James King - Fidelio - Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!

[dg6da]

His singing is NOT american. First: His diction is perfect. And he did not force the way of singing which is called "singing in the mask", what americans often do. He sounds very german.

[Dymension]

I'm sorry, but I think he goes beyond best American tenor. I think he was one of the best in the world! The voice was just a glorious sound, one of the most beautiful voices ever.

[pipebillys]

1 person did not see the darkness here.

[delosreyesgavikanes]

NO ?????? the best American tenor in the Wagnerian repertoire, and one of the nicest person and colleagues in the business. Be with God, my friend James, and sorry you were not with us when one of your former student whom you sent to me to teach and who sang a fantastic Tristan in Chicago few years back.

[55werther]

Otro de los magnificos tenores, que mas admiro, los cuales son varios................

Gran artista, como, un exelente cantante. Un interprete ductilicimo con una

gran solvencia artistica y expresividad vocal. 

[SilasSmith1]

Wow!

[opera1232010]

For me this is the best performance ever made of this aria. No other singer has reached this perfection.

Pierre heroique tenor

[dawg00000]

We need hip-hopera, not more boring privileged straight white christian male music.

[Baccalaureus79]

@dawg00000 Your comment only shows that you never understood what opera is and can do.

[chevrox]

@dawg00000 Opera is not straight (huge gay patronage, and many roles in the Baroque and Classical repertoire were written for Castrati, not to imply they weren't straight), or white (Aida is Ethiopian, Otello is a Moor, Turandot is Chinese, Madama Butterfly is Japanese, Les pêcheurs de perles are Indians, and so is Lakme...), or Christian (Ascanio in Alba, Europa Riconosciuta, Der Ring des Nibelungen... pagan theme is a staple and Salome is literally blasphemy), or male (the fat lady sings!!!)

[witness124]

I think that Wagner must have been influenced by this. It's so dark for it's time.

[nancyfi]

The best of all!

[stevevandien]

Florestan, by the way, was King's debut role at the Old Met:) --

[Stingerfyle]

Ah, now I found someone singing this aria with a very good technique!!!

[federricoilgrande]

Pessimo commento di un pessimo commento...l'ho sentito eccome se l'ho sentito, appunto per quello. In quanto al cantarlo, è un'affermazione puerile, allora via tutti i critici musicali e libero il passo ai King of Nothing

[gratecourt]

Thrilling, moving. He makes it sound easy. The best - thanks so much for posting.

[federricoilgrande]

pessimo, mi spiace ...

[orsoghiotto]

@federricoilgrande

Pessimo commento,mi spiace.. Cantalo tu,se sei capace!

Una delle voci più belle e più grandi in teatro,chi l'ha sentito lo può dire..

[j72050]

...such a voice, so wonderfully bright, fresh and solid....he put the sun on every note...first heard him in 1966.....

[backlunden]

honestly bigus,It does not matter what we label the voices as long as they make the music justice.I just dont understand what you are talking about.For me james king had a perfect technique,and the sound is never pushed,the sound is always on the airflow. He studied with oren brown who teached a very healthy technique.You can hear how his voice always spins on the vibrato.Even in the later recordings!

[stevevandien]

@backlunden You are correct, absolutely. That's one of the features of King's work that continues to amaze me -- the freedom and spin of his tone, not to mention its easy ring. I studied with an Oren Brown disciple, so I understand that approach. Brown helped King make the transition from baritone to tenor:) --

[bigus]

too bad he didnt alway sound like this he could have been greater. he is most certainly NOT a helden tenor. just a lyric that pushed his voice into too heavy of roles and lost its beauty and purety because of it. he went from gorgeous pure heady sound to a loud strident sound without the depth and tone color of his early singing.

[CONTESTAR]

From technical voice-emission point of view this is the most accomplished performance of this aria.

[MidSummerOpera]

oh God this man was amazing!

[OperaBaritoneJoe]

Is there more of him someone could post?

[Doduare]

reminds me of Jack Nicholson or however that man's name is spelled.

[RVP57]

Mr King was a perhaps-unheralded American treasure. I met him in SF in 1991. He was singing Aegisth in Elektra, and brought such class to this smaller, but very important role, all whilst handling a live boa constrictor onstage! He was terrific, loved to talk about the business and had great stories. Even at that later stage of his career, the voice rang out true and filled the house. We don't have his equal today.

[JefRoberts]

@RVP57 Belated comment to RVP57, but I was at one of those Elektras, too. King was indeed a great Aegisth. My friends and I also had the opportunity to visit with Mr King backstage afterwards. He was quite charming and chatted with our group about singers and singing. A delight!

[henripche]

It's so beautiful how you can hear Beethoven's heartfelt love of freedom and justice in the apparition of Leonore as an angel (from 4:40 on); such triumphant, optimistic music at Florestan's hope of being released from his chains!

[tamaragironda]

Who are you? frankestain?

[pjotr669]

Write it right: Frankenstein!

[djcarno]

James King had that rare combination of a full-throated tone ("knadel in the throat") with tremendous brilliance, especially in the upper register. His was the ideal tenor for the major Strauss roles, and I wish the composer could have lived to hear him. Regarding "Siegfried", he did a concert version of Act III with Bernstein conducting. I have seen a video of this performance, and I think his fearless approach would have made him the best since Melchior, had he decided to take the plunge!

[raphabenbenjamin]

funny, but my teacher used the term "knodel" (with umlaut) to speak of constriction in the throat as in "he sings with an apple dumpling (the translation) in his throat." Obviously no constriction here.

[Glenmed]

Wonderful performance! The hallucination part was very convincing and affecting.

[petrina1022]

@ Glenmed:

I agree with you! This is a MARVELOUS performance of this extremely challenging aria.  I was so moved I even shouted "Bravo!" and stood up and applauded, and my cat gave me the funniest look....

[Vairguy09]

I had the luxury of studying with Mr. King at Indiana University, with the approval of my primary voice professor, Nicola Rossi Lemeni. I learned so much with these men. Mr. King was an inspiration. He never left the lessons to be learned by the Italian masters (24 Italian songs and arias), and always encouraged us to sing them. A truly great man, teacher and friend.

[vickersman]

a heldentenor, along with a few like Jon Vickers and now Ben Heppner, who not only had(have, in the case of Heppner) power but lyricism as well.German heldentenors must have that-no Italian barking here.J.K. was a brilliant voice and teacher as well-a great contribution to the vocal arts, and sorely missed.

[Nello7]

I think Vickers was the greatest portrayer on stage that ever lived. I disagree on one fact-Italian singers are not known for their barking. I think the nuances of the italian language lend to a more lyric sound whereas German is always landing on consonants and therefore does not flow like the Italian language. It all comes down to the artist- Wunderlich could melt butter with his German and Gigli dripped sunshine from his voice in Italian!

[stevevandien]

Even after all these years, I believe King is underrated -- a superb artist with a splendid, well-used voice. What vibrant tone and powerful declamation of the text --

[LongEyelandGuy]

Dan;

I heard your father sing this several times in Vienna in the early 70s. I was a young student and he was a true inspiration for me and for so many others. I even recall meeting him once at the American Church in Vienna. What a nice man and what pure talent God gave him.

[nancyfi]

el mejor Florestan que he oído y he oído muchísimos. El timbre de la voz y un no sé que me emociona..." l'art est le vrai jugement dernier" dice Proust et je suis d'accord...Bravísimo! and Danny you can be very proud of your father....Bravo

[Plecostomus1986]

FABULOSO!

[jwrevak]

Extraordinary! The only time I heard James King was in this role at the Met. Frankly, he wasn't having a good night as some high notes were forced, but ultimately it didn't matter. When he did this scene it blew me away. I can still hear him. When I read his obituary I was shocked. When I told a friend he had died but I could still "hear" this one performance, I began to weep. Few artists have done anything comparable to me, and I've heard many great ones.

[foothillsbear]

Simply one of the greatest tenors of his era. The emotion and artistry he puts into his singing is spectacular. And his voice has a thrilling timbre. I just viewed Jonas Kaufmann singing this aria, and while he is excellent, he just doesn't give it the excitement that King does.

[rubbins1]

Thank you all for your comments. If I can figure it out I will try to put a later Fidelio movie on You Tube, plus some Electra I have on video...Oh and Ariadne on Video. Several years after this BW recording I saw him sing this in Salzburg. I was in my teens then. His voice had matured even more..and the hue was much deeper and more bold...if that is correct. I miss my father very much.

Danny King

[albertthrelkeld]

Danny: I only wish I had had the privilege of hearing your father live. My voice teacher, Norma Williams, who sing with him, suggested I listen to his recording when I was a student in the 80s. What fine singing!

[Singerputsch]

Its so wonderful to hear James King! Dan, I sang Tamino for your father back in the 80s, and he gave me confidence to go into more dramatic rep. Now I sing Bacchus all over Europe- I am owe a great debt to just one lesson with a great Tenor. I hope you put some videos on You Tube- Thanks!its helps alot!

[rubbins1]

You message is touching and I thank you for sharing it. There are so many other good videos of papa, I would like to get his Bacchus on You tube as well. But, what we are missing is some video of 1st act of Die Walkure....not in concert but on stage. I miss my papa so much still and your kind words are so nice. I can only sing in the shower...but I do a splendid Nessun dorma !

[HeyMrA]

Hello Danny, you father was also very supportive of me at I.U. I was a student of Nicola Rossi-Lemeni as well, and your dad often came to my lessons to encourage me as I was making the switch from baritone to tenor. What great men both who are sorely missed!!! The last time I spoke with him was just before opening the season at La Scala a few years ago in a role he had sung... as always, he was a great inspiration!

[Merryjest]

Were you often mistaken as a lighter tenor before? I'm only asking because I just recently had the experience where a tenor heard me and said that there was a LOT more to my voice than originally thought- originally billed as a Leggiero, but he thinks I could go for full lyric, and perhaps even more.

[Merryjest]

BRILLIANT! A Heldentenor who doesn't push and uses his voice carry its natural weight and size! bravo! Excelent technique!

[cleanears]

noe this is a REAL Florestan...

[cjondoran]

Im starting to like this presentation of florestan. More beautiful and lyric than vickers

[dynamicstuff73]

awe! now that is the way it's supposed to sound like!

[sanjosemike]

runnins1 When Florestan starts singing: "You are always in my heart" it always brings me to tears. I don't know how a performer can keep dry eyed singing this. Congratulations to your Dad on a moving interpretation.

sanjosemike

[GustawPoland]

When does he sing "You're always in my heart"...? :)

There is "Suesser Trost in meinem Herzen", but it means "Sweet consolation in my heart".

[sanjosemike]

"Sweet consolation in my heart." "You are always in my heart." Gustaw, this is poetry, isn't it? Isn't that how you look at it? Does it make that much difference what the words are? Don't they mean the same thing? Must we look at that with only "German exactitude?"

Supposing my translation was incorrect. Is it that important to you to show me that your German is better?

sanjosemike

[GustawPoland]

Primo:Why do you suppose I wanted to boast of my German, which actually isn't good? You misunderstood the libretto at that point and I wanted to help you to understand it correctly. I admit to the crime.

Secundo:Yes, it makes enormous difference what the words are,because poetry is about words. :) Here it's also big difference, because he sings that in spite of all torments he feels consolated, for he has done his duty.

This is very important to this character.

[markpianoman]

but translation is very important...i do it professionally

[sirmercutio99]

Excellent. Did he ever sing Siegfried?

[dynamicstuff73]

i believe he did at the met! wasn't he amazing!!

[nanbil]

No, James King never sang Siegfried nor did he sing Tristan. He sang many Siegmunds and Lohengrins.

[montestone]

And Parsifal and Walther. Great Bacchus and Kaiser too. His studio at IU had 4 Vienna State Opera posters with him as Lohengrin, Siegmund, Kaiser, and Bacchus. Didn't think much about it until I realized the dates were all within ONE WEEK.

[Lawdrahcir]

Let's don't forget that he sang the Kaiser in Die Frau Ohne Schatten is the famous Met Opera 1966 production with the divine Rysanek. And he was stunning.

[stevevandien]

@nanbil If memory serves, King did study the elder Siegfried, but never sang it on stage. That's based on some comments he made in OPERA NEWS about 35 years ago --

[canzonettasullaria]

soll das ein witz sein, schillerianer? er hat lange in bayreuth

gesungen.

[Schillerianer]

ah okay, danke. Wusste ich nicht. Es klang nur beim ersten (und zweiten) Hören nicht ganz danach- mag an mir liegen. danke für die Info. Und auch im Web 2.0 das Lächeln nicht vergessen.

[rubbins1]

Thank you for posting this video of my father. I have not seen this one before. Post more of them. Dan

[canzonettasullaria]

James King was your father? In my opinion he was unreached as Florestan, just so in the role as Max from "Der Freischütz".

[pcorrigan1]

My favourite recording of Strauss Songs ever was a recording by a very young James King and I believe Dalton Baldwin was the accompanist. One side of the record was Strauss and the other was Schubert. I haven't seen a copy in at least 15 years. I would love to get my hands on one - it really is one of the greatest recordings I know.

[markpianoman]

Dan, I had the awesome privilege of several times accompanying your father in his apartment on Harthauserstr. in Munich in the early 1980's.  He paid me to play for him...I always felt as if I should be paying for the privilege! The sign at the doorbell out front of the apartment building read, "King James."

[gaytenor]

rubbins1: Your father was a very great tenor that never really got the acclaim he deserved in his own country. His singing voice provided may great thrills over the years in Strauss and Wagner not to mention Die Tote Stadt and Samson. A very, very great tenor.

[Moegiust]

Even very good tenors tend to do some bleating in this difficult area. How wonderful to have this document of James King in his vocal prime.

[astrophel1]

Such extraordinary singing. Wow. Thank you for posting this!

[hardybee]

I find it inspiring and uplifting amost into another dimension

[pedrohenriquemuniz]

It's The most sweet versions of this melody. Thank you for postin' it for us...

[Schillerianer]

Versteht er, was er da singt?

[FunkMan53]

Ja Du Idiot! Er hat es verstanden.

[markpianoman]

Naturlich versteht er was er da singt...er hat jahrelang in Berlin und Muenchen gewohnt. In den fruh 80iger Jahren habe ich oefters fuer ihn gespielt.