James Morris - Der Fliegende Hollander - Die frist ist um

[luissanchezHD]

11 morons will feel the wrath of Wotan

[MrNorm1949]

An excellent Hollander. I have the CD set conducted by James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera, with Morris in the title role.

[LeRinkRat]

@MrNorm1949

I have heard 5 different recordings of Hollander and the 1997 Sony CD I think you a refering too is THE best with Levine conducting Morris, Voigt, Rootering, Heppner and Paul Groves. Groves "Mit Gewitter und Sturm" and Morris "Wie oft in Meeres" are BOTH spectacular as is the "Steuermann! Lass die Wacht!" opening of scene 3. it's a "must own" for any Wagner fan.

[basenjidiva]

Morris is out of this world ... especially in this role! Heard him in person; really outstanding interpretation and splendid vocality. Had a chance to chat with him, briefly but informally; couldn't imagine a nicer fellow!

Bravoooh!!!!

[quetepique48]

I agree absolutely..¡

[kiipija]

Awful. Sounds like a joke! He looks like chinese in upper register.

[operaman83]

the voice is getting very tired. he doesn't sing with the vitality he used to but there are very few singers who can tear your heart out almost every night. He no longer has the youth to sing things like scarpia and the dutchman with perfection but it's not baseball and i don't care if he hits a homerun, he's a true performer and a true artist, something seldom seen anywhere these days. bigger voices rarely record well. one reason why almost everyone famous these days has a tiny voice

[BorisGodunov]

I've seen Morris live on several occasions, and I have to say that he tends to be uneven. I saw him sing Die Fliegende Hollander at the Baltimore Opera, and he was terrific. I then saw him sing Scarpia in Tosca at the Met, and he was terrible. Maybe he was ill, but his voice broke several times, and he had a terrible time with the high notes. Finally, I saw him sing Boris Godunov, also at the Met, and he was once again impressive. Maybe he excels more in German and Slavic roles...

[joebaritone]

Recordings do not do this man's voice justice. I heard him sing live last week and he is still amazing.

[mauricedelacroix]

My favourite Wotan of all times ending.

[JuMiRick]

I would have loved to hear a few more seconds of the audience's reaction :)

[58wotan]

Morris is my favorite Wotan, too, amazing in the Ring of MET with Behrens ( now requiescat in pace)

[deToulouseLautrec]

It does look strange him singing these words in what appears to be a lavish parlour!

[isabelle070209]

Mon Wotan!!!!

[mirtOouille]

ouai ou pas

[babyhands1150]

Just an ugly voice , he ruins my Meisterzinger DVD .

[littlequincy1]

Just saw him at a final dress rehearsal of Das Rheingold this past Monday.

Still quite impressive!

[wotan10950]

Morris is a great artist and a hell of a nice guy too! As you can tell from my nom-de-plume, I have a special reverence for his Wotan. I have never heard a greater Wotan in 50 years. I saw Morris in his early Met years, doing parts that were just burps, but he was even great in those! And his Man of La Mancha - wow, he could give Broadway a lesson in great singing. Bravo Morris. (And thanks for the pen when I asked for your autograph!)

[TommyHaegin]

When he sings an "A" it does not sound nice. He's struggling a bit here. He is pressing and forcing too much. I have definitely heard him better than here (Salzburg, Tosca, in the late nineties 1998?).

[hightenor123]

I think its just his age. I questioned his choice of such a high lying piece. I though perhaps Sachs's Flieder monologue would have shown him to greater advantage. Yet, even with John Reylea, Rene Pape and Bryn encroaching on his rep. he still brings a roundness of tone and gravity all his own. I think at least

[miding]

Morris is a marvel of his age and artist due the most deferential respect. I too heard him when i was a young boy singing at the cinncinnat sujmmer opera. Ferrando, Capulet , Zuniga. even a young kid like me know this was sometning special. And whe I saw his name in he front of opera news noting him as the youngest base to join the house i was overjoyed. Bravo james Moris. I can't wait for your alvise next year. 33years after the first. Much love and respect. mark iding

[Loismustdie26]

I just saw James Morris in this role last night(still awesome at 61), and I have never been so enthralled by a bass-baritone in my entire life. He really has changed the way I look at Wagner. Thanks for posting, i have goosebumps all over again.

[Agorante]

61 isn't old. Watch it! We geezers can get testy.

[Loismustdie26]

Haha, I didn't mean any disrespect to the age, it's just rare to see a singer much past their early 50s still singing at their peak. Basses and sopranos especially who are putting so much stress on their chords by singing out of their normal speaking range. Even more, someone who's spent so much of the time singing something as demanding as Wagner (the very first Sigfried died a short while after starting to sing the role under suspicious circumstances, not foul play, but vocal stress).

[Agorante]

There is a self proclaimed opera guru who posted that Tauber was the greatest tenor because he had the most success after fifty. Right!

By that criteria Corelli, Bjorling and Caruso were failures. Those were the top three in the Opera Fanatic poll.

I was just responding to another genius who gave me detailed instructions on how Domingo should "fix" his technique. BTW Domingo is 68. Why tell me?

I personally sang better at 65 than I did at 25. Alas my musicianship was no better.

[raigekimaru]

@Agorante

well, basses tend to have the longest careers of the male singers. dramatic baritones and heldentenors can stay in their pretty long, but tenors usually sound terrible by 50 (in contrast to basses who often start sounding good then)

[Agorante]

@raigekimaru

I used to think that too - i.e. basses sang longer. Now I don't know. Both Tozzi and Siepi were dropped from the met roster when they were only about fifty. Both sang as guest artists for another couple decades. Hines sang forever and Plishka longer yet. But Chevanowsky (a light baritone) I believe set the Met most performance record. Charles Antony (a light tenor) also sang a good long time.

Which voice type sings longest? Sounds like a doctoral dissertation to me.

[raigekimaru]

@Agorante

you're right, but in general I think basses sing longer because they have a few advantages

1) the characters they play are older

2) the bright, youthful voice of the tenor make signs of age more apparent

3) the male voice generally tends to get higher with age

4) basses tend to have higher testosterone levels than tenors

[Agorante]

@raigekimaru

You seem to have smart brains. The older character issue is true. I prepared to sing the Commendatore recently. It's pretty easy for an old fart like me. I would have preferred to do Leporello but I couldn't handle all the stage movement - the singing wasn't a problem. The sound of the bass voice is in fact the sound of testosterone. After age 65 male voices tend to rise a bit as testosterone levels drop.

Backstage the guys chasing the chorus girls are ususally the basses.

[freya1924]

I had the privilage of seeing Mr. Morris perform while he was a young man, and I still a child. His voice made my toes curl back then and it still does. Thanks for posting this!

[haririo]

Die Frist ist um,

und abermals verstrichen sind sieben Jahr'.

Voll Überdruß wirft mich das Meer ans Land . . .

Ha, Stolzer Ozean!

[inrharmony]

This recording is...it's from 2006...I was saying that really he hasn't lost much at all since the time I was in the chorus for a run of "Hollander" back in 1993...I think that's when I did that.

[guy1938]

James morris est un très bon chanteur wagnerien

[inrharmony]

He hasn't lost much, though...I shared the stage with him when he did "Hollander" in Miami in the early 90's...when this scene came up, us basses and baritones in the chorus sat just off stage and just drooled...

[canafinwe]

He is still great. And still he's the man. I understand Senta...

[EinFremderAusElea]

That sounds better, like an old Dutchman, what it should sound like after all.

[Ro213]

"Opernprobe" als Suchwort eingeben und Schlingensief bei der Probenarbeit zum "Fliegenden Holländer" erleben !!!

[operapazzo1]

Yeah!Can't believe he still sounds so good, after singing Wagner for soo long. Technically,I believe if he narrowed his position, went even deeper, like he does at the end, it would rid that insipient wobble. Bravo for such a great ending, the high e natural was nice and gathered and, no wobble.

[Toreadorssong]

One of the greatest singers period. The best Colline coat aria I ever heard was his in the late 70's. He is a true bass-baritone, not a bass. His top was always amazing, and as heard here, the low end was not his best. Also a brilliant actor, at par with the very best operatic actors ever. I loved his Iago characterization, but that particular role is a real baritone part and was too high for him.

[mattyslipp]

This man may be old, but he's certainly not past his prime. I just saw him as Scarpia last year and it was the most riveting Scarpia you could imagine, aside from maybe Milnes... so electrifying!

[Johnny1206]

He´s a great artist and very impressive although past his prime.

[senta78]

I love him!

he is a best singer

[antoheionn]

And one of the best Banco's, also!!!

[dustmondo45]

Yeah great job! He got the perfect voice for Wagner anyway, high bass, red bright timbre, with both velvet and metal in it....he reminds me of Dr Manheimer in naked gun as he got older, lol.....

[sergava]

Amazing! James Morris is a great bass. This aria is not easy. This aria is always complicated, younger or older. James Morris sings this aria with power and quality.

[Grandtenore]

And one of the BEST Iago's.

[hightenor123]

I think it is a very bold choice for an older bass. This is very high and difficult. There were much more prudent choices, but he went for a real tester. At least his voice rolls over the orchestra with real power in the house.

[stevevandien]

Morris is past his best, but considering he's been singing at the Met for 35 years and Wagner for 20-something, still quite good --

[steainsy]

true, at least he hasn't completely lost all control. I also thought the sound was quite crisp and clear at times.