just go listen to the Herman Prey version of this same 'song' which is a real aria. I have not heard it better, possibly equal. Prey stays on the vowel sounds appropriately and uses the consontants for articulation and diction. Hampson is also painfully slow in an already slow version. The backward looking (over ones' shoulder) at what one has just sung, is a huge rule that Hampson breaks throughout his rendition. Search Herman Prey Tanzleid des Pierrot.
This is so mannered and overstudied in every sylable that it is painful to watch and listen to. He used to be a very nice singer, I heard him live, in the beginning of his career in San Francisco. Now he has just distorted the voice and become incredibly mannered. Where did the clean vowel sounds go? they are smashed by consonants and squashed cover.
Thomas Handsome es un maravilloso baritono y afinadisimo y con unos agudos muy buenos.. Canta bellisimo y es un maestro del canto y del histrionismo, con una gran resencia escenica, basta verlo interopretar el Largo Factotum del Barbero de Sevilla
really??? Ok, maybe it's not an epic crack, but are you telling me that the scratchy tone at the end of the G-flat was put in there on purpose for color?? Maybe it was just phlegm, but he's just not the same singer he was yeras ago. It's sad.
true. i'm just starting my career, so i'm better now than I was years ago. :) Hampson has always been one of the best singers of this generation. He just made a few repertoire choices in the past decade that ave really weathered his voice. I know I'm not alone in feeling that he should have continued singing the lyric rep rather than diving into the dramatic rep.
Was your hearing o.k when you heard this? He doesn't crack on it at all, he just goes for a pianissimo on the 'bluhendes' and slightly affects the tone - it actually adds some colour/emotion to the text, and at least he risks it and goes for it! Bravo - it is a great performance!
This is a very moving and excellent rendition of this aria and certainly the best you can find on youtube... who cares what the sheet music says - the aria comes to life within the voice and interpretation of the artist performing it otherwise it is just notes on a page... Thomas Hampson is an artist not a mimic and he has SOUL!!! Bravo.
There are artists that put statues in condoms. Others paint with their toes, or worse. We'll put Hampson in with these.
He's handsome and has a great voice, but he's not a very good musician nor is he a born linguist. His German is appalling and always has been. Just spotted Meinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Wahnen. Zurrrrrrrrrrrrruck. He should just sing the aria on an Aw vowel so we can listen to his soul directly. You can tell he doesn't know the words so why should we have to listen to them?
No hold on a second - while one may or may not criticise Mr. Hampson for overdoing the consonants, assuming he doesn't know the words is just plain wrong. He's lived in Austria for ages and his German is great (if slightly Austrian). Ever heard him in an interview? Or singing Mahler, come to that?
@thebananamonkey I agree with the lingering on the consonants, absolutely painful and reminds one of crooners. Absolutely agree with the idea that he should sing on vowels, then articulate them breifly with consonants, not the other way around. he lingers on the consonants (closed sounds) interrupting them breifly with brief vowel sounds.
@thebananamonkey His singing has become so backwards looking it is unbelievable. He does, though understand the German poetry very well. I heard him in the early 1990s do a mostly German lieder concert in Herbst theatre in SF early in his career and he was great then....too bad....what happened to him.
His break in the line "Mein Waehnen (BREAK) es traeumt sich zurueck" is just the beginning of him totally botching this song. The sheet music clearly states to continue the line--the musical phrase itself isn't finished, the fact that he doesn't continue it is downright amateur. I am going through his videos on YouTube and find that this kind thing is a common occurrence for him. I won't even begin to comment on the terrible German pronunciation.
I do not have an answer for this. Sometimes people respond to this kind of 'emotion'--as though scrunching up the face is acting. There is no accounting for taste.
On the other hand, the power of the music itself could be moving people. Perhaps Thompson's performance alone is even enough to move people. However, this could be done so much better. I was rather disappointed.
Not enormous voice, but what a feeling with the mood of this music (IMHO wonderful, I adore Korngold). Great sense of comunication and sincere emotion in singing.
If he picked a tempo that fit the actual feeling of the aria, instead of cheesing it up with the slowest tempo he could come up with, he wouldn't have the troubles he does with the length of the lines. Then we could hear his mediocre voice uninterrupted. Perhaps he could also actually act instead of just having that smug look on his face the whole time.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
He needs to listen to "IGOR GORIN," who was an outstanding Baritone. This fellow sings too far back in his throat. He needs to learn how to sing properly.
Your quite ridiculous. He is one of the most famous and most wonderful baritones of our time, and i don't think he cares what you think. By the way you can judge a singer for one piece only, singers have dificult days many times and they still have to perform.
Good point, singers do have good and bad days, but it seems to me that the badness in this video is by choice. To sing the first Gb on "bluehendes glueck" in a mixed falsetto is har beneath someone like Hampson. It's strange, because in the chorus on "Lockte" he sings the same note with ease and beauty. Interesting
Note that this is not an aria, it's a song. What singers usually do is to create a much more intimate atmosphere. So the Gb is fine in this context.
Apart from that, I find this song very difficult to sing and I feel Hampson struggles in terms of breathing. This partly comes from the fact, I think, that he wishes to sing softly throughout the whole Lied, and it's hard to sustain the vocal energy and support needed.
This is an aria sung by the character of Fritz in Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera "Die Tote Stadt." Why do you say this is a Lied? Lieder are supposed to be accompanied by piano as well, so even if it were an orchestrated Lied (which it is not), he would be expected to sing over this orchestra. I do however, agree with you on the difficulty of this one! It's so beautifully written though! Good thing he was mic-ed ;-)
Not really, tenors sometimes masquerade as Baritones. Please do listen to GORIN, JOHN CHARLES THOMAS, LAWRENCE TIBBETT, HEINRICH SCHULNUSS and others from that era on YOU TUBE to hear REAL Baritones. They were artists of the first-rank. There is a reason the past is entitled 'THE GOLDEN AGE of SINGING.
But there is such thing as a lighter baritone...thomas hampson has had to sing A LOT, and its taken a toll on his voice but he sings with such elegance even if he has signs of wearing. His younger stuff like his early Largo is amazing, he has high notes but not extreme high notes, he cant sustain the tessaura of a tenor. He is a golden singer of your time, and an ARTIST, not just a park and bark.
The artists of the Golden Age of Singing did not have to contend with the problems that is seen in singers today because they knew how to sing. Baritones would vocalize to a High C, although not in sustained singing. Please listen to "IGOR GORIN" on YOU TUBE sing this piece. THERE IS NO COMPARISON
I'm not much for opera, but this guy is pretty good. If he seems a bit tense, it could be because he is singing in German, probably not his native tongue being brought up in Spokane, Wash. Check out his version of "Largo al Factotum" from "Barber of Seville". Pretty outstanding, again considering Italian probably isn't the native language of Spokane either. =P
Plus, I believe he's married to royalty in vienna as well. He's fluent in German, probably enough that he sounds native after so many years of living there.
I've heard this guy in recital three times in recent years in Atlanta, and he was great on each occasion. He really gave his all. He sounds here as if he is having some vocal problems and he is probably tense because he doesn't know if the next note is going to come out. So many things can affect the voice and you don't always get a warning.
I am a big fan of his and I hope to hear him again.
I'm going to agree with countless others... If you can't deliver this piece with more passion and a truer more "free" tone quality... then you have no basis to say anything.
If the voice is not easily produced: loud, soft, range, etc., it almost always has too much air and with too much air you have a choice: either unsupported falset, or "pushing" against the closed throat. When you are performing, you generally have to go with "loud and clear," or as much as you can generate and push. BUT, give me a pusher anyday over the breathy pop style singer who lets the technology cover and hide the limits in range and depth.
People have bad days, singers cant always sing perfectly and like everything about one's physical self your voice begins to deteriorate as you get older. I am not saying one cant still sing beautifully, rather there is a notable change in vocal quality.
Ultimately this is not a very good performance by Hampson, however he is a very talented individual. Also he is not young, hence has lost some vocal quality. Also everyone has bad days its just when you are famous and you have a bad day everyone sees it.
everybody's entitled to an opinion. including me. CAN'T STAND HIM. all this talk about artistry. how about just singin the dang thing? it's too slow, all the high notes except one are marked, he breathes all over the place, no ring, no bottom voice. all his mannerisms doesn't make it good. and anybody who thinks this is a huge voice hasn't heard a huge voice.
"All this talk about artistry..." Followed by the statements about "marking," "ring," "bottom voice." Isn't "the pot calling the kettle black? Anyway, no he doesn't have a huge voice at all, even in the recital hall; but he does just fine with what he has; in other words, um, size doesn't matter. I love the big voices, too. I think Hampson IS "just singin' the dang song," even if his allergies and sinus issues were troublesome that particular day. At least he didn't cancel, bless him.
wow... this is one of those arias that will kill a baritone... he makes it effortless, and what interpretation! bravo regardless of the slight age wobble. hampson... despite his shortcomings (tenor-tone/barytenor and what not) he is still a fantastic singer, and proof that light lyric's can become big honkin baritones with age, there is so much natural resonance, how can he not fill a hall... it wasn't like that orchestra was small or anything.
you have to understand that Thomas Hampson is getting older and cannot be the man we all love and adore forever, watch his performance of largo al Factotum from the Barber of Seville, it is amazing, simply amazing.
Excuse me?? Thomas Hampson is getting older?? I saw him in Simon Boccanegro at the Met a few months ago. I had seen him in concert before, and was unprepared how truly magnificent he is. His voice totally filled the hall, even when he was down stage. I was awestruck. As we know from this video, he also can sing softly, with passion, What more do you want quantumleper??
lets see how long ago would you say he sang largo al factotum? about 15, 20 years ago? He was in his prime then and he is coming out of it, he is still a truly magnificent performer, his diction is great, his passion is unquestionable, but you begin to lose something, he IS human
Can you not remember that Pavarotti was still going until this very year? He was performing merely months up to his death, at the age of 72? His voice has barely lost any of the gusto and vocal prowess that has kept him going through so many, many decades of operatic singing. Thomas Hampson has clearly many years left to go, and operatic singing is one of the only ways of singing in the world that barely fades with age.
Alfredo Kraus sang until he was 77, Jerome Hines sang well into his seventies, Leo Nucci is still one of the best Verdi baritones in the world at age 65. Hampson still has a good 10 to 15 years left at least.
Hold on a minute I'm not saying we should take him out back and take him out of his misery, he is STILL a very good performer. He IS my favorite singer. I am just, as they say, keeping it real.
I think that he's sacrificing technique and musicality for emotional appeal. When he hits the F# on "lockte" he sounds great! I'd like to hear more of that, you know?
I think you mean head voice - falsetto is a completley different sound. It's a huge difference.
And although I agree that I'm not a fan of "opening" for affect like he does here, it is a truly amazing instrument; afterall he's the one we're commenting on, not us.
Could stand to be faster as well. I don't like how many breaths he takes during the first phrase. It's more beautiful when "mein vehnen" is carried over with no breath. He takes a breath each time he sings that phrase. He emotes well in this though.
I agree with you there. I enjoyed his performance. But there were little disappointments throughout. For instance, my favorite part of the song "trenen kUssen" (sorry, about the spelling), he whimps out and throws it to the back of his throat. If anything, I believe it should be very open, but just soft. There is another recording on here of a baritone singing this aria; and I am willing to say that he sings this aria better than Hampson does in this clip. Search "Pierrots Tanzlied".
The english subtitles are horrible and at times plainly wrong. Why do they not hire somebody who speaks German to tranlate?
musicalmeier 8 months ago
just go listen to the Herman Prey version of this same 'song' which is a real aria. I have not heard it better, possibly equal. Prey stays on the vowel sounds appropriately and uses the consontants for articulation and diction. Hampson is also painfully slow in an already slow version. The backward looking (over ones' shoulder) at what one has just sung, is a huge rule that Hampson breaks throughout his rendition. Search Herman Prey Tanzleid des Pierrot.
rfw8791 11 months ago
This is so mannered and overstudied in every sylable that it is painful to watch and listen to. He used to be a very nice singer, I heard him live, in the beginning of his career in San Francisco. Now he has just distorted the voice and become incredibly mannered. Where did the clean vowel sounds go? they are smashed by consonants and squashed cover.
rfw8791 11 months ago
I am sorry this sounds like crooning to me.. and it is not very steady either.. it needs more focus and support(air)...
kgarmaker123 2 years ago
Thomas Hanspson hace un maravilloso padre Germont en La Traviata moderna con Villason y Ana Netrbki, muy bien cantado y con una actuacion fprmidable.
Todo un maestro.
Lourdesdejesus1 2 years ago 2
Thomas Handsome es un maravilloso baritono y afinadisimo y con unos agudos muy buenos.. Canta bellisimo y es un maestro del canto y del histrionismo, con una gran resencia escenica, basta verlo interopretar el Largo Factotum del Barbero de Sevilla
Lourdesdejesus1 2 years ago 3
He is a fabulous singer, no question. it is a moving and beautifully sung rendition of this aria.
peacelovejoyharmony 2 years ago 11
His voice is like liquid gold,
sliding on our senses.
chiara54324 2 years ago 8
really??? Ok, maybe it's not an epic crack, but are you telling me that the scratchy tone at the end of the G-flat was put in there on purpose for color?? Maybe it was just phlegm, but he's just not the same singer he was yeras ago. It's sad.
jonathanstinson 3 years ago
I bet you're not the same as you were years ago, either.
lilibetp 2 years ago
true. i'm just starting my career, so i'm better now than I was years ago. :) Hampson has always been one of the best singers of this generation. He just made a few repertoire choices in the past decade that ave really weathered his voice. I know I'm not alone in feeling that he should have continued singing the lyric rep rather than diving into the dramatic rep.
jonathanstinson 2 years ago
Okay. I'll give you that.
lilibetp 2 years ago
And I'll give you that he is an amazing artist :) I just personally think this isn't his best. There are recordings of his that I worship
jonathanstinson 2 years ago
No it's not sad, it's just simply human!
yes singers get less fresh with age as every single humain being and so what!
the artist never dissapear
sonqualnave 2 years ago
Was your hearing o.k when you heard this? He doesn't crack on it at all, he just goes for a pianissimo on the 'bluhendes' and slightly affects the tone - it actually adds some colour/emotion to the text, and at least he risks it and goes for it! Bravo - it is a great performance!
peacelovejoyharmony 3 years ago
Was Hampson sick when he sang this? He cracks a high note, and the entire thing sound off the voice, as if his vocal cords are swollen.
jonathanstinson 3 years ago
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peacelovejoyharmony 3 years ago
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12233445566abc 3 years ago
This is a very moving and excellent rendition of this aria and certainly the best you can find on youtube... who cares what the sheet music says - the aria comes to life within the voice and interpretation of the artist performing it otherwise it is just notes on a page... Thomas Hampson is an artist not a mimic and he has SOUL!!! Bravo.
peacelovejoyharmony 3 years ago 6
There are artists that put statues in condoms. Others paint with their toes, or worse. We'll put Hampson in with these.
He's handsome and has a great voice, but he's not a very good musician nor is he a born linguist. His German is appalling and always has been. Just spotted Meinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Wahnen. Zurrrrrrrrrrrrruck. He should just sing the aria on an Aw vowel so we can listen to his soul directly. You can tell he doesn't know the words so why should we have to listen to them?
thebananamonkey 3 years ago
No hold on a second - while one may or may not criticise Mr. Hampson for overdoing the consonants, assuming he doesn't know the words is just plain wrong. He's lived in Austria for ages and his German is great (if slightly Austrian). Ever heard him in an interview? Or singing Mahler, come to that?
yappity 3 years ago 4
@thebananamonkey I agree with the lingering on the consonants, absolutely painful and reminds one of crooners. Absolutely agree with the idea that he should sing on vowels, then articulate them breifly with consonants, not the other way around. he lingers on the consonants (closed sounds) interrupting them breifly with brief vowel sounds.
rfw8791 11 months ago
@rfw8791 In the context of the opera...isn't this song supposed to sound like "crooning"?
To be fair, though, I've never heard Hampson sing before, like you have.
antsee 11 months ago
@thebananamonkey His singing has become so backwards looking it is unbelievable. He does, though understand the German poetry very well. I heard him in the early 1990s do a mostly German lieder concert in Herbst theatre in SF early in his career and he was great then....too bad....what happened to him.
rfw8791 11 months ago
His break in the line "Mein Waehnen (BREAK) es traeumt sich zurueck" is just the beginning of him totally botching this song. The sheet music clearly states to continue the line--the musical phrase itself isn't finished, the fact that he doesn't continue it is downright amateur. I am going through his videos on YouTube and find that this kind thing is a common occurrence for him. I won't even begin to comment on the terrible German pronunciation.
Makes me wonder how he got popular, actually.
moh672 3 years ago
And why, in your opinion, is the audience so intersested in his interpretations?
chiara54324 3 years ago
I do not have an answer for this. Sometimes people respond to this kind of 'emotion'--as though scrunching up the face is acting. There is no accounting for taste.
On the other hand, the power of the music itself could be moving people. Perhaps Thompson's performance alone is even enough to move people. However, this could be done so much better. I was rather disappointed.
moh672 3 years ago
Not enormous voice, but what a feeling with the mood of this music (IMHO wonderful, I adore Korngold). Great sense of comunication and sincere emotion in singing.
SarrasaniPianoCircus 3 years ago
If he picked a tempo that fit the actual feeling of the aria, instead of cheesing it up with the slowest tempo he could come up with, he wouldn't have the troubles he does with the length of the lines. Then we could hear his mediocre voice uninterrupted. Perhaps he could also actually act instead of just having that smug look on his face the whole time.
jamesmichaelbaldwin 3 years ago
He tugs at our heartstrings.
chiara54324 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
He needs to listen to "IGOR GORIN," who was an outstanding Baritone. This fellow sings too far back in his throat. He needs to learn how to sing properly.
796824 3 years ago
Silly thing to say...
jetsetjordan 3 years ago
Your quite ridiculous. He is one of the most famous and most wonderful baritones of our time, and i don't think he cares what you think. By the way you can judge a singer for one piece only, singers have dificult days many times and they still have to perform.
Sochilinda 3 years ago
Good point, singers do have good and bad days, but it seems to me that the badness in this video is by choice. To sing the first Gb on "bluehendes glueck" in a mixed falsetto is har beneath someone like Hampson. It's strange, because in the chorus on "Lockte" he sings the same note with ease and beauty. Interesting
Liedliebhaber 3 years ago
Note that this is not an aria, it's a song. What singers usually do is to create a much more intimate atmosphere. So the Gb is fine in this context.
Apart from that, I find this song very difficult to sing and I feel Hampson struggles in terms of breathing. This partly comes from the fact, I think, that he wishes to sing softly throughout the whole Lied, and it's hard to sustain the vocal energy and support needed.
jhvorotin 3 years ago
This is an aria sung by the character of Fritz in Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera "Die Tote Stadt." Why do you say this is a Lied? Lieder are supposed to be accompanied by piano as well, so even if it were an orchestrated Lied (which it is not), he would be expected to sing over this orchestra. I do however, agree with you on the difficulty of this one! It's so beautifully written though! Good thing he was mic-ed ;-)
Liedliebhaber 3 years ago
Oops, I thought "Die tote Stadt" was a series of songs. It says: "Pierrot's Tanzlied". It's true that we could expect more volume since it's an aria.
jhvorotin 3 years ago
Not really, tenors sometimes masquerade as Baritones. Please do listen to GORIN, JOHN CHARLES THOMAS, LAWRENCE TIBBETT, HEINRICH SCHULNUSS and others from that era on YOU TUBE to hear REAL Baritones. They were artists of the first-rank. There is a reason the past is entitled 'THE GOLDEN AGE of SINGING.
796824 3 years ago
But there is such thing as a lighter baritone...thomas hampson has had to sing A LOT, and its taken a toll on his voice but he sings with such elegance even if he has signs of wearing. His younger stuff like his early Largo is amazing, he has high notes but not extreme high notes, he cant sustain the tessaura of a tenor. He is a golden singer of your time, and an ARTIST, not just a park and bark.
pyriel987 3 years ago 2
The artists of the Golden Age of Singing did not have to contend with the problems that is seen in singers today because they knew how to sing. Baritones would vocalize to a High C, although not in sustained singing. Please listen to "IGOR GORIN" on YOU TUBE sing this piece. THERE IS NO COMPARISON
796824 3 years ago
Most likely because he's a tenor faking baritone. He's admitted himself that he should probably be singing lyric tenor.
Iareto 3 years ago
I'm not much for opera, but this guy is pretty good. If he seems a bit tense, it could be because he is singing in German, probably not his native tongue being brought up in Spokane, Wash. Check out his version of "Largo al Factotum" from "Barber of Seville". Pretty outstanding, again considering Italian probably isn't the native language of Spokane either. =P
drippins 3 years ago
no german is not is not his native language, but he has lived in Vienna for the past 20 years
wh1048 3 years ago
Plus, I believe he's married to royalty in vienna as well. He's fluent in German, probably enough that he sounds native after so many years of living there.
poorboysing 3 years ago
I've heard this guy in recital three times in recent years in Atlanta, and he was great on each occasion. He really gave his all. He sounds here as if he is having some vocal problems and he is probably tense because he doesn't know if the next note is going to come out. So many things can affect the voice and you don't always get a warning.
I am a big fan of his and I hope to hear him again.
rudired 3 years ago 2
he always looks so tense. His largo is great though. i think the largo requires lesss musicallity. His diction and style just seems to forced.
danaissharp 3 years ago
he sounds awful...bad intonation...no line...too much straight tone singing
alecs1976 4 years ago
listen to his largo al factotum and tell me he's not freaking amazing.
tiernan87 4 years ago 5
I'm going to agree with countless others... If you can't deliver this piece with more passion and a truer more "free" tone quality... then you have no basis to say anything.
wowyourgaiy 4 years ago 5
it doesn't take a beautiful person to recognize ugliness...
but on the other hand i think he sounds great.
raythetse 4 years ago 2
it aint got anything to do with his age.
emalaithdies 4 years ago
The tonal quality is too breathy. He's probably pushing to much air
emalaithdies 4 years ago
If the voice is not easily produced: loud, soft, range, etc., it almost always has too much air and with too much air you have a choice: either unsupported falset, or "pushing" against the closed throat. When you are performing, you generally have to go with "loud and clear," or as much as you can generate and push. BUT, give me a pusher anyday over the breathy pop style singer who lets the technology cover and hide the limits in range and depth.
raphabenbenjamin 3 years ago
People have bad days, singers cant always sing perfectly and like everything about one's physical self your voice begins to deteriorate as you get older. I am not saying one cant still sing beautifully, rather there is a notable change in vocal quality.
blakeparham 4 years ago
Ultimately this is not a very good performance by Hampson, however he is a very talented individual. Also he is not young, hence has lost some vocal quality. Also everyone has bad days its just when you are famous and you have a bad day everyone sees it.
blakeparham 4 years ago
everybody's entitled to an opinion. including me. CAN'T STAND HIM. all this talk about artistry. how about just singin the dang thing? it's too slow, all the high notes except one are marked, he breathes all over the place, no ring, no bottom voice. all his mannerisms doesn't make it good. and anybody who thinks this is a huge voice hasn't heard a huge voice.
operacaster 4 years ago
"All this talk about artistry..." Followed by the statements about "marking," "ring," "bottom voice." Isn't "the pot calling the kettle black? Anyway, no he doesn't have a huge voice at all, even in the recital hall; but he does just fine with what he has; in other words, um, size doesn't matter. I love the big voices, too. I think Hampson IS "just singin' the dang song," even if his allergies and sinus issues were troublesome that particular day. At least he didn't cancel, bless him.
49Almost50 4 years ago
This aria is not for amateurs , that being said one shouldn't be so critical unless one can do it better or give great constructive criticism.
The legato you can't pay for. The vocal line and expression are evident and well delivered.
damossings 4 years ago
hah, good point, but if criticism is a right only reserved for those who could do better, there wouldn't be professional critics. ;-)
Liedliebhaber 4 years ago
wow... this is one of those arias that will kill a baritone... he makes it effortless, and what interpretation! bravo regardless of the slight age wobble. hampson... despite his shortcomings (tenor-tone/barytenor and what not) he is still a fantastic singer, and proof that light lyric's can become big honkin baritones with age, there is so much natural resonance, how can he not fill a hall... it wasn't like that orchestra was small or anything.
batmanshsu 4 years ago
you have to understand that Thomas Hampson is getting older and cannot be the man we all love and adore forever, watch his performance of largo al Factotum from the Barber of Seville, it is amazing, simply amazing.
quantumleaper88 4 years ago
Excuse me?? Thomas Hampson is getting older?? I saw him in Simon Boccanegro at the Met a few months ago. I had seen him in concert before, and was unprepared how truly magnificent he is. His voice totally filled the hall, even when he was down stage. I was awestruck. As we know from this video, he also can sing softly, with passion, What more do you want quantumleper??
junehilde 4 years ago
lets see how long ago would you say he sang largo al factotum? about 15, 20 years ago? He was in his prime then and he is coming out of it, he is still a truly magnificent performer, his diction is great, his passion is unquestionable, but you begin to lose something, he IS human
quantumleaper88 4 years ago
Can you not remember that Pavarotti was still going until this very year? He was performing merely months up to his death, at the age of 72? His voice has barely lost any of the gusto and vocal prowess that has kept him going through so many, many decades of operatic singing. Thomas Hampson has clearly many years left to go, and operatic singing is one of the only ways of singing in the world that barely fades with age.
hotqueekboi 4 years ago
Alfredo Kraus sang until he was 77, Jerome Hines sang well into his seventies, Leo Nucci is still one of the best Verdi baritones in the world at age 65. Hampson still has a good 10 to 15 years left at least.
DragTas 4 years ago
Hold on a minute I'm not saying we should take him out back and take him out of his misery, he is STILL a very good performer. He IS my favorite singer. I am just, as they say, keeping it real.
quantumleaper88 4 years ago 2
Very good! Thomas Hampson is great.
sergava 4 years ago
i don't like this performance...i think that potentially he could have a good voice,but he has got a lot of holes in his tecnich.
dongio76 4 years ago
I totally agree !
alecs1976 4 years ago
hes not the best but hes got style yo. really makes me believe this role
wunderkindepiphany 4 years ago
He's no Prey.
sandrup 4 years ago
Prey is neither Hampson
Trucutu2007 4 years ago
Incredible interpretation of Korngold.Beautiful and tragic at the same time.
cstrum 4 years ago
I think it's beautiful. Too bad nobody video-ed his "Begin The Beguine."
sagalat 4 years ago
wow the ending is just wonderful how he makes his voice fade away like that!! just wonderful
urs1765 4 years ago
Lots of falsetto. The problem is he doens't now how to sing correctly, me thinks.
cptnunderwhere 4 years ago
I think that he's sacrificing technique and musicality for emotional appeal. When he hits the F# on "lockte" he sounds great! I'd like to hear more of that, you know?
Liedliebhaber 4 years ago
I think you mean head voice - falsetto is a completley different sound. It's a huge difference.
And although I agree that I'm not a fan of "opening" for affect like he does here, it is a truly amazing instrument; afterall he's the one we're commenting on, not us.
Timotheus9 4 years ago
Well, He's doing something right, he's laughing all the way to the bank.....just remember that!
4488mahler 4 years ago
I think it is safe to safe his singing is now past it first flush. Seems to be strggling with those top notes.
mrrk 4 years ago
Could stand to be faster as well. I don't like how many breaths he takes during the first phrase. It's more beautiful when "mein vehnen" is carried over with no breath. He takes a breath each time he sings that phrase. He emotes well in this though.
IIILoumusic3 5 years ago
"Mein vehnen"??? which language is this supposed to be???
mariusfelix 4 years ago
German
toadstoolz 4 years ago
...then it should be "mein Wähnen"...
mariusfelix 4 years ago
Yeah, that's exactly what it is
Liedliebhaber 4 years ago
Hmmm, I'm not too fond of 2:04 though... He wouldnt' get away with that if his sound weren't amplified.
Liedliebhaber 5 years ago
I agree with you there. I enjoyed his performance. But there were little disappointments throughout. For instance, my favorite part of the song "trenen kUssen" (sorry, about the spelling), he whimps out and throws it to the back of his throat. If anything, I believe it should be very open, but just soft. There is another recording on here of a baritone singing this aria; and I am willing to say that he sings this aria better than Hampson does in this clip. Search "Pierrots Tanzlied".
IIILoumusic3 5 years ago
Nice interpretation! You guys should check out Bo Skovhus' version of this on his album "Arias" too.
Liedliebhaber 5 years ago
He´S simply the best!
paynia 5 years ago
He´s simply the best!
paynia 5 years ago
Doesn't get any better....you should see him with Mattila Karilla
cstrum 5 years ago
SIMPLY AMAZING SINGING!WOW!
THESUPERSTITIONS 5 years ago
God, how beautiful. He keeps getting better and better.
Elisabetta611 5 years ago