Donald Braswell singing Lenski's Aria, Concert Recital

[itsthemex07]

This is amazing.

[horseman590]

he sings like E. Carusoe

[bridges52news]

Beautiful! He is much like the wonderful Richard Tucker

[rockgor]

The aria is from the opera Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky. Lenski sings

it just before the duel in which he is killed.

Tnx 4 posting this wonderful performance.

[bridges52news]

He certainly has a magnificent voice. Great talent!

[CarMarkids]

Donald has an incredible voice! He not only sounds like Corelli but I think he bears a strong physical resemblance.

[MrMadscotsman]

Brilliant indeed

[Paulol100]

I just love this so much

[mnunezper]

o.0 that cut at 5:09!! wanna kick my computer :S

[infinitirider]

@mnunezper ...I agree. I did not want it to end! What a magnificent voice. Want to hear more opera from Donald Braswell

[loveopera2]

Outstanding! He is equal to some of our greatest tenors

[CarMarkids]

Brilliant! Certainly on a level with di Stefano and other great tenors

[bridges52news]

He has an amazing and thrilling voice as a younger man. His recent videos show he is still an outstanding singer

[tenorhighf]

Wow. I love this music. Voice of an Angel

[Theflyinhawaiian2000]

Obviously before the accident. You can tell he's younger, and he's a hair better than he was on America's Got Talent. He's incredible, still.

[doubletoothpix]

Electrifying! Donald was world class, even at such an early age.

[bridges52news]

Amazing voice! He is much like Corelli.

Corelli was the greatest

[terjesweet]

This is an amazing voice, and a great personality. But I must say, after looking at this face and listening to the voice, there is no way that this is from 2008 I know hes a nice guy and all that, But come on..look and listen and dont be fooled, this is not from last year..:) and you experts out there who clearly know yor opera...: lets hear it..!? xxx

[shelleyriling]

terjesweet, I am pretty sure this is before Donald's accident. But the best way to find out for sure might be to ask primotenoredonnyb

[Dtenor87]

Nothing less from a Corelli/Bertacci student  :)

[Webarton]

great voice, great corelli imitation, but this kind of technique will not last him.

[shelleyriling]

Webarton, Donald is not imitating Corelli, Corelli was one of his teachers.. Why do you say this kind of technique will not last? Please explain. Love your guitar playing. And am a dedicated fan of Donald Braswell.

[jewelmarkess]

Webarton, I would also like an explanation what you see wrong with the technique. It seems perfectly fine to me. And yes, he did study with Corelli so some similarities are normal.

[tenorhighf]

he was trained by Franco Corelli he won a scholarship.

[Webarton]

Great. Where is he singing today?

[songsofscarlet]

He sounds great here! He was however mostly trained by an incredible teacher named Franco Bertacci who was a long time student of Corelli. Regardless they both taught the same technique which creates a beautiful voice such as this.

[rexeterna]

wow, he sure tries to imitate corelli doesn't he

[loveopera2]

Donald is magnificent! I saw Pavarotti in one of his last performances. A great privilege to hear this great man in person. I believe Donald was well on his way to being the next "great one" before his career was interrupted. I know from watching his recent videos that he is back on track now doing what he was meant to do - to bring happiness into the world with his splendid voice!

[terjesweet]

this is before the accident isnt it?

[jewelmarkess]

The comments on the right say 2008, so it must be after.

[CarMarkids]

Magnificent!! I can see why Donald was thought to be one of the brightest stars of opera before his career was interrupted. A blessing that he is making a comeback and from what I see his voice is now as good as ever.

[Nrobinsongs]

Hope he comes to Australia. He could fill the Sydney Opera House or any number of theaters in Melbourne. He would be a giant success. Saw 3 tenors in concert (Pavarotti, Domingo & Carreras) all wonderful, Donald is just as good. Saw Pavarotti several years before his death did some cross over songs, not good at this. But still a great operatic voice, Donald is as good & his cross over magnificent. Will leave US in 2 wks when I'm home will bug everyone in the theaters to get Donald to our shores

[infinitirider]

Sorry Ratisbone, didn't mean to offend you. I think being compared to Corelli is a supreme compliment and takes nothing away from Donald. Donald's voice today is even more powerful and passionate than when this was filmed . I do not think anyone out there today can compare with him. Potts and Boyd can't be mentioned in the same breath as Braswell.

[69Tuscany]

Thank you for sharing this...I enjoy it very much.

[paulostroff99]

Astounding rendition. Not that much inferior to.Wunderlich,Schmidt,and Lemeshev. Bravo!

[Ratisbone68]

None of the great tenors sing this aria with such great passion. Potts and Boyd are not in the same league.

[Manxypop]

Can't believe this is the America's got Talent guy - he is absolutely amazing. Too bad he didn't sing opera in the competition - he would have won! What a voice!!!!

[shelleyriling]

Manxypop, AGT would not let Donald sing Opera. They gave him a list of songs they wanted him to sing. So he had to choose from that list. He made little diamonds out of each song he sang though!

[Manxypop]

Wow - The guy that won sung opera - doesn't seem fair, even though Donald can sing the other stuff. Opera has a special effect in these competitions - look at Paul Potts and Neil Boyd - neither have the voice or technique of Donald. It does not seem fair, even though he appears to now have a huge following and flourishing career.

[jewelmarkess]

Just found this. Wow. He is excellent. It's a loss to all of us that his career was interrupted. I bet powers-that-be on AGT didn't want him to show the audience how mediocre Neal was.

[strfruit]

he's gorgeous!

[Ratisbone68]

How I would love to hear Donald Braswell sing Un di Felice from Traviata. Di Stefano & Callas did such a wonderful job of it.

[Ratisbone68]

More! More! More!

[Ratisbone68]

Incredible voice!

[alvin821]

He's SO much better than Neal E. Boyd ....

[luverlything]

Breathtaking!! Magnificent! Superb!! Sublime..........and handsome too.......wow!! I am smitten!

[TraceyMariexx]

OMG! The most beautiful voice I've ever heard

[infinitirider]

He truly does sound like Franco Corelli.

Donald should make a CD of favorite arias. I want to hear more and more performances like this. Fate was not kind to him. If his career had not been interrupted, he would be one of the most famous opera singers of today.

[expowsdaughter]

Fate has a funny way of doing things... his voice today is richer, purer, and full of feeling, whereas his earlier work (be it technically correct), was lacking the *emotion* that life's experiences has given him. I believe he still has a long career ahead of him. Bravo, Donald, bravo!

[Ratisbone68]

infinitirider: Donald has enough talent to stand on his own. He doesn't have to be compared to Franco Corelli. If you will listen to Corelli sing this aria, you will find that Donald's rendition is light years above Franco Corelli's.

[tmtstudio1983]

If he performs in Eugene Onegin as Lensky with Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Onegin I would be the first one to buy the ticket to watch them!!

[tmtstudio1983]

This is the best I heard from him so far, really MUCH better than everything he sang in America's Got Talent, even those what he sang there was good. Personally I think this is his true side as an singer and musician.

[JaneJ7]

What an incredible voice. This man is unbelievable, put him up against any of the great opera singers and he would exceed all of them. I know his Juilliard training helped shape his beautiful voice but there is something else there that few are born with. Watching him sing with such passion is just as mesmerizing as listening to his powerful voice. Bravo and Bravo to one of the greatest.

[kaitlinmd1]

Amazing voice!... bravo!!!!!!

[SexyJessi09]

he is beautiful..... his voice.... and deeds are beautiful as well

[alicecolleenflynn]

Please record an aria CD!!!!

[jcmcpr]

he even sounds like franco corelli

[jcmcpr]

dude! where do you find these videos of him, amazing!

[128032000]

Argh! Where's the ending? So beautiful, I wanted to hear the rest. Great voice, great emotion, great looks. How often does the combination come along? Go Donald.

[CarMarkids]

@128032000 Ah yes, i want to hear the ending too. Magnificent!!

[response007]

The two very-best male singers to become known to America and the rest of the world during the past year are: Donald Braswell II and Ricky Braddy!!! They should sing some duets together...as soon as Ricky is available.

[Ratisbone68]

Bravo! Maybe Donald Braswell will one day make a CD comprised exclusively of opera arias.

[jbrown91287]

Incredible come back. I am an opera singer and I am incredibly impressed. I hope to see him hit the opera stage again.

[3637ann]

I wish I knew what was going through Donald Braswells mind during the first few notes of this aria,I see such passion and a deep love of the music and the words.

Its hard to imagine such a young Tenor from Texas can sing this aria better by far than any other tenor alive or dead. I thank God that Donalds voice came back after the accident and thanks to his fans who voted him back on AGT Now we will see Donald rise to where he wants to be. He dared to dream as he fought his way back... Bravo.

[jaycee240]

Everything about this man is beautiful, his voice, his gentle spirit and his perfect good looks. His rendition of the National Anthem (which is also here on YouTube as mentioned in an earlier comment) just gives me goosebumps, he sings it with such passion and conviction. The man is on his way up and there's no stopping him now. I'll definitely be there in Vegas at the Hilton on Feb 15th, I have already got my ticket and can't wait to see him in person.

[ghostfan2009]

What a treat to see and hear Donald before his accident. Such intensity in this video. He is just marvelous!

[ariana1984]

No, this is after the accident - in 2008, the caption says.

[3637ann]

I'm in awe...I just played this at full volume agian.. if one compares Lenski's Aria with Donald singing 'What Kind of Fool am I' from his CD New Chapter...or Unchained Melody from The Debut Concert that is on Donald's my space... it makes such a big impact of just how vast a range Donald has and his passion is awesome... to me he is the very best.. He can sing anything. I just hope one he comes to Toronto.. Massey Hall would be good.

[98sunkst]

Geeeez, is there nothing this handsome hunk can't sing? I've always been a big opera fan and this man is right up there with the very best. The one thing he has on other great male opera singers is his amazing sexie looks.

[loveopera2]

This is a superb performance of one of my favorite arias. Donald, you're a world class talent! Go and do opera again, but don't stop singing those romantic "pops."

[LuciaMedea]

You sing in Russian too??? Wow... I don't understand a word of Russian but I feel the emotions of this song oozing through the performance. It's so easy to see that Juilliard training even off the opera stage! BRAVO!!!

[3637ann]

This is truly magnificent your Braswellian fans

are in awe... Thank you... Now we can see the passion as well as listening to it in your voice. Ann