Juan Diego Florez "Quanto e bella, quanto e cara!"

[nikonero78]

Completamente de acuerdo. El rol de Nemorino es de un muerto de hambre enamorado de la chica guapa, intelectual y con clase del pueblo. No es el galan como quiso interpretarlo JDF. Total su voz es propia para este papel, de hecho a mi parecer le convienen mucho los roles de la opera de Donizetti más que los rossinianos...aunque estos tambien los hace bien.

[1717PRO]

this is so wonderful...his soft phrases and his interretation and everything....wow

[saagua1953]

Florez always downplays his good looks in interviews as if they were unimportant. But I suspect he knows that they are the icing on his cake and are the element that gives him that extra eclat and raises him above his competitors. He has a different voice from Pavarotti; both sing beautifully. But Florez sure outshines Pavarotti in looks. Florez also acts very well and is an excellent comedian.

[teneley]

No me gusta la intención, a nivel vocal impecable a pesar de la cadenzza que me parece innecesaria, pero el papel de Nemorino no puede ir de Galán, de chico guapo, no, tiene que ir de tontaina muerto de hambre enamorado de la chica guapa del pueblo que no se come un torrao... no os parece??

[teneley]

@Notmineonline No he entendido el comentario amig@, un abrazo!!!!

[Notmineonline]

@teneley Digo, que para mí también se pasó de libertino (hacer lo q le parezca).

[cucuchi10]

Have you heard JDF LIve! It is utterly amazing! one the most beautiful timbre I have heard in more than 20 years of listening to OPera!

[Hako2004]

Juan sings very well, but the most thrilling young tenor sound these days is Bogdan Mihai....in my opinion .

[Hako2004]

This beautiful melody goes up to the high A, and doesn't need to go further in my opinion. Why the extra high note?

The tempo is too slow, and drags this lively tune down.

[theory1976]

this guy is awesome...

[MegaBreez]

just listen to Luigi Alva and see the difference, that is all

[pianoxxx3]

I really love his voice!

[Mozart58]

¡Eres el mejor!.

Bravo maestro, para mí ha sido un placer conocerte en A Coruña y en Santiago de Compostela, en donde tuve la fortuna de obtener una fotografía a tu lado.

Te deseo los mayores éxitos personales y profesionales Juan Diego, te los deseo de corazón, con todo mi cariño y sincero afecto personal.

Un abrazo desde La Ciudad de Cristal.

[DiEsIbEnRaBen]

Couanto e bella, couanto e cara..

Joan Diego Florez ,

I like your very nice voice...

Thanks !

VG

[DiEsIbEnRaBen]

@Eruption1910 ok

[ulises1292]

@Eruption1910  the title is correct ok!!!!!!!!!!!you not

[pacomusisa]

beautiful, but in this performance I think that is no good the "b" note in final cadence, but is better the "a" note.......(this is a my opinion)

ps sorry for the english no good

[AntonioIranzoTenor]

Bravo!

Good someone gave an explanation about what belcanto variatione are. No words missing babe,jejé

[erikcray]

hey he messed up the words! at the ending. lol

[devastaticon]

if you mean the very last words, not everybody ends it in the exact same way. there are multiple endings or "matchings" of the various arias' texts that singers use/prefer. an example would be in "una furtiva lagrima" most singers end with the word "d'amore" when in actuality the last word written in the musc is "morir"

[undalux]

if you knew what it means you'd notice it still makes sense, and plus a tenor can't mess up with words and sing a cadenza like his one :)

[pacomusisa]

@undalux infact is a my opinion I know what means ....I don't understand why people write....If is possible a 9b....I'd like :-) a good C#........because is a cadence......

[ezequielabuin]

El mejor tenor actual para estos roles de lirico ligero. Conjuga temperamento, voz de timbre aterciopelado, fraseo, excelente caudal, juventud, presencia escenica y encima es bien parecido. Realmente, a este muchacho Dios lo hizo para cantar y al hacerlo cumple con su destino y gratifica las almas de quienes lo escuchamos. Espero verlo pronto por Buenos Aires

[hansquad]

I realize that, Florez has shorter breath than for example, Pavarotti.

[Saguntinus]

Bravissimo, Maestro! Porque un gran maestro es, a pesar de su juventud, este tenor, incomparable en su género.

[nadiaysteve]

Que talento!

[AcademicEngineer]

Blame the improvisation on the director, but the voice is still superb, sweet bel canto as it should be. I admire Florez.

[rickman777]

Juan Diego Florez , el mejor tenor del mundo

[petrina1022]

He has the youthfulness and good looks to embody Nemorino perfectly. What a heart-throb too! Beautiful both vocally and stylistically.  Love it!!

[Ruffiello]

Thank you, once again, Onegin65.

[bookworm1818]

Absolutely beautiful voice! Whenever I hear him I always know it's him. He has a distinctive voice.

[hansquad]

Yes, Pavarotti, Kraus, Schipa and Gigli all had very distinctive voices!

I think, I somehow have a distinctive voice too~ =p

haha, or maybe I'm delusional..O_O

[OperaAdmirer]

Great! Bravo, Florez!

[pianoxxx3]

I really like his voice...no matter what some people say.

[moo7chi7ld]

dear piano,

what do people say? that it is too bright on top or what? One teacher says he's "a very intelligent singer", but another vocal diagnostician hears the telltale signs of vocal deterioration already

[pianoxxx3]

okay?

[Honken]

He is a leggiero/tenorino, it's only natural for him to have a bright top.

[moo7chi7ld]

I've been reconsidering the operatic tenor voice i n my thoughts. A tenorino that goes up to f is the normal male hi voice. But it is a bright falsetto, and some r &r singers do it easily.But the operatic voice is a cultivated voice, only about 150 years old. whereas the bass voice is a natural voice, refined thru training and perfected thru practice. I bet rubini and donzelli sang more like the r&r tenorino,(like larry chance, or randy meisner of the eagles.)Then duprez started experimenting

[Honken]

While it's true that gola aperta didn't start until heavier roles (Verdi, Puccini) demanded bigger voices, vocal modification and resonance placing has been a staple in the italian vocal school since the 17th-18th century.

A tenor voice is as natural as a bass voice. "Refined thru training and practice", as opposed to what? It takes years to even debut in a minor role, opera isn't something that is learnt over night.

[Honken]

It is still opera, a 'r&r'-type of vocal technique (or lack of) wouldn't carry in an operahouse, even with light orchestration. I've never heard a pop singer hit a F5 in full voice.

Sorry if I sounded grumpy! :)

[moo7chi7ld]

TITI SCHIPA DIDNT HAVE A BIG VOICE,but it carried in the opera house even at Buenos aires, the biggest one in the world. Carrying power comes with the use of the nasal resonance WITHIN the darkened tone. The pure nasal tone is too harsh to the ear, but its good for your throat

[moo7chi7ld]

TENOR VOICE SEEMS to be very different from a tenorino voice. tenor voices are cultivated-- meaning contrived, rather like ballet is contrived. You staart with nature and you develop it in what seems like a logical enhancement of its inherent abilities. Soprano is also natural, not contrived, thats why she can sing much longer and louder than a tenor can without getting tired or hving vocal fatigue. This is my present understanding.I'm training myself now and these are my conclusions.

[moo7chi7ld]

I feel that gola aperta is necessary in any kind of singing. It mends the breaks in the voice, at e-flat and a- flat, and created one voice without drastic changes in timbre, without using the external throat muscles to make pitch. gola aperta enables you to sing sul fiato much easier.

[Honken]

I never said anything about needing a big voice to carry through, I just said that since Verdian music was heavier than the previous bel canto repertoire, technique had to develop to support such roles.

[Honken]

Leggiero/tenorino is a tenor voice.

Passaggio isn't necessarily between E4-A5, it depends on where the singer experiences a break between registers.

:)

[moo7chi7ld]

it is generally agreed the leggiero tenor voice has the transition points At e flat 4 and a flat 4, below top c. They call it the lower and upper passaggio. There's avideo on youtube Rockwell Blake explains passaggio and dark timbre. He 's a light tenor, and sings full voice scale up to F 5 on that tape.

[Honken]

*A4

Primo- and secondo passaggio varies a lot, while it's 'generally accepted' where some categories fall it's still nothing that is written in stone. The word 'approximate' is used to set standards here.

The highest note in that video is E5, not F5 not to mention that I was talking about pop singers, not one of the greatest leggieros of our time! (Check out his tu che a dio and cessa di piu!)

[moo7chi7ld]

On both scales? I tho't one of them was F 5. But I agree with one of the greatest leggieros of our time as you have nominated him(!) thatr there is no such thing as a passaggio., as he insists in this tape . Passaggio problems are createdd by the lack of something: lack of gola arerta, that is, there's a slight diffenence of direction at some points in the scale,, and the singer gets scared, and his throat closes, and the tone cracks, or changes in timbre.

[Honken]

I agree, passaggio was created to have an easier way of saying what you just listed. What I meant by my previous posts is that because of this, everyones OWN perception of passaggio is completely personal.

Speaking of Blake, I don't understand why people don't like him. Sure, his voice didn't sound very nice towards the end of his career but this happens to everyone at some point.

Viva Blake! :)

[moo7chi7ld]

i love that song, tu che a dio. Tenors do have t be more careful than the other voices. I had t learn that. But did you know that a light tenor voice has very big and deep low notes? Such tenors are often categorised as baritones because of that.Check out David Jones article Çharacteristics of the Leggiero Tenor on thevoiceteacher's past articles. I like "everyones own perception of passaggio is completely personal."

[Honken]

I've read it, and I have his CD!

[moo7chi7ld]

He came to sweden in august, did you go? Which CD the instruction or the Favorite Handel arias?

[Honken]

No it was on the other side of the country and I'm a student (busy + broke). The introduction to his teaching methods. Though he is using a different approach, his teachings are very closely related to that of my teachers.

[moo7chi7ld]

The first time I sang con gola aperta i was amazed, and while the primo passaggio is unnoticeable to me now, I notice the secondo is a fascinating area -g, a flat, and a, that iam just now normalizing. But I still think gola aperta is the sine qua non of any king of singing, that and the so called coup de glotte, which is no COUP at all ! Maybe they should call it the COO de glotte, like a pigeons coo! It does the trick. That is what i liked about you, you said GOLA APERTA.

[Honken]

It's a nice feeling when the throat opens up and it feels like the singing is done automatically! I had a severe flu for a few weeks so my support has gotten weaker which makes secondo passaggio a bit rougher, but I'll come back with some practice!

I must say, it is interesting to discuss vocal production but if we keep on like this we'll take over the commentary of this video! :)

[moo7chi7ld]

Are you a light tenor too?it sounds like it.!

His article cleared up a lifetime of vocal confusion for me.

[Honken]

I'm still growing and my voice has changed a lot since when I first started singing, I'll ask my teacher for a second oppinion later but I'm pretty sure that I'm a lirico! :)

[moo7chi7ld]

when did yu first star? Along time ago? i just really learned to abandon the outer musles in march 2009.Now I'm trying to get used to ""letting the top notes happen"", as evelyn puts it. I have a light tenor withbig heavy notes to an octave below middle c, but Bernard Coffin says ""some voices have both textures""!!!

[Honken]

I've been singing for a year now but there's been breaks due to traveling. My range is A3-C5, right now I'm working on getting my support back after a serious flu I had for quite some time.

[moo7chi7ld]

i hope you'll get all better soon. In march I had laryngitis for three weeks from overuse. I could hardly talk. Rest and non-use are good for your voice, in fact, I tend to sing too much. As I noted, tenors are NOT sopranos. When you get better yoú'll be twice as good as before. I think the right muscles actualy develop during rest, and any harm done the cords by over enthusiam heals up. So be happy.

[Honken]

I know what you mean, all of my best lessons have been after a week or two off. Endurance is lost when you take a break but everything else becomes much easier.

[moo7chi7ld]

endurance is lost--how long do you expect

to sing for at one time? They told me that during an opera, the tenor sings a total of 45 minutes,off and on. I have to learn to conserve my energy, not expect to expend it limitlessly, as I had hoped I'd be able to.

[Honken]

My lessons never range over an hour (that is, the singing part). What I meant was that when you lose your endurance some difficult exercises become too straneous because you're losing support/mechanical leverage which tires out the voice prematurely.

Just like with everything else, if you stop for a while it becomes harder when you pick it up again (initially).

[moo7chi7ld]

so when youre actually singing it comes to an hour at a stretch? Difficult singing-- do you mean legato or sustained tones or fioritura? :)

[Honken]

The first half hour is warmup, the second is more advanced exercises. It's a variation my teacher adopted during his studies with Arrigo Pola (and later, Bergonzi).

Difficult are usually exercises that go through passaggio with a lot of vocal modulations and flexible passages, sometimes hitting high notes. Keeping the legato whilst jumping up and down is extremely tiresome and usually leaves me a bit lightheaded if I'm not "in shape".

[moo7chi7ld]

I made a mistake and clicked the poor comment icon. Lately I have been budgeting my breath. Liebling and lamperti recommend breathing whenever possible without upsetting the legato phrasing. Also, I let all tension leave the cords and vocal tract before I begin a new phrase. this keeps it all fresh and enjoyable.

[Honken]

Something that fascinates me is what happens when you sing freely. The feeling of your voice singing effortlessly and automatically without any direct thought is intimidating yet very rewarding. Jussi Björling once said that the greatest moments he had when singing was when the voice carried itself, like there was a tenor inside of him doing the singing for him.

[moo7chi7ld]

I guess that happened to me on Aug 15. I didnt think to put it lke you did, but that description fits. I had botched it sso many times I guess ibecame spontaneously sober, from so many errors of excess and over enthusiasm I sang my favorite aria Salût demeure, without fear or trying too hard. My voice was out there, as though i were watching it. I haveto meditate on that to bring it back.

[pianoxxx3]

I saw this opera at the Met...beautiful!

[mozart230647]

Más que una promesa...

[Khaymansete]

Vale que no tiene la tecnica de Kraus o el poderio de Pavarotti pero el chico es muuuuy joven y tiene terciopelo dentro.

En el panorama actual arrasa con justicia, y lo que te rondare morena...

[acitipo]

@Khaymansete No dudo que Kraus ha  tenido una tecnica excelente pero carecio de un bello timbre, ademas se le acuso en repetidas veces de que la voz era nasal, en cambio JDF tiene un bellisimo timbre . Pavarotti lo nombro su sucesor, y Placido lo catapulto como el mejor tenor ligero de TODOS . A JDF le han dado CASI todos los premios como el mejor del mundo. Ademas esta cantando Rossini de manera intensa y exclusiva 15 años seguidos sin bajarse de este dificilisimo rol, Todo un record.

[Ojalalluevapronto]

el actua en american pie

[matimomi]

florez is fabulous... his singing is so moving..

[teneley]

impresionante, es el primer cantante que veo por aqui que esta aria la canta de manera no heróica, el papel de Nemorino es el del tonto del pueblo que se enamora de la chica guapa, el típico pringao de ahora y este chico hace muy bien ese papel, ese es el caracter...

[Nemorino11]

Certo bisogne tener conto che le tecniche di registrazione moderne sono molto migliori che in passato. Cmq Florez è straordinario !!!!!!!!

[donerlich]

I like him but that extra high note he put at the end  of the cadenzawas a bit dodge imo!

[aarontenor]

Yes....that isn't exactly tradition, but.....lets remember that Beniamino Gigli also sang it exactly that way. Plus, Donizetti was all for tenors doing crazy things and improvising. I personally love the extra high note. This is an important aria that sets the tone for his character and I think the extra high note adds to the meaning behind the song, the plot, and his personality.

[donerlich]

Hehe, it's funny you say that, I had a Masterclass with Simon O' Neill a couple of weeks back and I did this song for him and he pretty much confirmed what you just said.....he reckoned at a competition at least 3 or 4 tenors would pull this song out and if you DIDN'T do something different at the end you pretty much just look like everyone else lol!

[moo7chi7ld]

Donizetti like tenors doing crazy things.. sounds interesting I guess that was left over from Baroque improvising. . . I like it I think it should be bbrought back to our time.Are ther books or articles about it?

[bberman2]

Improvising, especially at fermatas in the orchestra, has nothing to do with the Baroque style. The bel canto style teachers trained their singers from day one to improvise, and they were expected to do so. This lasted well into the 19th century.

[moo7chi7ld]

I meant that Baroque musicians esp clavier players were expected to extemporize, and Bach was especially loves for this ability. During the romantic period, chopin included grace notes as an integral part of the melody structure, and didnt want anyone to change it. But singers were also expected to elaborate on the melody line, like cantors in Schul did and do. Fernando de lucia was the last famous tenor who did this; he even sang Gounod like that(salût demeure)

[figaro207]

Juan Diego is just going to get better and better, in 20 years time we will all be looking back on an astonishing career

[matimomi]

fantastico! immaginatevi la sua voce dal vivo! è davvero commovente!

[Alvaro1925]

Juan Diego Flórez, aparte de ser el bastión de una época dorada en el canto latino, encarna como pocos un divismo moderno. Es un hombre de su tiempo: curioso y con gustos eclécticos. Demuestra un nivel de autoexigencia nada común en ningún ámbito. Más en una carrera que exige sacrificios a todos los niveles.Todo eso lo va dominando Flórez con una tranquilidad y una elegancia asombrosas. Una prueba inequívoca de su estirpe. La de los grandes. Jesús Ruiz Mantilla, EL PAÍS.

[Alvaro1925]

Y esa dote natural en un mundo de oídos finos marca la diferencia. Nació con un don. Ahora, consciente de su suerte, lo pule obsesivamente.

[MisterSoprano]

I adore him! Cannot wait to hear him again in 2009! Oh, best after Pavarotti in this role.

[LordMoe9]

as long as he doesn't go for heavier roles he'll keep that beautiful voice for some time

[djtsinopoulos]

He is amazing for this repertoire at least by todays standards.

[bloydaage]

Right man in right place! Nothing more to say

[WiseMonki]

beautiful in every respect...

[Auderianu]

Amazing.  Wonderful. <3

[Skyindarkness]

Me encanta Florez en este papel!!!

[ShawDAMAN]

Come on guys, this is pretty good! Not Pavarotti, yes, but much better than most current tenors

[MrIsaiah33]

@ShawDAMAN yeah true he has a nice voice...

[kanban333]

@ShawDAMAN He will better than Pavarotti

[arvanitsa]

@ShawDAMAN Not Pavarotti? Thank heavens for that, Florez is quite a cut above mr P I think.

[ShawDAMAN]

@arvanitsa Well it depends what your personal parameters are. Some may well prefer him, in fact I do myself in some things, but I never said Pavarotti was "better" anyway but merely that a comparison wasn't fair. Pavarotti for one thing had a larger tenor voice- you would never see Florez attempting Tosca or La Boheme or Il Trovatore or Aida etc etc (although those last 2, Pavarotti should NOT have attempted) haha

[ShawDAMAN]

@arvanitsa and as good a Tonio as Florez is, I don't think Pavarotti's early performances in "La fille du regiment" will ever be surpassed at least in terms of pure vocalism.

[redsox2213]

We have been spoiled by Pavarotti....that is all I'm going to sa

[dee1153]

Yes we have... Pav was the greatest Nemorino EVER! Florez is the ultimate YAWN...

[Mirenzo9]

Well, you have to be more open mind............

[Valdul31]

this guy just makes me sleep. please somebody donate him a soul or at least a "pair" he would be at least a little bit interesting.

[Mirenzo9]

Thank God the mayority doesn' think like you, and that 's what REALLY matters..........

[ed07]

Had this last semester ugh couldnt do the cadance that good HA i wish but i think it sounded ok

[CliffX]

Show off on that cadence...oh, fuck it, he's great anyways.

[jorjikia]

he is the best now!!!

[palmolella]

Che voce Florez!

Hai la voce giusta per Donizetti.

Bravo Marco Palmolella

[tosca31]

This role suits him very well!

[elacarcel]

00:40 va a caerse!! jaja.

[Opergebaude]

Gran interpretacion no solo llena de tecnica vocal sino de un don que solo Dios sabe a quienes darselo bravo!

[frenchyfrench]

I like it but he sings a bit like if he was in recital. In a way a bit too nice...and the high note at the end plus the long notes...Nothing to do with the interpretation, it s a bit parasit notes...I also prefer Valletti.

[tacubakos]

I think you are right. A more "theatrical" interpretation I would consider that of Villazon.

[ziapengyfence]

I totally agree! he does sound like he is in a recital. Tagliavini is also really good!

[rofermex]

wow, i didn't know him, he's just great, very talented..

[ah332]

good, but i prefer cesare vallettis

[dejamevivir]

exelente interpretacion..

[cyfieithydd]

I think it's a B actually, but it's still great singing!

[egrosz]

I just love Florez!!For me he is perfect!

[kungura]

Is that a high C? i like his 'twist' on the cadenza. although, his acting isn't up to par, the hand movements are a bit over done, but i'd take a good singer who can't act very well, over vice versa...

[lauritahs]

bello bello bello!!!

[casicarlos]

is too perfect.. is the best voice of tbe century... bravo!!!