Bryn Terfel - Son lo spirito che nega - Mefistofele (Boito)

[TheNattella]

Amazing!!!

[cmcmahon331]

I also love the way he does the "naaaaah"s they add so much character.

[cmcmahon331]

at least he doesn't stomp all over the stage like a fool while he whistles.

[NeuroniAssociati]

@anzolettilino: Auguri e buon ascolto, ma consiglierei di ascoltare altre esecuzioni

[NeuroniAssociati]

Scandaloso neanche il testo riesce a eseguire in modo corretto! Ma ha idea chi ha cantato quest'aria nella storia del canto? Vergogna!!!!

[anzolettilino]

@NeuroniAssociati per me è bravissimo!

[Nibelungenfrau]

thankxxx very much for this video - I have just seen this at TV arte - beautiful.

[almejotota]

O: 

[coryisawake]

This is the sort of role that probably caused his vocal crisis. That being said, he sort of pulls off creating the atmosphere of this aria, but the voice has no breadth and sweep.

There is more desperation here than poise & winking evil.

[Rochey93]

Ramey is better at fake whistling

[rovingdesertfox]

Absolutely not doing it for me. Wrong fach all together. 

[OlegHmil]

Чем больше слушаешь, тем больше нравится его исполнение! Музыка!

[gsupertramp]

well, i just saw him yesterday as Wotan at the Met. No doubt, he is one of the best singers I"ve ever seen.

[lobby5t]

I don't know what half of you are talking about - what I know is that Terfel makes these wonderful arias accessible to folks who wouldn't otherwise consider opera at all. His showmanship and yes his wonderful voice and facial expressions rivet the viewer - what else is there!

[raigekimaru]

it would be unfair to say this is a terrible performance, his acting is wonderful and (more importantly) his technique is natural and unforced, but it just doesn't do it for me. this is a bass piece, and one of the differences between a baritone and a true bass is that the bass does not loose color at the bottom of the voice the way a baritone does (likewise, basses loose color at the top...unless they're samuel ramey lol)

[PhantomoftheOperaOG]

This song is the tune for "Late Last Night" in Kenn Hill's The Phantom of the Opera. Thumbs up if you knew that!

[abracadabranque]

Il ne suffit pas de gutturaliser le timbre pour incarner le Diable,il y faut la profondeur des abysses!

Tout celà n'a rien d'infernal,c'est seulement barytonal...

[OlegHmil]

Это вам Хровостовский!)))

[Andemephis]

Ыыы! Только, по-моему, это не Мефисто, а аццки коварный котэ. Котэ-Бигемотэ)))

[Andemephis]

Соловей прям! Я тоже хочу уметь так свистеть... ну... и петь тоже... Х3

[MrWillJCStevens]

I've heard several renditions of this aria and Terfel's is still my favourite. Yes, Ramey or Ghiaurov may be stronger on the lower notes, but opera isn't just about the music - although it is obviously a vital part. It's about telling a story and I have never seen or heard Terfel fail to do that. And like someone said below, he has never taken the role on to the stage as I'm sure he is aware as much as anybody else that he is not right to sing it in its contextual setting.

[PaperMateMan]

@MrWillJCStevens really? I personally thought the low notes were very nice :)

[bassostupenda]

@PaperMateMan I have heard worse low notes but there's no escaping that this is a bass aria and Bryn is a bass-baritone, not a true bass. I think musically he sings it better on his CD 'Bad Boys'.

[PaperMateMan]

@bassostupenda Yeah, he is a bass-baritone and I have heard other versions where it's nicer low notes but I thought everything was really good so it was made up for

[Gaetumrex]

@MrWillJCStevens Now listen; if you like his singing of this aria it's fine by me;

But don't go out on youtube and say that opera isn't just about the music;

It's all about the music;

Now perhaps you don't know this but as an opera singer you have to be VERY VERY LOUD; and you sing in your vocal range; to do that you need to have a certain posture which restrains your movements; that's why all opera singers seem a little bit stiff;

It's opera not theatre;

[MonteKristof]

@Gaetumrex Wow, you're so wrong here! And I say it as an opera signer! Yes, sometime we do have to sing loud. You know when it's written FFF! But you know, on scores, there is also PPP! Try to sing "Mein Sehnen, Mein Wahnen "very loud" and you'll end up giving an horrible horrible rendition of it. then Opera isn't only about music. Now if you follow the auditions and actualy know what's going on on stage, you should know that nowaday acting at least as importent as a nice voice.

[Gaetumrex]

@MrWillJCStevens I for one prefer Ramey to all others; you can compare Ramey and Terfel on Don giovanni; perhaps you'll have a change of heart

[Metalface123]

i agree with the comments below. Still, I doubt any bass can beat his charisma on stage. His facial expressions are priceless and unbeatable. Seen Ramey done the role a couple of times, and he havent quite convinced me yet. Dont know why Im posting this. All I have to say is Terfel is a great actor. If he had a deeper timbre, he would have been a great devil;p

[OperaGhostObsession]

I love the tune of this song.

[sterneflamme]

One of the worst performances from Bryn Terfel and, I think, perhaps the most awful performance of this piece ever heard. Terfel is a bass-baritone, not a true bass as the role requires. He forces his voice too much. It was not necessary he sang this

[arpeggio1358]

@sterneflamme I agree. Terfel just doesn't have the weight in his voice to sing this. He is forcing it. But then he often sounds forced. I think his recordings of folk songs show off his voice the best. It's odd to prefer to hear an opera singer singing folk songs, but that's how I feel.

[stevevandien]

Terfel is a compelling performer with a rich, lovely voice.  For me, though, his voice isn't ideally suited to this role. Yes, Terfel has all the notes. But his bottom notes are somewhat effortful and lacking in volume. He sounds best as a bass-baritone, which for me is a little higher than basso-cantante. The voices of Ramey, Treigle, Ghiaurov (that's off the top of my head; don't know if Pape has sung Mefisto) are a better fit for this role:).

[OlegHmil]

Ас!!! Молоток!

[Andemephis]

@OlegHmil Ну дык... Аццкий Сотона ведь)

[hightenor123]

Its a concert, he can sing things outside his normal rep. He has never taken this onstage, take a breath everyone and enjoy the fun....

[karshook]

He's better at whistling than at singing this bass aria.

[cantanteporsiempre]

Demasiado baritonal, prefiero una voz de BAJO para esta aria, le queda grande.

[amitfri]

great voice, of course, BUT I REALLY CANT stand the way he allows himself to reinvent arias. why invent something that already exsist? you didnt write the thing, you just sing it, stay modest for god sake

[HellasItalia4]

1 Ghiaurov , Siepi , Giaiotti !! bassi

2 Ramey b-b

3 Terfel b

Tutti bravi!

Ma la parte è per BASSO!!!!

[cleanears]

This is a joke, of course... but i suppose if that other fake of a Domingo can sing baritone then this fading not so good singer can certainly do Mefistofele.

[witness124]

@cleanears Sorry? Gosh, well, if you've had more than twenty years singing as a world reknowned tenor, and suddenly decided to switch from the italian/french repertoire to a host of Wagner and Verdi's baritone protagonists then we can take your word as honest.

Oh, wait. You haven't, have you? I doubt if you can even sing opera. Don't knock Domingo until you're as good as he is.

[Roam665]

It's good. But only this much. He is baritone. Don't get me wrong - I generally like Terfel very much. But this isn't his aria. Neither his role . Lets speak about the actor's play here...

This is GOETHE'S Mefistofele. If anyone made himself the pleasure to read the book he will now - THIS Mefistofele is arrogant, but also wise, deep, with finesse... Not some random villain, as Terfel is interpreting it.... Not even near the level of Christoff and Ghiaurov....

[Brideshead09]

That's some virtuosic whistling going on there.

[sterneflamme]

This role and even this aria are written for a full basso cantante voice, not for a bass baritone one, as Mr. Terfel has. In addition, he sings open and makes the role seem a verismo role, that is not. Better for him (and for us) if he sings Wagner, some Mozart and his beautiful folk songs

[bassfanne45]

Usually I think Terfel's voice sounds forced when he sings opera, but I like this. I love Terfel's interpretation of folk songs, many of which are on YouTube.

[brigid88]

CYMRU AM BYTH!!! bloody epic!

[StandingRoom]

Oh yeah! I'd totally forgotten he can actually do the whistle!

Epic win.

[geo34rge]

thanx for the upload. Fascinating performance!

[melaneimonoussa]

he s so much better than ramey!!!! thanx for uploading :O)

[melaneimonoussa]

he s so much better than ramey!!!! thanx for uploading :O)

[Operafiend22]

@melaneimonoussa No need to knock Ramey

[bassfanne45]

@Operafiend22 I agree! Ramey's still the best in this role. I'm so amazed at his wonderful performance in the San Francisco production. This really is a mediocre opera, but Ramey (and the production designers also) turned that production into something really special!

[derrufus]

@bassfanne45 Yes, Ramey is a very well performer of Mefistofele but the ultimate one seems Nicolai Ghiaurov. Unfortuantely I could not find a proper recording like the one he did on CD in the web ...

[hightenor123]

Wow, fantastic orchestra... great tempi, I love it

[clarksc1988]

While I think this aria (and more importantly, this role) is very inappropriate for him, there are some things about this interpretation I really like.