WAY... to old to sing at the met. but if he wasn't, he probably would be. try switching betwwen paravotti singing the same aria and and see if you can tell any difference. :--) but i guarantee you, there will be folks out in zombie la-la land that doesn't think there any... think i'm crazy? some people think boccelli sounds like corelli? jerry hines told me once a guy on nj pbs radio criticized boccelli and got 5000 calls saying he didn't know what he was talking about... true story
He is dreadful! Horrible intonation, emission, the voice changes all the time position... I perfectly know the way he produces this head voice (for instance, I can sing it till high G#) but it's a completely uncorrect way to sing (in fact, he remains in a medium-high tessitura because going down in the scale, this type of voice is irrilevant, shrieky and damages the vocal chords!), and furthermore I am shocked he can claim to be Rubini's last pupil: this is a total aberration!
@MisterPapageno I'd like to know how you think he produces this kind of head voice. (We must say that, even if he can be criticized for his singing technique, he is still one of the best opera-critics of the world).
@udatorbas Well, I don't know if he is the best: I know better voice critics, and for the tenor voice Rodolfo Celletti is far more interesting than Zucker. About the technique, you can hear me on my channel hitting the high F#. Best wishes!
@udatorbas Really one of the best opera critics did you say! His insights into singing come out in his capon imitations. What galls me is that this insult to music and his partner in musical destruction, his mother, pretend that they have Rubini's singing method yet it has been said that Rubini had a full voiced b-flat which Zucker doesn't seem to have. The best opera critic is probably Peter G. Davis who is full of insights.
@gaytenor I said "one of", I don't want to hazard a list of the bests. But I must invite you to read his pamphlet about historic tenor singing in which he explains all his theories. He knows the b-flat of Rubini (a very later b-flat), and remember that he is the only Schipa's pupil that can show a patent from the same Schipa (even if he said that he has rejected his technique). I want to say that even if he is a bad singer he is a good critic and opera historian ;-)
@udatorbas Zucker is a self aggrandizing clown who over pronounces Italian in an exceptionally mannered way, and speaks and writes with bogus accents. The fact that Corelli is praised to the sky by Zucker is enough to render his opinions suspect since Corelli sang with constant scooping, nearly nonexistent technique, poor intonation, and slovenly musicianship. Yes he had a great voice but he never learned how to use it in a consistent musicianly manner.
"Corelli sang with constant scooping, nearly nonexistent technique".He did scoop some times but had nonexistent technique!!!Are you kidding us?Then how he sang for so many years so difficult roles and had so powerful and vibrant high notes?The ignorance or the envyness of some people are so incredible!!
@nicklatinXXX No I'm not kidding!! Corelli was busted by the time he was 50 which is young. A fish monger is loud and his high notes were very, very seldom attacked dead center which he would have done if he had a real singing technique. I'm not ignorant nor do I hold envy in my heart but I do enjoy a properly produced tone as done by, say, Martinelli, Lauri-Volpi, Tucker, Del Monaco, etc. Corelli had a great voice its just too bad he never mastered it.
this womans high notes were so intense and tightly focused she developed extra eyebrows... if she had sung more often they might have eventually become straight..
in the immortal words of tony esposito from the most happy fella....
This is a form of mental illness. More so even than his singing is the illness in New York opera circles where he is actually treated as though he were sane.
I once met a countertenor who invited me to his recital he did so badly that my only comfort was that there were no cameras there to see his performance into posterity. Now I see something just as appalling on youtube. At the met!? o.O
How can this man or his opinions about voice be taken seriously? He produces unbelievably bad sound and style himself, yet he has the unmitigated chutzpa to criticize the greats of the past--even Caruso, no less! Self-delusion is comforting to oneself while it makes those around one squirm with embarrassment, and here is a prime example.
I can't believe this has been given almost as many "dislikes" as "likes." Are those who selected "dislike" completely oblivious to the kitsch value of a performance like this? This is a kitsch masterpiece!
Poor Falicity LaFortune! I'm guessing this was not the high point of her opera career. At the time, she no doubt took solace in the presumption that no video record of this abomination would ever see the light of day due to its lacking the commercial qualities required by traditional media outlets for broadcast. Little could she have foreseen that the day would come when her dismal duet would be shared with the entire world! You're a cruel beast, StuartLou, but the world thanks you!
One more thing: You really need to add Falicity LaFortune's name to the tags for this video to insure this proud moment of hers is properly preserved for future generations.
This is so funny, I still adore Rosina Wolf. She studied seriously in Italy, and I think her husband Mr. Zucker was wealthy, and painted there while she studied singing. Some may not know that Rosina sings (beginning 5:51 ) a "VIBRAZIONE", an interpretive device; a repetitious accent on one note. I don't hear it much these days. This is my 3rd comment, but this video is crazy adorable.
Good Lord - it appears Stefan and his mom were on LSD or something when this was filmed. I don't know what to say about the vocal prowess of these two. Apparently lemons, like apples, don't fall far from the tree.
Stefan Zucker's passion for opera is genuine and his knowledge of opera is extensive and impressive. But his singing is best described as an acquired taste.
And Rosina Wolf is to opera what Mrs. Miller was to pop music.
Yes, it's true, as others have mentioned, there is a goat-like quality to their voices. And perhaps some donkey braying, too. But is that really a bad thing?
orrendo,vergogna!zucker un prodotto della mediocrità Mondiale...dilettante!povera la ragazza giovane cantare accanto à una strega come questa é una depressione à vita!che Mondo...
Actually, Ms. LaFortune has had quite an accomplished career as a TV actress, appearing on some major shows, so I guess she survived this early shipwreck.
What a prize-that duet. Even the piano is out of tune. And the look on the young singer's face: She looks to be on the verge of tears, asking what am I doing here, and how do I get away? Her voice is actually very good, in the few lines in which you can hear it over the other cacophony. But her name, La Fortune, certainly deserted her when she accepted this gig.
The best part is that Zucker himself actually thinks he's a legit singer. Look at the announcer, she's trying not to laugh. Rosina Wolff is Stefan's mother and she's just as horrible as her son.
@GermanOperaSinger Your all too kind! While I watched the video I wished for a shoe being directed at the cats on the fence and or a Gong Show Gong sounding. Zucker and his mother make your ears bleed! The two of them could be used as a method of torture far superior to water boarding. At least we have living proof of just how dreadful falsetto singing can be. Oy those trills that don't thrill.
@StuartLou Sounds like they sing there every season, but I do like this. It reeks the spirit of bel canto - spirit only - and there are legato moments too, Rosina's voice is like a river, a wild river but it flows - & yes there are rock in the way. Sadly, at 5:24 I am distracted at what looks like the mouth of a woman handling something small in an adult film. Bravi!
@StuartLou Sounds like they sing there every season, but I do like this. It reeks the spirit of bel canto - spirit only - and there are legato moments too, Rosina's voice is like a river, a wild river but it flows - & yes there are rocks in the way. Sadly, at 5:24 I am distracted at what looks like the mouth of a woman handling something small in an adult film. Bravi!
Thank you thank you thank you!!! After watching him the DVD series about the great tenors I have searched for vids of this nutter singing! I am truly not disappointed. I now see why Zucker and his mother stand alongside Florence Foster Jenkins and Wing.
To my ear, a gelded billy goat on an acid trip.
harmonieautog 2 weeks ago
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Stefan isn't at fault for his delusions....he was raised
by a mother telling him she had a singing voice!!
jade566 2 months ago
C'est une maladie génétique, en fait...
oursititi 2 months ago
It is amazing the delusions that extreme narcissism will lead people to. What can one say? Basta!
baltoman24 2 months ago
Miraculous!!! Florence Foster Jenkins is reincarnated in both male and female form.
AntW11 3 months ago
No one in the world can take this nonsense seriously. This is noise making and should be punished by law!
Weihafan 3 months ago
WAY... to old to sing at the met. but if he wasn't, he probably would be. try switching betwwen paravotti singing the same aria and and see if you can tell any difference. :--) but i guarantee you, there will be folks out in zombie la-la land that doesn't think there any... think i'm crazy? some people think boccelli sounds like corelli? jerry hines told me once a guy on nj pbs radio criticized boccelli and got 5000 calls saying he didn't know what he was talking about... true story
operacaster 4 months ago
Both unhearable!
MisterPapageno 4 months ago
He is dreadful! Horrible intonation, emission, the voice changes all the time position... I perfectly know the way he produces this head voice (for instance, I can sing it till high G#) but it's a completely uncorrect way to sing (in fact, he remains in a medium-high tessitura because going down in the scale, this type of voice is irrilevant, shrieky and damages the vocal chords!), and furthermore I am shocked he can claim to be Rubini's last pupil: this is a total aberration!
MisterPapageno 4 months ago
@MisterPapageno I'd like to know how you think he produces this kind of head voice. (We must say that, even if he can be criticized for his singing technique, he is still one of the best opera-critics of the world).
udatorbas 4 months ago in playlist ZUCKER, STEFAN
@udatorbas Well, I don't know if he is the best: I know better voice critics, and for the tenor voice Rodolfo Celletti is far more interesting than Zucker. About the technique, you can hear me on my channel hitting the high F#. Best wishes!
MisterPapageno 4 months ago
@udatorbas Really one of the best opera critics did you say! His insights into singing come out in his capon imitations. What galls me is that this insult to music and his partner in musical destruction, his mother, pretend that they have Rubini's singing method yet it has been said that Rubini had a full voiced b-flat which Zucker doesn't seem to have. The best opera critic is probably Peter G. Davis who is full of insights.
gaytenor 4 months ago
@gaytenor I said "one of", I don't want to hazard a list of the bests. But I must invite you to read his pamphlet about historic tenor singing in which he explains all his theories. He knows the b-flat of Rubini (a very later b-flat), and remember that he is the only Schipa's pupil that can show a patent from the same Schipa (even if he said that he has rejected his technique). I want to say that even if he is a bad singer he is a good critic and opera historian ;-)
udatorbas 4 months ago
@udatorbas Zucker is a self aggrandizing clown who over pronounces Italian in an exceptionally mannered way, and speaks and writes with bogus accents. The fact that Corelli is praised to the sky by Zucker is enough to render his opinions suspect since Corelli sang with constant scooping, nearly nonexistent technique, poor intonation, and slovenly musicianship. Yes he had a great voice but he never learned how to use it in a consistent musicianly manner.
gaytenor 4 months ago
@gaytenor
"Corelli sang with constant scooping, nearly nonexistent technique".He did scoop some times but had nonexistent technique!!!Are you kidding us?Then how he sang for so many years so difficult roles and had so powerful and vibrant high notes?The ignorance or the envyness of some people are so incredible!!
nicklatinXXX 2 months ago
@nicklatinXXX No I'm not kidding!! Corelli was busted by the time he was 50 which is young. A fish monger is loud and his high notes were very, very seldom attacked dead center which he would have done if he had a real singing technique. I'm not ignorant nor do I hold envy in my heart but I do enjoy a properly produced tone as done by, say, Martinelli, Lauri-Volpi, Tucker, Del Monaco, etc. Corelli had a great voice its just too bad he never mastered it.
gaytenor 2 months ago
this womans high notes were so intense and tightly focused she developed extra eyebrows... if she had sung more often they might have eventually become straight..
in the immortal words of tony esposito from the most happy fella....
''whatta can i say, whatta can i say....''
operacaster 5 months ago
@operacaster" Whatta can i say, whatta can i say" -- Try my ears are bleeding OY VEH!!
gaytenor 4 months ago
@gaytenor You are no better. On the contrary.
Baritanist 4 months ago
This guy should've been a guest on the Uncle Floyd Show
DavePazz 6 months ago
This literally brought tears to my eyes...to my entire body.
CarloQuinto 8 months ago
Anyone else notice how much he looks like ANDY KAUFMAN on here?
Makes you think....... :-)
larchmontmark 9 months ago
Pure psychosis --- plus he needs a haircut
vpo2g2 9 months ago
OMG!!! Just shows, high notes do not a great (or even) a good voice make.
operatenor100 9 months ago
This is a form of mental illness. More so even than his singing is the illness in New York opera circles where he is actually treated as though he were sane.
OscarLevant1 9 months ago 2
gotta LOVE!! the host's reaction LOL!!!!
Detie002 9 months ago
incrediblissimo! unforgeteblissioso.... oxyenno...
sallpario 10 months ago
The very bad version of Merritt
1212625bear 11 months ago
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hahahahaha what the fuck???????
tauromaniac 11 months ago
I don't know what to do first - w rip my eyes out of tear my ears off.
choralman8009 11 months ago
4:43 scary...
akhiravsdunya 1 year ago
Why didn't he sing like JDF or like Andreas Scholl? Why did he do that awful thing to his voice?
RoOodOoOloOmeg 1 year ago
I once met a countertenor who invited me to his recital he did so badly that my only comfort was that there were no cameras there to see his performance into posterity. Now I see something just as appalling on youtube. At the met!? o.O
RoOodOoOloOmeg 1 year ago 3
Stefan Zucker would be very well paired with Natalie Dessay in "la fille...."
The screachy voices would "beautifully blend!
gestas60323 1 year ago
I just threw up!!!! How utterly awful.This HAS TO BE a joke-- PLEASE say it's a joke
MsRuthes 1 year ago
@MsRuthes I hate to tell you this, but this is NOT a joke. Mr. Zucker really does think he is a good singer.
orovalleydude 1 year ago
Thats a joke??????????????????????????????????
OLIVCHEN77 1 year ago
Oh dear I just got to the women,a female Yoda and Morticia Addams!
MrSwifts31 1 year ago
Sounds like a VERY bad Pavarotti crossed with a sheep!
Please tell me this IS ajoke?
MrSwifts31 1 year ago 2
una grandissima merda!
theulkar 1 year ago
How can this man or his opinions about voice be taken seriously? He produces unbelievably bad sound and style himself, yet he has the unmitigated chutzpa to criticize the greats of the past--even Caruso, no less! Self-delusion is comforting to oneself while it makes those around one squirm with embarrassment, and here is a prime example.
lurch1949 1 year ago 2
WAOW :-))) The lady in the last duet is amazing!
foropera 1 year ago
How can this man's voice be taken seriously.
edmoran73 1 year ago
If Falicity had donned a fright wig like Rosina's they could have toured as the Banshee Sisters.
tablacy 1 year ago
This is atrocious. I feel violated having seen it. And yet I know I'll return for many repeat viewings. See what you've done to me?
bysv33 1 year ago
Hysterical.This video is the ultimate argument for birth control.
vpo2g2 1 year ago 2
I can't believe this has been given almost as many "dislikes" as "likes." Are those who selected "dislike" completely oblivious to the kitsch value of a performance like this? This is a kitsch masterpiece!
anya728 1 year ago 4
Poor Falicity LaFortune! I'm guessing this was not the high point of her opera career. At the time, she no doubt took solace in the presumption that no video record of this abomination would ever see the light of day due to its lacking the commercial qualities required by traditional media outlets for broadcast. Little could she have foreseen that the day would come when her dismal duet would be shared with the entire world! You're a cruel beast, StuartLou, but the world thanks you!
b88l2 1 year ago
One more thing: You really need to add Falicity LaFortune's name to the tags for this video to insure this proud moment of hers is properly preserved for future generations.
b88l2 1 year ago
This is so funny, I still adore Rosina Wolf. She studied seriously in Italy, and I think her husband Mr. Zucker was wealthy, and painted there while she studied singing. Some may not know that Rosina sings (beginning 5:51 ) a "VIBRAZIONE", an interpretive device; a repetitious accent on one note. I don't hear it much these days. This is my 3rd comment, but this video is crazy adorable.
Kendrick2021 1 year ago 2
Good Lord - it appears Stefan and his mom were on LSD or something when this was filmed. I don't know what to say about the vocal prowess of these two. Apparently lemons, like apples, don't fall far from the tree.
vjn529 1 year ago 2
Stefan Zucker's passion for opera is genuine and his knowledge of opera is extensive and impressive. But his singing is best described as an acquired taste.
And Rosina Wolf is to opera what Mrs. Miller was to pop music.
vactisum 1 year ago
LOl Its in key.
tenorismo 1 year ago
Yes, it's true, as others have mentioned, there is a goat-like quality to their voices. And perhaps some donkey braying, too. But is that really a bad thing?
lstash 1 year ago
Devilish goat....
Pawelp 1 year ago
Katatrophaler "Gesang" nicht zum aushalten !!!
"Katzengejammer im Frühling"
einherzundeineseele 1 year ago
Zucker e grande
Baritanist 1 year ago
Sweet mother of Jesus...
limerickguy123 1 year ago 2
orrendo,vergogna!zucker un prodotto della mediocrità Mondiale...dilettante!povera la ragazza giovane cantare accanto à una strega come questa é una depressione à vita!che Mondo...
bodiloto 1 year ago
poor Donizetti
OrpheuCe 1 year ago
whish is really interesting thing is taht he has so much knowleage about music and singing,about castratis and bel canto??
TheBelcantolover 1 year ago
my new all time favorite youtube video.
thorwickstrom 1 year ago
years ago i used to listen to stephan zucker's opera program. i always wondered who he was, this "worlds highest tenor".
now i know.
whoever posted this, THANK YOU. i am speechless. or dumbstruck. either way, thanks.
thorwickstrom 1 year ago
Actually, Ms. LaFortune has had quite an accomplished career as a TV actress, appearing on some major shows, so I guess she survived this early shipwreck.
ef200 1 year ago
What a prize-that duet. Even the piano is out of tune. And the look on the young singer's face: She looks to be on the verge of tears, asking what am I doing here, and how do I get away? Her voice is actually very good, in the few lines in which you can hear it over the other cacophony. But her name, La Fortune, certainly deserted her when she accepted this gig.
operafan65 1 year ago 4
Good God, there should be a law about singing as bad as this. My poor Pussy who was sitting next to me has taken flight. Hope he comes home.
mazzone1 1 year ago 2
Horrendous, sounds like an out of tune goat being brutally raped and then smothered.
primohomme 1 year ago 2
Karl Marx?
tenorbass100 1 year ago
I ADORE ROSINA, she sounds like Callas.
CreaturaDura 1 year ago 5
@CreaturaDura You can't be serious?
jplaura02 1 year ago
The best part is that Zucker himself actually thinks he's a legit singer. Look at the announcer, she's trying not to laugh. Rosina Wolff is Stefan's mother and she's just as horrible as her son.
GermanOperaSinger 1 year ago 4
@GermanOperaSinger Your all too kind! While I watched the video I wished for a shoe being directed at the cats on the fence and or a Gong Show Gong sounding. Zucker and his mother make your ears bleed! The two of them could be used as a method of torture far superior to water boarding. At least we have living proof of just how dreadful falsetto singing can be. Oy those trills that don't thrill.
gaytenor 10 months ago 3
One should keep this in mind when reading his commentary on the great singers
Operafiend22 2 years ago
but they truly put a lot of feeling in what they do and that is something priceless-most nowadays njust phone it in
triptoheaveandho 2 years ago
I can´t believe my ears!
They seem to be singing seriously...
maxorato66 2 years ago 7
~ They Are!! And what's more- they'll both be singing at the Met. next season.
StuartLou 2 years ago
Strange world... But at least you can laugh in that concert. In the "more serious" concerts or recitals nowadays you can only cry and get angry.
Congratulatios for your channel!
maxorato66 2 years ago
Comment removed
Kendrick2021 1 year ago
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@StuartLou Sounds like they sing there every season, but I do like this. It reeks the spirit of bel canto - spirit only - and there are legato moments too, Rosina's voice is like a river, a wild river but it flows - & yes there are rock in the way. Sadly, at 5:24 I am distracted at what looks like the mouth of a woman handling something small in an adult film. Bravi!
Kendrick2021 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@StuartLou Sounds like they sing there every season, but I do like this. It reeks the spirit of bel canto - spirit only - and there are legato moments too, Rosina's voice is like a river, a wild river but it flows - & yes there are rocks in the way. Sadly, at 5:24 I am distracted at what looks like the mouth of a woman handling something small in an adult film. Bravi!
Kendrick2021 1 year ago
@StuartLou what did they sing in the met?!
ciociosan 6 months ago
@maxorato66 they are serious and they loved what they were doing and their passion is commendable =
triptoheaveandho 1 year ago
Thank you thank you thank you!!! After watching him the DVD series about the great tenors I have searched for vids of this nutter singing! I am truly not disappointed. I now see why Zucker and his mother stand alongside Florence Foster Jenkins and Wing.
Operaphile 2 years ago
he might know a lot about singing, but he can´t sing !!! what a tragedy!
gestas60323 2 years ago
My word. I shudder to think that someone could see stuff like this and think that this is what opera is like. O_O **my ears!!** X-[
ShawDAMAN 2 years ago
To think... he never sang at the Met.
vadremo 2 years ago 3
DON'T WORRY. HE WILL!!
StuartLou 2 years ago
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!!!!!!
OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUCH !!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP !!!!!!!
But hey! - Madame La Fortune manages NOT to laugh! Respect!!!
PosasPizza 2 years ago
Is he singing seriously?
LeilogOpera 2 years ago