Voi che sapete Max Emanuel Cencic and Tobias Forster

[schnurrle64]

Il mondo è pieno di miracoli... incredibile, sono impressato..!!

[TheSaphire69]

I think he's fantastic singing Handel but his Mozart is not to my taste, I prefer a singer who can really keep a more fluid line going, say a good lyric mezzo soprano. For the people saying it's a man's role it was written to be sung by a woman you know.

(I'm not saying a counter tenor can't sing it if he wants.)

[maragato23]

Porque Los cantantes de origen sajon son tan poco expresivos musicalmente????

[gagehughes1]

What an amazing voice, simply wonderful

[weddinganejakopp]

A lot of mezzo sopranistas become jealous when hearing that.

[serenaluce]

@weddinganejakopp And they should be!:-) Cencic's is the highest standard + no women can sing as beautifully as men+ it's a MAN's role!

[UlfenDaddy]

I'm not sure why the Spanos performance seems higher: Cencic does not transpose and this is Nott; it's authentic B-flat. I seriously doubt Spanos is using B-natural, far more likely the discrepancies in electronic recording-uploading have slightly "compressed" the Spanos rendition. (It's not a full half-tone higher either; I'd also love to see the reaction of a professional accompanist when instructed to ignore the 2 flats in the signature and "pretend" there are 5 sharps instead...)

[arpeggio1358]

All my life I've been used to mezzos in this role, but Cencic really shines in this part. A completely believeable and credible performance. Would like to her him live in this role!

[serenaluce]

@arpeggio1358 I agree with you and would like to hear Cencic live in this role too. The only difference is that female mezzos were not convincing to me as a young man at all no matter how wonderfully they sang. First I heard this aria in a man's rendition exactly here in this video. It was like heaven and earth:-). Only then I realized what this character really is as before it was just a weird comedy for me when women pretended they were Cherubino. Sorry, tastes differ. Please, forgive me:-)

[arpeggio1358]

@serenaluce Nothing to forgive. Tastes differ. I guess I'll always feel that both mezzo interpretations and countertenor interpretations have value.

[NART65]

Is this available on an album. I would love to get this.

[tamerlano236]

Fantastic. Another fantastic version on YT is Nicholas Spanos's.

[Guichotpresident]

Take away the visual and I just might love this

[pucciabbracci]

fantasticooooooo!!!!!

[pucciabbracci]

fantasticooooooo

[bpicaud1]

Transpose Mozart's music is really not a problem. Cencic sings here a tone lower as used, but the pitch, at the time of Mozart, was lower as today. So, we are not so far from the original tonality. The way M. Cencic changes the color of his voice to sing the lower notes is marvelous and gives the feeling of the ambiguity of the adolescence.

[ad80ad]

Cencic is really fantastic! One more real artist added to the LITTLE list in my pockets.

[KARINADIVA]

I think the performance is boring and not very accurate in some places, not much feeling or meaning expressed, and Italian a bit at fault..and don't like this type of voice for this aria, it is a bit too rich..

[ichmalealsobinich]

Cencic surely is an excellent exception beneath the counter tenors. But to my point of view the role of Cherubino generally should be sung by a boy soprano. German boys choirs have a lot of prodiged soloists to fill this boy role in Mozarts opera.

[90lysander]

@ichmalealsobinich A boy soprano wouldn't be heard in many houses.  And the role was written for a female singer - why isn't that good enough for you people?

[serenaluce]

@90lysander What about a mature countertenor in this role? He is heard very well in many houses! If for you a female singer is more convincing in a role of a young man, well, listen to it and be happy! But don't you think that this weird practice to use women in men's roles introduced long ago to forget about castrati has lingered already too long? How about bring back more LOGIC even to OPERA? Besides, women were only a cheaper substitutions for castrati as they don't have this specil magic!

[90lysander]

@serenaluce Notice I didn't say a word about countertenors. I didn't want to get into that discussion - but the concept of a treble singing Cherubino was too ridiculous for me not to comment.

There were castrati in Mozart's day, and he wrote music for him. But Cherubino was written for a woman, and as far as I know was sung as such until recently. The character is a young boy, and to have him be played by a man is just as much a theatrical conceit as to have him be played by a woman.

[serenaluce]

@90lysander Notice, that I didn't accuse you of saying anything about countertenors. It was just a question. I know that Mozart wrote his early operas for castrati like Mitridate, re di Ponto. Actually, 3 operas for castrati. But later times changed and they already began to introduce this weird fashion to replace them by women as at that time falsettists couldn't compete with castrati. But nowadays countertenor's technique is brilliant. Still, I think that a MAN is closer to the BOY character!

[90lysander]

@serenaluce I would disagree, but that's that. I can accept countertenors in certain roles, but Cherubino just doesn't work for me. And personally, I find the whole countertenor phenomenon much odder than the "weird fashion" known as the trouser role. But maybe I'm just old-fashioned!

Actually, Mozart used a castrato again (maybe two of them) in La clemenza di tito. But never for his later comic operas. I'd say that might be significant. Or, of course, it might be due to availability.

[serenaluce]

@90lysander I guess you are really just old-fashioned and also a traditionalist who just take opera as an abstruct thing where singing is isolated from the action. Of course, tastes differ, but I personally will never agree with you that a countertenor in a man's role is "odder" than a woman in a trouser role! Why are you so prejudiced against the whole category of voices?! There are just bad singers in any other, but I've never heard people say they don't like e.g. tenors! But Cencic is GREAT!!

[90lysander]

@serenaluce Again: I never said that Cencic isn't great (I've been listening to his "Sorge nell'alma" a lot recently) or that I flat-out don't like countertenors. I simply think that a man singing that high - however beautifully - is no more normal than a woman in a trouser role.

And I certainly don't think singing is isolated from action. Please stop putting words in my mouth.

[serenaluce]

@90lysander Well, it's just sharing opinions, but actually you put words in your mouth yourself. E.g. Cherubino is more convincing to you in women's interpretations than in countertenors. So, one woman adresses to other women like friends:"Donne, vedete, s'io lo ne core..." Woman's talk. Just one woman is dressed in mascarade clothes. If she is more convincing to you in a MALE character than a countertenor you DO take singing isolated from action and can just enjoy a VOICE. I prefer more logic

[90lysander]

@serenaluce Oh dear, you're hopeless.

Neither of them IS a young boy. Having either a mezzo or a countertenor is a theatrical conceit of some sort, if of different sorts. If you want logic, don't go to the theater. I'm able to suspend my disbelief, and accept a good mezzo in the role, as long as she can act. It's called imagination.

[serenaluce]

@90lysander Oh dear, YOU are hopeless as you rely only on your old-fashioned imagination. It's not for you to tell me where to go and what to listen. But you give me an excuse to judge you too. Cherubino is NOT a 5 year old boy, but is A YOUNG MAN! Babies don't talk about "languir cosi'"! It's about ADULT EMOTIONS! So, even with MY logic A MAN is closer in this role than a WOMAN! Besides, singing is not only about imagination, but HEARING too. MALE and FEMALE is different! Can't you HEAR it?

[90lysander]

@serenaluce  Yes, I can. Men singing unnaturally, with the use of falsetto, have less color in their voice than do good mezzos or sopranos.

Ha. Haha.

[serenaluce]

@90lysander Haha! you are so hopelessly old-fashioned and brainwashed that women in pants roles are better than CTs that you really DON'T hear any difference. Otherwise you wouldn't repeat this nonsense! So, what are you doing in this video? Just to humiliate men again that they sing worse than women?! Go, listen to Bartoli with her NATURAL,FULL with more colour UGLY voice and be happy! Enjoy her "wanna be the best castrato ever and overshine Farinelli" BS and imagine that SHE is a perfect boy!!

[serenaluce]

@90lysander Nice compliment for Cencic that he is so great but any good mezzo or soprano can sing a MAN better than he! Sounds like a mockery to me. Actually, I can explain but not sure if you'll understand as only people with sophisticated enough tastes can appreciate CTs' singing. Obviously, you are NOT one of them. There's special magic that can be found only in high MALE voices. Women can be good, but it's a DIFFERENT colour and quality! No CB can replace it as she is a "castrated castrato"!

[Emilmt]

He's the most perfect Cherubino ever.. Amazing voice

[serenaluce]

@Emilmt Cencic is really a wonderful Cherubino! Splendid voice with a velvet timbre! But he transposed this piece a bit lower, though it suits him very well. I've found that the most perfect Cherubino ever is Nicholas Spanos! His version is the most beautiful and enchanting one! You can listen to it and compare. And it's the most accurate one, sung high in the original key.

[m19c46]

For a countertenor his voice is naturally beautiful. Wonderful.

[ColinMeloy91]

BEAUTFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TrebleB4Mi]

ok so I love the performance as well but I suspect he transposed the piece down because it's incredibly difficult in the original key. I sing it in the original key but if I could find it in this key I would definitely prefer it

[snbaci]

Yes, he did. I key. G# instead of A#. It sounded great for his voice.

[cuicuimusic]

same here... more comfortable. i guess it's about make it sound as good as one can, and although he could do it in A i believe that was what guided his choice!

[serenaluce]

I would also prefer him to wear something more classical but the main thing is still his voice, and it's amazing! Great performance! Bravo Cencic!

[jovi1715]

geniale!

[fidelious]

Fatti operare.

[lalagonegaga]

She mispronounced his last name. It's Tzenchic with the last C being pronounced like in the Italian "ciao". :)

[poperagurl]

great voice...sack the stylist...:D I think it's a little sad when classical artists try too hard to be "cool".

[sour7lemon]

...Seriously! WHAT is he wearing!

[CubbyNH]

I suspect he was using hats back then because he was loosing his hair. as for the outfit, uggh.. but the boy can sing, no doubt about it.

[mradaChris]

He sure can sing! This is wonderful.