# Single Round Xmas. Panis Angelicus. Nilsson, Bergonzi , Gigli



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Don't miss Nilsson in this as it is in my opinion some of her most beautiful, resonant singing. Pavarotti is the big name here on Youtube, but he is not idolized here, so I put some other tenors instead in this contest. Enjoy.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Sad that you decided not to include (for me anyway) the best of the lot right here:





Of the choices above I guess it's Nilsson but I've yet to hear a reverent rendition from anyone.


----------



## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

I think this hymn is ultimately better suited to the female voice. That being said, Gigli almost won me over, but his interpretation was just a little too much for such simple music.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Sad that you decided not to include (for me anyway) the best of the lot right here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sorry, I wish I could now but it's too late to change. I thought he had a great version but he hasn't fared well in contests before. I guess this could have been the exception. Sorry to let you down.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Is it really true that Pavarotti is not thought of as one of the greatest tenors? 
He may not be in my top 5 but surely he deserves better recognition than he seems to get.
(And you didn't let me down!! You could never let me down. I like you too much!)


----------



## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

nina foresti said:


> Is it really true that Pavarotti is not thought of as one of the greatest tenors?
> He may not be in my top 5 but surely he deserves better recognition than he seems to get.
> (And you didn't let me down!! You could never let me down. I like you too much!)


I would consider him a great tenor. After all, he possessed an incredible, highly unique voice. He's often compared to Domingo, who was, all-in-all, probably a more professional and consistent artist; however, although I often wonder "how Pavoratti would sound singing this", I don't think this about Domingo as Domingo never really did anything I felt other tenors couldn't replicate. Pavarotti's voice, for me, makes many of his recordings much more irreplaceable.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Contrary to some of my fellow adjudicators, I think this pretty little song in a dead language cries out for some personality and fervor. Bergonzi is perfectly fine. Nilsson is never entirely happy in non-dramatic music. Gigli is personal, heartfelt and vocally delicious, and renews the music for me.

Gigli by a goodly margin.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Is it really true that Pavarotti is not thought of as one of the greatest tenors?
> He may not be in my top 5 but surely he deserves better recognition than he seems to get.
> (And you didn't let me down!! You could never let me down. I like you too much!)


Personally I really love him. I made a bad call, but we are all allowed a few of them. Nina, you words made my day. I would do an extra contest with him in it but I wasn't blown away with the other offerings on Youtube. I'll find a way to fit him in a new contest.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I found Nilsson rather faceless (this may be because she’s singing he hymn “correctly,” for church music, i.e. without dramatic emphases), in this surprising music, for her. Neither Brunhilde or Elektra is religious, I’d guess. 

Carlo Bergonzi is rather muted here, too. So I’ll follow Woodduck in placing my vote for Gigli - he always adds his own stamp to whatever he sings.

Like Nina Foresti, I’d have voted for Luciano Pavarotti over this lot. He’s got the most beautiful Italian voice of his generation and this piece fits him like a glove.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

What memories! I sang this at my brother's wedding (almost forty years ago now) with a children's choir and organ and a few years later I sang it at a friend's wedding, but this time to the accompaniment of a string quartet. 

Of the three versions we have here, Gigl wins it by a mile for me. Nilsson and Bergonzi both seem a bit stiff in comparison. 

Love the Pavarotti version too, Nina.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Is it really true that Pavarotti is not thought of as one of the greatest tenors?
> He may not be in my top 5 but surely he deserves better recognition than he seems to get.
> (And you didn't let me down!! You could never let me down. I like you too much!)


I've tracked down some good contestants to pair with Pavarotti and will post a second round with him it it.


----------



## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I've tracked down some good contestants to pair with Pavarotti and will post a second round with him it it.


Sounds like you've got a full slate, but if there's room, Andre D'Arkor does an underrated version of this.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Sounds like you've got a full slate, but if there's room, Andre D'Arkor does an underrated version of this.


A truly elegant tenor!


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I like Nilsson, but agree with those who find her version lacking in interpretation. I also consider this more a tenor piece and Pavarotti would be my go to version.

Bergonzi sings it with more feeling than Nilsson, but still sounds like he is singing church music. Gigli sounds like he is performing a send up of Puccini and I prefer Bergonzi's rounder tones.

Bergonzi wins (and I'm not really a fan of his).

N.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I've tracked down some good contestants to pair with Pavarotti and will post a second round with him it it.


I am considering entering Pavarotti not just in his standard version but in a fourth entry in his version with Sting. It is mostly him, but Sting is very very effective as a backup singer and the advantage of this version is it is a very simple accompaniment with mostly guitar which many of you favor. Should I do this?


----------



## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I am considering entering Pavarotti not just in his standard version but in a fourth entry in his version with Sting. It is mostly him, but Sting is very very effective as a backup singer and the advantage of this version is it is a very simple accompaniment with mostly guitar which many of you favor. Should I do this?


It stings me that you would even consider this. :lol:

If only everyone else found my jokes half as funny as I find them I'd practically be Seinfeld over here.


----------



## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Again a poll I would like to participate in but can’t because I don’t like the song!  So ist das leben!


----------



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Is it really true that Pavarotti is not thought of as one of the greatest tenors?
> He may not be in my top 5 but surely he deserves better recognition than he seems to get.
> (And you didn't let me down!! You could never let me down. I like you too much!)


I think he's well-respected in music that fits his voice, but it is a voice that fits lighter, lyrical roles more than heavy dramatic roles which fare better with considerably larger voices, Corelli or del Monaco for example. While he sings lighter music extremely well a lot of the more popular tenor roles, Radames, Calaf, Cavaradossi, Manrico... are all heavier parts where he was not at his best. I feel like that may be one of the reasons he doesn't seem to get as much attention of you might have expected.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Op.123 said:


> I think he's well-respected in music that fits his voice, but it is a voice that fits lighter, lyrical roles more than heavy dramatic roles which fare better with considerably larger voices, Corelli or del Monaco for example. While he sings lighter music extremely well a lot of the more popular tenor roles, Radames, Calaf, Cavaradossi, Manrico... are all heavier parts where he was not at his best. I feel like that may be one of the reasons he doesn't seem to get as much attention of you might have expected.


You look at him and think dramatic tenor, but his build is misleading. His early lyric stuff is incredibly beautiful to me.


----------



## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Gigli for sure! Not certain, but I think Bergonzi pitched Alot of that recording a little too low and they’re not as expressive. Gigli’s is alive!


----------



## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

And on the “ is Pavarotti great or not” question I think it’s mostly a question of how he handled the second half of his career. His Rodolfo, Duke and Tonio in daughter Of the regiment from the first half of his career compete with Or win out over anyone! And I don’t buy that Radames is more important Than Rodolfo. They’re both hugely important. Pavarotti just got lazy and stopped trying. That’s pretty much it as I see it.


----------



## Zorro1313 (1 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Sorry, I wish I could now but it's too late to change. I thought he had a great version but he hasn't fared well in contests before. I guess this could have been the exception. Sorry to let you down.


You are too polite. You could add Correlli. At the old opera class we played 20 tenors singing Nessun Dorma didnt tell the people who was who and when they voted Pavoretti came in toward the bottom. But each to his own. Just think how those Old Timers sounded Live. Gigli Caruso and others gave encores and opened the doors of the opera houses for people that were to poor to get in. Any way beauty is in the eye of the beholder so enjoy your Pavoretti. If I have a complete opera cast to listen too and he's in it.(even La Traviata light enough for him. I just cant choose a cast w him over say Gigli& Albanese.)


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Zorro1313 said:


> You are too polite. You could add Correlli. At the old opera class we played 20 tenors singing Nessun Dorma didnt tell the people who was who and when they voted Pavoretti came in toward the bottom. But each to his own. Just think how those Old Timers sounded Live. Gigli Caruso and others gave encores and opened the doors of the opera houses for people that were to poor to get in. Any way beauty is in the eye of the beholder so enjoy your Pavoretti. If I have a complete opera cast to listen too and he's in it.(even La Traviata light enough for him. I just cant choose a cast w him over say Gigli& Albanese.)


Corelli and PavarottI.


----------



## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Don't miss Nilsson in this as it is in my opinion some of her most beautiful, resonant singing. Pavarotti is the big name here on Youtube, but he is not idolized here, so I put some other tenors instead in this contest. Enjoy.


I would have chosen Gigli.


----------



## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

I also like Pavarotti in it.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

This is a runaway for me. How nice not to have to plaque my mind and tax my brain.
Signor Gigli yours is gorgeous because you are not just in church singing a hymn, you are feeling every note. What a difference.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> This is a runaway for me. How nice not to have to plaque my mind and tax my brain.
> Signor Gigli yours is gorgeous because you are not just in church singing a hymn, you are feeling every note. What a difference.


I am having one good laugh as I venture upwards to vote for Gigili only to see the conest is closed and that (horrors!) I voted for Nilsson!! What is WRONG with me?


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> I am having one good laugh as I venture upwards to vote for Gigili only to see the conest is closed and that (horrors!) I voted for Nilsson!! What is WRONG with me?


I am going to hold you to your vote LOL. I am glad someone revived this old Christmas contest. I have two new ones with new contestants. I would LOVE to have Farrell singing The Coventry Carol but she is the only opera star to sing it.


----------

