# Round One: Amor it vieta. Ziliani, Tetelman, Del Monaco



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I messed up yesterday and posted this not knowing over 60 minutes of music had already been posted for you to peruse and judge by someone elso. I hope I didn't confuse you in my attempt to take my posting down. I try not to over burden you guys with too much music to digest in a day. I discovered Tetelman in my research and thought you might enjoy him and Viva........ suggested Ziliani




Amor ti vieta (Fedora) · La Scala Orchestra · Alessandro Ziliani




Giordano: Fedora - Amor ti vieta · Jonathan Tetelman · Orquesta Filarmónica De Gran Canaria · Karel Mark Chichon · Umberto Giordano




Giordano: Fedora / Act 2 - "Amor ti vieta" · Mario del Monaco · The New Symphony Orchestra Of London · Alberto Erede


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

A critic once wrote “On side 5, Mario del Monaco loudly sings Italian opera arias,” and so it proves on the third video.

Then we have Tetelman’s thick-toned rendition which I don’t know what to make of. The shortness of the aria doesn’t give me enough time to make up my mind. I’ll have to listen to other pieces, but on this evidence I don’t care for his voice.

Ziliani is a slender voice limns the aria with a certain spaciousness, clear diction and unhurried authority.


----------



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

I never know how to respond to singers like Tetelman. To me it seems he tries to imitate the sounds of the golden age with some success, but without the proper volume, resonance, openness etc. Another in this vein is Calleija. They are more pleasant to listen to than the shouters and wobblers but at the same time they sound like such cheap knock-offs. Luckily I have two other great singers to choose from and don't have to decide between bad technique and bad imitation.


----------



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Ziliani is wonderful. He gets my vote. Free, easy, natural vocal production paired with a beautiful voice. I hear too much Kaufmann in Tetelman's technique. The voice isn't as free as it could be and is more effortful than I would like. Like MAS mentioned it feels "thick". MDM is an exciting singer but I've never been a fan.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Easy as pie.

I just listened to my gut and lo, it reacted positively and strongly to the stunning voice of Jonathan Tetelman which stood out above the others. I hope I can live long enough to keep enjoying that "bad imitation" sound!


----------



## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

I imagine this aria to be slightly breathless. It is so short, an arioso (or almost arioso ?), because Loris just decided to tell Fedora he loves her, he wants to say it now, and whatever the response is, be it.
(_Edit: wrong ! The aria is not "I love you", but "You love me", LOL ! But never mind..._) That is the way I have been primed, don't ask me by whom, just someone on the Slovak radio, a long time ago. In this case I do not wellcome slow conducting, although I generally prefer it in the majority of the other arias.

That should explain why the slow and lyrical interpretation by Ziliani gets the last place for me.
After that, Tetelman is out, although I am really impressed by his voice and want to follow his career. I was really surprised I hadn't heard about him before. I was told by @Bonetan that he is a young rising star, Covid slowed him down, but he has a full schedule and is doing well. And that he is dating a famous soprano, whom I identified by now.

Mario del Monaco is the closest to what I want from this aria. Maybe still not matching my expectations, but delivering other perks. Weirdly enough, I like better his younger self, from 1951, which youtube offered me. (I usually prefer them older). The different way of recordings possibly distorts the color of the voice and creates something insanely attractive for me, similar to Stracciari singing Nabucco. But I listened again also to the 1956 version used in this contest, and he still gets my first place.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

BBSVK said:


> I imagine this aria to be slightly breathless. It is so short, an arioso (or almost arioso ?), because Loris just decided to tell Fedora he loves her, he wants to say it now, and whatever the response is, be it. That is the way I have been primed, don't ask me by whom, just someone on the Slovak radio, a long time ago. In this case I do not wellcome slow conducting, although I generally prefer it in the majority of the other arias.
> 
> That should explain why the slow and lyrical interpretation by Ziliani gets the last place for me.
> After that, Tetelman is out, although I am really impressed by his voice and want to follow his career. I was really surprised I hadn't heard about him before. I was told by @Bonetan that he is a young rising star, Covid slowed him down, but he has a full schedule and is doing well. And that he is dating a famous soprano, whom I identified by now.
> ...


You do amuse me so as well as teach me things.  You may like the rest of my candidates.


----------



## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> You do amuse me so as well as teach me things.  You may like the rest of my candidates.


Haha, I finally checked the libretto, which I had not access to years ago. It says "very tenderly". Also, he doesn't tell her that he loves her. He has been telling her that before. In this aria, he says he reads her body language and is convinced she loves him back. Maybe Ziliani is doing the right thing after all. But that instrumental part at the beginning of the aria still sounds extremely passionate to me, not "very tender".


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This is such a short piece, not much more than a minute of singing once the introduction is over and the voice comes in, that it's quite difficult to get a true impression of any of these singers. That said, I was less impressed by Zillani than most here. A fine voice, yes, but I think he takes the little aria too slowly and it's a ittle lacking in ardour.

Of the other two, I was rather surprised to find that I slightly preferred Tetelman's warmer sound to Del Monaco's brighter one. I have the memory in my head of something rather better than any of these three, but I can't remember who it was now. Gigli? Anyway, I'm voting for Tetelman.

Edited to add that, now that I think of it, it might have been Bjoerling.


----------



## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

For me the big name takes it. Ziliani's slow tempo was nice and his approach very lyrical but I found the sound unexceptional. But I love his picture...fun smile! I always take a second on tenors that don't sound very tenor-ish...Kaufman, Giacomini...but like those two, Tetelman got me and his production did not sound manufactured like Kaufmans. But the high note kind of told the story. I assume its a Bflat and in an aria this easy going I'd expect it to be easy but his sounded pushed and the color changed. I'm wondering if he should actually be singing with a slightly diferent sound. I thought Mario sounded great....bright charismatic sound, no overindulgence, very enjoyable.


----------



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

My favourite rendition of this aria, surprisingly, is from Giacinto Prandelli. The top note isn't the best but its beautifully sung with an extremely touching lyricism. Consider adding him maybe, he was an underrated tenor and could be a little mediocre, but at his best he was one of the greatest lyric tenors of his time.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> This is such a short piece, not much more than a minute of singing once the introduction is over and the voice comes in, that it's quite difficult to get a true impression of any of these singers. That said, I was less impressed by Zillani than most here. A fine voice, yes, but I think he takes the little aria too slowly and it's a ittle lacking in ardour.
> 
> Of the other two, I was rather surprised to find that I slightly preferred Tetelman's warmer sound to Del Monaco's brighter one. I have the memory in my head of something rather better than any of these three, but I can't remember who it was now. Gigli? Anyway, I'm voting for Tetelman.
> 
> Edited to add that, now that I think of it, it might have been Bjoerling.


It is shorter than I would normally pick but someone asked for it nicely and these contests are for ya'll. I have to confess I could listen to the intro all day long. I find it exquisitely romantic.


----------



## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I recommended Ziliani, and after listening to all three, to my mind he's still the best here. Not blessed with an outstanding natural instrument, he uses what he has, which is more than adequate, extremely well. Though his voice occasionally threatens to become thin and excessively bright, it never does, and he has a wider palette of tone colors and dynamics to work with than the other two singers. I like the tempo, and I find his phrasing head and shoulders above the others. To me, this aria is about the judicious use of portamento. Old recordings tend to have a _lot_, sometimes even too much for me, and I love portamento. Newer recordings tend to have very little, and it makes the thing sound rather boring. Ziliani finds a balance. This aria should come out as one long two minute line, and to my mind only Ziliani achieves that. Listen for instance to the line, "di non amar" in all three versions. Both Del Monaco and Tetelmann sing "di non" without any portamento between them; that to me destroys the line. Ziliani keeps the line going through the interval and to the end of the phrase. One could say something similar about every subsequent phrase.


----------



## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

vivalagentenuova said:


> I recommended Ziliani, and after listening to all three, to my mind he's still the best here..........One could say something similar about every subsequent phrase.


Nice post.I'm going to go listen for the stuff you hear!


----------



## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

I thought his sound, though not gorgeous, had a call right off. But on first listen thought the thinness you mentioned lost it some appeal. But I could see where you could become a fan. Can't say I've ever thought about portamento in the detailed way that you do but I may try to.That endless line thing you write about, if its done with conviction as he clearly does, it gives a sense of great involvement in the music and that pulls you in. Have to admit that the difference between his phrasing of the section you mentioned fell on me as two different successful approaches. After his limpid line, tetelman sounded like he had a Bjoerling kind of classicism and I always find that, if its invested, conveys a touch of nobility.


----------



## PaulFranz (May 7, 2019)

This is a tough one! Tetelman was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know Ziliani either (no end to new discoveries, it seems).


I'd say Tetelman was too thick and croony (modern), and Ziliani doesn't really have enough voice to be a real star. At least on record, he's a bit thin and tremulous compared to the stars.

MDM for me.


----------



## Echolane (Nov 19, 2018)

Can I add another singer? I’ve always loved Jussi Bjorling and I know he is considered one of the all time greats. How does he compare?




Meanwhile I’ve listened to Tetelman and Ziliani and I prefer the more romantic sweeter sound of Ziliane. Mario deal Monaco has never been my cup of tea.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Echolane said:


> Can I add another singer? I’ve always loved Jussi Bjorling and I know he is considered one of the all time greats.  How does he compare?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Be patient little one. All in good time. I have another round with him.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I'm catching up (again!)

Aah! Ziliani where have you been all our lives? I like this one, it has a limpidity to it that makes it very attractive to my ear. However, it's a little slow and he doesn't make as much of it as some others do. This is verismo, you really can oversing this one. Some of his high notes wrankle and there is a bleat to them. I was much less impre

I don't know Tetelman and I thought he was going to be one of those screechy nasal singers that some here like and I would be the only person not voting for him. The I realised that he is a recent voice on the scene. This is actually quite good. It's a bit nondescript, but I feel he doesn't have Ziliani's shortcomings. 

Seattle, if you haven't heard Freddie de Tomaso, search him out. He's another recently new tenor who is making quite a splash and has a voice with potential.

I know Del Monaco's version from his complete set of the opera, but I think he will be better here and he is. This has a certain class that the other two lack, his technique is good enough to do it justice and he sings with more musicality and feeling than the other two. He's an easy winner.

N.


----------



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I'm catching up (again!)
> 
> Aah! Ziliani where have you been all our lives? I like this one, it has a limpidity to it that makes it very attractive to my ear. However, it's a little slow and he doesn't make as much of it as some others do. This is verismo, you really can oversing this one. Some of his high notes wrankle and there is a bleat to them. I was much less impre
> 
> ...


I've heard Tomaso live and he is very disappointing. The voice is very small and constricted especially above the stave. The vibrato is a little slow too. I was hoping he'd be a little better considering some of the press reaction, but he was very mediocre, completely outshined by Lise Davidsen who is not a singer I am overly enthusiastic about either but at least has a decent instrument despite a few notable faults.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Op.123 said:


> I've heard Tomaso live and he is very disappointing. The voice is very small and constricted especially above the stave. The vibrato is a little slow too. I was hoping he'd be a little better considering some of the press reaction, but he was very mediocre, completely outshined by Lise Davidsen who is not a singer I am overly enthusiastic about either but at least has a decent instrument despite a few notable faults.


I have too, in *Madama Butterfly *at Covent Garden. I thought it a small voice and a small personality. I'd heard him once before, as Cassio in *Otello*, and I thought he sounded quite promising on that occasion. That promise wasn't fulfilled when he moved to a larger role.


----------

