Samuel Ramey is Assur

[MrAficionada40]

le plus grand de tous les temps merci youtube

[magicmonkichi]

amazing voice and perofrmance, and he looks amazing~ yumm ^_^

[MrsMosquiz]

Là finor sparì spari respiro fu deliro un sogno (ahhhhhhhh me derrite) Si! Si! es posible sufrir de el síndrome de stendhal, el señor Ramey es la causa

[BravoLucero]

I've had the pleasure of attending performances of Mr. Ramey. He is astounding.. No body like him. Actually met him at the Santa Fe Opera when he and his wife were attending a performance there. A very gracious man.

[devotedtoopera]

I can't imagine how difficult it must be to sing in this position. And it sounds so damned wonderful.

[ah332]

who is the conductor?

[Arsace88]

@ah332 James Conlon...

[raigekimaru]

I just realized he's wearing earrings, what a bad ass =P

[mordred1971]

che grande cantante.......meraviglioso...­....

[raigekimaru]

this man is SO underrated. lower voices don't get enough of the spot light. his technique is like a male equivalent to La Stupenda. why are singers Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo in the spotlight when we still have this man? I don't mean to belittle them, but Sam Ramey has so much better technique than they do. every role he sings sounds flawless and creates the character perfectly.

[arpeggio1358]

@raigekimaru Actually Ramey has had a lot of accolades, nad has even been called a "superstar bass". In his heyday, whole productions would be designed around him and he revived a number of operas such as "Maometto" and "Attila" that were rarely performed because there was nobody who could sing and act those roles.

[arpeggio1358]

This "mad scene" is so amazing. Marilyn Horne hs said that she would stand in the wings and listen to Ramey singing this scene whenever they sang a performance of.Semiramide together, because she thought he sang it so beautifully. That's really high praise coming from such an accomplished Rossini singer as Horne..

[chitarrabianca]

come te nessuno mai!!!!!!

[bassfanne45]

I just don't' see how someone can sing in this position...even though he does have his back straight.

[raigekimaru]

ending on an exposed high F#? damn, that's brutal for a bass

[adamskyb]

for some reason his low notes dont sound that low. even though they are

[AkhmedSync]

@adamskyb It's because his voice is neither woofy (a problem for basses who have low tessituras) nor straining for low notes (a problem for basses with higher tessituras).

[adamskyb]

@AkhmedSync I understand...I mean, I think they sound low I guess they have more high overtones in them maybe that's it. You would think that since technically he is a "higher Bass" that most high basses could achieve those low notes.

[bassfanne45]

@adamskyb , Ramey is a bass-baritone, hwich means that his vocal range encompasses most of the bass and baritone ranges. What's really incredible is that his voice is seamless, without any apparent breaks throughout its almost two and a half octave range.

[adamskyb]

@bassfanne45 Yea I know, that's why I was saying as a "high" bass with that low of a range you would think that any bass baritone could get that low, especially a normal bass but apparantly they all cant or dont...

[bassfanne45]

@adamskyb They may not, but a true bass-baritone should be able to get that low. Ramey does have an especially large range, and a lot of flexibility.

[raigekimaru]

@bassfanne45

actually, I heard it was closer to 3. B1-Ab4 or something like that. I could be wrong tho, I've also heard of him going higher

[raigekimaru]

apparently he's like the 1st person we've had in 200 years who could sing this.

[bassfanne45]

@raigekimaru , Yes indeed, the Rossini operas with coloratura bass roles like Assur in Semiramide weren't performed for many decades because, until Ramey came along, nobody could sing them. Ramey, along with Marilyn Horne, who sang the Rossini coloratura mezzo roles to perfection, really brought about a Rossini Renaissance.

[Bastikalk]

He was also better sometimes... didn't seem to have his best day. But still great!

[AkhmedSync]

What a beautiful man.

[2javivi1]

¿Sabéis si Samuel Ramey empezó siendo tenor o nació ya bajo?

[Ernecio06]

Me gusta su voz! Espero algun dia cantar asi de bueno o mejor!!

[birgitnilsson]

Es un DIOS!

[iavorpatril]

Grande interpretazione.

[aficionada40]

extraordinaire quelle voix magnifique une basse chanter aussi bien du rossini

[melomane57]

Grande Samuel................

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic!

[Pereidom]

the best bass ever....

no words just learn how to sing listening to his records...

impressive.

my teacher William Matteuzzi told me that Ramey sanged in the most difficult Regie with excellents result.. and he is a really god man. Applause!!!

[tinatinaballerina]

He teaches at my school.

Wow is he astounding.

It's humbling to be in his presence, really.

[nybulldog]

I am truly jealous of you

[raigekimaru]

omg are you serious!? where do you go to school?

[Agorante]

I disagree. Many posters here ascribe Ramey's amazing flexibility to technique. I don't think so.

Singers typically improve in range, power and color as they mature but not in flexibility. The ability to rapidly articulate the vocal apparatus especially the diaphragm seems to be present or not present early and remains fixed.

Rockwell Blake too has this kind of unlearnable ability.

I suspect it's a genetically determined trait - specifically the size of the hypoglossal canal.

[Arashi110]

True, one is generally born with a "Rossinian" flexible voice. That's a quality a singer either has or has not. But still you can't go away without having the solid technique to lean upon when singing bel canto.

[candidnt]

Completely agreed. The man was just born a fucking sexy beast with a voice to match.

[guimaul69]

Are you singer? if you were, you couldn't say that! ok, some people are better helped as other with their voice at the beginning but the most important thing is just the work!!

I don't know how much hours he's worked to obtain this result but i'm sure it's a lot... so please just show some respect for the technical job he's done, thank you

[candidnt]

I am a singer! While I have no idea about anything about the hypoglossal canal, I think Samuel Ramey is a rare breed. Yes, he has worked very very hard. But he is also an exception to the rule. He did not start singing opera until college, and that was only for fun. He had no formal training prior to then. He has become incredibly good...but he started a lot farther ahead than most of us. :D

[Dogaradodia]

Almighty Ramey! He never fails to capture my imagination.

[Arashi110]

THE Assur. In this opera I always sympathized with Arsace (no wonder) but after seeing this Assur I think I should seriously think about my heart's affections. ;)

[zippianna]

I never got to hear him sing, until now. We used to chat on iRC. I'm glad to know he is well and doing so well. Marvelous voice, unmatchable. Ramondo, I wish you all the best.

zippi

[tehen162]

Bravo, bravo, bravo. He always amazes me singing Rossini roles. What fantastic technique he has: the legato, perfect, smooth coloraturas paired with his solid, beautiful bass voice, no one like him in this repertoire.

[Baelmyrrdn]

I agree...we will not see his like again in our lifetime...

[verdiguy]

Sensational!

Power and flexibility in perfect harmony!

Tremendous charcaterization as well. Just

what you would come to expect from Ramey.

I can still remember hearing his debut in

Rinaldo...amazing!!

Where will we find another primo basso to take his place?

Thanks for posting!!

[mrc1961]

i have seen him many time in pesaro and other places in italy, He is just great, None like him.

He did extremely well in verdi too.

Great Attila and Filippo II

I agree none on the horizon...it is sad

ciao

marco

[dongio76]

great Ramey!a great singer inside and outside the stage.simply the best-

[dustmondo45]

Excellent! Dark as the night and bright as the sun, deep and flying at the same time. Grandiose!

[cmorgan22]

I heard him in this at the MET and itis the best I have ever heard him. And, I think, no good replacement on the horizon!

[pippopapa]

In Rossini simply the best bass of the last century

[nickbaritone]

What a fantastic aria and cabaletta. The aria is really quite beautiful. He does it great. I think Rossini brought out the best in Ramey while he was in his prime. Great top F in the cabaletta.

[fiesco75]

Simply perfect!! And even with a not written low E flat in the cadenza!!!

[Gabba01]

The tempo is really rather slow. Still, a very beautiful aria.

[LICORNE31]

Une des seules "basses chantantes" rossinienes de notre temps. GREAT RAMEY ! Une des rares basses colorature rossiniene existantes. MERCI Mr. RAMEY

[sillsfan]

Great singinging by the master!

[Fitz65]

Brilliant. One of the very few basses of his time that had the solid bottom tones to match his great top notes. Thanks for the video!