# Competition: Otello, Si Pel Ciel. Caruso/Ruffo, Rosvaenge/Reinmar, Melchior/Janssen.



## kappablanca (9 mo ago)

I duly apologize for my imitation of Seattleoperafan in making one of these contests. However, I thought this was worthwhile.

Here are three interpretations of Si, Pel Ciel which I am particularly partial towards. I would love to hear your thoughts on them. 

Caruso/Ruffo





Rosvaenge/Reinmar





Melchior/Janssen


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Here I am -- first again. No biggie. My choice was easy with no frustration or confusion.
Clear as a bell: Caruso/Ruffo for me. They just blend beautifully together -- almost like one voice.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The excitement I hear only intermittently in the Caruso/Ruffo, despite the gorgeous voices, I hear plenty in the Roswenge duo, even in German and to a lesser extent, in the Melchior video. I expected Melchior to sound like an *Otello*, but Roswenge did it for me.

i can never hear Caruso without seeing his throat bleed - for whatever reason that made an impression on me when I listened to a friend’s Caruso 78s. It just sounded like a lot of screaming to me.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nevermind


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

kappablanca said:


> I duly apologize for my imitation of Seattleoperafan in making one of these contests. However, I thought this was worthwhile.
> 
> Here are three interpretations of Si, Pel Ciel which I am particularly partial towards. I would love to hear your thoughts on them.
> 
> ...


 disregard


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

All pairs are immense, but I vote for the classic Caruso/Ruffo.

P/S: This is indeed a very good poll. Keep it going. Also, if you are not so strict about a single winner, make it multiple options .


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

All three versions are great and it's very difficult to make a choice. If I ultimately go for Melchior/Janssen then I feely admit that might have something to do with the better sound on their version.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

There were moments in Roswange and Reinmar's German version that I felt as if I were listening to Siegfried and Gunther swear blood brotherhood in _Gotterdammerung. _It _has_ been pointed out that the music of that oath is something of a throwback to Italian opera style. Roswaenge strikes me as a little rough and ready, but he and Reinmar do deliver an intense performance.

Herbert Janssen has too soft-grained a timbre for Iago, and he certainly isn't an ideal match for Melchior, whose heft and metal are made for Otello. Nevertheless they perform well, and Melchior is the main factor in making their version my pick.

The Caruso/Ruffo is a touchstone for many people, and the two voices are a superior match, but I think both of the other perfomances outdo them for excitement. I suspect this is mainly due to the feeble orchestral sound.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Janssen and Melchior sounded like two tenors. I chose Rosvaenge and Reinmar. German doesn't disturb me much. Verdi translates in German better, than Wagner in Italian, when I stop understanding what's going on. Of course, I prefer opera in the language it was written. But singing in your language can evoke especially strong emotional response.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I wish Rosvaenge recorded the Otello aria in my contest. Not many recordings.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I wish Rosvaenge recorded the Otello aria in my contest. Not many recordings.


Maybe not Roswaenge, but I found quite a lot of recordings.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> There were moments in Roswange and Reinmar's German version that I felt as if I were listening to Siegfried and Gunther swear blood brotherhood in _Gotterdammerung. _It _has_ been pointed out that the music of that oath is something of a throwback to Italian opera style. Roswaenge strikes me as a little rough and ready, but he and Reinmar do deliver an intense performance.


Isn't Gotterdammerung the most old-styled opera in the cycle? It is the only one that has the true chorus, and then there are plenty of duets, and trios. It also ends with something like a mad-scene .


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

OffPitchNeb said:


> Isn't Gotterdammerung the most old-styled opera in the cycle? It is the only one that has the true chorus, and then there are plenty of duets, and trios. It also ends with something like a mad-scene .


It's old-styled in the sense of having ensembles. When he wrote his essay "Opera and Drama" at the time he began work on the _Ring_, Wagner thought it was "unnatural" to have people singing over each other, but the abundant ensemble work in _Meistersinger_ loosened up his thinking, and all his subsequent works, beginning with Act 3 of _Siegfried,_ take advantage of the effects of voices singing together.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Woodduck said:


> When he wrote his essay "Opera and Drama" at the time he began work on the _Ring_, Wagner thought it was "unnatural" to have people singing over each other


Unnatural in the sense that they can be harmful to the continuity of through-composition? But just like the symphony, he eventually reconsidered it. Isn't it kinda kute. Why people like Wagner so much


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

hammeredklavier said:


> Unnatural in the sense that they can be harmful to the continuity of through-composition? But just like the symphony, he eventually reconsidered it. Isn't it kinda kute. Why people like Wagner so much


No. Unnatural in the sense that people don't converse by talking at the same time. Imagine the sextet from Lucia in a spoken play. Glenn Gould experimented with that sort of thing for radio, but I have to say I found his efforts more irritating than rewarding.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Woodduck said:


> No. Unnatural in the sense that people don't converse by talking at the same time.


Who convinced him otherwise? Tom Hulce?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

hammeredklavier said:


> Who convinced him otherwise? Tom Hulce?


He convinced himself. He could find himself very convincing.


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