# BARITONE TOURNAMENT (By Request): Bruson vs Bechi



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Renato Bruson, Italy, 1936-






Gino Bechi, Italy, 1913-1993






Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

I always loved Renato Bruson: a highly intelligent actor-singer, velvety voice similar to Cappuccilli, solid technique.
Here he is at slight disadvantage: the tempo is so slow you have to hear it to believe and the orchestra is raging around. Yet I just marvel at his long legato lines and almost inaudible breath intakes, this is one hell of a performance.

Bechi is equally artistic, very nuanced but powerful when needed, another masterclass of perfect breath control.

Somehow both manage to not let out a melodramatic "auuuhhhh!" at the end. Also, no splitting phrases to gasp for air as many modern singers would do. I suggested to do this matchup and now I am at a loss how to vote, I want to pick both. I'm also a Don Carlo nuts and hold each performance dear to my heart.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I find it much more difficult of late to attempt to compare two singers who are not singing the same aria so that I could better judge how one does over the other with the same material.
When I listen to these singers I do not look to see who is singing because I don't want to add any prejudice. Most times I am able to discover by the voice who is who anyway.
Bruson did a beautiful job with his aria and actually so did Bechi except that, drat it, Hvorostovsky's voice keeps getting in the way of my favorite baritone aria "io morro".
So my vote goes to Bruson.
(Question: Is there a reason why you have decided to change the format from the same aria and same passage to a different one for each?)


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> (Question: Is there a reason why you have decided to change the format from the same aria and same passage to a different one for each?)


No, it's the same aria but you have to *cue it to about 7:00 for Bruson*, as the whole scene was included in his video.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Bruson benefits from a resonant acoustic that makes evaluation a little harder. When I was a young singer I always enjoyed hearing my own voice bouncing around in the bathroom, sounding powerful and resonant, but I knew I wasn't really that good. I'm not sure what I think of Bruson, but I'm pretty sure nonetheless that I prefer Bechi, even if his rather graphic death does tickle my funny bone. His compact, penetrating tone, somewhat reminiscent of Gobbi's, must have been thrilling in the opera house.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Bechi wins for artfulness and ease. Bruson is pretty good, and his lines are long and well phrased, but to me Bechi just knocks it out of the park. The first phrase of the second verse with the diminuendo followed by a crescendo followed by a full phrase in one breath astonishes me every time I listen to this recording. The Preiser transfer of this aria sounds even richer and is one I have listened to many times. I think Bechi is underrated in terms of musicality, especially in his 1940s recording. His 50s-60s recordings were a bit rougher, but in the 40s he managed to consistently achieve perfectly balanced and coherent phrases with legato and style. Bechi's interpretations don't have any patches where you don't know where you're going. This aria is a perfect example of that. Every baritone seems to phrase the principal melody a bit differently, and some lose momentum or seem to wader a bit. But Bechi's phrases are taut and clear, and the way he carries momentum across a whole phrase, and even a whole aria, is one of the things I love about him. He also just has a very powerful voice with a robust chest register that coordinates almost seamlessly into the head register, which is why he can do all that. Bechi seems like Battistini in that he could probably have sung dramatic tenor instead of baritone, although I love both of them in the repertoire they chose.


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