George London - Le Veau d'Or

[leouija]

Veramente magnifico!

[sidelis]

Chi ama London sa. Immenso!

[Lovelytenor1]

Vocal gold!!! RIP!

[artotheque]

Magnifique timbre, diction excellente. ça traine un peu, mais l'esprit méphistophélique est bien là !

[stevevandien]

London was a true bass-baritone. His voice was large and rich, well suited to dramatic roles; although his comfortable range (two octaves from low F or G to high G) did not encompass most Verdi parts besides Amonasro. He was, however, comfortable in roles such as Scarpia, Escamillo, the Dutchman, the Walkure Wotan, Boris, Amfortas -- that's off the top of my head. Also Mephisto in "Faust;" he was probably quite capable of Boito's opera as well, but don't know if he ever sang it --

[ilovecollecting]

LOVELY! So rich and dark... His voice is like a warm drink of chocolate... Thanks for Posting.

[stevevandien]

What a WONDERFUL description of this great artist's voice! I'd only suggest that the drink of chocolate be HOT, rather than warm:). Bottom line, London's voice was both voluminous AND beautiful. That combination is pretty dang rare --

[ilovecollecting]

@stevevandien

And what a lovely response to my Comment - Thank You! It's so nice when Comments are so appreciated and makes it all worth-while. On re-listening just, I would most definitely have to agree; it has to be HOT ! : - ) Thanks again!

[clytemnestre1]

Aucune distinction pour cette video. Je suis scandalisée!

C'est magnifiquement chanté. Idéal....

[777Thinking]

"I am a gay man and very in adoration of the male voice. But for George London it is pure sacred to bow to the man's voice and ask God to let me into Heaven by this honour I give the singer and knowing not even media can exploit him.

Absolutely glorious, riveting and above the hand of all orientation, civilisation, law, government, and human rites. I am silenced. This man is divine and saves the women, the men, the children from slavery, including our culture of war".

Tyler Lord Hamilton

[odontotazio]

Impressionante, pensare che questo ruolo oggi è interpretato da Raimondi......

[stephenjoeagi]

Glorious !!!!!

[K3yP1ayer]

London's version is the best on YouTube, however, I have a video of Samuel Ramey doing it in a concert and seeing is believing! Wish we had that one on YT for comparison.

[ArentWeSpecial]

For the love of all that is good and holy, upload it! Please!

[K3yP1ayer]

Sorry, but I don't have the right technology to do so, and what little technology I do have works only one way, from digital tape to the PC, not from a DVD to digital tape and then to the PC. Maybe later this summer when my college son visits and we work on it using his laptop with the DVD player in it.

[ArentWeSpecial]

I hope you find a way to upload it. :)

Maybe if you give me the info on the performance I could look for it?

[luisamiller]

Un Méphisto excellent et surtout une diction impeccable voila qui est suffisament rare pour être souligné.

[aguacun]

This is de DEVIL´S voice

[karrathe]

де я вол

[chivislh]

Sencillamente impresionante

[Goethefemme]

I remember when they had a fund-raising benefit for him. Didn't he get Alzheimer's early in life? Beverly Sills used to tell how her mother and Georges' would try to fix them up. On one outing George showed up with Lanza in tow.

[stevevandien]

When London was about 50 years old, he had a massive heart attack, which kept oxygen from his brain from many minutes. He wss therefore in a kind of senu-conscious coma for the remaining 15-odd years of his life. His widow Nora provides more details in her book "Aria for George" --

[unnannonelluretra]

voce

[RossiniSoprano]

Did he consider himself a bass-baritone and not a bass? Because I hear that cavernous, ringing bass sound, particularly noticeable in the upper register.

WONDERFUL singing!

[stevevandien]

London's comfortable low extension stopped at G, a note or so under that of most true baritones. Although he had an A flat two octaves higher, his most comfortable top was F-sharp or G. True basses can sing down to the low E at least, and their best top notes tend to stop at F. (There are of course exceptions.) So despite his bassish timbre, London fell exactly between bass and baritone -- in other words, a bass-baritone. And he was a great artist:) --

[egymagyar1111111]

Mephisto to be scared of... and a voice of the Satan Himself ... I loved Boris Christoff in the same role without comparision just Gods on the Olympus

[stevevandien]

If London haven't suffered the paralyzed vocal cord, he would have been the Wotan, Iago, Scarpia and (possibly) the Macbeth and Falstaff of his generation --

[mxl2003]

I completely agree! There's a recording somewhere on here of London singing Iago's 'Credo' from Otello that is simply amazing...I can't even imagine hearing the whole opera sung by him. Franco Corelli and George London together in Otello...we're doomed to wonder what could've been...

[stevevandien]

And London probably sang that "Credo" after the paralysis, so impressive as it is, it likely does not represent his best -- wow, London and Corelli in "Otello" ? What a combo and a half! Perhaps they've sung it since in heaven:) --

[paulostroff99]

@stevevandien -Better still would have been Jon Vickers and George London-both Canadians and Vickers best role,doing those honours.

[stevevandien]

@paulostroff99 O gosh, how the mouth waters to contemplate Vickers and London in Otello . . . holy cow!

[Turand0t]

This is incredible, allthough I like Jerome Hines' just as much.

[kmillard]

Heck, even the DEVIL himself gets in the Christmas spirit! In the middle of his aria, he breaks into "Angels We Have Heard On High!"

[padrenatas]

No sé cual sea mejor, George London o Ghuaurov, ambos sabìan bajar el sonido a la quijada para lograr ese oscuro sonido.

[jrrtex]

None better. Period. End of lesson!

[primobaritono]

AWESOME ! What a SOUND !!!

[ilFactotum]

Not enough words to describe the greatness of this man's singing, which comes out better than a lot of true basses' interpretations of this same aria.

[baritolo]

Voce prodigiosa, il Del Monaco dei baritoni. Sentirli insieme nella favolosa Tosca incisa per la DECCA è un piacere immenso.