Rossini - Semiramide: Arsace-Assur Duet (Larmore & Ramey)

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic! Certified Intergalactic!

[lamsalgado]

Wonderful duo of artists! Larmore is pure talent! Ramey too ! Listening to both together is different and thrilling...

[bassfanne45]

Yes, Arashi110, here we have a bass and a mezzo fighting over a soprano. Ain't opera grand? :-)

[khlapetadwarmousa]

assyrian 4 ever

[raigekimaru]

rossinian bass roles are the equivalent in demand to verdi's baritone roles.

[bassfanne45]

@raigekimaru , Yes, Rossini expected all voice types to sing heavily ornamented coloratura roles. Rossini wrote many of the coloratura bass roles for Filippo Galli, a bass contemporary with Rossini. Galli must have been pretty spectacular. I think, though, that Rossini would have loved Sam Ramey singing these roles.

[raigekimaru]

@bassfanne45

yes, the demands on the bass voice by Rossini (namely Maometto and Assur) are very similar to a number of Verdi roles (Attila. Zaccaria) only with much more agility required. Fillippo Galli was kind of a freak of nature voice as it was (his voice itself was not a natural instrument, developing after a severe illness made him plunge into the bass register)

[bassfanne45]

@raigekimaru I had heard this. Really unusual.

[raigekimaru]

@bassfanne45

before that he was a tenor! this is rather ironic as lower male voices tend to be associated with better health and higher testosterone levels (which would decrease at least during such a severe illness). rossini also had a favorite contralto singer would started as a soprano but became contralto through similar circumstances.

[Chayastri]

@raigekimaru,

Who was the soprano who became a contralto? I have wondered why Rossini wrote so many roles for coloratura contralto voices. 

[LindoroRossini]

In this opera we actually have the bass, the contralto and the tenor fighting and singing numerous arias and duets (part of the introduction, the contralto cavatina and her duet with Assur, both tenor arias in an opera with just thirteen numbers) over a woman who is never truly developed from a background character, not even having her own aria. One of the strangest moments in any belcanto libretto :), the music is still delightful, though, even though the subject of it isn't interesting :).

[pweny]

Ramey and Larmore were so funny in Italiana at the Met. Here they are simply amazing...It's a shame that Larmore has only done Semiramide live in Berlin...Someone please have the sense to mount this again for her!!!

[Arashi110]

Yes, I'd love to see her Arsace live, too.

[pweny]

I'd pay to hear her sing the phonebook!!!

[jr1844]

Yes! Isn't there an opera by, say, Berlioz, entitled, perhaps, Le Livre de Telephone, to be sung by the singer one simply can't ever get enough of??? =:) Where can I get a recording??

[jr1844]

Oh, yes, what a good idea to post this demo for deep dark mezzos to keep on singing these pants roles -- at least so long as we've got Larmore! Yummy sound! Totally convincing! Brava, Jennie!

[Arashi110]

We are lucky to have also Ewa Podles, Vesselina "The Sextus" Kasarova, Marijana Mijanovic and a bunch of other terrific mezzos & contraltos in our time! ;-)

[Chayastri]

@Arashi110

Let me add Stephanie Blyth to that list.