La clemenza di Tito - Del più sublime soglio (Rec. & Aria)

[dhyanamudra]

wunderschön!! Wie schade, dass Kaufmann heute keine Mozartopern mehr singt!

[labirintodivetro]

clownish as ever, mr Kaufmann

[mjmacmtenor]

What is interesting is that recitatives where ONLY used in Italian opera. In German and French opera (comic, at least) spoken dialogue was standard - Magic Flute, Seraglio, even Carmen (in its original version).

[0001cida]

I think the logic behind spoken recitatives might be (I am just guessing here) that Mozart actually did not have time to write the recitatives for this opera. I believe they were completed by someone else. Having said that I also don't like the spoken recitatives in this production. And it must be difficult for singers too...

[Graoutine]

You are right, they were composed by his pupil Süssmayer.

[MisterSenseless]

and performing Italian opera as a singspiel in German speaking countries is common

[antigeni]

Che tenore inascoltabile...ma da dove lo hanno preso?

Non voce finta...e poi il tempo è davvero un optional...bah

[WGJ06]

what the hell is this? Where is the recitativo? This is not even Secco, this is like Singspiel which this is not supposed to be!

[senesino83]

Terrible spoken Italian... if Italians singers were speaking like this in a German Singspiel it would have been a scandal... but everybody is entitled to murder Italian of course :)

Na ja...

[billyguns2]

Of all the tenors before the public today, Kaufmann for me has the most distinctive, memorable sound and splendid technique; it is typical of the times in which we live that he is not the superstar he deserves to be. People, what more do you want? He has a virile, masculine sound and is also pleasant on the eye.

[dvdgrog]

@billyguns2 Three years ago when you wrote this maybe he wasn't yet a superstar. Fast forward to the present. SUPER DUPER STAR! Siegmund, Werther, Cavaradossi, Maurizio......he owns these roles at the moment.

[b1i2l336]

@dvdgrog Yes, I am happy to see that at last the world acknowledges this greatly gifted artist; his Werther is great beyond belief!

[dvdgrog]

@b1i2l336 I am happy to learn that his Werther will be at the Met in a new production, year after next.

[freegman007]

very nice. really.

[jhvorotin]

I am becoming a fan of Jonas. This guy is suprisingly gifted and talented

[Arashi110]

Actually, it's not so terrible as it may seem. I find it quite interesing and subtly done, thanks to the artistic talents of Kaufmann and Kasarova.

[grig035]

Please, I can guess that with an authentic spinto like Kaufmann in the part, his second-act "Se al impero" must be simply electrifying. It would be a thrill to hear this sung by a voice with some real oomph behind it. I never have. Could we please have that as well?! Many thanks.

[Arashi110]

Guys, do buy a DVD and support these wonderful artists, please. It's only $17 on Amazon!

[forallyouknow]

Mozart didn't really write for spintos. He favored ease in the high register (for all those wide jumps in his music, that you can see here, for example) and flexibility. Kaufmann's "se all'impero" isn't bad (at all), but the heavy spinto voice seems encumbered in such a quick aria, and some of the notes are muddled.

[grig035]

Heavily dependent on technique, I'd say. Some spinto voices do surmount coloratura handily, although, granted, it's harder -- today -- to find one that "dances" than it was a hundred years ago. Re Mozart, "spinto" may not have been in his lexicon, but a lower-lying role like Idomeneo and contemporary write-ups on its creator, Raaff(sp.?), suggest a quasi-baritonal sound and a heavy role (similar to if not the same as Tito). Idomeneo's hardly Otello!;-). But it's not really lyric either.

[forallyouknow]

I agree with the entire interpretation being based on technique--Mozart did live to see castrati, after all. All voices were trained properly, in both agility and singular tone emission. I think Idomeneo is a completely different discussion--even the soprano roles in that opera, usually the most daunting (vocally) of Mozart's characters, are slower, more dramatic than virtuosic.

[grig035]

So you don't find the part of Vitellia in Tito a kind of cousin to Elettra in Idomeneo? I would agree that Ilia's is "graver" writing, so to speak, than is Servilia's in Tito, and Idamante also seems to have more of that Ilia quality than does his (essential) counterpart, Sesto in Tito. But I think I find Elettra and Vitellia much closer together than these other pairs. Thoughts?

[forallyouknow]

What? Similarity in the characters is not really the point I was driving at, nor is the dramatic effect of the music. I was referring simply to the writing *style*. Idomeneo is, plain and simple, dramatic. It was one of Mozart's "experiments", so to speak. Tito follows his usual formulae, in my opinion. :)

[grig035]

I know you were referring to writing _style_ -- or vocalism style. So I was asking about soprano roles in both works, since it was soprano roles that you singled out ("even the soprano roles in that opera" etc.) Particularly, I'm suggesting that Elettra's vocalism is a departure from the severer vocalism in Idomeneo in that it -- atypically -- _does_ share some of the vocalism aspects found in its counterpart, Tito's Vitellia. Doesn't it?

[forallyouknow]

Well, yes. It does. ,,,(o.o)/'''/

[grig035]

I've gone back and forth as to whether Elettra or Vitellia is the more difficult role, vocally. There are some trade-offs, yes, but ultimately, Vitellia, with its slightly larger range, and the extreme tessitura contrasts, going from "Deh, se piacer" to an altitudinous "Vengo" to a mezzo-ish "Non piu di fiori", may be more demanding. Weighed against this (ironically, in view of Idomeneo's general severity) are Elettra's very intricate flourishes, like the staccato runs in her final aria.

[forallyouknow]

In mu opinion, the Tito roles in general are more difficult vocally because they require more technical security from the singer. Everything in Idomeneo is nowhere near, but it does call on much, much more interpretative skill to bring the otherwise plain notes to life. Think Sonnambula vs. Tannhäuser.

[grig035]

I mostly agree: the Tito roles are more difficult than those in Idomeneo, but I honestly feel the Idomeneo Elettra is a big exception to that. And frankly (and this may simply be because I personally view Tito as a staggering masterpiece in every way), I also feel the roles in Tito have considerable characterizational depth and do need and benefit from just as much interpretive skill as one needs in Idomeneo. I just find Tito one of the most profound masterpieces ever. Sheer genius.

[primohomme]

@grig035

Elettra's music is fabulous, it's basically a long mad scene!

[Arashi110]

eah, the spoken dialogues are a disaster. But the singing is excellent, so I close my eyes on this. As for the second part of your comment, I believe that was exactly the planned effect. %)

[hillevifan]

I often find the tempi in this production very slow..even slower than harnoncourts- and the singing and staging are very dry...

[beteltree]

I hear ya. I much prefer Harnoncourt's slow tempi to Welser-Most's in La Clemenza.

[hillevifan]

Yea Harnoncourts are a more lush sound- while Most's are very dry and almost delay the drama (along with the horrible spoken recits)

[Arashi110]

Well, they are not Italian speakers, after all, except Eva Mei only.

[denniscrew]

Si, effettivamente questo Tito non mi convince proprio e i recitativi parlati alla tedesca fanno abbastanza schifo. Ma questo non è l'allestimento di Salisburgo con Nicolaus Harnoncourt?

[Arashi110]

Questo è le spettacolo di Zurich Opera, 2005.

[fidelious]

Though the spoken recitatives are ridiculous, I like it far better when they talk than when they sing.

[hillevifan]

Could you please post Servilia's aria please. I love Malin Hartelius

[MBWoland]

Agreeing with hillevifan. Sussmayr's recitatives may not be up to Mozart's standard, but this talking getting cut off by singing is weird. And Kasarova's speaking voice is so feminine it makes her Sesto looks weird! She sounds a lot more manly when she sings! Kaufmann is surprisingly fine as Tito for me, too.

Thanks for posting, Arashi!

[Arashi110]

Can't help but agree with you guys. Though to me it sounds more or less okay, the sung recs would've been better. But I posted this mainly for Kaufmann, he's good. I like his version of Tito better than Michael Schade's. Though again it's not a "classical" Tito, it's closer to it than Schade's maniacal psycho.

[hillevifan]

this is weird without the recitatives