one Pollione in the last few decades who had a florid technique. Mostly forceful voices, off the top of my head: Del Monaco, Corelli, Alexander, Vickers, Mauro, Fillipeschi, Pavarotti, Todorovich, Domingo, Giacomini??


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Becca said:


> _Les Troyens_ ... a heroic tenor who can do all 5 acts, two very different mezzos, a baritone and two basses, not to mention at least one more mezzo and throw in a pants-role soprano for good measure. And then there are the supporting roles!


Speight Jenkins's secretary, who I knew, told me he loved the opera but that it was way too difficult to cast and produce to put on in Seattle, when he was general director ( he is
irreplacable).


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Becca said:


> _Les Troyens_ ... a heroic tenor who can do all 5 acts, two very different mezzos, a baritone and two basses, not to mention at least one more mezzo and throw in a pants-role soprano for good measure. And then there are the supporting roles!


One of my favourite operas, which I despair of ever hearing adequately cast. My dream cast would go something like this.

Énée - Georges Thill
Cassandre - Maria Callas (alternating with Janet Baker)
Didon - Janet Baker (alternating with Maria Callas)
Chorèbe - Gérard Souzay
Narbal - Pol Plançon
Iopas - Juan Diego Florez
Ascagne - Mady Mesplé
Anna - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Hylas - Fritz Wunderlich

Sir Colin Davis to conduct the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in a production by Luchino Visconti. with designs by Nicola Benois.

I can dream, can't I?


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I recently saw a greeting card which went approximately like this ... Do what you dream of ... unless it's being younger or casting Les Troyens, in which case you are scr***d.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

MAS said:


> These days, for _Il Trovatore_, I can find only one soprano who can do the rôle of Leonora justice: Sondra Radvanovsky - and that was years ago. She had the vocal weight, color, _acuti_, flexibility, dramatic chops, the agility, trills, musicality, dynamic control, breath control, etc. to do justice to the rôle. Anja Harteros?
> I can't think of any tenors for Manrico today. Who is singing the role today who has the requisite qualifications? No tenor I I can name in the last 50 years had *all* of what was required. Even Corelli had his deficiencies, but he was the most exciting.
> The only mezzo-soprano today I can name for Azucena, and that has surely passed her by, is Dolora Zajic. Or *I* must be past it! Fiorenza Cossotto was my ideal a couple or three decades ago.
> Do we have good baritones and basses who can sing Verdi (properly) these days? I haven't been reading of any.
> Suggestions?


Agree about Sondra. Speaking of baritones, don't overlook Lucic. Just watch him and his body language. He brings excitement to his roles.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

MAS said:


> Interesting, I can hardly think of even one Pollione in the last few decades who had a florid technique. Mostly forceful voices, off the top of my head: Del Monaco, Corelli, Alexander, Vickers, Mauro, Fillipeschi, Pavarotti, Todorovich, Domingo, Giacomini??


That hyped recording with Bartoli had John Osborn who was meant to be a bit different. I wasn't really sold on it.

A voice which might have worked was Frank Lopardo, I don't know if he ever sang it. The combination of darkish voice and flexibility is pretty scarce.

As with all this rep, historically someone like de Lucia or Jadlowker would have been interesting to hear but I'm guessing even at that date if there had been any revivals heavyweights like Tamagno or Escalais or Caruso would probably have been chosen.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Revitalized Classics said:


> The combination of darkish voice and flexibility is pretty scarce.
> 
> As with all this rep, historically someone like de Lucia or Jadlowker would have been interesting to hear but I'm guessing even at that date if there had been any revivals heavyweights like Tamagno or Escalais or Caruso would probably have been chosen.


I don't know about Tamagno or Escalais, but Caruso actually had great flexibility as well as power and a dark timbre, as you can hear in his perfect cadenza at the end of "la donna e mobile" and his fine trill in "ombra mai fu."











And have you heard the young Jon Vickers in _Messiah?_


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

nina foresti said:


> Agree about Sondra. Speaking of baritones, don't overlook Lucic. Just watch him and his body language. He brings excitement to his roles.


I'm stil unable to put my finger on what I dislike about Lucic's voice, but I find myself avoiding his performances. I have a feeling he sounds much better live. I don't enjoy his singing on the Met broadcast, but with all the work he gets he must be very good.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

MAS said:


> Interesting, I can hardly think of even one Pollione in the last few decades who had a florid technique. Mostly forceful voices, off the top of my head: Del Monaco, Corelli, Alexander, Vickers, Mauro, Fillipeschi, Pavarotti, Todorovich, Domingo, Giacomini??


The tenor who created the rôle of Pollione, Domenico Donzelli, did not have a florid technique. He was considered a _tenore di forza_ in his day.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I don't know about Tamagno or Escalais, but Caruso actually had great flexibility as well as power and a dark timbre, as you can hear in his perfect cadenza at the end of "la donna e mobile" and his fine trill in "ombra mai fu."
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Jon Vickers did in fact sing Pollione, to Caballé's Norma in Orange, though he omitted the top C. Callas, who had loved working with him in *Medea*, had asked him to sing it in Paris when she did her last Normas, but he declined saying he was worried about the top C.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

Woodduck said:


> I don't know about Tamagno or Escalais, but Caruso actually had great flexibility as well as power and a dark timbre, as you can hear in his perfect cadenza at the end of "la donna e mobile" and his fine trill in "ombra mai fu."
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, Caruso was very accomplished in those selections. Perhaps I'm being unfair: I suspected that the extrovert Domine Deus might give a clue to the mighty sound he might have made in Pollione's rhythmic aria





I'm thinking that Carlo Albani's early version with his interpolations and rhythmic freedom might give an idea of what is considered (rightly or wrongly) missing in plainer modern versions.





Unfortunately it tends to be a part where even a Lauri-Volpi, Domingo or Pavarotti isn't caught on top form.

I agree Vickers is also very accomplished in Messiah with Beecham but by the time he was singing with Caballe in the 1970s, his Pollione is arguably more notable for it's anguish and by virtue of his massive powerful voice.

I haven't heard a Pollione who could phrase as artfully as their Norma, the closest being Corelli on career-best form with Serafin during that short spell when he was also singing Poliuto, due to sing Raoul and possibly eyeing Arnoldo in Guglielmo Tell if memory serves.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

Bonetan said:


> I'm stil unable to put my finger on what I dislike about Lucic's voice, but I find myself avoiding his performances. I have a feeling he sounds much better live. I don't enjoy his singing on the Met broadcast, but with all the work he gets he must be very good.


His voice really grates on my nerves and I can't exactly pinpoint why either. Even long ago in the Bregenz Trovatore. And it's not that he can't sing, he certainly can. It's something weird about the timbre.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Revitalized Classics said:


> I haven't heard a Pollione who could phrase as artfully as their Norma, the closest being Corelli on career-best form with Serafin


I wonder how much that had to do with Serafin. He certainly is on his best behaviour on that recording. I have a double disc Corelli set, the material taken from various recital discs and complete sets. It's evident that he was at his best when there was a strong hand at the helm.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I saw the Met broadcast of Handel's Agrippina on Saturday. You need quite a few of the best singers for that!

It was an off the cuff remark by Caruso which caught the imagination. You could say it of every opera. Actually you need a good dramatic conductor too.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

your question doesn't match your OP. I'll answer both
4 Greatest Singers
living: Saioa Hernandez, Samuel Ramey, Jennifer Larmore, Ewa Podles
ever (including living): Joan Sutherland, Elena Obraztsova, Helen Traubel, Samuel Ramey (this is more or less a random sample of around the top 20 or so whom are difficult to compare at that point. choosing only 4 feels forced)



> Caruso's quote about il Trovatore. Is what he said true? Is il Trovatore the opera above all others in terms of placing the highest demands on the singers for a successful performance?


...not by a longshot. Norma, Elektra, Macbeth, Nabucco and the Ring all blow Trovatore out of the water. even among Verdi's works alone, there are several more difficult operas. I second *pianozach*'s sentiment that Caruso was being pretentious.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Since nobody seems to know who Caruso said this to, or why he said it, isn't it best not to read ulterior motives into it? Caruso wasn't known for being "pretentious," but he _was_ known to be funny, generous, and kind to colleagues and younger singers. I see him sitting in his favorite Italian restaurant after a performance, having spaghetti and chianti with his costars Ponselle, Schumann-Heink and Ruffo, and Ruffo says, "Well, it went well, didn't it? Rosa, cara bambina, you were magnifica!" Young Rosa blushes, smiles, and looks at Caruso, who takes her hand in his and says "Ma certo! All you need for a successful performance of _Il Trovatore_ are the four greatest singers in the world." He then whips out his sketchbook, draws a caricature of her eating spaghetti, everyone laughs and has another glass of chianti, and life is good.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Since nobody seems to know who Caruso said this to, or why he said it, isn't it best not to read ulterior motives into it? Caruso wasn't known for being "pretentious," but he _was_ known to be funny, generous, and kind to colleagues and younger singers. I see him sitting in his favorite Italian restaurant after a performance, having spaghetti and chianti with his costars Ponselle, Schumann-Heink and Ruffo, and Ruffo says, "Well, it went well, didn't it? Rosa, cara bambina, you were magnifica!" Young Rosa blushes, smiles, and looks at Caruso, who takes her hand in his and says "Ma certo! All you need for a successful performance of _Il Trovatore_ are the four greatest singers in the world." He then whips out his sketchbook, draws a a caricature of her eating spaghetti, everyone laughs and has another glass of chianti, and life is good.


Love it!


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> ...not by a longshot. Norma, Elektra, Macbeth, Nabucco and the Ring all blow Trovatore out of the water. even among Verdi's works alone, there are several more difficult operas. I second *pianozach*'s sentiment that Caruso was being pretentious.


i'm not so familiar with Norma beyond the title role, but I'm not sure any of those require four singers of the level Trovatore does for a successful performance. Its a tricky question though. There is certainly more than one way to interpret it.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Bonetan said:


> Caruso's quote about il Trovatore. Is what he said true? Is il Trovatore the opera above all others in terms of placing the highest demands on the singers for a successful performance?


I've never interpreted this comment to have anything to do with how high the demands are on the performers. My take has always been that Caruso is just expressing that this truly is an ensemble opera, where all four of the principals are equally important. You can get by with mediocre tenors and baritones for Traviata for instance, but not for a Trovatore. There's many a Trovatore recording I've stuck in the discard pile because of one poor singer out of the four.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

howlingfantods said:


> I've never interpreted this comment to have anything to do with how high the demands are on the performers. My take has always been that *Caruso is just expressing that this truly is an ensemble opera, where all four of the principals are equally important. You can get by with mediocre tenors and baritones for Traviata for instance, but not for a Trovatore. There's many a Trovatore recording I've stuck in the discard pile because of one poor singer out of the four.*


Totally agree, but I wasn't sure how best to articulate it in a question. I didn't want it to be demands on the singer, but rather an opera where the 4+ leads must be great singers in peak form AND the success of the performance relies almost entirely on the singers. I guess I botched this one lol


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Bonetan said:


> Totally agree, but I wasn't sure how best to articulate it in a question. I didn't want it to be demands on the singer, but rather an opera where the 4+ leads must be great singers in peak form AND the success of the performance relies almost entirely on the singers. I guess I botched this one lol


Don Carlo and Nozze di Figaro spring to mind. In their cases, you almost need all 5 of the main principals to be great. Parsifal maybe--I treasure Amfortas's music more than anything from Parsifal and Kundry, and Gurnemanz actually probably has double the lines of any other role, but a poor Kundry or Parsifal can sink the whole show (e.g. Karajan's recording). But poor conducting will sink even well-sung performances (e.g. Levine II).


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bonetan said:


> Totally agree, but I wasn't sure how best to articulate it in a question. I didn't want it to be demands on the singer, but rather an opera where the 4+ leads must be great singers in peak form AND the success of the performance relies almost entirely on the singers. I guess I botched this one lol


Certainly Mozart's Cosi is a true ensemble piece where you must have 6 excellent singers and one dud will sink the ship.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Operatic comedies can generally work just fine if not all the singers are "great", especially in supporting roles. I've seen student performances of scenes from Mozart that were quite effective and enjoyable. Funny characters in operas by many composers are often nicely portrayed by less-than-superb singers; buffo bass roles, for example, tend to go to aging singers whose voices are no longer as good as their comedic instincts.

I suspect that most people are likely to think that their favorite operas are the ones that need the best singers.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

Sometimes a singer who isn't the right fach but a great actor can make a role work. The Copenhagen Ring has a Hagen who can't sing. At all. But he's terrifying, ice cold and looks like Peter Cushing.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> Operatic comedies can generally work just fine if not all the singers are "great", especially in supporting roles. I've seen student performances of scenes from Mozart that were quite effective and enjoyable. Funny characters in operas by many composers are often nicely portrayed by less-than-superb singers; buffo bass roles, for example, tend to go to aging singers whose voices are no longer as good as their comedic instincts.
> 
> I suspect that most people are likely to think that their favorite operas are the ones that need the best singers.


Totally agree. Mozart operas are too easily cast with young singers, without hindering the performance, to really qualify here. I think one can do a good job in a Mozart opera without having a fully developed technique. That won't fly in Trovatore.



Sieglinde said:


> Sometimes a singer who isn't the right fach but a great actor can make a role work. The Copenhagen Ring has a Hagen who can't sing. At all. But he's terrifying, ice cold and looks like Peter Cushing.


This is why I think Wagner operas don't fit the bill either. Too many successful performances featuring ageing voices, ugly voices, voices that don't move etc.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> Totally agree. Mozart operas are too easily cast with young singers, without hindering the performance, to really qualify here. I think one can do a good job in a Mozart opera without having a fully developed technique. That won't fly in Trovatore.
> 
> I think Wagner operas don't fit the bill either. Too many successful performances featuring ageing voices, ugly voices, voices that don't move etc.


Maybe one principle that applies is that the less rich in dramatic substance an opera is, the more essential is superb vocalism as such. Mozart's comedies are full of witty dialogue and amusing activity that performers who are not great singers but who can act can put across. Some Wagner, Strauss and verismo roles can carry as drama even if the voices are not attractive, and much of the power of these works comes from the orchestra anyway. With Baroque opera, most of the bel canto repertoire, and much of Verdi, the burden is mainly on the singing. Really, without great singing, what's left of _I Puritani _or _Il Trovatore _ that's worth bothering with?


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bonetan said:


> Totally agree. Mozart operas are too easily cast with young singers, without hindering the performance, to really qualify here. I think one can do a good job in a Mozart opera without having a fully developed technique. That won't fly in Trovatore.
> 
> This is why I think Wagner operas don't fit the bill either. Too many successful performances featuring ageing voices, ugly voices, voices that don't move etc.


Of course you can have a 'successful' performance of a Mozart with young voices. Actually to have a successful performance of a Mozart opera you have to have reasonably young people or at least those who pass for young. But I have a great performance of it you need great voices as in any other opera. To say you don't need voices is the old denigrating of Mozart by people who don't actually understand the greatness of his art. It was Karajan who set the trend for using slimline, good looking singers after the war, when everyone thought the singers were dancers! With Wagner of course the thing becomes ludicrous and reality goes out the window as his operas require such heavyweight voices that any pretence of romantic young knights and maidens is gone when one sees the mature (and often overweight) people on stage.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

DavidA said:


> Of course you can have a 'successful' performance of a Mozart with young voices. Actually to have a successful performance of a Mozart opera you have to have reasonably young people or at least those who pass for young. But I have a great performance of it you need great voices as in any other opera. To say you don't need voices is the old denigrating of Mozart by people who don't actually understand the greatness of his art. It was Karajan who set the trend for using slimline, good looking singers after the war, when everyone thought the singers were dancers! With Wagner of course the thing becomes ludicrous and reality goes out the window as his operas require such heavyweight voices that any pretence of romantic young knights and maidens is gone when one sees the mature (and often overweight) people on stage.


I don't mean to denigrate Mozart's art, but there's a reason that young aspiring opera singers are given Mozart long before the other major composers. That's not meant to be a knock. Its just a fact that you don't have to be an elite singer in your prime to convincingly sing Mozart's music.


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