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From: OettingerCroat
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  • OMG WOW THX!!!!!!!!!!

  • THAT'S IT!!!!!!

    I looking for that recording from Che gelida manina from Monaco!!!!! It's great! Listen he goes up to C without any change in the tone of his voice! I heard three differnt recording with him, but that's best, but I couldn't get it anywhere.

  • #18 is the reason why I became an opera singer. No other options on this list are as magnificent as this one, except for Pippo's #20. What he did there is extraordinary and incomparable. I would add two other options:

    1) Corelli's diminuendo at the end of Celeste Aida; and

    2)Pertile's startling crescendo of the same note in the full opera recording of the same. The note almost explodes through the microphone.

    Thanks for posting this list!

  • A friendly correction ... the note that Graves and Domingo hold out is a B-flat (that is a few cents sharp on Domingo's part). It's an octave jump-up from the initial B-flat they sing.

  • yes that's true, i knew that the correct note at that part is a Bb, and that is what Denyce Graves sang. But if you compare Domingo's note to the B before it and after it, I mean it REALLY sounds like a B.

  • Corelli beats 'em ALL!

  • Mamma mia che miracolo che si è sparato qui Corelli!!! Santo subito!!!

  • nadie como corelli

  • Did Mario del Monaco get a guernsey ?

  • thank you so much for posting this! I enjoyed it very much

  • 21 and 22 are both B4. Otherwise another great compilation.

  • Increíble el C# de Plácido!

  • WOW thx a lot!!! Antonio Paoli should be in there, King of tenors he was the only one who had to record 20 feet away from the gramophone all others including Caruso were within 2 feet.

  • Such great, clean and wonderful singing. Kind and warm regards,

  • Complimenti per queste magnifiche note alte dove, oltre ai soliti tenori noti per i loro acuti, non sfigura affatto il Domingo degli anni migliori.

  • does anyone knows when was this "O paradis" Domingo's rendition?

  • Fascinating to compare the greats. Thanks.

    Personally I don't feel that 6 and 13 belong with the greats.

  • I wish I could find my recording of a Met Chenier from around 1976-77 with Domingo. He sang two awesome B flats in the Improvviso that he held for several seconds each. The audience went crazy after the second one.

  • I would LOVE to hear that!!! When you find it please contact me :-)

  • Great collection, some are breath taking! tnx

  • Juan Diego is the shit :D I love his voice!

  • muy bien grcias por esa presentacion de los mejores

  • Thank you so much for this...super presentation and analysis!

  • I find the decrescendo by Correlli on the High A to be unbelievable.

  • when were the e lucevan le stelle, and the o paradis Domingo's renditions? I would very much like to have them...thank you...

  • Oettinger, did I do something wrong?? :P Maybe I'm being silly but it looks like my comment was removed?

  • LOL no i just forgot to approve it!!! dont get so worried! :-P

  • :-P sorry ha ha

  • These are really great compilations, thanks again for making them Oettinger. I'm thinking of using them to try and get some of my operatically ignorant friends into opera. :P

  • The best tenor ever is still Mario Lanza.

  • Corelli was the most consistant but Pavarotti and Del Monaco had the best notes of all. (16 & 17)

  • Corelli is the king of the high C's, clip 18 is wonderful

  • You made a mistake,you forgot probably the best tenor ever  Jussi Björling !!!!!

  • he was featured in my previous Greatest Notes video singing a stupendous high C.

  • you are absolutely right about clip 18). best dramatic tenor high C ever

    PS: for some more great C#s, check out some recordings of Puritani with Pav and Sills from the 70s.

  • I didn't know Mr Spock sang opera!!!

  • Great job OettingerCroat! Great compilation...a real treat.

  • PLACIDOS QUALITY INT HE!! :)

  • AIm am amazed by Domingo's piano high C and by his c sharp. In A te o cara Pav. is a little cracked. lanza and Björling has an artificial tone, I don't like is. It's a bit surprising, that Monaco had a good C in his good days, even live.

  • after all of these fantastic let me highlight without taking away anyone of them any glory, Corelli's mezzavoce in e lucevan, Di Stefano Faust diminuendo on C5 and I missed Bjorling and Gedda it is a great Divine Battle thank you very much I really enjoyed it my ears are ringing yet as they must

  • The most spectacular high C in history is 23. MDM's from La Boheme

  • I am sorry to see that Jussi Bjoerling's voice is not present in this compilation. I feel that he should be present at every single compilation that has the title "Greatest Tenors". Just my two cents.

  • Hai ragione! Any list of great tenor notes that does not include Jussi, has to come up short. Otherwise this compilation rocks.

  • CORELLII,IMMENSO,IMMORTALE!!!!­

  • All great notes!!!! For one more try Corelli's "Non, je mourrai mais je vais la revoir" from Romeo and Juliet act 3 final from 1969 EMI studio recording!! Flawless!!!!

  • Just to complete the list. Another serious high tenors to be mentioned are Lauri Volpi (of the very best top notes ever - most impressive D I've EVER heard in Ugonotti), Leon Escalais (some of best D's), Rosvaenge, Schmidt and Filippeschi. You can find vids of all on youtube. And these were not (except for Schmidt) at all lyrical tenors.

  • Thanks for doing this. It's great to listen to the diffs in technique and agility (and intrinsic timbre)

  • domingos Salut!... is my personal fav

  • thank you soooooooo much for this wonderful video and comments

  • Mario del Monaco - the best.

  • creo ke corelli es el tenor de la voz mas poderosa o potente ke a existido o bueno el tenor de mas potencia del ke c tiene registro, 1 autentico tenor heroico

  • el primer otello TAMAGNO del cual se tienen muy pocos registros, se dice que poseia una voz gigantesca

  • Are you going to make a third video of great notes?

    I hope so! :)

  • Corelli's Lucevan le Stelle and O soave fanciulla are awesome indeed. Incredible too is Di Stefano's Salut, démere. Del Mónaco's Trovatore is unbelievable... you cannot convince me that these guys have only two lungs and a human throat!!

  • In discussion with Tucker and Corelli, there were the only tenors that could be heard next to Birgit Nilsson.

  • i heard Domingo with Nilsson in 1969, the Tosca finale. On the huge high B at the end, right before Tosca jumps, Domingo was keeping up with her on the B!

    She WAS the louder one out of the two however...

  • You can just about hear Domingo's C against Nilsson's in the Met broadcast of Turandot at the end of In questa reggia, 1970.

  • that is rather important, in these tenor size comparisons, since everyone uses Nilsson as an S.I. unit of measurement... LOL

    the vast majority of tenors aren't heard at all against Nilsson's top, whereas Domingo evidently for the most part held in there rather decently... his voice was nowhere near Tucker's or Corelli's in terms of size, but still quite big nonetheless.

  • i just realized i kinda spoiled the opera... LOL

  • That Domingo C# isn't live... I don't think.

  • well if it isn't then the acoustics in that room are just horrible... sounds 100% exactly like its a house. i always use my own ear, i think I have demonstrated its reliability.

  • That´s live. But where? When? My singing professor used to tell me that Domingo, in his 20´s and 30´s had magnificent Cs and C#s that he did not use any longer when he took on spinto and dramatico rolls.

  • yep, i was certain it was live... it was in 1973 or 74, he was only 32-33.

    domingo was more lyrics at that time before he grew into a dramatic tenor.

  • It could be that it's edited to sound live, or simply that he didn't have the C# so they had to edit it, and in doing so produced something sounding off.

    I'm not contesting the legitimacy of your ear, just saying that it's the exact same sound from Levine's studio recording of the opera in 1973.

  • no worries, i guess they could have edited the sound to sound like its in a house, even though I honestly haven't come across a tactic like that way back then in the early 70's. this obscene editing seems to be something they do more nowadays, with these mostly shitty tenors.

  • really the best voices of the Opera!!!

    thanks

  • no hay de que ;-)

  • I'm not really a high note fan, but this compilation is really fun and most impressive! Those guys sure could sing! Each entry is terrific but the one that impresses me the most is Di Stefano, #20, the way his voice transitions down is just amazing!

  • you two were right; the high note at the end of Pavarotti's O Sole Mio isn't a C5... it's a B4. But it wasn't me who said it was a C5; years ago, my friend Chris who took music theory told me it was a C, so I believed him... CRAP! >-[

    :-P

  • Firstly, awesome video! Keep em coming! a couple of things - the 21 Pav O Sole e mio is B not C and don't you hate it when sopranos sing mezzo parts (as in the Samson e Delilah) and then add a phrase at the end to show off a high note that's not in the score. That works of course in cabalettas but not here. I agree about 32 - that's developed falsetto! I sang like that for the D in Possente amor mi chiama and it sounded just as ridiculous!!! And Domingo's C sharp! Amazing - where did you find it

  • Thanks a lot for the compilation of awesome tenor notes...just a side note though, Pavarotti's sustained note on O Sole Mio isn't a C5. It's a bit lower than that. Cheers =)

  • An excellent video, thanks.

  • voices from GOD

  • ....when i listen this files i think to the cartoons or the marx brothers...i love opera but these anthology are very comical...almost a freakshow..

  • very nice!! You have a C# or a D by Corelli and Lanza?

  • in my first greatest notes video, I have a Lanza C#... if I make a 3rd video, I will put an excellent Corelli C# :-)

  • Please do. I've been looking for a Corelli C#, and other than a brief one in "La Donna e Mobile", I haven't been able to find one.

  • your wish will be granted in the coming days

  • Lanza has a live recording of "E Il Sol Dell'Anima" floating around with an amazing Db in it. Not sure about a D.

  • Apparently, Domingo openly called that pianissimo high A that Corelli was famous for a 'cheap circus trick'.

  • lol, he did? thats so bitter lol...

  • Apparently he did, I can't find where I read it...

    The word cheap might not have been in there though... could just have been circus trick, which might somehow be a compliment? (lol)

  • that ain't no compliment, lol

    if I was Corelli and Domingo told me that, I would immediately challenge him to a High C duel... and of course win. LoL

  • I suppose Domingo was critisizing Corelli's disrespect to the note values.I have a recording of a concert given by Domingo in 1969 in which he sang the same piano high A.I'll send you the recording if you want to post some arias.

  • Thanks for fantastic post! Although I personally don´t rate high note singing as the most important part of a tenor´s craft, should you want to listen to another rather adequate example of the art, go to "Jussi Björling Ich hab´ kein Geld."

  • Domingo rules

  • what is the highest note from this tenors.how high can they sing

  • Corelli as always all has torn))))

  • thank you for this - great video...In particular, Corelli impressed me very much and Domigo's C sharp was fantastic... thanks again

  • more Mario lanza!

  • ok grazie oettinger croat! Mi chiedevo cosi' per curiosita' quali fossero i tuoi tenori preferiti?

  • caruso, corelli, lanza, domingo, tucker, gedda

  • chi e' il primo tenore che si sente?

  • ti è scritto alla destra... non solamente questo, ma TUTTI.

  • il primo tenore è franco corelli

  • majestic work, absolutely... I admire you so much

  • This is great, it would be even greater to hear Jussi Björling here, if you dare!!

  • Ferocious, Ferocious, Ferocious Indeed! Damn that Corelli! Now *I* have never loved life so much!!!!!!

  • no andrea bocelli Dflat from because he sings it amazingly!

  • I was actually going to put his high D natural up, but it would have been the last note, and I was afraid it would leave a bad final impression on all the haters who think he can't sing. :-P

  • you should put another one of these and put his d natural up anyways cause he can sing hes freakin blind dude its so hard to learn music when u cant see and that he gets his voice to do what he want it to in such high areas is amazing no matter what anyone says.

  • i had some idiot tell me "bocelli and lanza aren't singers"... I wanted to tell him, then what are they, tractors?

    i really hate people who deny the presence of operatic talent just because they rose to popularity faster than the"the greats." It's as if "If you initially did not suffer from mediocrity, then you shall forever be mediocre!" it bothers them that their favorite tenor is a nobody, while every woman wants to sleep with Lanza or buy Bocelli's latest album.

    they can all go suck it.

  • Kraus is the king of high notes buy can anyone object that Franco Corelli was a perfect mixture of strong but ductile voice and expression?

  • I Love this video! I will not critique any of the singers --- I loved them all --- BUT, thank you for including our Mario Lanza! When he appeared on the scene many years ago, he led me to the opera (which I have loved ever since) -- He is overlooked as an operatic tenor.

  • EXCELENTE COMPILACION DE TENORES.. gracias al compilador y BRAVO TENORI!

  • corelli is just showing off in that first one. damn he was sooooooooooooooooo good

  • Florez's high note does not seem flat to me. He might have hit it a bit flat for a split second but adjusted in lightening speed.

  • yah, i corrected it to say "initially flat" now. because later, it WAS a true high D. :-)

  • ...That B from Carreras was a bit poor, just after cancer and he'd already wrecked his voice, so it's understandable... but it doesn't do him justice.

    I have probably Carreras's best live B4 ever from a 1973 La boheme... I'll post it sometime.

  • actually what it was was a tremendously sharp Bb :-D

    btw, a great GREAT Carreras B was from a studio recording of Nessun Dorma back in the 70's; it's on my first Greatest Notes video.

  • I have that recording of the opera, when I first heard that B I immediately thought 'result of studio editing'... But the 1973 B is sounds very similar and is even better! I'll post it soon as I said, still working on the 1979 Aida duet which you rudely demanded! =P Lol

  • rudely?!? X-D

  • Hehe =P

  • Wow, Domingo, is that really you in # 31?

  • yep

  • Stunning voices - just beautiful!

    Thanks for posting this

    Karlott

  • todos son increibles pero el mas me gusta x sus agudos inconfundibles y poderosos es corelli, despues florez, tambien kraus y domingo, carreras no mucho xk es muy inestable su voz

  • ...had a larger sound than any of the previously mentioned singers, and glad you mentioned Roswaenge who had some of the largest top register notes of any tenor. Lauri Volpi was not a dark voice but it was a piercing sound and very powerful. Not to forget Giacomini who had an enormous baritonal dramatic tenor voice throughout his register...about Tamagno, they say his voice could shatter glass windows, it may very well have been the largest voice but how can we prove that? The records are to bad

  • Odd that you didn't include any of the real "high note" tenors. No Roswange (The Knight of the High D). No Esclais. No Fillipeschi. Not even Bonisolli. More recently we have had the estimable Kunde, Fisichella, Giordani, Ford and Blake. Not to mention the less attractive but stratospheric voices of Merritt, Morino and Matteuzzi.

  • i know all them, but I just don't find their sound pleasant. although to their credit, Mateuzzi has MAYBE the nicest F, and Kunde the nicest Gb, in my opinion. But F's and Gb's, in my opinion, canNOT sound good coming from a man.

    tell bellini i'm sorry. lol.

  • Well, back then it was considered bad taste to sing anything past G above middle C in 'full' chesty voice. Most would have probably used falsetto, which, although sounding better on the extreme top than 'full' voice, is still really unpleasant in my opinion. The only tenor who uses falsetto to a beautiful effect in my opinion is Richard Tauber.

  • yah this is true...

  • EVVIVA I TENORI!!!!!!!!La voce regina dell'opera....

  • Corelli rules.

  • Gedda, Roswange and Baum all had a good D flat. Bjorling early on studio recording also had the D flat.

  • As far as holding notes I have a friend who is a spinto tenor and can hold a high C in full voice for 30 sec. but the middle of the voice is not great yet the top is great so he has great breath but you need more of course corelli had both .

  • Tucker on top was bigger as Domingo said "the biggest high B I ever heard " in two interviews. I heard tucker dozens of times and coreeli also and once the same day in Cav with FC and Pag with RT and Tuckers's voice was much larger then Corelli in size I was in the same met seat. Shicoff also told me what Domingo said in his interview so did norman mittlemann the baritone who sang with both. Giacomini in the middle was bigger then then Corelli and maybe tucker plus Del monaco and Melchior

  • Charlie Handelmann says the bigest tenor voice he ever heard was that of Gino Penno. The biggest single high note I remember in the opera house was Vicker's high A Natural in Walkure. Maybe the loudest B Flat I ever heard was from Guy Chauvet. Alas it was very flat. One of the easiest giant tenor voices I remember was Atlantov's.

    The biggest voice of any of them however had to be this Hawaiian guy who sold peanuts at the Oakland Colliseum. We called him, "Our Tristan".

  • Como el 27) de Kraus.....

  • Wow, thank you for posting. What a beautiful voices. I think I retire after hearing this. My favourite Tenor is always Pavarotti. But when I hear the other voices, Pavarotti has a small voice. But still my favourite lyrical tenor.

  • Pavarotti didn't have a small voice. Be carefull you'll start another myth.

  • And where is Gedda? Is his only note worth mentioning the D from Postillon?

  • nice video but not the right song for mario lanza it should be his last version before his death of vesti la giubba.

  • My computer speakers just died!

  • Los tenores que aquí se presentan son los mejores entre 1950 y 1990. Esta generación es irrepetible. No se puede cantar mejor. Por cierto Cataluña es una región de España, así que Aragall y Carreras son Españoles y así siempre se han presentado por el mundo.

  • I was wondering OettingerCroat... Why did you include that C# from Pavarotti? There are far better ones out there from him, he was struggling with his high notes that performance. He seems on the verge of cracking.

    I still love the video, Mario del Monaco's B4 and A4 from 'Nessun Dorma'. WOW.

  • i didn't mean it out of disrespect or to make him look bad, he's one of my favorites...

    i put that note in there because i had the other two singing the same section from the same aria, just wanted people to be able to compare...

    i had a totally OUTRAGEOUS C# from him in the original Greatest Notes video ;-)

  • I know you didn't mean disrespect, just wondering, and thanks for explaining.

    And I saw that, is it taken from his 1972 I Puritani with Sills? His high C#s in that are the finest I've ever heard.

  • the one in my original video? that was from 1967 [I believe was the year] with a stupendous Joan Sutherland :-)

  • Thank you for posting this.

    One of the best notes from JD Flórez is one he did in the barber of seville (with vladimir chernov, edita gruberova etc...) in the aria "Ehi di casa...".

    At the part of "No, voglio ucciderlo, non v'e' pieta'"

    It's just glorious.

    Sorry for my english :/

  • What a job!!!, Thankyou for first and this compilation; Corelli, the best, the most powerfull; Pavarotti, like usual, amazing; Kraus (my favorite), perfect; Florez (my favorite tenor today), beautifull, bellisima voz; really thanks, (and sorry for my english) : )

  • tu inglés no es mal :-)

    ¡y gracias por los cumplidos!

  • schon aufgefallen, daß Kraus der einzige dieser Giganten ist , der den Ton nicht komplett

    der Stütze überlässt , sondern hörbar den Vokal nachformt!(Enges E)

    Gruß

    Andreas

  • Corelli is the winer vinceeeeeeeeeeeeeero!!!

  • It is the C# on 27 which is flat, not the one on 29.

    Nice video, though. :-)

  • well they're both a tiny bit flat, but I had two of the same note from the same aria back-to-back with #29 and #30, that's why I indicated the flatness.

  • thank you sir for posting this. I've never been able to find a video or recording of domingo singing a high C, but here he sings a C# totally crazy!!!! Thanks!

  • you are welcome

  • what voices...

  • We all owe you for posting these magic moments! Some truly great performers, but the richest and most instantly recognisable voice? To my mind, Lanza without doubt. (Now that'll invite some controversy!!).

  • Fantastic !

  • the most splendid high note ever is High C in Che gelida manina with MDM

  • Aww =( No 'Pour Mon Ame' High C from Pavarotti :-P. Regardless, outstanding video, going straight onto my favourites.

    Loved Corelli's 'Recondita Armonia' B flat and his 'Di Quella Pira' C! My gosh, the power of those notes!

    Pavarotti's were all fantastic, my favourite tenor by far. But what a compilation!

    Thank you very much OettingerCroat

  • the power on the 'Di quella pira' C by Corelli is really outrageous!!!

    and thanks!

  • isn't no 32 a c sharp 5 of MDM?

    should be.... as far as I remember the scores...

  • yes, you can see that on the video info section on the left.

  • yep did not read carefully....

  • don't feel bad, i just told you that the info section is on the left... it's actually on the right.

    LOL!

  • LOL!

  • who you laughin' at?!?! :-D

  • Nice post.You should post Bonisolli's interpolated high D in Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz.Gedda should have been included too.

  • gedda was in my last video with an amazing high D

  • Oh, Bonisolli, that crazy ass. I've just uploaded his 'dein ist mein ganzes herz' with that completely uncalled for but sensational high D. Check out my page.

  • Wow, a Domingo C#!!! I didn't think such a thing was possible. :D I like his timbre, it IS a shame he wasn't more consistent (and perhaps better trained to begin with?) I am well aware of Domingo's technical deficencies but it annoys me when people say he NEVER hit a high C.....

    Very nice post, thanks

  • thank YOU very much!

  • Domingo's B4s do not compare to his glorious As. What an A. But... technical difficulties?!? No one can touch his musicality. Given his voice's weight, it's agility is God-like - that's the only word to describe it. If the guy had a consistent C5 (his B4s were usually consistent and passable)there would be no negative criticism of him, ever.

  • I know dude, he is a music master. I for one really like his timbre too, and that's just personal preference. If his C's were as awesome as his A's or Bb's... well, he'd have fewer critics, that's for sure.

    And yes, his is a heavy voice of tremendous agility. He's the only dramatic tenor with a solid trill that I've ever heard (I'm not saying others don't exist, he's just the only super-famous one).

  • I'm fairly sure Tucker had a reliable trill, and his voice was much larger than Domingo's.

    Many of those who dislike him don't do so purely because he lacked a reliable high C though. The whole of his upper register lacks freedom to my ears.

    He certainly had musicality though.

  • A and below he was phenomenal, 80% of his Bb's were reliable and great too, anything above that was hit-or-miss, I must agree with you.

    I also agree that Tucker had a noticeably more robust voice than Domingo's, that is a given, but he had a noticeably more robust voice than MANY tenors, including Corelli and Del Monaco... therefore being smaller than Tucker doesn't make you small. ;-)

    Kinda like saying you are the 4th tallest person in Japan; still doesn't mean you are very tall. :-DDD

  • Oh, could you point me to a recording (on YouTube) where he does a trill?

  • This is amazing. I love it. thanks for making a second part to this. maybe a third part? heh. :)

  • This is actually very nice...probably the first (and last time) I will ever hear Domingo sing a Db...very nice, too bad he wasn't very consistent...like how you follow up the Corelli Bb with the Tucker, anyone who says Corelli was bigger up top than Tucker should listen to this...not only does Tucker produce the top much more effortlessly, his upper register is much more explosive and deafening than Corelli's. (this doesn't show up in studio recordings, but it's the truth).

  • With note to the Aragall 'Che gelida' I am under the suspicion that the recording is played at the incorrect speed, and that the original note was in fact a tenor C.

    Anyway, great post, thanks.

  • you might very well be correct, kind of like the suspicions that arose about the Lanza C# on my last video

    either way, both of those two great tenors had a great C#

  • thank you so much!!!

    and yes, you probably won't hear any more Domingo Db's unless it is the same aria... I guess he really liked this aria.

  • Listening to great number of live Corelli recordings, and this video too, in no way would I say that Corelli had weaker and more strained top than Tucker. Just listen to those high Cs in Poliuto or Ugonotti or Turandot etc.

    Interesting and amazing post, thank you.

  • well tucker's top WAS More effortless than Corelli's; that's a fact. but I still think Corelli was more powerful.

    I mean don't get me wrong, Tucker was very powerful, he used to hold his own against Birgit Nilsson and not get covered by her AT ALL, but Corelli was so powerful that he would cover NILSSON most of the time. LoL.

  • That isn't true...Corelli thinned out on the upper register like most other tenors do, but Tucker got bigger the higher he got (trumpet like)...Corelli never drowned out Nilsson, because I've heard loads of their Turandot recordings that that never happens. Hey, but Tucker never did either...listen to the two tenors singing high C's with Tebaldi...Tucker covers her on the note, but she always has an edge over Corelli on the note...this is not to say that Corelli wasn't an amazing singer.

  • He is my favorite tenor along with Caruso and Tucker...Corelli had a more herioc quality to his voice which is perfect for roles like Calaf, where he is unmatched...but we have to accept fact over myth. Talk to anyone who heard both of them live and they will always say Tucker's high notes were a lot bigger. (Middle and lower registers they had about the same size)

  • all right, you probably are correct overall. however, I have heard a few "In questa reggias" where you can hardly hear Nilsson. and yes, Ren