Verdi's Requiem: Confutatis by Nikolai Ghiaurov

[fedeymini]

Wow! Monstous voice

[ah332]

This is fucking incredible.

[Beetocheng]

Beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking.

[Sunflowers159]

I love bass voices and that sends shivers up and down my spine! An amazing voice and so expressive!

[sbrantdon]

фон Караян велик!!

[BassoProfundo87]

Obviously this is an ASTOUNDING performance, but what always catches me off guard is the great video quality! But it seems like the shots where the camera is directly facing Nikolai were done later, doesn't it look dubbed? Not that it really takes away from anything.

[vladimir47able]

Молодой Гяуров поет отлично.Но старость не красит!

[abracadabranque]

Timbre propre,sans gutturalité excessive;aigus clairs et ronds à la fois.Une voix saine,sans traficotage.

[Anoush23]

Besides that he was a gorgeous singer, he was also a pretty handsome guy :)

[MrMooseman485]

Verdi really knew how to write for the bass voice. I would love to sing this someday.

[vpo2g2]

Pinza's was also great

[k1ltro]

Why not just enjoy his art and not disrespect kurt moll,shtolkov, pape, ramey and so many other wonderful perfomers?

[gomongio]

Wow!!! that Confutatis followed by that Dies Irae .... such a display of power!!!

[ekhangel]

@gomongio Indeed it is, what a shivers I got.

[Sparafucile11]

Two titans of the past 30 years. Siepi and Ghiaurov. I heard them both in the same theatre. The combination of size of voice and beauty of tone is unmatched. The system doesn't produce these voices now. So sad. Bravo Nicolai!!

[SoulNotes1]

Ghiaurov never failed to deliver the very best!

[mordred1971]

MERAVIGLIOSO..........

[gianibegon]

F A N T A S T I C

[cieobt2]

Sometimes in zen practice I can sense and appreciate the subtleties and endless possibilities of the present moment that obliterate time and yet reveal life anew. Karajan does this, here, with this glorious talent in time and space. Awesome and transporting, indeed.

[Baritime]

Listen to that resonance on the high e @4:00! I could only imagine what that sounded like to the back of the hall. Most people don't appreciate the lesser view for the complete sound, but when I go to a performance I sit at the back, for the slight chance that i may experience a sound like this.

[Kievest]

Ghiaurov had the voice of a cello! His

performance comes from the depths

of his soul! His wonderful eyes, voice

and entire demeanor express the most

profound truths of Verdi's inspired score!

For me, the Requiem is Verdi's greatest

opera! Thank you for uploading this

historic treasure and to paulO for

sharing with me!

[Boerenfox]

Nice comment. But of course a Requiem is not at all an opera. It is a traditional Mass for the Dead in the Roman-Catholic Church.

[sfkcbf]

He uses his great vocal instrument with great insight and musicality. Wonderful!

Thank goodness we have recordings of him.

[paulostroff99]

great singing! Bravo! TY. James

[CanadaPisces]

An excellent basso cantante with a wonderful expressive voice! Thank you jason53 for the posting & Josie for the sharing!

[Herur22]

Splendid. Thank you Jaason and James!

[mablawdawg]

Wow truly beautiful

[fabouw]

Without any doubt the best basso ever!

[jaason53]

For some some reason, this comment was marked as a spam. For me, it is very difficult to understand why. Of course, it is an opinion, whether Ghiaurov was the best basso ever. We do not even have any chances to check that! But still, if someone thinks that Ghiaurov was/is the best basso, I think he/she has a full right to say that. The bass vocalists I have heard so far, I agree with fabouw.

[65attila]

Marvelous

[waweva]

A superb performance. A magistral lesson of how to sing. His voice is extraordinary, powerful, subtle. The interpretation, outstanding. One of the best basses from XX century. I think his 2004 death was not sufficient paid homage to. He was my idol when I sang at the chorus and tried to imitate him.

[Tenderness6]

Very powerful sung. Bravo!

[3tristan]

Born in 1929. Married in 1978 the soprano Mirella Freni (born 1935). They lived in Modena till Ghiaurovs dead in 2004.

It's a pity that Karajan didn't choose him for the part of Escamillo in his Carmen-production of 1967 (on DVD) The baritone Justino Diaz is not a bad singer. But of course he had not the same quality's as Jon Vickers, Grace Bumbry and Mirella Freni. See here by youtube!

[BBozhkilov]

Well, Escamillo is supposed to be sung by baritone or bass-baritone, Ghiaurov is Basso Canto, that's the problem.

[Tenderness6]

The first time I heard this Confutatis, was it sung by the famous Ezio Pinza

[BBozhkilov]

I doubt Pinza sung it this well :P As I like to say, Ghiaurov is just on another level. Not that Ezio is not good, I like him, really! The boundary between goodness and greatness is thin, but in my opinion only the GREAT GHIAUROV has managed to reach it.

He is the true king of opera, or as I like to call him, The God of Opera.

[dynomax101]

Pinza reached greatness too, and I say so even though Ghiaurov is my favorite basso cantante. Why is it that so many of us must raise their favorite singers' stars higher by denigrating other singers? Is it possible only ONE singer has greatness?

Bullhockey.

[forgedkoala]

woow, his emoting from 3:00 to 3:30ish is so powerful, love it

[radsvid]

Sure, though he is clearly lip-synching in this part, note the "artificial" background.

[jaason53]

Yes, you are right! In the late 60´s live music recording was not at the same level as nowadays. That's why Karajan made these recordings in two phases: the sound was recorded in a studio, and the visual part was made in an empty concert hall. Synchronizing techniques were not very well, too. Many people have given critics about the lip-synching, empty audience, and also about the ego of Karajan himself. Still these are high level A/V recordings, thanks to Karajan and his love to techniques.

[Boerenfox]

Were Russians free to travel to West Europe and perform in La Scala, as Maestro Ghiaurov did?

[blichilde]

He wasn't Russian,he was Bulgarian.

[Boerenfox]

Of course I meant 'East Europeans' instead of Russians.

I asked that with the 'escapes' of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolph Nureyev in my mind.

[cmurgiuc]

Ooops! Not all slavs are russians. True, Ghiaurov was mighty bulgarian.

[liric01994]

mai visto cosi' giovane!!!!

[hondirun]

i would like to know something more about his personality. He was really gifted for music,

[ERIKEPAIOS]

Nikolai Ghiaurov is also the best Attila ever ......

[BBozhkilov]

He is the best in every bass role. Otherwise, why would we call him "Re di Bassi?"

[hondirun]

Thank you, but I' ve just bought the DVD. And i must say you are right, Cossotto does it wonderfully.

Any way, thank you again for uploading this recording, and give me the chance of knowing it. I 'm now happy hearing it all the time.

[hondirun]

jaason53 why dont you post Lux aeterna? please

[jaason53]

Thank you for your interest. A good question. I think the the whole work is a masterpiece, and to select anything is questionable. I thought that these few excerpts would show what a wonderful performance has been saved on this DVD Btw, I like Lux aeterna in this recording especially because of the great Fiorenza Cossotto. I look forward for uploading that piece also in the future.

[LeonoraPasiniani]

Io l,amo Ghiaurov, amo Verdi!!

[hondirun]

Ghiaurov el magnífico!!!!

[35Matteo]

generoso, portentoso, senza mai scadere nella teatralità della nota ad effetto, come Pavarotti in "Ingeminisco"!!!

Bravissimi, naturalmente con Karajan che li conduce da par suo.

[donboia]

Bravo Nikolai Ghiaurov!

[Stancaco]

LPERFECT BEAUTY!!! BEST EVER!!!!

[lmspr]

Thanks for posting this. Ghiaurov's voice and interpretation are impressive. He is wonderful in projecting the soft, solemn moments, as well as the grand, more imposing moments. Unforgettable artist.

[neapolis1982]

grazie maestro Ghiaurov... da brividi!

[onomogono]

amaizing......i have never heard something like that

RIP maestro ghiaurov

[TenderBeast]

He was an amazing man. I had the honor of studying with him during the last years of his life. There will never again be anyone like him.

[rrag00]

How lucky you are!

[BBozhkilov]

Yes, indeed. You are a very lucky man.

[Tenderness6]

I just love this piece. The first time I heard it, it was sung by Ezio Pinza.

[aleksa1981]

Wonderfull!!!

[sagarzon]

Que maravilla este señor....

Awesome interpretation and voice

Grande Ghiaurov