I think we are talking about totally different things. Let's not discuss anymore. Internet is too full of pointless arguments. I think Ghiaurov was an amazing singer and a great artist - full stop.
listen to spoken voice on movies and television from the sixties, compare to today. Totally different vocal techniques. Today actors use whisper-techniques and compression synthesizer.
@Trombligliotti I'm quite sure that if I were to listen as you suggest to sixties TV I might be able to perceive some differences but the biggest difference which takes no careful study took place in 1928 with Rudy Valee. The biggest recent mic effect has been the use of cardioid mics by gospel quartet basses that started only about twenty years ago. This is a big effect unlike the subtle effects you seem to have noticed.
Thanks for reply Agorante; You misunderstand. Microphone was indeed invented more than a century ago, but only today does it exist in everyday life, absolutely everywhere, on every person, all through the day, affecting our lives in the same way internet has changed the way we write letters.
modern style of singing is very affected by movies and spoken culture today. Actors whisper, and mobile phones allow a more loose, energy-lethargic style of phonation, which makes it impossible to develop relaxed energy while singing, because it is so different from speech. Fifty years ago, before all the microphones and mobiles, people sang more as they spoke, always using the voice in the same way
@Trombligliotti Good points but bad chronology. Fifty years ago was 1962. Edison invented the mic in 1877 and recordings went electric in 1926 at about the same time that the talkies came in. I agree about the effect of mics on singing but I think you should say a century not a half century.
Classic result of singing too muscular in the throat, many men have this crisis around 35-40 when ligaments are not flexible anymore. Many have to stop singing because of too much muscular instability - the cause is bad teachers making the young singers identify the voice with throat-power and not elegance. Big voices can still have amazing flexibility - Birgit for instance, just to name one of the more extreme voices who still was able to make all sorts of emotional lines and vocal effects.
this is one of the best excerpts of nicolai i've heard. his voice had a tensionial strength and placement that it didn't have later. not criticizing how he sounded later just praising how he sounded here. this is before his heart problems and is very impressive. but don't get too wrapped up in just the sound.... listen to his phrasing and artistry also. it's rather awsome... :--) he also had a good top when he was young also. was a good artist most of his career. bravo nicolai
@greve@greve There were only a handfull of star operatic basses in the twentheth century - Chaliapin, Pinza, Siepi, Tozzi, Christoff, Ghiaurov, and Ramey. All of these men had marque power. They got the new productions, opening nights, and recording contracts. In the next rank were Hines, Plishka, Talvela, Salminen, Frick, and Moll. First line basses sang Phillip. Second line sang the Inquistor. In the London Don Carlo recording Ghiaurov sang the king and Talvela sang the priest.
@greve Such preferences are very much open to debate. To talk about the "greatest" in the context of so many fine singers, seems to me a frivolous exercise.
@greve I wouldn´t say the greatest ever cause there´re other voices, but Compared to Nicolai ... Marrti´s voice is good but there´s no comparison. Ghiaurov voice is spectacular.
@zimmelfsho1 I heard Kurt Moll live and Ghiaurov when both were at their peaks. Ghiaurov was better I thought, and so did most of the critics. However Moll sang the low note (or profondo) parts like Osmin and Sarastro and very few if any of the mainstream star bass roles (Phillip II, Boris, Mephisto, etc.) that were a bit higher. Moll recorded supporting bass roles to the bass leads of Ramey. Ghiaurov always was cast in leads.
He re-made his technique rather early in his career. He sang for most of his career with his "new" method. He was still very good but not as good as he had been early on.
I heard him before his technique change. I heard him after also.
@Jextxadore Ghiaurov "carried his chest to high". He did not cover his high notes when he first came up. He sang all the way up to a high F without adjusting. Conversely he had a short bottom at first. He skipped the low Fs in Marcel. Maybe I should make a video demonstrating this change.
Looked again at the Miller book. He cites one of the Don's arias as well as Leporello's famous one. Also La Calumnia, which sits in the same place, A to E. It's really a complete manual of how to train baritone/bass, if you know how/when to use each exercise. I trained a little differently [Oren Brown] but some of the principles are the same. I think (?) Brown emphasized using the falsetto itself more, strengthening it and blending it into chest. Interested what you think.
Agorante, you and onaykk should see Richard Miller's book on teaching basses and baritones. He uses musical excerpts from the arias you are discussing as examples of test pieces on negotiating the passaggio for basses. Obviously you must sing correctly, but these roles are do-able for basses, even profundos. Hines sang them to the end of his career. Mardones could sing Celeste Aida in the original key! Really good basses have all the notes to high G, just don't sing them too much.
I've got this book. I read this about a year ago and I'm going to read as soon as possible again. Very good book indeed. As you say Miller used small phrases (excerpts) from many arias. Very clever strategy for training the voice because scales not always completes some points like legato in technique.I must immediately say that Ghiaurov had a booming High A when he first came to MET. Like @agorante said he changed his technique due to his vocal crisis, due to Faust and Don Giovanni.
Heard Ghiaurov several times as King Phillip II in Verdi's DON CARLO. The first time, it was one of the largest voices that I had heard in the Metropolitan Opera. A few years later, it was only a pale imitation of what I had previously heard. In his prime, he was wonderful!
@muso2007 Look at Cesare Siepi,Ferruccio Furlanetto,Ezio Pinza;they are %100 basses but unlike our time,they are all forced to sing Don Giovanni.Ghiaurov couldn't survived from this process and had his vocal crisis thanks to both Don Giovanni and Faust(Méphistophélès). Furlanetto has also rapidly quited from this role.Indeed bass "Don Giovanni"s cannot be comparable in taste of timbre with the baritones,tessittura is destructive for real bass materials.Siepi and Pinza overcomed this problem well
Just what nation forces men to sing Don Giovanni? Here in California guys actually compete to be cast as the Don. All the male non-tenor roles in Don Giovanni have exactly the same range (low A to a high E). The tessitura for the Don is higher than that for Leporello but it is still easy enough. The Seranade and the Champagne Aria are the only sections that are in any way a stretch for a bass. Looks, bearing and style are more important in this role than top notes.
@Agorante I totally share same ideas with you like"bearing and style are more important in this role than top notes".However,the number of passagio difficulties in Don Giovanni for a bass having passagio C# or D are too much.Therefore, vocally it cause serious damages even it damages to Dpassagio bass more than C# interestingly.Siepi(best) has passagio C# instead Furlanetto and Ghiaurov has D even for George London(also has Dpassagio).Just look at the agonizing of Furlanetto:/watch?v=l2qOKdVcepM
As it happens I'm constructing a web site that among other things helps basses sing the Champagne aria.
I can't determine a singer's exact passagio as you seem to be able to. I think most singers adjust their passagio point depending on the lie of the music and its speed. In fast pieces you often don't have time to cover.
Hola Agorante, podrias explicar algo mas lo que le sucio a Ghiaurov en su crisis vocal?, que le sucedio y cuando fue esto, cierto es que años despues ya no cantaba con la misma voz, incluso interpreto algunas arias de bajo baritono, la voz que muestra en el video es impresionante, estaba forzada?, fuera de su tesitura natural?. Gracias por mostrarnos esas voces irrepetibles ,que pena lo de la crisis, Un saludo.
E una voce meravigliosa ! Please check out some of khankonchak's uploads ofthesuperb Russian basso profondo,Boris Shtokolov,here on Youtube.He was truly remarkable. Mille grazie for sharing this great clip.
Wow. I am left almost speechless. I just IMed this URL to my friend and I'm showing it to my mom the instant she gets home from her walk. He is AMAZING. The tone of his voice is simply magical. Thank you so much for posting!
+ 100 !!!! QUESTA SERA a Garnier "IL PUBBLICO " avveva dimenticato che esistevano altri solisti !!!! GHIAUROV era INSUPERABILE !!!!! IMMORTALE !!!! GRAZIE !
Man. Thanks for this reminder of Ghiaurov at his best. This voice had a PRESENCE. (This is hard to explain, but please bear with me.:)). It's as though every component of the sound makes you stand up and take notice. Some great singers have this quality and some don't. Among others who do: Caruso, Corelli, Gigli, Ruffo, Merrill, Warren, Journet, Melchior, Vickers, Nilsson, Crespin, (Marian) Anderson, both Prices (Leontyne and Margaret), Gorr.
As to technique, from my experience as a soprano, it doesn't mean "playing safe", just the opposite. A secure technique lets you sing vocally taxing music without damaging the instrument. Some young singers blessed with prodigious voices burn out because they lack technique and sing on 'capital' rather than 'interest'.
As for unimpaired vocal longevity listen to Virginia Zeani mature from Gilda to Aida, & Mark Reisen is fantastic at 90 singing Gremin.
Wow! He truly sounds amazing here! I had actually never heard of this "crisis" in his career, but it does explain some things I heard in latter recordings, so thanks, Agorante, for posting this and for the info.
If a pro athlete or a great singer declines from natural aging that is one thing. To say they declined from a "crisis" or "injury" is something different. No one knows what Ghiaurov did or did not do or have except himself or those close to him. As with most singers like Di Stefano it is not a matter of taking chest too high it is a matter of not balancing it and covering that leads to problems. You have to take chest up or you will sing like women do. It is a matter of covering.
Many famous singers have had vocal crises. Bonaldo Giaotti a contemorary competitor of Ghaiurov was another one. I expected to hear Ghaiurov as Moses at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He cancelled and I heard Giaotti instead. Robert Merrill who had survived his own vocal crisis suposedly helped Giaotti.
All of these guys were very, very good vocal technitians. Those with less skill and technique never recover and are never heard from again.
Where is it documented that Merrill ever had a vocal crisis? Giaotti was not a great technician by his own admission in Hines' book, "Great Singers on Great Singing". In there he basically says he took advice from anyone and tried to sow together a technique. He also discusses always having voice problems. I would not call that a great technician. One cannot make up for talent, but the ability to sing does not make one a great technician necessarily.
Merrill talks about his vocal crisis in one of his two autobiographies. He says he had persistent dry mouth and finally got relief from some sort of glycerine solution someone had told him about. He also tells of giving advice to Giaotti. I didn't know Giaotti had had so many problems. I stand corrected.
That is interesting about Merrill. Sounds like an allergy or something of that nature instead of a technical issue. Ponselle used to drink pineapple juice as a remedy for dryness.
Pro athletes decline from normal aging and extrordinary wear and tear. Sandy Koufax for example quit after his doctor told him to either quit pitching or he would have to cut off his arm.
After a couple knee operations a lot of footballers decline. Their technique doesn't change nor do their work habits - just their physical mechanism.
When subjected to stress the vocal mechanism becomes more robust - up to a point.
What you explained about the vocal mechanism is exactly how all our physical mechanisms work. I don't understand why you separated the statements as if they weren't related.
The question is, do we use our physical resources to the extreme and become great with inevitable decline, Or do we find a mediocre level that gives us a lengthy albeit lacklustre career? I believe that question is an individual one. A sort of soul searching paradox for a singer to answer himself.
I heard Ghaiurov live very early and very late in his career. Big difference. Tozzi and Siepi were both let go by the Met quite early but both sustained their vocal resources for a long time thereafter. The Met also tried to drop Hines but he too maintained vocal quality for many more years. Ghaiurov lost quality early. He readjusted and stayed on top for decades thereafter.
Tozzi lost a lot of the unique fuzz and sweetness of his voice early too. He survived on musical imagination.
Sorry but I don't remember but I do remember experiencing it at the time. Originally Ghaiurov carried his chest very high - as most voice teachers put it. This is similar to the warnings given to DiStefano.
He had incredible color and power at this time. His Mefisto excerpts album shows this very well. Shortly there after his vocal crisis was reported in the press and he readjusted his technique. He was still the best in the world but he was never again quite what he once had been.
Very interesting. I had no idea that the press had mentioned his vocal decline. This was recorded in 1978 and I think he sounds fantastic in this role! But there is no denying that his voice was changing by the mid-70s. The low was getting stronger, but on top he began to lose some of the "bite" in the sound. I'd be curious to know what exactly caused these changes. Aging process? Technique? Vocal injury? Disease? Does anyone have any information?
Personally, I think singer's just get lazy. It is extremely difficult to keep the voice fully balanced throughout decades. There's no magic trick that works for life. It is a constant physical dedication. Just think about pro athletes, they never stay on top. People need to stop obsessing about vocal declines if they are gradual and subtle.
If your falsetto is weak on top then the chest will out pull it. Chest voice stays active up to the highest note. Falsetto keeps it balanced.
wonderful sound. anybody who hasn't heard it should listen to his toreador song. scary good....
operacaster 1 week ago
I think we are talking about totally different things. Let's not discuss anymore. Internet is too full of pointless arguments. I think Ghiaurov was an amazing singer and a great artist - full stop.
Trombligliotti 3 weeks ago
listen to spoken voice on movies and television from the sixties, compare to today. Totally different vocal techniques. Today actors use whisper-techniques and compression synthesizer.
Trombligliotti 3 weeks ago
@Trombligliotti I'm quite sure that if I were to listen as you suggest to sixties TV I might be able to perceive some differences but the biggest difference which takes no careful study took place in 1928 with Rudy Valee. The biggest recent mic effect has been the use of cardioid mics by gospel quartet basses that started only about twenty years ago. This is a big effect unlike the subtle effects you seem to have noticed.
Agorante 3 weeks ago
Thanks for reply Agorante; You misunderstand. Microphone was indeed invented more than a century ago, but only today does it exist in everyday life, absolutely everywhere, on every person, all through the day, affecting our lives in the same way internet has changed the way we write letters.
Trombligliotti 3 weeks ago
modern style of singing is very affected by movies and spoken culture today. Actors whisper, and mobile phones allow a more loose, energy-lethargic style of phonation, which makes it impossible to develop relaxed energy while singing, because it is so different from speech. Fifty years ago, before all the microphones and mobiles, people sang more as they spoke, always using the voice in the same way
Trombligliotti 3 weeks ago
@Trombligliotti Good points but bad chronology. Fifty years ago was 1962. Edison invented the mic in 1877 and recordings went electric in 1926 at about the same time that the talkies came in. I agree about the effect of mics on singing but I think you should say a century not a half century.
Agorante 3 weeks ago
Classic result of singing too muscular in the throat, many men have this crisis around 35-40 when ligaments are not flexible anymore. Many have to stop singing because of too much muscular instability - the cause is bad teachers making the young singers identify the voice with throat-power and not elegance. Big voices can still have amazing flexibility - Birgit for instance, just to name one of the more extreme voices who still was able to make all sorts of emotional lines and vocal effects.
Trombligliotti 3 weeks ago
a bass should have also high covered notes babyes: and ghiaurov managed to do notes above MI all in the throat...
so please don't say bull shit and begin to listen to the real basses, siepi, colombara, ramey, lloyd , van dam.
Halfnerds 1 month ago
the devil is real,I fucking knew it
cccorsetti 2 months ago
I would kill for this on a dvd, in better picture quality.
Seneca
Y U NO live longer? What a horrible waste of a perfectly good bass.
Sieglinde84 2 months ago
He has a stupendous voice.
HeavyOpera1 2 months ago
if satan could sing, he would sound like this man
Laykoz70 3 months ago 3
this is one of the best excerpts of nicolai i've heard. his voice had a tensionial strength and placement that it didn't have later. not criticizing how he sounded later just praising how he sounded here. this is before his heart problems and is very impressive. but don't get too wrapped up in just the sound.... listen to his phrasing and artistry also. it's rather awsome... :--) he also had a good top when he was young also. was a good artist most of his career. bravo nicolai
operacaster 4 months ago
He sounds like a god. <3 Why does Seneca have to die so early in the opera? It's always a waste to kill the bass to fast.
Sieglinde84 4 months ago
This sounds like Ghiaurov. If so, definitely one of the greatest basses ever. Could someone confirm?
leoballerio 4 months ago
Fabulous performance indeed. But the greatest bass ever...? There is for example Martti Talvela.
greve 7 months ago 2
@greve @greve There were only a handfull of star operatic basses in the twentheth century - Chaliapin, Pinza, Siepi, Tozzi, Christoff, Ghiaurov, and Ramey. All of these men had marque power. They got the new productions, opening nights, and recording contracts. In the next rank were Hines, Plishka, Talvela, Salminen, Frick, and Moll. First line basses sang Phillip. Second line sang the Inquistor. In the London Don Carlo recording Ghiaurov sang the king and Talvela sang the priest.
Agorante 7 months ago
@greve Such preferences are very much open to debate. To talk about the "greatest" in the context of so many fine singers, seems to me a frivolous exercise.
BrianDonaldMcKay 7 months ago
@greve I wouldn´t say the greatest ever cause there´re other voices, but Compared to Nicolai ... Marrti´s voice is good but there´s no comparison. Ghiaurov voice is spectacular.
ezayi 5 months ago
@greve or Kurt Moll.
zimmelfsho1 2 months ago
@zimmelfsho1 I heard Kurt Moll live and Ghiaurov when both were at their peaks. Ghiaurov was better I thought, and so did most of the critics. However Moll sang the low note (or profondo) parts like Osmin and Sarastro and very few if any of the mainstream star bass roles (Phillip II, Boris, Mephisto, etc.) that were a bit higher. Moll recorded supporting bass roles to the bass leads of Ramey. Ghiaurov always was cast in leads.
Agorante 2 months ago
@greve I would say Cesare Siepi...but that's ok!!! :-)
dimofleto 2 months ago
Oh, my...he sounds AMAZING.
Taenyr 8 months ago
Agorante, you refer to his "vocal crisis." Could you elaborate? When did this happen, and what happened?
DalokiMauvais 1 year ago
@DalokiMauvais
He re-made his technique rather early in his career. He sang for most of his career with his "new" method. He was still very good but not as good as he had been early on.
I heard him before his technique change. I heard him after also.
Agorante 1 year ago
@Agorante What exactly were the differences between his old and new techniques? Are there any examples?
Jextxadore 1 month ago
@Jextxadore Ghiaurov "carried his chest to high". He did not cover his high notes when he first came up. He sang all the way up to a high F without adjusting. Conversely he had a short bottom at first. He skipped the low Fs in Marcel. Maybe I should make a video demonstrating this change.
Agorante 1 month ago
@Agorante Please do; it would be a very interesting lesson.
Jextxadore 1 month ago
Boris Christoff is the greates bass ever !
Tornadofreak2 3 months ago
A wonderful performance. Thanks for posting.
AfroPoli 1 year ago
Looked again at the Miller book. He cites one of the Don's arias as well as Leporello's famous one. Also La Calumnia, which sits in the same place, A to E. It's really a complete manual of how to train baritone/bass, if you know how/when to use each exercise. I trained a little differently [Oren Brown] but some of the principles are the same. I think (?) Brown emphasized using the falsetto itself more, strengthening it and blending it into chest. Interested what you think.
royjohnk 1 year ago
Agorante, you and onaykk should see Richard Miller's book on teaching basses and baritones. He uses musical excerpts from the arias you are discussing as examples of test pieces on negotiating the passaggio for basses. Obviously you must sing correctly, but these roles are do-able for basses, even profundos. Hines sang them to the end of his career. Mardones could sing Celeste Aida in the original key! Really good basses have all the notes to high G, just don't sing them too much.
royjohnk 1 year ago
@royjohnk I hope you're right. I just had his book sent to my Kindle. I'll try to get to it next week.
Agorante 1 year ago
@Agorante
Good book.
Agorante 1 year ago
Comment removed
onaykk 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@royjohnk
I've got this book. I read this about a year ago and I'm going to read as soon as possible again. Very good book indeed. As you say Miller used small phrases (excerpts) from many arias. Very clever strategy for training the voice because scales not always completes some points like legato in technique.I must immediately say that Ghiaurov had a booming High A when he first came to MET. Like @agorante said he changed his technique due to his vocal crisis, due to Faust and Don Giovanni.
onaykk 1 year ago
THIS WAS FAR OUT!
I'm dead!
TraVoiBelle 1 year ago
Just amazing, beyond the human nature, thank you Nicolai!!!
Bassonobile 1 year ago
Unsurpassable! bookmark 2:33!
Much obliged for posting this
Mille grazie
fabouw 1 year ago
@fabouw La vocalise??,C'est ce qu'il fait de plus mauvais!!!Le reste,bien...Bien!!
abracadabranque 9 months ago
Heard Ghiaurov several times as King Phillip II in Verdi's DON CARLO. The first time, it was one of the largest voices that I had heard in the Metropolitan Opera. A few years later, it was only a pale imitation of what I had previously heard. In his prime, he was wonderful!
legatofancier 1 year ago
Indeed, greatest basso ever, and further, one of the greatest singers ever.
bassomanvfr 1 year ago
@anfisa124
all bases have rich voices
libetta 1 year ago
Impressive voice. If you like musicality - my tip is to search for Giorgio Tadeo, who does the same aria on youtube.
erar01 1 year ago
@erar01 30 Tadeo insieme = 1 Giaurov e ancora...
Ghiaurov dal vivo aveva una voce sublime e cantava tutto...
bodiloto 6 months ago
if is he a bass, why he sings Fin ch'han Dal vino?
is he Bass-Baritone?
muso2007 1 year ago
@muso2007 Look at Cesare Siepi,Ferruccio Furlanetto,Ezio Pinza;they are %100 basses but unlike our time,they are all forced to sing Don Giovanni.Ghiaurov couldn't survived from this process and had his vocal crisis thanks to both Don Giovanni and Faust(Méphistophélès). Furlanetto has also rapidly quited from this role.Indeed bass "Don Giovanni"s cannot be comparable in taste of timbre with the baritones,tessittura is destructive for real bass materials.Siepi and Pinza overcomed this problem well
onaykk 1 year ago
@onaykk
Just what nation forces men to sing Don Giovanni? Here in California guys actually compete to be cast as the Don. All the male non-tenor roles in Don Giovanni have exactly the same range (low A to a high E). The tessitura for the Don is higher than that for Leporello but it is still easy enough. The Seranade and the Champagne Aria are the only sections that are in any way a stretch for a bass. Looks, bearing and style are more important in this role than top notes.
Agorante 1 year ago
@Agorante I totally share same ideas with you like"bearing and style are more important in this role than top notes".However,the number of passagio difficulties in Don Giovanni for a bass having passagio C# or D are too much.Therefore, vocally it cause serious damages even it damages to Dpassagio bass more than C# interestingly.Siepi(best) has passagio C# instead Furlanetto and Ghiaurov has D even for George London(also has Dpassagio).Just look at the agonizing of Furlanetto:/watch?v=l2qOKdVcepM
onaykk 1 year ago
@onaykk
As it happens I'm constructing a web site that among other things helps basses sing the Champagne aria.
I can't determine a singer's exact passagio as you seem to be able to. I think most singers adjust their passagio point depending on the lie of the music and its speed. In fast pieces you often don't have time to cover.
Agorante 1 year ago
Hola Agorante, podrias explicar algo mas lo que le sucio a Ghiaurov en su crisis vocal?, que le sucedio y cuando fue esto, cierto es que años despues ya no cantaba con la misma voz, incluso interpreto algunas arias de bajo baritono, la voz que muestra en el video es impresionante, estaba forzada?, fuera de su tesitura natural?. Gracias por mostrarnos esas voces irrepetibles ,que pena lo de la crisis, Un saludo.
sarastrone 2 years ago
E una voce meravigliosa ! Please check out some of khankonchak's uploads ofthesuperb Russian basso profondo,Boris Shtokolov,here on Youtube.He was truly remarkable. Mille grazie for sharing this great clip.
CraigFrancisSoto 2 years ago
This is incredible singing. Thanks for posting this clip.
AfroPoli 2 years ago
Fabulous post. What a voice! Ghiaurov was stupendous.
dirtbag719 2 years ago
OMG!! what a great video! thx for the upload
jujujijijaja 2 years ago
Increible!!! En verdad Jehova a dotado a los seres humanos de grandes cualidades!!
Ernecio06 2 years ago
hic vir balltissimus est
dedbob1 2 years ago
what year was this?
ah332 2 years ago
The descendant of Orpheus. GREATEST BASS EVER LIVED!
BBozhkilov 2 years ago 16
Wow. I am left almost speechless. I just IMed this URL to my friend and I'm showing it to my mom the instant she gets home from her walk. He is AMAZING. The tone of his voice is simply magical. Thank you so much for posting!
sheeloslover 2 years ago 3
Comment removed
BBozhkilov 2 years ago
that was his night
egymagyar1111111 2 years ago
+ 100 !!!! QUESTA SERA a Garnier "IL PUBBLICO " avveva dimenticato che esistevano altri solisti !!!! GHIAUROV era INSUPERABILE !!!!! IMMORTALE !!!! GRAZIE !
bodiloto 2 years ago 15
@bodiloto Effectivement,y'a de la matière!!!
abracadabranque 1 year ago
Bellisima interpretacion La voz de Ghiaurov es muy emblematica de su cuerda,y muchos de los roles que canto le sientan estupendamente :
El Zacarias, el Gremin, el Alvise Badoero,etc ,etc
mbrtok 2 years ago
Did you know that Ryan and Pittman trace all human civilization to Bulgaria? Something to think about.
Agorante 2 years ago
GOOD NOT THE BEST
dimakauffman 2 years ago
What year it was??
edraith 2 years ago
Man. Thanks for this reminder of Ghiaurov at his best. This voice had a PRESENCE. (This is hard to explain, but please bear with me.:)). It's as though every component of the sound makes you stand up and take notice. Some great singers have this quality and some don't. Among others who do: Caruso, Corelli, Gigli, Ruffo, Merrill, Warren, Journet, Melchior, Vickers, Nilsson, Crespin, (Marian) Anderson, both Prices (Leontyne and Margaret), Gorr.
Just my opinion, of course --
stevevandien 2 years ago
....and Jerome Hines...
brunobrandy 2 years ago
Mi Dios ,la voz mas hermosa de bajo. Que cantante!!!!!
otello31 2 years ago
Ghiaurov è il numero UNO!!
Bellezza timbrica, tecnica, presenza, colore e.....QUANTITA' del suono !!!!
IMMORTALE!
HellasItalia4 2 years ago
Gorgeous and juicy bass sound... mmmmm :)
Pawelp 2 years ago
Wonderful singing.
As to technique, from my experience as a soprano, it doesn't mean "playing safe", just the opposite. A secure technique lets you sing vocally taxing music without damaging the instrument. Some young singers blessed with prodigious voices burn out because they lack technique and sing on 'capital' rather than 'interest'.
As for unimpaired vocal longevity listen to Virginia Zeani mature from Gilda to Aida, & Mark Reisen is fantastic at 90 singing Gremin.
CharlotteinWeimar 3 years ago
This is an important document of singing on a level almost forgotten.
He makes this music live again and Ghiaurov is really an immortal singer of highest dignity.
klokheten 3 years ago 5
Wow! He truly sounds amazing here! I had actually never heard of this "crisis" in his career, but it does explain some things I heard in latter recordings, so thanks, Agorante, for posting this and for the info.
76Basso 3 years ago
If a pro athlete or a great singer declines from natural aging that is one thing. To say they declined from a "crisis" or "injury" is something different. No one knows what Ghiaurov did or did not do or have except himself or those close to him. As with most singers like Di Stefano it is not a matter of taking chest too high it is a matter of not balancing it and covering that leads to problems. You have to take chest up or you will sing like women do. It is a matter of covering.
MrCafiero 3 years ago
Many famous singers have had vocal crises. Bonaldo Giaotti a contemorary competitor of Ghaiurov was another one. I expected to hear Ghaiurov as Moses at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He cancelled and I heard Giaotti instead. Robert Merrill who had survived his own vocal crisis suposedly helped Giaotti.
All of these guys were very, very good vocal technitians. Those with less skill and technique never recover and are never heard from again.
Agorante 3 years ago
Where is it documented that Merrill ever had a vocal crisis? Giaotti was not a great technician by his own admission in Hines' book, "Great Singers on Great Singing". In there he basically says he took advice from anyone and tried to sow together a technique. He also discusses always having voice problems. I would not call that a great technician. One cannot make up for talent, but the ability to sing does not make one a great technician necessarily.
MrCafiero 3 years ago
Merrill talks about his vocal crisis in one of his two autobiographies. He says he had persistent dry mouth and finally got relief from some sort of glycerine solution someone had told him about. He also tells of giving advice to Giaotti. I didn't know Giaotti had had so many problems. I stand corrected.
Agorante 3 years ago
That is interesting about Merrill. Sounds like an allergy or something of that nature instead of a technical issue. Ponselle used to drink pineapple juice as a remedy for dryness.
MrCafiero 3 years ago
IsCareChildren says, "singers just get lazy". He seems to think pro athletes decline from laziness too. I'm tempted to write something intemperate.
Agorante 3 years ago
Well, pro athletes certainly don't decline from the same technique that made them great now do they?
iscarechildren 3 years ago
Pro athletes decline from normal aging and extrordinary wear and tear. Sandy Koufax for example quit after his doctor told him to either quit pitching or he would have to cut off his arm.
After a couple knee operations a lot of footballers decline. Their technique doesn't change nor do their work habits - just their physical mechanism.
When subjected to stress the vocal mechanism becomes more robust - up to a point.
Agorante 3 years ago
What you explained about the vocal mechanism is exactly how all our physical mechanisms work. I don't understand why you separated the statements as if they weren't related.
The question is, do we use our physical resources to the extreme and become great with inevitable decline, Or do we find a mediocre level that gives us a lengthy albeit lacklustre career? I believe that question is an individual one. A sort of soul searching paradox for a singer to answer himself.
Pippo is a legend
iscarechildren 3 years ago
I heard Ghaiurov live very early and very late in his career. Big difference. Tozzi and Siepi were both let go by the Met quite early but both sustained their vocal resources for a long time thereafter. The Met also tried to drop Hines but he too maintained vocal quality for many more years. Ghaiurov lost quality early. He readjusted and stayed on top for decades thereafter.
Tozzi lost a lot of the unique fuzz and sweetness of his voice early too. He survived on musical imagination.
Agorante 3 years ago
Sorry but I don't remember but I do remember experiencing it at the time. Originally Ghaiurov carried his chest very high - as most voice teachers put it. This is similar to the warnings given to DiStefano.
He had incredible color and power at this time. His Mefisto excerpts album shows this very well. Shortly there after his vocal crisis was reported in the press and he readjusted his technique. He was still the best in the world but he was never again quite what he once had been.
Agorante 3 years ago
Very interesting. I had no idea that the press had mentioned his vocal decline. This was recorded in 1978 and I think he sounds fantastic in this role! But there is no denying that his voice was changing by the mid-70s. The low was getting stronger, but on top he began to lose some of the "bite" in the sound. I'd be curious to know what exactly caused these changes. Aging process? Technique? Vocal injury? Disease? Does anyone have any information?
Klytemnest 3 years ago
Personally, I think singer's just get lazy. It is extremely difficult to keep the voice fully balanced throughout decades. There's no magic trick that works for life. It is a constant physical dedication. Just think about pro athletes, they never stay on top. People need to stop obsessing about vocal declines if they are gradual and subtle.
If your falsetto is weak on top then the chest will out pull it. Chest voice stays active up to the highest note. Falsetto keeps it balanced.
iscarechildren 3 years ago
Do you know this from personal experience? Just curious --
stevevandien 2 years ago
sorry for the double post but look up his la calunnia in 79, plenty of squillo or "bite" up top. also his onegin in 85. a magnificent voice.
i see no reason fuss about a "crisis".
iscarechildren 3 years ago
where did you read about this "vocal crisis" of his that you mention in your description?
iscarechildren 3 years ago