Leonard Warren "Votre toast" from Carmen

[SierraxResto]

I know nothing about the art of opera, but it sounds really nasal to me..

[seektheforce]

Does a mistake mean that he couldn't read music? Where did you hear that he couldn't read music?

[primobaritono77]

The mess up at 3:50 unfortunately highlights another fact about Warren...he didn't know how to read music and was very self conscious about it. Don't get me wrong I am a true Warren fanatic and believe he WAS the greatest Verdi baritone of any generation. Also, his untimely death during alive performance at the Met only further enhances his legendary stature. He passed away like some warrior on a battlefield with the applause still ringing in his ears.

[tenorbasse]

@primobaritono77 I don't think this mess up was because of lack of knowledge in reading music...Because it is a concert version, they had to cut the few bars when Frasquita, mercedes and Carmen, are singing the word "l'amour". Usualy, after the second verse, the baritone sings the "coda", exactly as he started to do...When I sang this role I had to focus not to cut Frasquta's line!

[federic017]

@primobaritono77 Guardi...io non so se Warren conosceva la musica ...ma è un errore che può fare anche un musicista...saluti

[vanderLuedenscheidt]

This is not his best performance, but please don't mess it up, Warren and "knödeln", never.

[WhiteProfondo]

Don´t know the english word but in Germany we say "knödeln"-.- a retroverted technique which sounds VERY unnaturally and artificial, just as his face. Sorry, but thats not his role!

[pafnuzzi]

@WhiteProfondo warren and knödeln? stronzo

[CelloVoice]

Actually you're right, the face talk as much, as the singing! His artificial face is just a like his artificial singing, not bad, but kinda unnatural as you said!!

I agree that the opera singing is artificial but this is too artificial.... :D

[WhiteProfondo]

Absolutely! It´s because of the whole style of the singing-position in your body which means that all people say that it sounds artificial, I understand that.

That´s why the most important thing for a singer is that he has to stay more natural than he thinks by himself, because otherwise he has an effect of a weird clown and he looks more pathetic than graceful or beautiful. A mirror is a great help for practise those things. ;-)

[TheCaveman471]

in the recorded version of the song there is no interlude at 3:50 so he was probably used to the recorded version.

[tcmunro]

Who's better than Leonard Warren? As an aspiring baritone, all I can do is admire Warren's natural gift - never immitate it. It's like the voice of Callas or Pavarotti - unique gifts (love em or hate em) that it is hopeless to try to reproduce.

[bwerth]

I would recommend the exact opposite in regard to Pavs and Warren. Callas is a bit irrelevant for the male voice. Both Pavs and Warren sang incredibly consistently with how and when they chose to cover. They are both textbooks for singing. Sure, none of us can try to match their color exactly, but they are the best technical examples we have. Don't chalk up their greatness to "natural gift"

[vilabreze]

Warren was great but excellent baritones and bass-baritones do exist right now. See the clip from Paris 1981 with Ruggero Raimondi, hear the passion, watch the acting.

[WhiteProfondo]

Then I hate it!

[federic017]

Che cantante !!!!! una tecnica di canto senza sbavature; veramente grande... cari cantanti se canterete come questo artista non sarete mai fischiati (almeno in italia). un saluto

[mkbub]

if only a few "basses" today would go back and listen to this. might keep them from getting such big heads.

yes, i'm pointing at you, Erwin.

[vilabreze]

Listen to Ruggero Raimondi--the clip from Paris 1981.

[BethDiane]

This is one of the few recordings at what i consider to be a believable tempo. I think that what tends to happen is that a) the conductor takes the tempos too slow or b) the singer agrees to take it slow as to show off his breath control, but it ends up working against him.

[OperaBohemian]

That face is priceless... but the singing is as perfect as singing can get!

[halavey]

Glad the silly Poli comment is off so I did remove my angry comment.

[VinylToVideo]

The mess up at 3:50 wasn't a big deal although embarrassing for sure. He performed the role all but 19 times in his whole career and it had been several years since he had by the time he did this.

[AUDIOPHlLE]

This coming from someone who's obviously a fan of the truly terrible Afro Poli? I'm almost pissing myself laughing! Idiot.

[MARISOLDELMONACO]

Straordinario.

[CrystalFlames]

I love baritones.

[baritenor81]

sweet :-)

[dancingdays72777]

Warren sang this role many times for the Met in the early 1940's. However, I believe he had long retired it by the time of this performance (1949)...which may account for the little memory lapse. It was a real launching point for him early in his careet though. During a tour performance of Carmen in Baltimore in 1942, the ovation was so loud he encored the Toreador Song! It was the last encore done in a Met performance until Pavarotti did a bis on E Lucevan le Stelle in Tosca...52 years later!

[danaissharp]

Did he ever perform this role. because the aria almost seems to sit too low for him in comparison to the full lyric and light lyric roles.

[pearlmuth3]

When I worked for the opera here people that knew him or had heard him told me he would go to parties and sing Di Quella in key, high C's and all--- so much for high notes he had it all!

[phantom4087]

Is that Leopold Stokowski conducting?

[AUDIOPHlLE]

LOL that would be Howard Barlow.

[phantom4087]

I saw this concert on PBS. Wonderful voice.

[operacaster]

of course warren had high.... i was making a joke. baritones have been trying to immitate them since he died. cheez...

[operacaster]

pearlmuth... i wish we had 50%... did anyone see the macbeth from the met on tv... gulp. warren was never my favorite and obviously i never heard him in person but i admire him greatly. was a great artist. too bad he didn't have any high notes...

:--)

[Belcore14]

Actually, Warren was known for having wonderful and reliable high notes...

[operacaster]

gotta remember if lenny ever sang part is wasn't much too small a part and too big a singer. he maya sung the solo but i bet not often. probably didn't practice much, and the conducter did it a little wierd as a solo... so i understand. but, WHAT A VOICE AND HIGH NOTE! Esca. is high for a bass and low for a bari. last time i sang it i had a tad of trouble because i had been singing all bass stuff and the voice had gotten lower. robert merrill was a gret escamillo with his big voice

[operacaster]

actually.. he didn't come in early or late.. most editors like schirmer who write it as a solo omit the gals and go straight to "toreador.." on the second verse in the opera the women come in with "l'amour.." and escamillo answers each with his l'amour until carmen says the last one and escamillo answers and then sings "toreador" that leonard messed up. but i've never heard anyone go back to the first verse ending in a concert. i understand how it happened..

[pearlmuth3]

Look he is human, so he came in too soon, whatever he caught himself so what! He was still the king, he was Lenard Warren and gave almost always a great performance. Bravo, wish we had one 75% as good as him today.

[izar1234]

Amen. So what he made a mistake, but as operacaster points out, it's easy in a concert version where the women aren't singing. And he more than makes up for his "mistake" by throwing in a tremendous high G on the "l'maour" at the end!

[bellinianodoc]

Perhaps the face at 3.51 shows haw many times he sang Rigoletto... Grande Warren, my first opera LP was Trovatore with Warren, Bjorling and Milanov; they are in my heart.

[sandrup]

HA. It looks like he made that face at that point because he made a mistake.

[Bigman240]

I think you're right. He had a memory lapse.

[dipoka666]

I ve got this song on a columbia gramophon record

[canafinwe]

His face reminds me on the aging Gian Maria Volonté.

The voice is simply GREAT.

[marokt]

I don'like very much the Torreador song, Warren is the only singer, who can amaze me in this aria.

[paulostroff99]

He was sensational.Beautiful voice as well as a supremely talented interpreter!Some parts MAY have been a little too fast.

[BigOperaguy]

A bit too fast for my taste, but still always great to hear Warren.

[olgamarga]

Gracias Onegin,nunca había visto a Warren,sólo conocía sus discos.Junto a "La fleur que tu ..." son mis favoritas.

[zakar67]

Grazie per il video. Molto interessante.

[primobaritono]

The face @ 3:51 is priceless !!! Even the great Warren messed up sometimes.

[izar1234]

Yeah, he messed up, or rather just forgot that the orchestra was going to play the chorus interlude there, but he more than made up for it by throwing in that tremendous high G on "l'amour" before the final high F.

[primobaritono]

I agree wholeheartedly.

[lasultanica]

Thank You :)