The tone spreads, at certain times, but this is a very-nice version! Toscanini, as usual, has the GRIP on the entire sequence. The Italian was always capable of subtleties of tempos and gradations, but the latter aren't, always evident ... in the monaural recordings of his day. One can HEAR great characteristics, in the NBC's playing, at many points! Thanks for the upload ....
Just amazing!!! I've always loved Peerce:) He made a studio rec of arias w/Rudel conducting & for as late as it was in his career, 'twas great! Like I said: Just amazing!!!
What a very musicianly artist this singer was. As another poster has indicated, Jan Peerce's training as a violinist srely helped him to observe and show the legato that was such a significant quality of his art. One thing more than any other perhaps that made Toscanini respect Peerce was the tenor's scrupulous preparation before attending a rehearsal. This tenor did his homework - and it shows.
This aria is back-breaking and there were/are only a few who can sing it well. Jan Peerce sings it fantastic and his pronunciation is great, I understand every single word. Thanks for sharing VinylToVideo!
Thank you, VinylToVideo. Do you have any Peerce-cantor recordings to post? Also, my old cassette of Toscanini's recording of the entire Fidelio is worn out. Hint-hint.
Also, Fidelio is a great opera to produce while marking the overturn of a dictatorship. I believe there have been several productions staged to mark the toppling of Sadaam Hussein's dictatorship in Iraq. I know that both Seattle, Washington and Washington DC both created productions of Fidelio for that very reason.
I research most recordings I own including this one and have never come across any poor reviews for Peerce and this performance; can you provide any examples? I have seen at least one review that actually praised his Florestan. If anything it's usually Rose Bampton's Leonora or Toscanini's Verdi-like conducting of the opera that is criticized. I know for a fact Peerce's later recording was liked by the critics and personally I don't care for that one at all.
I distinctly recall reading the CD liner notes to this recording in its digitally remastered form and seeing comments towards the end about Peerce's interpretation not being so well received, I would guess most probably by Germanophile critics, but I would have to find the CD liner somewhere. It might take me a bit of time, but I'll try to respond with something to back up the claim. If this is not true, then I apologize for the mistake.
The very idea of broadcasting German music in America featuring the two most widely recognized Jewish opera singers of that time seems to me like quite a statement, just by virtue of the timing and the choice of stars. Peerce received terrible reviews for this role. I find them to be unsubstantiated. Although Toscanini could have selected a number of outstanding German tenors who would have received rave reviews from the critics, it seems Toscanini made a clever political casting decision.
Exactly. Toscanini was refusing to conduct any German orchestras or associate himself with anyone who supported Fascism or the Third Reich. Peerce and Belarsky may have been Toscanini's top choice for the 1944 broadcast and recording not only for their voices, but for their extraordinarily prominent positions within the Jewish community. To me, this actually seems to be a very prominent musical "middle-finger" directed towards the Nazis at the height of the American involvement in the war.
I recall the morse code letter 'V' played repeatedly on the radio to the motif of the first movement of the fifth. So we already clearly made the distinction between Beethoven and the regime in Germany at that time.
What I find most intriguing about this recording is the timeliness of the theme and Toscanini's decision to record this for NBC at the height of the Holocaust, towards the end of WWII. How more appropriate could the story line of Fidelio be, particularly as sung by the Jewish tenor, Jan Pierce and the Jewish basso-cantante, Sidor Belarsky?
I had a chance to speak with Jan re: the his recording. He made it clear to me he would never perform this on stage, but he was more than willing to record the role. Toscannini loved his singing because he was a violinist and sang with that line. No one will ever replace Vickers for me - I sang Parsifal with him - stunning! But Peerce has such humanity when he sang! This recording is most enjoyable. Thank you!
I thought the pace was a touch too fast at first, but the urgency was really great on the last minute or so (zur freiheit, ins himmlische reich!!) I really felt that, great job.... and good sound quality too. Thanks!
I got into it so much I started miming, couldn't help myself... :-P
You might like Ben Heppner's recording, I have it posted.
I'm glad this is a bit faster. This excerpt from the 1961 Knappertsbusch recording was conducted so slowly that it was over 11 minutes and I couldn't post it. If I do eventually, it'll have to be without the orchestration at the beginning. I haven't seen the video you mention but in a broadcast of this opera I found Heppner to be dramatically negligible, disconnected, and bland. This wasn't even really in Peerce's rep but still I prefer him in it over Heppner..
I haven't heard Heppner do it live, I haven't heard him live much at all really except on youtube and in a recent Met broadcast of a fairly obscure Tchaikovsky opera. (he didn't sound very good, getting old now.) I have a number of studio recordings of his though which I like, including his recording of this aria. Overall I think he's been one of the better modern tenors by far, which I respect him for. Kaufmann sings this pretty well too.
Singers could get away with more in the studio then they could on stage. Bjorling was even going to record "Otello" but I believe he died before it happened. I don't think this is an opera Peerce ever would have considered performing on stage and this 1944 concert performance was very early in his career, although he did record it again nearly 20 years later. When planning the recording they wanted to use a tenor like Peerce with the European cast so sales of the recording in the US would be..
..better and Peerce wouldn't pass up the opportunity to sing under Knappertsbusch. Peerce wouldn't sing Wagner but judging from this he could have quite well. Anyhow, Peerce sounds more dramatic to me than Heppner who is just a big lyric. It's a little harder to classify Peerce. Still for me the dark voice takes it in a role and especially an aria like this. I have Heppner's album "Great Tenor Arias" which is good but it's a modern studio album and I hear he doesn't sing like that on stage.
"Singers could get away with more in the studio then they could on stage..."
I keep forgetting that all Toscanini recordings were actually live performances/broadcasts with an audience and not studio recordings. They used the best equipment they had to record Toscanini. Peerce would perform "Fidelio" but when Toscanini asked him to perform Wagner and "Aida" he said no.
The tone spreads, at certain times, but this is a very-nice version! Toscanini, as usual, has the GRIP on the entire sequence. The Italian was always capable of subtleties of tempos and gradations, but the latter aren't, always evident ... in the monaural recordings of his day. One can HEAR great characteristics, in the NBC's playing, at many points! Thanks for the upload ....
jhb134 5 months ago
This is for me anyway amazing. such power in the voice & tender when needed. good stuff.
Teddyb1939 5 months ago
Sagenhaft !
GuidoKaiserBariton1 6 months ago
Just amazing!!! I've always loved Peerce:) He made a studio rec of arias w/Rudel conducting & for as late as it was in his career, 'twas great! Like I said: Just amazing!!!
lastofdmelocchians 1 year ago
Great sound for this age !
WatchBlueSkies 1 year ago 2
A fantastic rendition, I think. I felt my own pulse racing faster as I hallucinated with him, his urgent voice and the genius with the baton.
Glenmed 1 year ago
I cannot rate this video because: 1. Ratings have been disabled, and 2. There woundn't be enough stars anyway.
Hjadlowker 1 year ago
Toscanini's favorite tenor during that period.
lpvcrcd 2 years ago
What a very musicianly artist this singer was. As another poster has indicated, Jan Peerce's training as a violinist srely helped him to observe and show the legato that was such a significant quality of his art. One thing more than any other perhaps that made Toscanini respect Peerce was the tenor's scrupulous preparation before attending a rehearsal. This tenor did his homework - and it shows.
rupepill 2 years ago
This aria is back-breaking and there were/are only a few who can sing it well. Jan Peerce sings it fantastic and his pronunciation is great, I understand every single word. Thanks for sharing VinylToVideo!
MsBoccanegra 2 years ago
Thank you, VinylToVideo. Do you have any Peerce-cantor recordings to post? Also, my old cassette of Toscanini's recording of the entire Fidelio is worn out. Hint-hint.
runupahill1 2 years ago
Also, Fidelio is a great opera to produce while marking the overturn of a dictatorship. I believe there have been several productions staged to mark the toppling of Sadaam Hussein's dictatorship in Iraq. I know that both Seattle, Washington and Washington DC both created productions of Fidelio for that very reason.
singer2cantor 2 years ago
I research most recordings I own including this one and have never come across any poor reviews for Peerce and this performance; can you provide any examples? I have seen at least one review that actually praised his Florestan. If anything it's usually Rose Bampton's Leonora or Toscanini's Verdi-like conducting of the opera that is criticized. I know for a fact Peerce's later recording was liked by the critics and personally I don't care for that one at all.
VinylToVideo 2 years ago
I distinctly recall reading the CD liner notes to this recording in its digitally remastered form and seeing comments towards the end about Peerce's interpretation not being so well received, I would guess most probably by Germanophile critics, but I would have to find the CD liner somewhere. It might take me a bit of time, but I'll try to respond with something to back up the claim. If this is not true, then I apologize for the mistake.
singer2cantor 2 years ago
The very idea of broadcasting German music in America featuring the two most widely recognized Jewish opera singers of that time seems to me like quite a statement, just by virtue of the timing and the choice of stars. Peerce received terrible reviews for this role. I find them to be unsubstantiated. Although Toscanini could have selected a number of outstanding German tenors who would have received rave reviews from the critics, it seems Toscanini made a clever political casting decision.
singer2cantor 2 years ago
Exactly. Toscanini was refusing to conduct any German orchestras or associate himself with anyone who supported Fascism or the Third Reich. Peerce and Belarsky may have been Toscanini's top choice for the 1944 broadcast and recording not only for their voices, but for their extraordinarily prominent positions within the Jewish community. To me, this actually seems to be a very prominent musical "middle-finger" directed towards the Nazis at the height of the American involvement in the war.
singer2cantor 2 years ago
I recall the morse code letter 'V' played repeatedly on the radio to the motif of the first movement of the fifth. So we already clearly made the distinction between Beethoven and the regime in Germany at that time.
athenianboy 2 years ago
What I find most intriguing about this recording is the timeliness of the theme and Toscanini's decision to record this for NBC at the height of the Holocaust, towards the end of WWII. How more appropriate could the story line of Fidelio be, particularly as sung by the Jewish tenor, Jan Pierce and the Jewish basso-cantante, Sidor Belarsky?
singer2cantor 2 years ago
I had a chance to speak with Jan re: the his recording. He made it clear to me he would never perform this on stage, but he was more than willing to record the role. Toscannini loved his singing because he was a violinist and sang with that line. No one will ever replace Vickers for me - I sang Parsifal with him - stunning! But Peerce has such humanity when he sang! This recording is most enjoyable. Thank you!
1155north 2 years ago 4
Tucker died before he had a chance at Wagner outside of the concerts with the Prize song.
pearlmuth3 3 years ago
I thought the pace was a touch too fast at first, but the urgency was really great on the last minute or so (zur freiheit, ins himmlische reich!!) I really felt that, great job.... and good sound quality too. Thanks!
I got into it so much I started miming, couldn't help myself... :-P
You might like Ben Heppner's recording, I have it posted.
ShawDAMAN 3 years ago 2
I'm glad this is a bit faster. This excerpt from the 1961 Knappertsbusch recording was conducted so slowly that it was over 11 minutes and I couldn't post it. If I do eventually, it'll have to be without the orchestration at the beginning. I haven't seen the video you mention but in a broadcast of this opera I found Heppner to be dramatically negligible, disconnected, and bland. This wasn't even really in Peerce's rep but still I prefer him in it over Heppner..
VinylToVideo 3 years ago
.. I love dark voices for roles like this though and it's no big secret that I'm a HUGE Peerce fan.
VinylToVideo 3 years ago
This is of course *excellent* although technically calling for a heavier voice, as you alluded to.
ShawDAMAN 3 years ago
Sorry I removed Ben Heppners recording of it that I had posted, because of copyright issues- I forgot. :P
ShawDAMAN 3 years ago
I haven't heard Heppner do it live, I haven't heard him live much at all really except on youtube and in a recent Met broadcast of a fairly obscure Tchaikovsky opera. (he didn't sound very good, getting old now.) I have a number of studio recordings of his though which I like, including his recording of this aria. Overall I think he's been one of the better modern tenors by far, which I respect him for. Kaufmann sings this pretty well too.
ShawDAMAN 3 years ago
Singers could get away with more in the studio then they could on stage. Bjorling was even going to record "Otello" but I believe he died before it happened. I don't think this is an opera Peerce ever would have considered performing on stage and this 1944 concert performance was very early in his career, although he did record it again nearly 20 years later. When planning the recording they wanted to use a tenor like Peerce with the European cast so sales of the recording in the US would be..
VinylToVideo 3 years ago
..better and Peerce wouldn't pass up the opportunity to sing under Knappertsbusch. Peerce wouldn't sing Wagner but judging from this he could have quite well. Anyhow, Peerce sounds more dramatic to me than Heppner who is just a big lyric. It's a little harder to classify Peerce. Still for me the dark voice takes it in a role and especially an aria like this. I have Heppner's album "Great Tenor Arias" which is good but it's a modern studio album and I hear he doesn't sing like that on stage.
VinylToVideo 3 years ago
"Singers could get away with more in the studio then they could on stage..."
I keep forgetting that all Toscanini recordings were actually live performances/broadcasts with an audience and not studio recordings. They used the best equipment they had to record Toscanini. Peerce would perform "Fidelio" but when Toscanini asked him to perform Wagner and "Aida" he said no.
VinylToVideo 3 years ago
Did Tucker by any chance ever have a crack at this that you are aware of?
ShawDAMAN 3 years ago
No he never did. He had expressed interest in performing Wagner but it never ended up happening. He would have made quite a fine Florestan.
VinylToVideo 3 years ago
Yeah. He would have been even more in his element than Peerce probably. Bummer.
Maybe I'll post some James King, another fine American tenor. This was a signature role for him.
ShawDAMAN 3 years ago
yes another reason why toscanini liked him so much and he was dependable not to cancel and was always on command in good voice.
pearlmuth3 3 years ago 2
Fantastic performance - superb voice. Truly exciting, convincing and moving. Excellent transfer too. Bravo!
Glenmed 3 years ago 2