Part II - Your Favorites: CESARE SIEPI

[EbtaTsot]

absolutely elegant..

[leoniemikele6]

How could anyone consider this unmusical? I think it's ravishing.

[CharlotteinWeimar]

Saw and heard Siepi as Don Giovanni in the gorgeous early Zeffirelli staging at Covent Garden. It was a dream cast with Sena Jurinac as Donna Elvira, Mirella Freni as Zerlina, Geraint Evans as Leporello, Richard Lewis as Don Ottavio. Siepi was utterly convincing, dressed in brown suede jerkin & boots & white collar & cuffs in the first scene & later on all in gold. Splendid singer, perfect Don.

[Vincenzo2010an]

@CharlotteinWeimar you lucky! i "hate you for this! did you take any of him from that performance or video,can you post me something of that performance, i have not seen it, please! how was he dressed during the famous "finch' han dal vino"? can you say me his acting during this aria?(i have only a cd of this performance)

[operafool875]

the master of elegant singing

[silvrlady1]

I have the recording of Mefistofele by Boito with him in the title role, I saw him sing several times in Los Angeles. Magnifico! If not the greatest, definitely one on a very short list. My personal favorite. Damn, but he looked good in tights! Poor Jan Pierce as the hero in Don Giovanni. A great cast: Siepi as the Don, de los Angeles, Schwartzkopf, Pierce. And me hanging off the 1st row of the balcony, mezzanine loge, in the Shrine Auditorium.

[PEAinSwe]

I love his voice. Especially in Ella giammai m'amo. I get goosebumps when listening to it...

[Operafiend22]

RIP

[minnie888444]

R.I.P.

Thanks for letting us know, Mike. Very sad news, but his art lives on.

[Musikcamp]

This voice reminds a bit of Herman Prey's, perhaps a little more metallic timbre.

[BorisGodunov]

I have a hard time preferring Pinza's Mephistopheles to Siepi because of diction. Siepi's French is almost flawless, but Pinza's is almost a caricature of an Italian pronouncing French words: "Eh SayTAN conduit lay BAL!"

In terms of voice, Siepi had the darker, more velvety sound, while Pinza was a bit more bass-baritone. Pinza also tended to croon a lot, something Siepi never did.

I love both, but think Siepi edges out Pinza in terms of the sheer natural quality of his instrument.

[recessionlover]

The British bass Robert Lloyd listed his big four basses of all time. Siepi was in there with Pinza, Shalyapin and Robeson. Why? Well, you've just got to listen to the voice. And he's almost entirely self-taught. If I had to give my favourite bass singer, it would have to be Cesare Siepi. He also looked good onstage, and offstage was a man of great integrity, who stood up to the fascists.

[tomzoricic]

Legendary and the best italian basso and perhaps the best basso in general

[minnie888444]

Thanks for posting. Glad you added Siepi to your collection.

Beautiful voice color, strange staccato here.

[MissLadyboy007]

Thanks for adding Siepi to the list.  He is by far my favourite bass. :)

[VelikiKlek]

Without going into details about which I know nothing, I can say that I prefer Siepi to Pinza. Just a matter of taste, though I like Pinza also.

[redsox2213]

I have to respectfully disagree with your comparison of Pinza and Siepi. I am a fan of Pinza, but I feel that he was not as consistent of a singer, as Siepi was. Pinza does have these moments of a god among men, but then there are moments where he sounds like a street singer (a Cappuccilli syndrome) You also commented that Pinza was a better musician. This is strange because Pinza himself admitted that he couldn't read music, but had to learn by rote. I enjoy your posts, but I have to disagree.

[ShawDAMAN]

Great bass voice, and good choice IMO.

[Scala977]

Welcome back, Mike. Meanwhile, as far as I could find out, Siepi did not sing Figaro at Salzburg in 1953. As a matter of fact, the production of Figaro during that year under Furtwangler was performed in German instead of the original Italian, with Erich Kunz, rather than Siepi, in the title role. The role that Siepi really did sing under Furtwangler in 1953 was Don Giovanni.

[100Singers]

Actually Siepi didn´t sing Figaro 1953 in Salzburg with Furtwängler - I´ve made a mistake. You´re absolutely right, it was Erich Kunz and the live-recording was dated August 11th 1953. Sorry for this, immediately I will correct my fault in the sidebar. Thanks a lot, Mike

[minnie888444]

1954

[Scala977]

Yes. Siepi sang Don Giovanni with Furtwaengler at Salzburg for two consecutive years, 1953 and 1954.

[tenorvoicefan]

Ich liebe Siepis Stimme, Mike nennt sie sinistern, ich schwarz. Auch finde ich die Virilität und den maskulinen Ausdruck wunderbar. Ohne jeden Zweifel eine gute, wenn für mich auch zu hohe Wahl.

Aber ebenso ohne jeden Zweifel, Pinza ist der bessere Sänger. Und das ist für mich der alles entscheidende, wirklich wichtige, ausschlaggebende Punkt! Alles richtig gemacht, Mike!

[meltzerboy]

For a long time, I considered Siepi a Pinza wannabe, a mere copy of the grand master basso cantante. (Both were largely self-taught.) Only in recent months have I come to discover that Siepi can very well stand on his own merits as a great singer and artist who excelled in a wide variety of roles from the operas of Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Boito, Mussorgsky, Mozart, and other composers. Excellent choice by listeners. Welcome back, Mike!