22 thoughts on “Opera, my real musical love…”

  6. Aye Weel

    I have it on good authority (Mrs M.) that Bryn is a God but that Andrea is average. He sings in tune but his voice is too light for him to be a truly great operatic tenor.

    Having googled, I find that somebody once said ‘If God had a singing voice, he would sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli.’ That somebody was Celine Dion, which says it all really.

    Mrs M. says the best of the present crop of tenors is Jonas Kaufmann.

    So, Bocelli or Kaufmann. Who’s better? Only one way to find out. Fight!!!.

  8. Yikes Nym, very droll. 🙂

    As fortune would have it Zen, this is a particular favourite of my beloved. To me, it is so much eye-tie shouting and noise which seems to go on for an eternity.

    To that end, I believe there is most definitely a Tull for that. 😉

  9. Ferret :
    To me, it is so much eye-tie shouting and noise which seems to go on for an eternity.

    🙂

  10. I think Mrs Mackie is quite right, John, so I vote for Kauffman if this is competition.

    I still think Bocelli has a pleasant voice though. Does he actually have any operatic training?

  11. Ferret :

    Yikes Nym, very droll. :)

    As fortune would have it Zen, this is a particular favourite of my beloved. To me, it is so much eye-tie shouting and noise which seems to go on for an eternity.

    To that end, I believe there is most definitely a Tull for that. ;)

    Ferret, just proves my point. His French accent is so bad that you think he is singing in eye-tie.

  13. Terfyl is a great singer. I had the opportunity to see him in recital a few years back and he is a terrific performer as well. Funny, charming and very natural on stage.

  14. Kaufmann. Mrs M is right. That’s why they have so much reverb on the mics: to amp up Boccelli’s voice, hide its imperfections and enrich its timbre. Terfyl has no need for such acoustical strengthening.

  15. Zen, thanks for the blog. Set me off on a pleasant hour of two on you tube.

    Have decided that this is my favourite version of the duet. Barry McDaniel (a septic) and Alfredo Kraus (a Don) from 1970.

    This has the added value that there are English subtitles so that Ferret can see what they are shouting about in frog (not eye-tie, for the avoidance of doubt).

  16. Ah, just reminded me of a very long time ago. I’m sure Mrs M will remember the Canadian tenor Jon Vickers, John. At the risk of boring the Furry One to death, I will do a short post about my meeting with him.

  19. It was The Pearl Fishers that awakened me to opera when I was a tiny teenager, but more specifically Nadir’s aria, “Je crois entendre encore.” Here is an especially sweet version by Beniamino Gigli:

    And, Ferret, the real shouting in opera is done in German.

  20. Thank you all for your remarks. While I do not believe that Boccelli really stands out in the front rank of tenors he has a pleasant enough voice. There is a large grey area between the two genres, pop and classical, I believe he fits in there. Above all, music is to be enjoyed.

  21. I almost missed this Zen, but how beautiful..sent a shiver down my spine.
    Not quite the same era, but here is one of my favourites from the Marriage of Figaro

  22. “Sull’aria”! One of Mozart’s prettiest duets. And Te Kanawa one of my favorite Countesses.

    Here she is again in what looks like the same production:

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