# BARITONE/BASS TOURNAMENT (Bonus Matchup): Brownlee vs Siepi vs Waechter



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

John Brownlee, Australia, 1900-1969











Cesare Siepi, Italy, 1923-2010 (defeated Furlanetto 20-1, defeated by Plancon 15-4)











Eberhard Waechter, Austria, 1929-1992


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

*_max 5 videos per post_

'Fin ch'han dal vino' and 'Deh vieni alla finestra' from Mozart's _Don Giovanni_.

Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Bonetan said:


> *_max 5 videos per post_
> 
> 'Fin ch'han dal vino' and 'Deh vieni alla finestra' from Mozart's _Don Giovanni_.
> 
> Who's singing did you prefer and why?


This video is "unavailable in my country". I used this one.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I want my Don Giovanni to sound demonic in _Fin ch'an dal vino_ and seductive in _Deh vieni alla finestra_ and, from those above, the singer who does both for me is Eberhard Wächter. He's immeasurably helped by Giulini, who whips up something of a storm in the first and sets just the right tempo for the Serenade.

Brownlee was a name I knew, but I don't know if I'd actually heard him before. A very fine voice and singer, but I got less of the character from him. Ditto, surpisingly, Siepi. The slow speed for the Drinking Song (Furtwängler) robs it of demonic force.

Of course my decision could well be swayed by the fact that I know the Giulini recording so well and have been brought up on Wächter's performance, but, in sound terms alone, he is the most convincing Don for me.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

What Tsaras said!

N.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I was confused by two different arias and wondered which one we were supposed to use for our final decision.
And then I heard "that voice" -- a bass who just grabs me every time. His sound, his musicality, just leaves me limp. 
So Siepi gets my vote but not without mentioning that I was really torn with the Waecher version which was a bit faster and appealing in that way and his voice is a beautiful and engaging one as well.
If it were not for that Siepi sound it would be a toss-up.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

These are versions I know very well. That Fritz Busch recording with Brownlee was my first (and for many years my only) recording of Don Giovanni. Brownlee sings the music very accurately and musically, but his vocal personality is all wrong - I remember a critic calling him "Jeeves-like", and I think that's pretty accurate.

The Giulini recording with Waechter was my second recording, and I've never cared much for Waechter's rather Teutonic approach to this role - too much bluster, not enough real singing, and I don't like the way that he hammers on the downbeats in "Fin ch'han dal vino"

Siepi sings beautifully and has exactly the right suave sonority that the role needs. I wish that the tempo were a bit faster, but his version is still a pretty easy choice for me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I agree basically with Tsaraslondon, although Wachter is a bit shouty and overemphatic in "Fin ch'han dal vino." Of the three, only Brownlee executes all the notes in this. Wachter is the only one to make the serenade sound charming. Siepi has all the right ideas and the most impressive instrument, but sounds a bit ponderous, which the Don should never be. I find this a close contest, but will take Wachter for the character he brings to both arias.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Waechter’s voice has a unique quality to it that I really enjoy; I’m not sure how to describe it, but he sounds unlike any other bass/baritone I’ve ever heard. There is perhaps a certain darkness and pointedness to the tone. I’ve really enjoyed him as Wozzeck in Dohnanyi’s recording and in one of the supporting roles (can’t remember which) in Böhm’s 1966 Tristan. I choose him here for embodying the malevolence of this character, over Siepi’s IMO too smooth and cultured approach (though he’s still really good) and Brownlee’s frankly rather bland singing.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Waechter's voice has a unique quality to it that I really enjoy; I'm not sure how to describe it, but he sounds unlike any other bass/baritone I've ever heard. There is perhaps a certain darkness and pointedness to the tone. I've really enjoyed him as Wozzeck in Dohnanyi's recording and in *one of the supporting roles (can't remember which) in Böhm's 1966 Tristan. *I choose him here for embodying the malevolence of this character, over Siepi's IMO too smooth and cultured approach (though he's still really good) and Brownlee's frankly rather bland singing.


Kurwenal. An excellent one.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Waechter's voice has a unique quality to it that I really enjoy; I'm not sure how to describe it, but he sounds unlike any other bass/baritone I've ever heard. There is perhaps a certain darkness and pointedness to the tone. I've really enjoyed him as Wozzeck in Dohnanyi's recording and in one of the supporting roles (can't remember which) in Böhm's 1966 Tristan. I choose him here for embodying the malevolence of this character, over Siepi's IMO too smooth and cultured approach (though he's still really good) and Brownlee's frankly rather bland singing.


See, I think Siepi's smooth and cultured approach is precisely how the character should be played. The way the Don is often played today, you wonder how he could have deceived or seduced anyone. I think of him more as a character who is evil because he has never properly thought of the morality of his actions, rather than a character who is evil through an active sense of malevolence.

I do agree that Waechter is technically better in "Fin ch'han dal vino", but on the whole, I'd prefer Siepi here.


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