# Round One: Di tanti palpiti; Daniels and Horne



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

See below for cued up arias


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)




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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I find this contest hard to judge as I love all four contestants and they are all very different and wonderful. I have a feeling you guys will have opinions.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

To me, there is no contest: I first heard Horne in this repertoire and she remains indelibly etched in my memory. Everyone pales in comparison even if I’m not entirely captivated by her sound, It is the way she sings that keeps me interested. The strength of the voice as well as the rather sculpted phrasing and the sometimes masculine-sounding descent into the chest. Even the way she moved awkwardly on stage added to the image of the butch hero(ine). All she lacked was a statuesque figure, which was compensated by the impossibly high platform boots and very tall feathers on the helmet! 

Daniels didn’t stand a chance.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Both were terrific singers who provide distinctive and very entertaining versions. Rossini encouraged virtuosic displays that challenged a singer’s own inventiveness. I don’t know if the embellishments sung by David Daniels are Rossini’s own which he wrote for a certain Mme. Gregoire or Manuel Garcia’s or perhaps neither or both with some of his own invention tossed in, but they’re suitably pyrotechnical and great fun to hear. Marilyn Horne rightly “had a permanent lease on this vocal property” for decades and _Tancredi_ certainly owes her a debt of gratitude for its revival.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I wil have to pass on this one. It isn't fair of me to vote because I am not a fan of counter tenors. And I do love Marilyn Horne's voice.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Ms. Horne doesn't look like a boy, but who cares? When she sings like that she may do it in whatever gorilla's suit.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

I don't like Horne at all, but I like countertenors even less.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This is a real dilemma and I'm finding it very hard to make a choice.

David Daniels is one of my favourite singers. I don't have quite the same antipathy to countertenors that some here have, though I did once. Hearing Daniels live in concert changed all that. Regardless of what register he is singing in, I find his a surpassingly beautiful voice, which is furthermore allied to an artist of superb musicality, who has a wonderful gift of communication. He also just happens to have an amazing coloratura technique, his runs as fluid as water running down a mountain stream. You'll never hear Mr Daniels aspirate his runs. 

On the other hand, this aria was written for a female singer, so one could say Horne's is the mroe correct version. Horne is not always a favourite of mine, but in the right repertoire, as this is, she can be spectacular. You can't really fault her her at all and this is also absolutely splendid singing.

So there's my dilemma. I think they're both wonderful in completely different ways. However a choice has to be made and I'm going for Daniels, simply because love trumps admiration, and also because I think most people will vote for Horne. 

And, look, I was right.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Maybe the brain cells that receive messages from my timpanic membranes are hypercritical, but they tell me that Horne often sings very slightly flat, in this aria and in other things as well. I can't really fault her singing of this otherwise, but in addition to the above reservation I've never warmed to her basic timbre. Daniels, on the other hand, is always pleasing to my ear - he's one of very few countertenors whose voice and manner I can listen to and not in spite of - and yields nothing in technique.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

While I like David Daniels sound per se and I think he’s one of the best countertenors around - indeed in general a countertenor for those who hate countertenors - I find his voice a bit too soft grained for Arsace and the lower range too weak to make a good effect in this aria, particularly against my memories of Horne in the role. Daniels’ glory has always been his highs.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

RICK RIEKERT said:


> Both were terrific singers who provide distinctive and very entertaining versions. *Rossini encouraged virtuosic displays that challenged a singer’s own inventiveness.* I don’t know if the embellishments sung by David Daniels are Rossini’s own which he wrote for a certain Mme. Gregoire or Manuel Garcia’s or perhaps neither or both with some of his own invention tossed in, but they’re suitably pyrotechnical and great fun to hear. Marilyn Horne rightly “had a permanent lease on this vocal property” for decades and _Tancredi_ certainly owes her a debt of gratitude for its revival.


So many people forget this. Bel canto composers (and especially Rossini) wrote for what we might call the the 19th century's equivalent to Mariah Carey. Singers were encouraged to transpose to keys that better suited their voices and at in all manner of vocal runs, tricks and embellishment. A lot of modern conductors say things like "no! that's not what the composer wanted!", when that was exactly what would have happened during that time (those same conductors and producers often proceed to make their own additions which would have had nothing to do with historical stylistic components. Recently, many have gone so far as to completely change the plot so as to something more in line with modern mores)

@OT 
I've never liked a single note David Daniels has sung, so...has to be Horne.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> I wil have to pass on this one. It isn't fair of me to vote because I am not a fan of counter tenors. And I do love Marilyn Horne's voice.


I’m not sure we should be “fair” when voting for a favorite singer or disliking another. All’s fair in love and war?


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