Robert Lloyd - Die Zauberflote - In deisen heil'gen hallen

[Jextxadore]

He has quite a unique tongue position, from what little I can see.

[Sieglinde84]

Still wonderful. Not long ago I heard a Don Carlo in radio where he was the Monk, now that's what I call luxury casting.

A shame he never got to sing Claggart! Why did it avoid him? I mean like, he had the right fach, he's British, he was in top form in late 80s...

[ezayi]

Fabulous voice. Bravo!

[Fledereule]

eine wunderschöne stimme und sein deutsch ist fast akzentfrei was bei englischsprachigen sängern sehr selten ist ich habe schon viele gehört und keiner hat diese arie so perfekt gesungen. aus diesem grund wird die zauberflöte wohl auch oft auf englisch oder italienisch aufgeführt, was ich persöhnlich sehr schade finde weil die übersetzungen nicht an das orginal heranreichen können.

schade das die aufnahmegeräte bei bässen wie auch bei orgeln versagen...

[KevinBeach2]

I have sung with Robert Lloyd several times. One thing I noticed from the start is that his voice has a dark, rich timbre to it that is never quite captured by recording or broadcasting equipment. It always sounds lighter in recordings.

In this recording he does sound as though he is struggling to sing through a cold, which explains some of the nasal tone, the occasional shortness of breath and the occasional "pushed" and over-loud tone. He's not at his best here.

[countceprano]

@KevinBeach2 : You are absolutely correct. I've sung onstage with him and have heard him live from the house of the Met many times. His voice is simply not captured well on some recordings, this one being one. His voice is huge in the house and sonorous. There's a reason he's sung major bass roles in houses like the Met for years... he's a major singer. I love Rene Pape's voice, but have heard them both in this particular role at the Met. No contest. Lloyd by a landslide.

[christyinseattle]

I have the Sir Charles Mackerras recording of the Magic Flute featuring him. That was quite a different performance of this aria.

[carisma0302]

Hat er vielleicht die Erkältung oder?? Schöne Nasestimme schön!

[TheMrBlackFloyd]

youg basses, LEARN from him.

and try to not sing like bears at 30yo :)

[DanyNicola]

@TheMrBlackFloyd What about 19yo basses? :)

[ElBundz]

Not much critizism here. A good voice. Not much acting, but this was obviously a concert. Woud have to see him on stage to know better.

[Doctorhotstuff]

Sexy sexy voice!

[SuperDarchangel]

He sings VERY artificial, using to much of his nose to create his sound. And his strange movins with his mouth let me think, that he´s overconfident... i don´t like him.

[Bomenpulp]

You stupid clowns have nothing better to do then to judge about a professional singer by hearing him with your stupid little laptop speakers

[FeDubitellius]

where is he going down on a low e ?

[BigglesWatch]

I, too, have heard Lloyd live on a number of occasions and there is something slightly odd about his production

[tayrone2001]

everyone is def here. this man sings too much from his nose. no good singing! I am a singer myself so I dont accept other comments ;_P

[drtmuir]

Did it ever occur to you that there might be other singers here?

I like Lloyd very much, but I don't think that he records well, and it's a pity. I've heard him live many times, and never heard that nasal sound.

[saiserieht]

My theory is that the mic was quite close here and that the nasal quality does not carry far and you do not hear it live

[hoelette]

I had the same voice teacher as Llyod, Tomlinson, Howell, Otakar Kraus who trained about 10 international singers. Kraus wanted a voice to ring like a bell. That's true, he sounds great. That means a good technique.

Llyod is a very versatile singer. Singing Sarastro and the italian repertoire is great, but he did the french and russian and Wagner. I heard him many times at the ROH. When in Clemenza,very cantante. Later, in Banquo and Sparafucile, he was great with darkness. So, his voice adapts

[drtmuir]

British singers are underrated. They often start out in choirs, so they learn to play well with others-- they make good colleagues. They are tremendously well-prepared, and they start from a kind of neutral position re: Italian and German repertoires, so they are often very flexible.

[cantorfahlenkamp]

fantastisch ! Wunderbar klar und resonant. rrrresonace!!!

[hansdrp]

what about Michael Langdon and John Tomlinson

[jamesjmertins]

Having sung with Bob I find it difficult to say anything bad But as he got older the voice in the nose all the time sounds awful. Again him and Gwynne Howell were the best of the British Basses at the time. However the greatest Basses were big Davie Ward andHarold Blackburn.

[drtmuir]

@jamesjmertins Thomas Allen wrote a very amusing book years ago, in which he called Lloyd "Bob Loud," and teased him about his size 14 bowling shoes. ;)

Tomlinson's raw vocal material is awesome, no other word for it.

[atmj65]

Wonderful, magnifique, fabelhaft.

Ich hab's seit furchtbar lang nicht gehoert, es ist einfach fabelhaft.

Danke

[jeremiahbutterfly]

i don't know the music or language, but he seems to have very good space and breathing

[BungyonFire]

A bit nasal? Move it down from the nose.

[evalabelle2]

What did you guys have for breakfast, really? When you all get to seventy and can sing like him, then perhaps you can criticize his singing. See you all in fifty years!

[xmetbass]

Pull up Jerome Hines. He has a video that you can hear and watch. He was 90 when it was made. Talk about a mind blowing voice, that was one of them. I had the good fortune to have performed with Jerry; Lloyd too.

[AlfonsHatlerII]

Robert Lloyed ist der einzige Bass-Sänger, der "In diesen Heiligen Hallen" wirklich gut singen kann. Es ist eine der schwersten Bass-Stimmen überhaupt. Meine Hochachtung, bis jetzt ist er der Einzige, der dieses Lied nicht flach singt.

[Kriegerwulf2]

I want to be fair with the man and I should take back some things. Not seeing him (but just listening) isn´t that bad. Still slow and nasal at stages, but his voice is undoubtedly good and I would be an asshole if I didn´t admit that. I´m just not fully convinced of his assumed greatness. A proof of that are seconds 1:50 to 1:52 ("ein Freundes Haaaaaand"). That "Haaaand" didn´t sound very tuned, did it?

[UglowD]

Don't be so quick to judge. I see you are only 18 and I cannot reckon that you have seen Lloyd in a theatre. The managements of just about every major opera house in the world, many of the world's greatest conductors etc consider him to be one of the finest basso cantantes of the last 50 years.. Too full of himself? Hm

[BeauTenor]

You really need to see him live before you can judge. As some have previously stated, he sounds COMPLETELY different live. This voice is TRULY amazing. I had the good fortune to be on stage with him in Boccanegra in Dallas (he was Fiesco) and I was blown away. It's a bigger voice than you might think, pretty dark, and not as nasal as he sounds in recordings. It's a gorgeous sound.

[Kriegerwulf2]

With all due respects, it looks as if he was actually taking the piss! Too full of himself (and his nose). In my opinion he has destroyed Sarastro´s Aria. I can´t believe a nunch hypocrites think he´s great and blah, blah. Just listen to him, for Christ sake! No need to be a scholar and even a scholar would fall asleep! Plain horrible. God!

[atmj65]

The best of all.

[jhvorotin]

He distorts the vowels so much...not good. Just listen to his "i", "u", and "e".

[demenciano]

canta usted por la nariz? moooc mooc

[Guilherme7530]

Cara feio, meu!

[NSDAPReloaded]

Perfekt! So muss ein Sarastro klingen!

[mugwa773]

I have listened to Robert Lloyd sing here countless times and can't get enough. Bearing comments of nasal effect, It's his exceptional depth and stage presence, that makes him absolutely oustanding!!!

[animanatural]

maravilloso Mr. Lloyd!

[duragdan2000]

Au weiah. Ich schätze einfach mal, der kann es wirklich besser, aber das kann man nicht mehr einfach nur mit Aufnahmetechnik erklären. Der war hackedicht, als er das gesungen hat. Diese kleinen Schweinsäuglein... ;-)

[jhvorotin]

The low E is optional, in the score. Many basses go up the easy way, to the higher E. Because it is optional, a bass really needs to be strong on that note to make a good effect. If the low E is weak, the bass is ridiculized. note that high Cs in the famous aria from "La fille du Regiment" (Donizetti) is also optional. Tenors sing them for glory and honour. I guess a low E is less impressive so that's why basses don't feel the need to sing it.

[Emlomor]

"melodically" spaking, I prefer the middle E. And the low E isn't optionnal, in fact it's not written at all. (an optionnal note would be written in small characters)

[bobom1]

Yes, I find it pretty tasteless to go down to the low E. Undoes all the effect of the aria...

[hedgechair]

Still a wonderful bass, with huge presence in his late 60's. I think the voice is unusually nasal in this clip, and he is pushing a bit.

As always, to sing 10% this good is an ambition I shall never achieve.

[Heldenbariton1]

@kristiankrebs no it´s an F

[notjustanotherbasso]

@kristiankrebs lol, but it's actually ok to sing the low E2 at the ever end. it's a legit option for basses... several have done it. there may be times when the conductor prefers sticking to whats on the score, and so you also have basses who are toatally able to do it better than other, but don't really.

[notjustanotherbasso]

@kristiankrebs besides he doesn't do the optional low E... i don't know what you're talking about... oh well.

[mrtyles]

wow. have any of you heard kurt moll? i was just finished listening to him. they're saying lloyd is nasal? wow.

[Kronos14293]

Wonderful material. But this is not enough to be enthusiastic about. His nasal tone is far away from Belcanto and it's a shame to miss the deep E at the end of the arie!

[jakethewoz]

I agree. It's always a dissapointment to not hear the low E

[izar1234]

Have you people never heard Lloyd live in the opera house? His voice is NOT nasal in a theater. The way it's closely recorded here is what is fooling you. It's a rich, round, and very large bass voice in the house.

[Agorante]

You are quite right. In the house it's different. He doesn't record very well. However on his Boheme recording with Carreras, Wixell, etc. he doesn't have this nasal twang.

[Ufelan]

Way too much coperto.

[vegaselena]

wow| I normally only listen to singers from the earlier 20th century, but i have to say that this performance by lloyd puts him in the the bel canto league, one of the the best offerings of this aria i've heard, on a par with another (long forgotten) english basso profundo, norman allin|

[dichterDENKER]

Das ist ja grauenhaft. Ich meine nen Knödeltenor wäre noch schlimmer. Aber wie kann man so einen auf die Bühne lassen. Hat das Opernhaus kein Geld für nen gescheiten Sänger? Uahhhhh

[operissimo84]

Nasal-stomach voice. Terrible

[zehnoffbass]

Nasal-stomach voice!Genau richtig! Buahahaaaa!

[operissimo84]

Terrible voice. Nasal-stomach. Es un orror!

[Pluggetje]

Ganz wunderbar gesungen - allerdings bewegt Herr Lloyd seinen Mund wie ein Lama. Tipp zum Schmunzeln: Ton abrehen und sene Mimik genießen...;

[ah332]

this is my favorite aria!

sometimes he swallows his "ah" vowels, but overall extremely well sung...and its not an easy aria

[hoffmann1976]

Bella voz! I agree you. Some nasal notes are not perfect, but what a nice deep voice! That final "Mensch, ein mensch zu sein" is hypnotic with a real nice sound. Thanks for this video. I've listened to it many times since you posted it.

[vonmeppen]

Lloyd is a great singer and also a great actor. Some tones are not sung with a perfect technique, but he has authority and sonority. You should see him as Boris Godunow at the Marinskij-Theatre in 1990 under Gergiev (on DVD). There he is gives an extraordinary performance of great intensity.