Thomas Allen - Iago's Credo from Verdi's Otello

[ddevicente]

Every other comment on this video makes reference to Allen not being a true Verdi baritone, but if you look on the right side and find Hvorostovsky's Credo you find nobody making these same comments...

[peduzzi89]

Even though this role never would have been appropriate for him to take on in a performance schedule, it's still a treat to hear what is probably my favorite baritone voice singing it!

[interpreterr]

@peduzzi89 Well said! It would have been great to see and hear him in the role, but I'm very happy he has stuck to what's good for his voice.

[2002obie]

@drtmuir having sung at the Zurich Opera in several productions I am very aware of the small size and wonderful acoustics of that theater which allow him to take on such things. Sir Allen does have a larger instrument, but perhaps your ears aren't sensitive enough to hear the difference. Just like Domingo is taking on all sort of Verdi baritone roles doesn't mean he should. But when you develop to a certain level in the business, you can do what you want.

[drtmuir]

@2002obie Oh, I didn't say I thought Hampson *should* be singing Iago. :P

[2002obie]

His voice has lot of core, which gives the voice enough weight for the role. It certainly is a lower sitting and heavier instrument than Leo Nucci or Thomas Hampson.

[drtmuir]

@2002obie I don't think it's particularly lower or heavier than Hampson-- both of them in their primes had unusually solid high ranges: both sang Pelleas, Hampson recorded Wintersturme on a lark, and Colin Davis asked Allen if he'd consider learning Siegmund (answer was No). BTW, Hampson is singing Iago at the moment, in Zurich.

[hermanzoon]

No matter what one might say whether he is a Verdi baritone or not, he is singing wonderfully here, and I think his sound is great. Great! As some have said, there is a nobility in his voice that covers such a wide range of music and characters. Allen is one of the great singers of our time.

[drtmuir]

@hermanzoon I definitely agree; this is a case of a singer singing out of his comfort zone, yet really rising to the occasion and delivering. There is quite a lot one could say about Allen (and we do), but his stylistic flexibility has always been rather mind-boggling.

[ScoDeu]

Brilliant performance - as to be expected from one of the great baritones.

[AfroPoli]

This was very well sung. All this insufferable yapp yapp by people who say that he is too light for the role have no clue and have probably never listened to Victor Maurel who was Verdi's first Iago and who was much lighter than Allen.

These people would never rate Maurel a Verdi baritone, they would call him a caprino-tenor! Haha, Verdi's choice for Iago, a tenor...

[AmericanEvita]

Wow this was amazing. I'm only familiar with Thomas Allen's Mozart repertoire (Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva) and his recitalist career: British folksongs, American folksongs, and his Gilbert and Sullivan. He has a wide repertoire and here he clearly shows us that he could indeed sing Verdi baritone roles like Iago. This Iago is terrific. Listen to that booming, fiery voice! This is the best I've ever heard. Beats Sherill Milnes for sure(Milnes being known for his Verdi!)

[missgreeneyes56]

To Mike You were better than this and she loved him

[interpreterr]

Of course I don't believe Allen has been a major Verdi baritone! (You're absolutely right in your assessment). I was just fantasizing - if he a major Verdi baritone AND intended to sing Luna (which he neved did!), he'd probably be awsome in the role and Manrico in that performance would have to be someone as great as Corelli (vocally AND visually:-).

[stevevandien]

This is a fine "Credo" (despite Allen's vibrato getting machine-gunny at the high climaxes) but Sir Thomas knew he wasn't one of nature's Iagos, much less a true Verdi baritone. Allen is rather a splendid LYRIC baritone and a fine artist, who has managed an international career (dating back to the mid-1970s) so well that he still sings beautifully --

[Sieglinde84]

And bravo for not doing the "DIABOLICAL LAUGHTER" at the end. Even the best singers fall for that, and it screws up the effect.

[Sieglinde84]

Did he ever sing Rodrigo? That's lighter, even Simon does it... and he has the noble voice for it.

But even if not a true Verdian, he'd have been a good Iago too.

By the way: what about Scarpia? Did he do it?

[interpreterr]

You mean Rodrigo Posa? Yes he did (there are a few excerpts on Youtube).

Don't know about Scarpia. Probably not (another wise choice, I think). I have seen a concert in which he sang Scarpia's "Te Deum" though. He didn't do any 'diabolical histrionics', but if a look could kill and if it were a staged performance, he'd certainly annihilate everybody in sight :D

[drtmuir]

Oh, I would love to have seen that!!!!

[antmusique]

Wise choice indeed! But then again, long, successful careers such as Allen's are the result of many, many years of wise choices. I applaud him for that.

Still, after hearing this, I wonder what he could have achieved had his voice been suited to the heavier Verdi rep. Personally, I would have loved to hear him as Luna...

[interpreterr]

I've heard him in an interview talking how he was, in fact, once offered Luna by Herbert von Karajan. He replied something along the lines of: nnnno, I don't think so...-:)))

PS. I'd love to hear him as Renato from "Ballo in maschera"...

[interpreterr]

PS2. Or as Iago, for that matter. Look at that brief creepy smile when he sings "vile son nato"...-:))

[antmusique]

Ha! Herbie should have known better. I'm glad Allen refused the offer.

Maybe it's just me and my love for the big Verdi baritone roles, but it takes a very good Manrico to convince me that Leonora would indeed chose him over Luna. And where would you find a Manrico to rival Allen's hypothetically awesome Luna? Nowhere. As if the plot wasn't outrageous enough.

And for that, TA, I thank you for staying away from this role.

[interpreterr]

Well, Allen's Luna would require a Corelli (or equivalent) as Manrico at his absolute vocal and visual best -:) But that still doesn't mean Manrico would be Leonora's first choice...

[stevevandien]

Corelli was a major Verdian tenor in the dramatic roles. Do you truly believe Allen was a major Verdian baritone? Don't get me wrong; Sir Thomas is a great artist with a lovely voice. But he is not a Verdi baritone. Compare Tibbett, Warren, MacNeil, Marsh, Merrill, Milnes, Ruffo, Granforte, Stracciarii. Allen is doubtless a fine Germont -- much of whose music, like "Di provenza," is accompanied largely by strings, not brass -- but not Iago, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Simone, etc. --

[drtmuir]

NOBODY believes that Tom Allen is/was a major Verdi baritone, least of all, I suspect, Tom Allen!

[schweitzer006325]

He was indeed approached by Karajan...Allen had an audition with him round 1977/8, I think. I read that HvK (as TA likes to call him in his journal) offered him two big and rather heavy baritone roles - one of Golaud in Pelleas and Melisande and I forget the other one...perhaps it was Luna as mentioned here? Anyways, TA turned it down...twice since HvK kept on chasing him. Simply thought it too dangerous for his career at the time.

[stevevandien]

Seems von Karajan pursued certain singers for certain roles, without particularly caring if the roles were too big for the singers. Carrerras, alas, gave in to von Karajan. Allen, thankfully, did not:) --

[schweitzer006325]

Indeed...much as I admire Karajan for his conducting, his decisions regarding the abilities and skills of opera singers, esp. Allen was a tad self-centred. I too am glad that Allen didn't give into him and instead decided to pursue a very long and fruitful career.

[drtmuir]

The landscape is littered with beautiful voices von Karajan destroyed. Dernesch comes to mind right away.

[stevevandien]

Absolutely. Whatever Karajan's other virtues, he seemed not to give a rat's rear end about singers for the long haul. As I recall, he provided Carreras' first Aida. I also recall Carreras saying something like Karajan understands this score so well and controls his orchestra so well that I can sing Radames with him and not worry about my voice, blah blah blah --

[drtmuir]

And Ricciarelli as Turandot!!?? Insane.

[schweitzer006325]

I believe he said something along the lines of there being a lot of loud, powerhouse singing and an equally loud orchestra in the pit under the baton of HvK if he took up the offer and he simply believed he wasn't ready for that, preferring a long-term career to 15 minutes of fame. You can imagine what Karajan thought of TA wanting to do Pelleas instead! I'm sure though that he made the right choice...I mean, look at him now and still singing and acting! Bravo, Sir Thomas.

[antmusique]

You are a true treasure trove of Allen stories. I should probably get my hands on his book...