# Mario Del Monaco



## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Some say that MDM is just a shouter. But to me he is much more. I really like his voice and his style of singing. For me he is just what you want from a dramatic tenor. He sings with feeling and he has good diction. Del Monaco's acting is very theatrical, but then he said that he performed to those on the cheap seats. Big movements helps those that are on the balcony to see better.

He really had good technique, which enabled him to be thrilling even when he was sick or tired. Lauri Volpi said that Del Monaco had the best B-flat. I have to concur.

Del Monaco usually sang very long notes in live performances. Some people don't like it, but that's their business.

In this thread I would like all those who share my love and admiration for MDM tho share their thoughts and feelings about on of the greatest dramatic tenors.

Not that much acting, like in the live performances of the opera, but what a voice






A great performance. His wife seems to be the conductor.






MDM is not in the best form, but still he manages to thrill.






A pity that he didn't record more Wagner.






A great Andrea Chenier.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

An entertaining version 






He can sing anything.






To those who say that he can't sing restrained.






He really liked Wagner :lol:






A sad, but telling interview.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

And a few necessary things:






Even in 1972 he can sing the last part without taking a breath.






Mario can do miracles

http://www.mariodelmonaco.net/lang1/an_extraordinary_event.html

"At the year's end of 1953, during the performance of Wally together with Renata Tebaldi at La Scala Theater in Milan, the newspapers came out with astonishing news.Irene Mayer, a young American blind woman from the state of Maryland, claimed that she was able to see when Mario was singing. But when Mario left the stage, the girl's apparent "vision" reverted back to complete darkness. During his singing she gave a detailed description of the tenor on the stage, indicating his position, how he was dressed along with a description of his acting.The blind girl was able to see when Mario sang.She first experienced this phenomenon when she attended a performance of Aida at the Metropolitan by Mario Del Monaco and at one point she cried out aloud, "I can see the tenor!" She was able to describe him in detail, but only when he sang on the stage.

The phenomenon didn't occur listening to a recording or watching a videotape.Nonetheless, since she lost her sight in 1949, attending a performance by Del Monaco became her reason for living; she considered that experience as a source of inspiration and encouragement because she regarded Mario as a honest and genuine person.
Doctors considered her case carefully and reached the conclusion that the girl was indeed able to see but weren't able to explain why. But, all concerned agreed that music and Del Monaco's singing had performed a miracle."


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Diminuendo said:


> He sings with feeling and he has *godlike* diction.


I've corrected that one for you. 

You already summed up a lot of my feelings on MDM pretty well and I have emphasized his qualities a few other threads before but I never get tired of praising this titanic singer! The shouter argument is easily disproved by taking a look at Mario's vocal technique. His outstanding breath control paired with the masterful phrasing enabled him to sing with what the Germans call _lyrischer Schmelz_ (lyrical melodiousness), making his huge dramatic voice beautifully easy to listen to. A mere shouter's voice would have died early without even the shadow of MDM's colossal success all over the world.

Of course, after he specialized in Otello and similar repertorio some of the purely lyrical abilities (_lyrical_ in the classical sense) from his earlier career - 



 - started to diminish. However, unlike popular belief he was still able to sing with great nuance in his own unique vocal niche that he pretty much created for himself. This is especially evident in lesser known live performances of french _tenore eroico_ repertory like Samson - 



 - and Énée - 



.

Del Monaco's Don Alvaro under Mitropoulos is maybe the most complete example of his vocal artistry:






What I love most of all about MDM is his fanatical dedication to the art of opera. You can see it very well in two of the videos from your OP; the Wagner lecture/performance being pretty funny and the last interview absolutely heartbreaking.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

It's incredible that he was able to sing so long so well. I mean he was in a bad car accident and had to have dialysis. He really made miracles.

I think his staff heard him. When they showed the chandelier I thought it would shatter.  He really can throw chairs!






When you think about it he really must be one of the most underrated singers. I mean everybody loves Corelli. My personal favorite Di Stefano is underrated too, but most people really think that Mario is just a shouter. Quite unbelievable when you think about it.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Diminuendo said:


> When you think about it he really must be one of the most underrated singers. I mean everybody loves Corelli. My personal favorite Di Stefano is underrated too, but most people really think that Mario is just a shouter. Quite unbelievable when you think about it.


The shouter myth was constructed back in the days of MDM by _critics_ who hated to see his immense popularity in the opera house and on record, german, english and italian critics alike, but nowadays it mostly survives as relic within snobbish cicles of the former two langueage areas. Most people in Italy and worldwide who love opera also love MDM, or at least dislike him for understandable reasons (like some here in TC) instead of writing him off ignorantly as certain people in the past did who now bitterly miss a dramatic voice of his kind in the theatre. All in all I don't think that he's that underrated nowadays, especially not among young generation of opera fans.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> The shouter myth was constructed back in the days of MDM by _critics_ who hated to see his immense popularity in the opera house and on record, german, english and italian critics alike, but nowadays it mostly survives as relic within snobbish cicles of the former two langueage areas. Most people in Italy and worldwide who love opera also love MDM, or at least dislike him for understandable reasons (like some here in TC) instead of writing him off ignorantly as certain people in the past did who now bitterly miss a dramatic voice of his kind in the theatre. All in all I don't think that he's that underrated nowadays, especially not among young generation of opera fans.


I agree, but I guess it's just hard for me to understand why someone wouldn't like him, no matter how understandable their reasons are.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

I think Mario is perfect for church/religious music, since his voice fits perfectly with the organ.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)




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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Mixed feelings about this one. I love MDM infinitely and his voice is in pretty fine shape here, not at all a bad taste Werther as some in the comment section there claim but he's still completely out of place from his basic vocal character. Werther needs to be a fragile, romantically tormented figure. MDM can't really express that kind of despair with his voice, he excels at rage, violent jealousy, darker passions or the more dignified suffering of big, shakespearean heroes.

Here are a few of my favourite MDM performances, good examples of both of those catagories:


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Well he is a bit out of place in Werther, but still pretty good and interesting performance. Really not a tasteless performance. I think it's always nice to hear singers sing something out of their usual repertory. Of course Del Monaco is better in different kind of roles, but it is interesting to hear something different.






A pretty nice take on a classic, don't you think?


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Diminuendo said:


> Well he is a bit out of place in Werther, but still pretty good and interesting performance. Really not a tasteless performance. I think it's always nice to hear singers sing something out of their usual repertory.


Agreed, those kind of singular recordings outside of a singer's comfort zone are always interesting, sometimes they also end up being really good. You totally surprised me here with Mario's Ghost Riders in the Sky, I didn't think that there were still MDM documents unknown to me. 

Considering that another great signature role of Del Monaco which he sang to perfection was the cowboy Dick Johnson in Puccini's La fanciulla del West, this song feels more than appropriate!


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Diminuendo said:


> Well he is a bit out of place in Werther, but still pretty good and interesting performance. Really not a tasteless performance. I think it's always nice to hear singers sing something out of their usual repertory. Of course Del Monaco is better in different kind of roles, but it is interesting to hear something different.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Fantastic! I didn't think I liked MDM, but I enjoyed that hugely!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Diminuendo said:


> Well he is a bit out of place in Werther, but still pretty good and interesting performance. Really not a tasteless performance. I think it's always nice to hear singers sing something out of their usual repertory. Of course Del Monaco is better in different kind of roles, but it is interesting to hear something different.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well. That really is...something.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Easy on the videos please!!!!!!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

His Otello with Karajan is second to none :tiphat:


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Have you listened the Pazzo son from Mexico in 1951? He really is giving all he has. That version reminds me of Gigli. Some people don't like the sobbing, but if its done right, I think it's okay. Too much is too much, but in the right place it is believable.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Diminuendo said:


> Have you listened the Pazzo son from Mexico in 1951? He really is giving all he has. That version reminds me of Gigli. Some people don't like the sobbing, but if its done right, I think it's okay. Too much is too much, but in the right place it is believable.


Oh my God, YES! Mario's Mexico Des Grieux is an overwhelming overload of passion and insanity which takes the concept of _larger than life_ to a whole new level. The singing is a bit over the top but objectively great, the other dramatic effects not few find distasteful but I love the whole performance to death; MDM was being a true matador of the opera house there, an out of the ordinary singer who would attract people who usually didn't go to the theatre at all - all this in a crazily generous artistic, not cheap way. Many haters see this performance as typical bad-taste, ego-driven MDM singing when in reality Del Monaco was only singing Manon Lescaut in the best tradition of the untouchable Gigli who - just as you said - sang _No, pazzo son_ in the same way, with all the hysterical sobbing, maniacal laughing, spoken dialogue, crazy added high note and all those dramatic effects - 



.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Oh my God, YES! Mario's Mexico Des Grieux is an overwhelming overload of passion and insanity which takes the concept of _larger than life_ to a whole new level. The singing is a bit over the top but objectively great, the other dramatic effects not few find distasteful but I love the whole performance to death; MDM was being a true matador of the opera house there, an out of the ordinary singer who would attract people who usually didn't go to the theatre at all - all this in a crazily generous artistic, not cheap way. Many haters see this performance as typical bad-taste, ego-driven MDM singing when in reality Del Monaco was only singing Manon Lescaut in the best tradition of the untouchable Gigli who - just as you said - sang _No, pazzo son_ in the same way, with all the hysterical sobbing, maniacal laughing, spoken dialogue, crazy added high note and all those dramatic effects -
> 
> 
> 
> .


Mexicans really were lucky then. They got to hear really great artists. And from all the live recordings it is quite evident that the Mexicans were opera crazy, at least back then. And also in Rio de Janeiro, where back then you could here all the greatest opera singers. It's nice to listen for example Di Stefano singing Manon Lescaut, but for outrageous entertainment you need MDM or Gigli.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

And Gigli's studio recording is pretty much the same than the live version. Only in better audio quality. In the stdio recording you can really hear how he outrageously holds so many more notes, than usually are by other singers. It's just great.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Diminuendo said:


> Mexicans really were lucky then. They got to hear really great artists. And from all the live recordings it is quite evident that the Mexicans were opera crazy, at least back then.


Yeah, I seriously envy the people who saw the Mexico Aida with Callas and Del Monaco. The Argentines in Buenos Aires who saw this Gigli's Lamento di Federico I envy as well - 



. And all of this happended in 1951, what a year ...


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Pugg said:


> His Otello with Karajan is second to none :tiphat:


It's a poor second to Vickers imo


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

DavidA said:


> It's a poor second to Vickers imo


Third after Luccioni and Martinelli. No Vickers. 

IMHO.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Figleaf said:


> Third after Luccioni and Martinelli. No Vickers.
> 
> IMHO.


No, Vickers beats MDM in everything except volume.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Pugg said:


> His Otello with Karajan is second to none :tiphat:


During the recording of Otello, MDM came in late for a rehearsal. Karajan was, of course, displeased and proceeded to cut the orchestra from MDM on "Esultate" no less than six times. A sorta 'six of the best' as punishment! :lol:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Is Luccioni's Otello available entire? I find only excerpts in French, which to me sounds quite awkward with the music ("Esultate" comes out as "Gloire aux braves" - weird). Excellent singing if you don't mind that. If we're taking an unofficial vote here and including selections in foreign languages, I'll put Melchior first; an immense, heroic voice under perfect control, and he even makes German sound natural. 

But for the complete role sung in the original language, I'll take 1. Vickers and 2. Del Monaco, both fine Otellos. 3. Vinay, whose interpretation is superb, and his odd baritenor works well in the part even though I'm not fond of it. I don't care for anyone else . Domingo isn't a dramatic tenor; he played the part beautifully onstage but the voice lacks weight and ring. Martinelli is effective as long as the music calls for declaiming and screaming like a wounded animal. Unfortunately there's a lovely duet to deal with. Bad.

I don't think the Karajan recording does full justice to the size of the voices of MDM and Tebaldi. Decca studios at that time were making orchestra-heavy recordings of opera, making big voices sound small. I wonder if his first recording, under Erede, has a more flattering perspective.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Woodduck said:


> Is Luccioni's Otello available entire? I find only excerpts in French, which to me sounds quite awkward with the music ("Esultate" comes out as "Gloire aux braves" - weird). Excellent singing if you don't mind that. If we're taking an unofficial vote here and including selections in foreign languages, I'll put Melchior first; an immense, heroic voice under perfect control, and he even makes German sound natural.
> 
> But for the complete role sung in the original language, I'll take 1. Vickers and 2. Del Monaco, both fine Otellos. 3. Vinay, whose interpretation is superb, and his odd baritenor works well in the part even though I'm not fond of it. I don't care for anyone else . Domingo isn't a dramatic tenor; he played the part beautifully onstage but the voice lacks weight and ring. Martinelli is effective as long as the music calls for declaiming and screaming like a wounded animal. Unfortunately there's a lovely duet to deal with. Bad.
> 
> I don't think the Karajan recording does full justice to the size of the voices of MDM and Tebaldi. Decca studios at that time were making orchestra-heavy recordings of opera, making big voices sound small. I wonder if his first recording, under Erede, has a more flattering perspective.


Haven't heard the Erede. Sadly both are somewhat marred by the inadequate Protti's inadequate Iago. He was, of course, the house baritone in Vienna, and a last minute replacement for Karajan when Bastianini failed to learn his part. Apparently Protti is better for HvK than Erede but it is still a drawback when the plot hinges around Iago's machinations. Pity Gobbi was swallowed by RCA. As to the love duet here is where Vickers also scores over MDM.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Is Luccioni's Otello available entire? I find only excerpts in French, which to me sounds quite awkward with the music ("Esultate" comes out as "Gloire aux braves" - weird). Excellent singing if you don't mind that. If we're taking an unofficial vote here and including selections in foreign languages, I'll put Melchior first; an immense, heroic voice under perfect control, and he even makes German sound natural.
> 
> But for the complete role sung in the original language, I'll take 1. Vickers and 2. Del Monaco, both fine Otellos. 3. Vinay, whose interpretation is superb, and his odd baritenor works well in the part even though I'm not fond of it. I don't care for anyone else . Domingo isn't a dramatic tenor; he played the part beautifully onstage but the voice lacks weight and ring. Martinelli is effective as long as the music calls for declaiming and screaming like a wounded animal. Unfortunately there's a lovely duet to deal with. Bad.
> 
> I don't think the Karajan recording does full justice to the size of the voices of MDM and Tebaldi. Decca studios at that time were making orchestra-heavy recordings of opera, making big voices sound small. I wonder if his first recording, under Erede, has a more flattering perspective.


Yes, it is available complete. Be careful because Malibran issue both a highlights disc (the one with the white cover) as well as the complete recording on 2 CDs (the one with the red cover). They are not very explicit on the packaging about which is the highlights and which is complete, so make sure that it's 2 CDs and not one! It is very well sung- of course Luccioni sings gorgeously (apart from becoming a little hoarse towards the end) and is believable both as soldier and lover- and René Bianco has a lovely smooth French baritone sound, and Crespin is moving in the willow song. I bought it on amazon.co.uk, I haven't checked the American site but I did find it at Norbeck, Peters and Ford, who I've bought from before.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000F7MFQU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
http://www.norpete.com/op1168.html

I don't know if it will still be there when you look, but when I visited the norpete.com homepage, it was prominently displaying Malibran's new Agustarello Affre CD which I may have mentioned before. If you got that and the Luccioni Otello, what a feast of great French tenors you would have! 

http://www.norpete.com/


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

DavidA said:


> No, Vickers beats MDM in everything except volume.


Uhm ... no. Vickers voice is pretty dry compared to other Otellos, MDM's timbre is much richer and more expressive. Both in the Karajan studio- and Tokyo live versions of Otello MDM also sings with flawless piano, legato etc. in the love duet, fiery temper in the dramatic moments and a profound _Niun mi tema_. Del Monaco *was* Otello; a great warrior, a proud lion with little sensibility for his private life who is destroyed by his violent over-emotivity. Vickers always sounded and looked more like a depressed old man rather than Otello to me. Del Monaco sang Otello hundreds of times, he was buried in the damn costume. He is Otello like Bela Lugosi is Dracula.

Martinelli, Luccioni and Vinay are all in the elite circle of great Otellos right below MDM imo. Martinelli's weakness is the love duet, Vinay's the semi-baritonal sound which conditioned him, as Woodduck said correctly. Luccioni was pretty much an ideal Otello like MDM, a bit more subtle, a bit less exciting, I'd place him second just because of personal preference.

Since we're talking great Otellos of history, I think that Francesco Tamagno - the man who created the role back in 1887 - deserves to be mentioned as well. Thankfully we have some records of him, although past his prime. His timbre was not really dramatic but he had a huge, razor-sharp voice nonetheless - 



.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

And I almost completely forgot another contender for greatest Otello title, above Tamagno, Martinelli, Vinay etc., the mighty Francesco Merli! His voice made La Scala tremble and certainly not just because of sheer volume.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Uhm ... no. Vickers voice is pretty dry compared to other Otellos, MDM's timbre is much richer and more expressive. Both in the Karajan studio- and Tokyo live versions of Otello MDM also sings with flawless piano, legato etc. in the love duet, fiery temper in the dramatic moments and a profound _Niun mi tema_. Del Monaco *was* Otello; a great warrior, a proud lion with little sensibility for his private life who is destroyed by his violent over-emotivity. Vickers always sounded and looked more like a depressed old man rather than Otello to me. Del Monaco sang Otello hundreds of times, he was buried in the damn costume. He is Otello like Bela Lugosi is Dracula.
> 
> Martinelli, Luccioni and Vinay are all in the elite circle of great Otellos right below MDM imo. Martinelli's weakness is the love duet, Vinay's the semi-baritonal sound which conditioned him, as Woodduck said correctly. Luccioni was pretty much an ideal Otello like MDM, a bit more subtle, a bit less exciting, I'd place him second just because of personal preference.
> 
> ...


You mean Tamagno was not 'dramatic', because a dramatic tenor is somewhat baritonal? Can we settle for 'heroic' as a description of Tamagno? Though I think 'dramatic' in the ordinary colloquial sense of the word fits Tamagno better than any other recorded singer as he was the grand tragedian par excellence, and his diction and the meaning he gave to the words is absolutely unequalled- except perhaps by his Iago, Victor Maurel. Tamagno is still the greatest genius who ever set foot on a stage or in front of a recording horn IMO. I believe MDM played Tamagno in a Verdi biopic and Tito Gobbi played Maurel: I haven't seen it, but watching MDM as Tamagno must be like watching Val Kilmer playing Elvis! No offence to MDM, but there was only one Tamagno and only one Elvis. And only one MDM too, no doubt! 

Quite right about Vickers' timbre. He was certainly an artist, but nothing can make me want to listen to his voice, or hear it as heroic!

How is Luccioni not exciting?! He's as sexy as hell, and that's just the voice, never mind that he also looked the part! MDM certainly had 'it' too although I never really liked him as an artist... still, voices like his come along too rarely, so perhaps I will revisit his recordings soon.


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Figleaf said:


> You mean Tamagno was not 'dramatic', because a dramatic tenor is somewhat baritonal? Can we settle for 'heroic' as a description of Tamagno? Though I think 'dramatic' in the ordinary colloquial sense of the word fits Tamagno better than any other recorded singer as he was the grand tragedian par excellence, and his diction and the meaning he gave to the words is absolutely unequalled- except perhaps by his Iago, Victor Maurel.


Forgive me, I tend to use the term _dramatic_ in a rather liberal way, sometimes more colloquially, then again in the proper operatic meaning. :lol:

Your correction regarding Tamagno's vocal heroism, godlike diction and destination for grand tragedy is spot on!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> Uhm ... no. Vickers voice is pretty dry compared to other Otellos, MDM's timbre is much richer and more expressive. Both in the Karajan studio- and Tokyo live versions of Otello MDM also sings with flawless piano, legato etc. in the love duet, fiery temper in the dramatic moments and a profound _Niun mi tema_. Del Monaco *was* Otello; a great warrior, a proud lion with little sensibility for his private life who is destroyed by his violent over-emotivity. Vickers always sounded and looked more like a depressed old man rather than Otello to me. Del Monaco sang Otello hundreds of times, he was buried in the damn costume. He is Otello like Bela Lugosi is Dracula.
> 
> Martinelli, Luccioni and Vinay are all in the elite circle of great Otellos right below MDM imo. Martinelli's weakness is the love duet, Vinay's the semi-baritonal sound which conditioned him, as Woodduck said correctly. Luccioni was pretty much an ideal Otello like MDM, a bit more subtle, a bit less exciting, I'd place him second just because of personal preference.
> 
> ...


This is so subjective. Vickers' distinctive timbre is not to everyone's taste, true. Neither is Del Monaco's - or Vinay's, and all these singers get votes for best Otello. Most who like Vickers consider him quite "heroic" sounding; I do. MDM's timbre rich and expressive? I find it steely and monotonous, capable of very little nuance and coloration. I find Vickers and Vinay both subtler singers and vocal actors than MDM, shading and coloring their voices more successfully. Perhaps MDM's sound is the most "natural" for the part; Otello's a pretty steely, not very nuanced, and I'm tempted to say not awfully bright, character, and MDM's voice has a hard edge to it. But this really comes down to a personal preference in voices more than anything. Heck, maybe Martinelli really was the best Otello, if you can tolerate his ear-splitting caterwauling (I can't). But then there's Merli; I like what I hear about as much as I like the other guys, but sometimes his vibrato annoys me - the opposite of Martinelli, who'd sound far better if he actually had one, instead of that intermittent wiggle or whatever it is.

Vocal timbres aside, I think it's nice when Otello doesn't come across as a perfect lunk head. I appreciate Vickers and Vinay for sounding - well, intelligent. Without wishing to glorify the military, I suspect Otello won his rank with something more than Italian good looks, a hot temper, and and the ability to shatter glass.

Now if we could bring back Tamagno...


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> This is so subjective. Vickers' distinctive timbre is not to everyone's taste, true. Neither is Del Monaco's - or Vinay's, and all these singers get votes for best Otello. Most who like Vickers consider him quite "heroic" sounding; I do. MDM's timbre rich and expressive? I find it steely and monotonous, capable of very little nuance and coloration. I find Vickers and Vinay both subtler singers and vocal actors than MDM, shading and coloring their voices more successfully. Perhaps MDM's sound is the most "natural" for the part; Otello's a pretty steely, not very nuanced, and I'm tempted to say not awfully bright, character, and MDM's voice has a hard edge to it. But this really comes down to a personal preference in voices more than anything. Heck, maybe Martinelli really was the best Otello, if you can tolerate his ear-splitting caterwauling (I can't). But then there's Merli; I like what I hear about as much as I like the other guys, but sometimes his vibrato annoys me - the opposite of Martinelli, who'd sound far better if he actually had one, instead of that intermittent wiggle or whatever it is.
> 
> Vocal timbres aside, I think it's nice when Otello doesn't come across as a perfect lunk head. I appreciate Vickers and Vinay for sounding - well, intelligent. Without wishing to glorify the military, I suspect Otello won his rank with something more than Italian good looks, a hot temper, and and the ability to shatter glass.
> 
> Now if we could bring back Tamagno...


Del Monaco had a charismatic sound, as I'm sure his detractors would all admit? I assumed that the objections to his singing were more to do with taste and style than timbre- or maybe it's just me. 'Steely' doesn't sound like a bad quality for an Otello voice.

I couldn't listen to a complete Otello for years (I briefly tried and rejected Del Monaco) because nobody else sounds like Tamagno! What I wouldn't give to have him back again, or at least more recordings!


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> This is so subjective. Vickers' distinctive timbre is not to everyone's taste, true. Neither is Del Monaco's - or Vinay's, and all these singers get votes for best Otello. Most who like Vickers consider him quite "heroic" sounding; I do. MDM's timbre rich and expressive? I find it steely and monotonous, capable of very little nuance and coloration. I find Vickers and Vinay both subtler singers and vocal actors than MDM, shading and coloring their voices more successfully. Perhaps MDM's sound is the most "natural" for the part; Otello's a pretty steely, not very nuanced, and I'm tempted to say not awfully bright, character, and MDM's voice has a hard edge to it. But this really comes down to a personal preference in voices more than anything. Heck, maybe Martinelli really was the best Otello, if you can tolerate his ear-splitting caterwauling (I can't). But then there's Merli; I like what I hear about as much as I like the other guys, but sometimes his vibrato annoys me - the opposite of Martinelli, who'd sound far better if he actually had one, instead of that intermittent wiggle or whatever it is.
> 
> Vocal timbres aside, I think it's nice when Otello doesn't come across as a perfect lunk head. I appreciate Vickers and Vinay for sounding - well, intelligent. Without wishing to glorify the military, I suspect Otello won his rank with something more than Italian good looks, a hot temper, and and the ability to shatter glass.
> 
> Now if we could bring back Tamagno...


What has Martinelli ever done to you? :lol:

I definately agree about the subjectivity of the matter. This is the result of the complexity of Verdi's late masterpieces. Otello has so many facets as a character despite his rather low intelligence that it is really up to the listener to decide which interpretation is the _best_. I just love MDM's enthusiam, his deep personal affection to Verdi's music and drama which is apparent in old interviews back in the days when italian TV was good, this also contributed to my idea of him as the chosen one for the job.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> What has Martinelli ever done to you? :lol:


I think Martinelli and Hermann Winkelmann are definitely plotting something...


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Cesare Impalatore said:


> And I almost completely forgot another contender for greatest Otello title, above Tamagno, Martinelli, Vinay etc., the mighty Francesco Merli! His voice made La Scala tremble and certainly not just because of sheer volume.


That's my favorite Otello, too. For the rest, I'm basically aligned with Wooduck's ranking, though I'm (a ittle bit) softer to Martinelli, he was not the most lyrical of tenors, but he could stood his ground reasonably well (sometimes); listen to his Aida duet with Ponselle.

Coming back to Merli, I would prefer his Otello duets with Muzio:


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