I wish there were more recordings of James King. What a beautiful clarity his voice has, especially in the higher tessitura of the Heldentenor. This performance, though classically stiff and stationary for the most part, is exceptional for its lyrical beauty. The score is also beautiful. What sadness it is that this work is so seldom performed.
sad......one of the great beautiful pure voices of the century, lost because of poor rep. choices and over singing. whoever convinced this man that he was a helden tenor should be shot. he was lyric to the core and had he been smart about his voice we would have another jussi bjorling or pavarotti to enjoy.
@bigus dude - are you serious? james king is one of the top few heldentenors of the last 100 years. and definitely a true heldentenor trained upward from baritone, not a pavarotti/bjorling type lyric. and he sang gorgeously for at least 3 decades fiendishly difficult roles like bacchus in ariadne. he is my favorite siegmund of all time. poor rep choices? what?
@FacePaster practically every tenor trains upward from baritone, thats how every man out of puberty starts pretty much. he obviously sang the rep and sang it well i just dont hear that in his voice really, his voice is harsher and more edgy and not as silky as it was in the lyric rep which to me means this music was harder on his voice, not that he couldn't do it. in these bigger works he always tends to carry weight up and they dont sound easy ever for him thats all.i think he was great ntl.
@bigus quite a dif b/w one who had a fully formed pro tenr vox in early 20s (Bjorling,Lanza,Domingo,Carreras) & one who sang pro as bariton for yrs b4 tenor(deReszke,Zanelli,Melchior,Vinay,Svanholm).Nearly alwys big voice that sng heroic rep - only exception-Bergonzi.King sang heroic rep frm begng of his tenr career, didn't begin as light tenr & gradually sing heavier.sang high parts such as in Strauss thru entire 30 yr career.well balanced registration & preservd his voice remarkbly fr decades.
It is, isn't it? It's amazing how the music goes with this as well as what the libretto would have it... The production from Strasbourg goes even further than this Goetz Friedrich staging does in sort of reverting to Rodenbach's vision instead of Korngold's... And the music is just ambiguous enough to accommodate both endings. Really remarkable! :o)
Wonderful singing for a heavier voice! never pushing and sacrificing tonal beauty to achieve impressiveness. Of course the high tessitura isn't going to sound as 'free' as that of a lighter voice, many people aren't accustomed to hearing properly produced high notes from a heldentenor-- well, James King had them. Superior to all the screamers of today, bravo Mr. King!
One of the reasons for King's being underated might be that his voice was not the kind that recorded at its best in the studio. I recall some critics of his studio albums saying he sounded old in the passaggio. That is NOT evident here -- he sounds vibrant and powerful --
James King had a wonderful and direct delivery there's no artifice in his singing, no contrivencies. Hear his Pinkerton to experience this inall its glory. Heppner would be the obvious choice for this role now but what about Jonas Kaufmann in a year or so?
I'm planning to go to the ROH: Covent Garden in January 2009 to Stephen Gould sing Paul & Nadia Michael as Marie/Mairetta. I hope it's fabulous. I've wanted to see this opera for a long time.
King has one of the most recognizable voices in tenor history. When he is singing you can mistake his sound for anyone else. I love King's voice and it was a pleasure to know him as well.
Yes, the voice is incredible. I only recently "discovered" him when replaying the Bohn Bayreuth Ring. Moments of his Siegmund absolutely make me melt. And it is obvious in the few Youtube's of him that he is devilishly handsome and can act. On further researching him, I was saddened to see that he is no longer with us. He would have been wonderful to see.
A tenor who would attempt the part of Paul must have the stamina to stay on stage and sing almost constantly for two hours over a gigantic orchestra. But unlike Wagner's tenor parts, which demand great stamina but not many high notes, the role of Paul in Die Tote Stadt is filled with many high B-flats and A-naturals, making the part nearly impossible to cast.
Well, I like Voigt and Mattila, so that's a toss up. Domingo has always been one of my favorites, but I'm not sure he could still sing this; last few times I've heard any of his recent stuff his top sounded a little short. Heppner is great, although sometimes he's a bit sterile (not always; his Florestan at the Met was great). If Domingo could manage it, I like his voice better.
Yeah I forgot that Domingo is going to do Baritone roles now. I heard he's going to do Simon Boccanegra. Still Domingo/Voight would be superb. I hope he hasn't completly lost his voice.
Domingo hasn't lost his voice at all. I've seen him 5 times live in the past year, including in the fairly challenging heldentenor role of Siegmund, and he sounded great. What he has lost is his high notes, though. He only sings up to a high A now live, and this part has several B-flats. I bet he could still do a good recording of it though.
Hmm that would be a problem singing Paul. It's a heldentenor role that does require high notes and the reason why Die Tote Stadt isn't performed often. But I would pay mucho money to see Domingo/Voight version.
would have loved to have heard Domingo sing this opera, but the tessitura is too high in some parts for him. King was amazing since he had the range and freedom to go with the heft.
What a question. In his prime, Heppner could have done it. DOMINGO? At no point in his career would it have worked. The role is too high for him. Always has been. Sure, he would have squeezed out some painful sounds, as usual, or more likely, he would have transposed or left high notes out all together. On top of that, his German is terrible. James King could blow Placi through a wall. King's singing here is beyond belief.
New Orleans isn't dying. I was there 3 weeks ago, and most of it looks great. Other than the 9th ward and maybe one other neighborhood, you really can't tell anything happened. Population is rising too.
@sirmercutio99 New Orleans is better than it was before, except for the 9th ward. Things are already back to normal especially since 3 years.... It's been cleaned up very well. New Orleans is still alive, and beautiful.
@Spiceofmadrid Unfortunatly, u guys are mistaken, i'm not bashing New Orleans, I love NO. I was applying the opera/book it's based on for a modern production. You could use any decaying city in stead of Bruges.
@Spiceofmadrid Unfortunatly, u guys are mistaken, i'm not bashing New Orleans, I love NO. I was applying the opera/book it's based on for a modern production. You could use any decaying city instead of Bruges.
Kollo was fine for a while, but Jerusalem was always a poor excuse for a heldentenor. We saw him a Siegfried in the SF production of the ring, and not only did he not have the power to cut through the orchestra, he didn't have the stamina, either. And Kollo, well, he sounds strained on top. King was a great heldentenor. So was Jess Thomas.
I always thought Kollo sounded a little...overmatched by the music too. Thomas was great, Heppner has had a stellar career. McCracken was great too. Jerusalem...ugh. I never liked that voice. It's more of a yell than anything to me.
I was a grad student at IU when King joined the faculty. We used to lunch together. He was a gracious, charming man, and a great heldentenor. I don't understand why there aren't more clips of him on youtube.
I don't understand why there aren't more recordings of him. Surely he's better than Jerusalem, or Kollo, or any of the other numerous heldentenors of the last 40 years. Even though this voice was big, it had a vibrance and brightness you don't often find in a heldentenor.
I always liked King, especially his wide repetoire, in which he sang Italian and French roles along with the German parts -- he also was a pupil of Oren Browne, my primary voice teacher's teacher:) --
A scene of this opera featured on a movie titled "Aria". It was Liz Hurley and not sure who the guy was, miming to Mariettaleib and was amazingly beautiful. Tears to my soul; the movie was a selection of famous directors doing just one aria of their choosing in any way they wanted. Well worth looking for. Came out around 3-4 years ago and also featured John Hurt as Paggliacco.
I,M CONFUSED. IN THIS CONCLUSION, IT APPEARS THAT SUICIDE IS CONTEMPLATED. tHAT,S NOT THE ENDING; THE HERO REJECTS HIS FASCINATION AND RETURNS TO A LIFE OF NORMALITY.
I think it's one of those weird avant-garde productions. Theres an avant-garde production on amazon but I don't know if i'll buy itI'm gonna wait to a great production comes out before I buy it.
there used to be a production of Die tote Stadt by Götz Friedrich, which was shown in Berlin and Vienna and featured James King. As far as I know he was recorded for television. I haven't seen it, but the pictures look very similar.
MY GOD - this is so very beautiful. Bravo James King. Kaufmann - listen & learn!
DonPaolissimo 5 months ago
Jimmy King told me he enjoyed singing this opera the best.....in the 80`s
DaveMuc 8 months ago
The music comes right from heaven !
Hans NL
qklq42 1 year ago
I wish there were more recordings of James King. What a beautiful clarity his voice has, especially in the higher tessitura of the Heldentenor. This performance, though classically stiff and stationary for the most part, is exceptional for its lyrical beauty. The score is also beautiful. What sadness it is that this work is so seldom performed.
Daddypop6 1 year ago
Gorgeous. King is by far the best I've heard in this role. What a shame he didn't record it commercially.
ShawDAMAN 2 years ago
sad......one of the great beautiful pure voices of the century, lost because of poor rep. choices and over singing. whoever convinced this man that he was a helden tenor should be shot. he was lyric to the core and had he been smart about his voice we would have another jussi bjorling or pavarotti to enjoy.
bigus 2 years ago
@bigus dude - are you serious? james king is one of the top few heldentenors of the last 100 years. and definitely a true heldentenor trained upward from baritone, not a pavarotti/bjorling type lyric. and he sang gorgeously for at least 3 decades fiendishly difficult roles like bacchus in ariadne. he is my favorite siegmund of all time. poor rep choices? what?
FacePaster 1 year ago
@FacePaster practically every tenor trains upward from baritone, thats how every man out of puberty starts pretty much. he obviously sang the rep and sang it well i just dont hear that in his voice really, his voice is harsher and more edgy and not as silky as it was in the lyric rep which to me means this music was harder on his voice, not that he couldn't do it. in these bigger works he always tends to carry weight up and they dont sound easy ever for him thats all.i think he was great ntl.
bigus 1 year ago
@bigus quite a dif b/w one who had a fully formed pro tenr vox in early 20s (Bjorling,Lanza,Domingo,Carreras) & one who sang pro as bariton for yrs b4 tenor(deReszke,Zanelli,Melchior,Vinay,Svanholm).Nearly alwys big voice that sng heroic rep - only exception-Bergonzi.King sang heroic rep frm begng of his tenr career, didn't begin as light tenr & gradually sing heavier.sang high parts such as in Strauss thru entire 30 yr career.well balanced registration & preservd his voice remarkbly fr decades.
FacePaster 1 year ago
God, this man's voice was so unbelievable! And what intoxicating music! What a dream to be able to sing this score!
FacePaster 2 years ago 2
LINDO!!!!
jaderrezende 3 years ago
It is so tremendously touching this music, wonderful recording, nice tempi and the orchestra is charged
SVENSKSOPRAN 3 years ago
DANG. What a fine singer this man was -- R.I.P. --
stevevandien 3 years ago
I must say that is an interesting and kind of touching ending, with the gun...
SVENSKSOPRAN 3 years ago 5
It is, isn't it? It's amazing how the music goes with this as well as what the libretto would have it... The production from Strasbourg goes even further than this Goetz Friedrich staging does in sort of reverting to Rodenbach's vision instead of Korngold's... And the music is just ambiguous enough to accommodate both endings. Really remarkable! :o)
SDCmorg 3 years ago
Where can I get this entire DVD?
jschultz4 3 years ago
Jonas Kaufmann can't hold a candle to James King.
jschultz4 3 years ago 11
Hehehe...ain't that the truth?
BeauTenor 3 years ago 4
Thanks for this! I love this man's voice. We could use this type of singer today...ie, one that can sing!
RVP57 2 years ago
@BeauTenor
Great upload! James King had one of the most masculine voice ever! Such beauty. Such passion. Such technique too. Amazing.
clintoginaire 11 months ago
@BeauTenor
A freakin MEN!!
aarontenor 2 months ago
Comment removed
Dekyi1210 3 years ago
@jschultz4
I like Kaufmann, a lot, but you are absolutely 100% correct. I think Jonas would agree too. ;)
clintoginaire 11 months ago
@jschultz4
I totally agree!
bari2tenor 9 months ago
I forgot about this aria. It's just as beautiful as the soprano aria.
tenornmd 3 years ago 2
Wonderful performance. I saw him in Vienna in this role, what a memory. We miss You, Jimmy!
Dekyi1210 4 years ago 3
Wonderful singing for a heavier voice! never pushing and sacrificing tonal beauty to achieve impressiveness. Of course the high tessitura isn't going to sound as 'free' as that of a lighter voice, many people aren't accustomed to hearing properly produced high notes from a heldentenor-- well, James King had them. Superior to all the screamers of today, bravo Mr. King!
Merryjest 4 years ago 6
@Merryjest
A, freakin, men!
clintoginaire 11 months ago
One of the reasons for King's being underated might be that his voice was not the kind that recorded at its best in the studio. I recall some critics of his studio albums saying he sounded old in the passaggio. That is NOT evident here -- he sounds vibrant and powerful --
stevevandien 4 years ago
James King had a wonderful and direct delivery there's no artifice in his singing, no contrivencies. Hear his Pinkerton to experience this inall its glory. Heppner would be the obvious choice for this role now but what about Jonas Kaufmann in a year or so?
tdp10gh 4 years ago
I'm planning to go to the ROH: Covent Garden in January 2009 to Stephen Gould sing Paul & Nadia Michael as Marie/Mairetta. I hope it's fabulous. I've wanted to see this opera for a long time.
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
King has one of the most recognizable voices in tenor history. When he is singing you can mistake his sound for anyone else. I love King's voice and it was a pleasure to know him as well.
aarontenor 4 years ago 3
Yes, the voice is incredible. I only recently "discovered" him when replaying the Bohn Bayreuth Ring. Moments of his Siegmund absolutely make me melt. And it is obvious in the few Youtube's of him that he is devilishly handsome and can act. On further researching him, I was saddened to see that he is no longer with us. He would have been wonderful to see.
junehilde 2 years ago
From Wikepedia's Article on Die Tote Stadt:
A tenor who would attempt the part of Paul must have the stamina to stay on stage and sing almost constantly for two hours over a gigantic orchestra. But unlike Wagner's tenor parts, which demand great stamina but not many high notes, the role of Paul in Die Tote Stadt is filled with many high B-flats and A-naturals, making the part nearly impossible to cast.
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
Who would you want to get to a production of this- Karita Mattila or Deborah Voight as Marie/Marietta. Placido Domingo or Ben Heppner as Paul.
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
Well, I like Voigt and Mattila, so that's a toss up. Domingo has always been one of my favorites, but I'm not sure he could still sing this; last few times I've heard any of his recent stuff his top sounded a little short. Heppner is great, although sometimes he's a bit sterile (not always; his Florestan at the Met was great). If Domingo could manage it, I like his voice better.
BeauTenor 4 years ago
Yeah I forgot that Domingo is going to do Baritone roles now. I heard he's going to do Simon Boccanegra. Still Domingo/Voight would be superb. I hope he hasn't completly lost his voice.
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
Domingo hasn't lost his voice at all. I've seen him 5 times live in the past year, including in the fairly challenging heldentenor role of Siegmund, and he sounded great. What he has lost is his high notes, though. He only sings up to a high A now live, and this part has several B-flats. I bet he could still do a good recording of it though.
rmm413b 4 years ago
Hmm that would be a problem singing Paul. It's a heldentenor role that does require high notes and the reason why Die Tote Stadt isn't performed often. But I would pay mucho money to see Domingo/Voight version.
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
would have loved to have heard Domingo sing this opera, but the tessitura is too high in some parts for him. King was amazing since he had the range and freedom to go with the heft.
aarontenor 4 years ago
What a question. In his prime, Heppner could have done it. DOMINGO? At no point in his career would it have worked. The role is too high for him. Always has been. Sure, he would have squeezed out some painful sounds, as usual, or more likely, he would have transposed or left high notes out all together. On top of that, his German is terrible. James King could blow Placi through a wall. King's singing here is beyond belief.
promptersbox 1 year ago
not to mention his fine Florestan (it is on youtube!)
theropodia 4 years ago
good bye jimmi:-(((
Lobkowitz 4 years ago
Comment removed
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
New Orleans isn't dying. I was there 3 weeks ago, and most of it looks great. Other than the 9th ward and maybe one other neighborhood, you really can't tell anything happened. Population is rising too.
BeauTenor 4 years ago
I'm going to N.O tommorow so i'll see what it looks like. P.S-I mean't right after Katrina.
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
@sirmercutio99 New Orleans is better than it was before, except for the 9th ward. Things are already back to normal especially since 3 years.... It's been cleaned up very well. New Orleans is still alive, and beautiful.
Spiceofmadrid 1 year ago
@Spiceofmadrid Unfortunatly, u guys are mistaken, i'm not bashing New Orleans, I love NO. I was applying the opera/book it's based on for a modern production. You could use any decaying city in stead of Bruges.
sirmercutio99 1 year ago
@Spiceofmadrid Unfortunatly, u guys are mistaken, i'm not bashing New Orleans, I love NO. I was applying the opera/book it's based on for a modern production. You could use any decaying city instead of Bruges.
sirmercutio99 1 year ago
I love James King....can one purchase this recording? I would love to hear all of it. Let me know..
opera10r 4 years ago
Not sure; I never tried looking for it. You might try amazon or opera rara...
BeauTenor 4 years ago
Kollo was fine for a while, but Jerusalem was always a poor excuse for a heldentenor. We saw him a Siegfried in the SF production of the ring, and not only did he not have the power to cut through the orchestra, he didn't have the stamina, either. And Kollo, well, he sounds strained on top. King was a great heldentenor. So was Jess Thomas.
rwprof 4 years ago
I always thought Kollo sounded a little...overmatched by the music too. Thomas was great, Heppner has had a stellar career. McCracken was great too. Jerusalem...ugh. I never liked that voice. It's more of a yell than anything to me.
BeauTenor 4 years ago
I was a grad student at IU when King joined the faculty. We used to lunch together. He was a gracious, charming man, and a great heldentenor. I don't understand why there aren't more clips of him on youtube.
rwprof 4 years ago
I don't understand why there aren't more recordings of him. Surely he's better than Jerusalem, or Kollo, or any of the other numerous heldentenors of the last 40 years. Even though this voice was big, it had a vibrance and brightness you don't often find in a heldentenor.
BeauTenor 4 years ago
I always liked King, especially his wide repetoire, in which he sang Italian and French roles along with the German parts -- he also was a pupil of Oren Browne, my primary voice teacher's teacher:) --
stevevandien 4 years ago
A scene of this opera featured on a movie titled "Aria". It was Liz Hurley and not sure who the guy was, miming to Mariettaleib and was amazingly beautiful. Tears to my soul; the movie was a selection of famous directors doing just one aria of their choosing in any way they wanted. Well worth looking for. Came out around 3-4 years ago and also featured John Hurt as Paggliacco.
nzaok 4 years ago
I,M CONFUSED. IN THIS CONCLUSION, IT APPEARS THAT SUICIDE IS CONTEMPLATED. tHAT,S NOT THE ENDING; THE HERO REJECTS HIS FASCINATION AND RETURNS TO A LIFE OF NORMALITY.
cabelleto 5 years ago
No-at the end Paul/Hughes leaves Bruges
I think it's one of those weird avant-garde productions. Theres an avant-garde production on amazon but I don't know if i'll buy itI'm gonna wait to a great production comes out before I buy it.
sirmercutio99 4 years ago
how do you know what he really means?
rakewell2 4 years ago
there used to be a production of Die tote Stadt by Götz Friedrich, which was shown in Berlin and Vienna and featured James King. As far as I know he was recorded for television. I haven't seen it, but the pictures look very similar.
wittest 5 years ago
I really don't know for sure; A friend of mine sent me the excerpt because he knows I'm a huge fan of James King.
BeauTenor 5 years ago