Samuel Ramey : "Vous, qui faites l'endormie" (Faust)

[wattever333]

they should have discussed what was going to happen after the singing. it was kind of awkward. there's a limit to winging it. they didn't even tell him which side to exit by.

[DimwaDepenga]

Is that Angela Merkel on piano??

[ocuptoi]

I'm french and I heard him in Paris opera in Moïse (Rossini) in 1983, he was amazing. He joined this popular sunday afternoon french tv show as he was in Paris for Moïse. The presentator Jacques Martin was also a real and choosy fan of opera. Samuel Ramey stays my favourite bass voice for ever, and he will stay THE Mephisto probably for ever too.

[javajunkie101]

I saw him perform in Chicago 2 times and was extremely enchanted by this man's voice.

[jjfpeep]

It would be very prudent, polite, and proper of you to also include the name of his pianist, since she's also performing here. She's doing an amazing job, too...

[operazioneopera]

Sublime!!!

[WilliamLongfellow]

"C'est pas diffi...culte"

Mignon :). Mais comme diable il est incroyable. Wow.

[wanchaan]

antant que francais beaucoup de chanteurs francais deverai prendre model sur ca diction parfaite

[Sedraen]

Also, at 4:16 is the most humorous grin.

[Sedraen]

Best. Evil laugh. Ever.

[Andemephis]

Хе-хе))) Х3

[86rish]

Gives me fucking chills

[callasfan100]

he.is.fantastic

[ouTsiZEd]

The best laugh i ever heard in this aria!! *Thumbs up*

[waweva]

I have no words to describe Samuel Ramey´s voice. Undoubtedly, he is one of the three greatest basses of the last 60 years (Siepi and Ghiaurov the other two). His tessitura is absolutely incredible. In this technically difficult aria, he has no problem to emit high Gs ( a note for a bariton, non a bass), then middle Gs and finally strong and powerful low Gs.

Ramey is a living learning lesson. 

[arpeggio1358]

@waweva I'd say Furlanetto and Quasthoff for the other two greatest basses of the last 60 years...with Ramey at the top of this list.

[kady7206]

Anyone know the name of a bass-baritone who played a long-haired Mephistopheles?

[FieldHockeyGoalie007]

@kady7206 Bryn Terfel did!

[arpeggio1358]

@kady7206 Yes! Bass-baritone, Greer Grimsley, has portrayed the Gounod Mephistopheles with long hair...and the hair is all his own. I heard him in this role last Saturday night in San Diego. He has a marvelous voice and is a fine actor.

[magicmonkichi]

Thanks for including the intro :D What a voice~ And DAMN he's sexy~ *^_^*

[mantiXcore]

I love that he actually sings the notes on the "ha ha ha"s

[Babs22h]

G over middle c ? for those extra high laughs how does he do that??? full voice as a bass...?brava!

[raigekimaru]

@Babs22h

some voices have outstanding range, although it is certainly more common in female voices, especially sopranos (many have over 3 octaves). in basses tho, this is extremely rare. most basses can vocalize high G in a warm up, extremely few can perform it. basses are rare and true basso cantantes are even rarer. operas like atilla, nabucco and maometto were brought back solely for ramey because of his talent

[magicmonkichi]

DAMN this man is sexy~ The voice...the look....the voice.....yum.

[MrPipposiculo]

Samuel Ramey è stato il più grande basso cantante degli ultimi decenni, il mister Callas !!

[girlzrmine]

Saw him play this in San Fransisco. He blew my mind. What a performer!

[2javivi1]

Es posible que Samuel Ramey entube la voz???

[RoySpinoza]

@2javivi1 no

[adamskyb]

But he's a high bass like it has been said here, yet he can sing a C below low C, like in Boito's mefistofele!! Is it possible for any high bass to get that note?

[clarksc1988]

The bass-baritone is a type of voice which is somewhat common, but Ramey's voice is very unique and special. In his prime, he really was in a class of his own.

[golaxo]

you mean the low c:)

[adamskyb]

is it just me or does he sometimes sound more bassy...like here....and sometimes he sounds more like a baritone...

[cernacerna]

@adamskyb : yep, he's actually a bass bariton, it happen to me as well, depends on what I'm singing :P

[Webarton]

the system is under a lot of pressure.

[ruju]

i have to peform this as the end of the semester. definately going to take some pointers from this peformance. it's all about the eye movement that gives that evil feel

[odontotazio]

bravo Samuel, e brava anche l'Angela Merkel al piano.....

[Falstaff85]

@odontotazio e veramente angela merkel?

[odontotazio]

@Falstaff85

sto scherzando!

certo che le assomiglia in maniera impressionante...eh eh

[bodiloto]

10 ramey = 1 Nicolai  Ghiaurov !

[2javivi1]

Someone could tell me what is the height of Samuel Ramey? Thanks.

[alocksley]

NYTimes 5 Nov 1999:

Six feet tall, trim and square-shouldered, Mr. Ramey is an easygoing, plain-spoken Midwesterner through and through

[ElisabettaVS]

What a voice! O.O I have never heard a normal speaking voice that deep!

[Imogenn]

Not bad, but Michael Bohnen is by far the best Mephisto ever recorded. Simply bone-chilling nasty!

[Babs22h]

he makes it lookk easy! bravo!

[Vlatna]

Che meraviglia quest'uomo.Sotto ogni punto di vista.

[sachiraa]

wow, do your hear the sound bounces back on the high G when he laughs?

a biiig voice in other words

[MusicMan1519]

yeah that high G was ROUGH. But it's definitely difficult...

[pavoman23]

Really good -- but a uh... unorthodox laugh... a little out of place, reminded me of Ernie from sesame street.

[Salsademika]

Yes, it was a beautifull G

[larintre]

Que GRANDE !

[lopezverdi]

Maravilloso y encantador!

[ArentWeSpecial]

Amazing high G...holy crap...

[mephistozaccharia]

magnifique, quelle voix!!...

[clarksc1988]

Ramey's performance inspires me. He IS Mephistofeles.

[candidnt]

No wonder I'm still single. Every man I date, God bless them, just isn't Samuel Ramey.

It doesn't help that he has the perfect face for romance novel covers. Seriously. I don't even read romance novels, but he just looks like he is ready to carry some dewy-eyed blonde across the threshold or over mountains or some shit. WHY COULDN'T IT BE ME

[bassfanne45]

@candidnt , Ramey sure would look better on the cover of romance novels than Fabio. :-) He's gorgeous...and he looks intelligent. Fabio looks like he has the intelligence of a gopher.

[magicmonkichi]

@candidnt

I thought it was only me~ He is definatly yummy ^_^

[aguacun]

Re-cool!

[SOPRATENOR]

FANTASTIQUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­

[philippelouvet]

Cher Jacques,il n'y avait que toi pour inviter de tels chanteurs dans une émission de variétés.Merci! Quant à Ramey, la voix et la diction grinçante du rôle jamais égalée. Et en plus il est beau ce diable!

[Tajazzy]

i love samuel ramey. saw him with Flicka in Feb. two greats still sounnding great as the venture in and out of prime. however, sam really needs to keep that tongue down.

[jhvorotin]

VERY convincing devil. Good pronunciation too. He does not speak French well though but that's ok. He has a bass timbre so that's good for the role. High G resonates so much lol. And it is a liberated sound, not a squeezed sound, like Terfel's

[raigekimaru]

Sam Ramey is my hero

[ledormant]

Samuel Ramey, comme toujours,s'investit dans son personnage avec l'autorité vocale qu'on lui sait, avec une diction parfaite et une présence inspirée. Il est remarquable en tout point.

[sweet96635]

Il chante bien.

[Baelmyrrdn]

Yes he is...and to think, I'm going to get to be in an Opera with him at the end of this month.  I'm still pinching myself....

[Selkaen]

Oh my God, you're so lucky!

[maryjivinjane]

He's so awesome.

[tamalesytortas]

He the man.. and the devil

[brackguyTN]

Wow. I think this changed my life; it was that beautiful. I'm not even into opera that much, but it really inspires me as a bass. Represent! :P

[raigekimaru]

Lovin' the evil laugh!!

[badamtsogt]

Aria-Valentine

[JBPDOMME]

Vous qui faites l'endormie, dans la production de Genève est un pur chef d'oeuvre. Si quelqu'un a cet extrait, merci de le mettre à notre disposition, MERCI

[joanabanyeres]

Oh j'ai toute la producion mais copié un video DVd impossible to find. this Faust is insuperable. Samul you are great....

[goofyguy1987]

After Samuel Ramey graduated, he mentioned that he went through a couple vocal coaches before he found the one he liked. He still gets "tune-ups", as he jokingly stated just as an old car does. Haha.

[goofyguy1987]

The most important truth about expanding your range is that it takes time. Also, you must always remember to be relaxed when doing vocal exercises. Tightening is much easier to do then relaxing.

[goofyguy1987]

I think samuel ramey is a bass with a good range. He sings so low to be classified as a baritone. He literally speaks low c's and b's and I'm sure he can sing them as well. I paid close attention to that when he came to my university (the university he graduated from) and had a question and answer conference.

[vestilagiubba]

Can you tell me what did he say about the vocal range and how to increase it??Please!!

[goofyguy1987]

Well, I asked him basically the same thing and he said he has always had a good top. My instructor always reminds me, however, that a bass should be able to sing a solid Ab given time. I'm only 20 and I'm working towards my F, but when I started my top was Db just above middle C. My low is C.

[Tajazzy]

a "bass" is very general. actually most basso profundos work to an "f sharp". bass baritones to g or g sharp. bass cantates( who may be bass baritones---as in ramey's case) can also have a g sharp or a.

[hotwriter36]

Didn't know that he knew French. Good for him.

[radsvid]

Ramey has a great voice, but this was a butcher job. In the beginning I didn't like that little mannerism he was throwing in in the beginning of each phrase because it affected the quality of the sound.

But later, it got even worse. The middle part was like laying bricks: identical, square phrases, no legatto, limited phrasing, nuance, subtlety.

I would recommend a Ghiaurov instead ;)

[vestilagiubba]

Have you gone to Venezuela?

[radsvid]

And Venezuela has what to do with anything?

[vestilagiubba]

Really, not too much...but did you go?

On the other hand, i think that Ramey uses it as a tool to express certain feelings and emotions. For example, the way that anyone of us can laugh in a simple conversation is very very different than the "ha ha ha" that the devil can do while mocking of Margarita. If anyone of us sing a serenade to a girl, it would be different as the devil can do it. I think that is the key to understand this interpretation

[usenetposts]

Not with this President, thank you!

[dorsy2]

He's a bass baritone. I have his "Don Giovanni" with Kathleen Battle playing Zerlina. The Là ci darem la mano is more than beautiful ... it's magnificent.

[secondhanddaylight]

quel bel organe , un beau gothik dans la fleur de l'âge

[tenorislife]

Very amazing voice. I only wish it was a hair, and I mean only a hair, brighter. A little to "yawn-like" for my taste.

[kuhnsbrat]

Thank you for uploading this. He is such a great performer! BRAVO!

[lamezzoenfrancais]

omg. He speaks French? I agree with the lady who said he has the voice of God... mmmm.

[ExVash]

His french is broken, actually. But still, fantastic that he tried.

Great singing, too, as is usual with Samuel Ramey.

[pabloiet]

fabuloso!!!

[Gerardeus]

he's bass or bass-baritone?

[robshelrobshel]

Wonderful voice !!! Ramey just did Mephistofiles in Houston, TX. Great as always !!!

[robshelrobshel]

Wonderful voice !!! Just did Maphistophiles in Houston.

[weavrmom]

Samuel Ramey has the voice of a God! Thanks for posting this; it is so easy to enjoy wonderful art like this which used to be difficult to find.

[steainsy]

such experience, what a great performance

[juanmlleras]

Great singer and superb in his performances. A great opera star!

[FABRIZIO82]

The very worst of all being that after all, Art IS popular!!! For instance, we had a neighbour, a 65 retired maid, who would spend her days listening to over and over again Vanzo and Mado Robin while cooking. This woman was not at all " cultivée" and yet Art brought her joy and intellectual and spiritual fulfillment... I think some people have interests to let the crowd being brain-washed by the everyday junk they watch.

[FABRIZIO82]

At that time they were still people willing to offer Art to the masses at a decent hour...

[MUEZZAB]

Let's thank M. Jacques Martin for that ! the only one to dare mixing classical music, opera, and modern music...