Alfredo Kraus sings Tales of Hoffmann (vaimusic.com)

[eileandonan1]

mrluistena, qué crees que NO debería haber cantado?

[jubah]

my ears are melting... such flawless technique..

[eileandonan1]

qué voz maravilllosa, dulce, perfecta en su emisión, modulada, sin un descontrol . Y conste que soy placidista a muerte !

[mrluistena]

@eileandonan1 A mi parecer, a Domingole hubiera venido muy bien unas cuantas lecciones de canto, impostación de voz y técnica de manos de Kraus. También un repertorio un tanto más afín a su tipología de voz, estoy completamente seguro que todavía estaría en plenas facultades vocales si se hubiese ceñido a sus características vocales particulares. Saludos

[eileandonan1]

@mrluistena , Estoy en parte de acuerdo, solo en cuanto a lo del repertorio, tú qué crees que NO debería haber cantado?

[eileandonan1]

@mrluistena

Estoy en parte de acuerdo, aunque sólo en lo del repertorio. Tú que crees que NO debería haber cantado?

[eileandonan1]

@mrluistena

[h0bgawblin]

There are high notes, then there are kraus high notes. Effortless and perfect...

[enfava]

No other tenor voice was similar to his. The Great among the greatest!

[mayatatyana1]

Superb tenor-bravo! Thank you for posting.

[aircat29]

bravo maestro!!

[Agorante]

Most tenors start out as lyrics. They sing some Mozart, then perhaps some Donizetti. They are soon told that if they want to sing in regularly in big American houses in the most popular Verdi and Puccini repetoire, they will need to develop more power. Lyrics then push on to become spintos. Kraus resisted this natural development. I think he sang Tosca once and then went back to lighter parts. Kraus' voice lasted a long time partly because he took it easy.

[Agorante]

I first heard Kraus live over forty years ago. I heard him in many of his major roles. The process I described of transforming into a spinto happened to Pavarotti, Margison, Bonisolli, and Carreras too. I heard all of these guys early, middle and late. I'm being patronized by a stripling who fancies himself an expert. Just what are your credentials that justify such arrogance and pomposity?

[zurriussII]

Great, great tenor! Such lightness in his timbre at his age!

[Webarton]

The only way to make sound is to sing in the mask. No mask= no sound.

[Juancarzgz7]

Poner a tenorinos de baja estopa como Calleja, diciendo que la voz de Kraus no es atractiva.. claro, dicen lo mismo de la Callas.. en fin... ellos se lo pierden... ¿le has oido cantar Lucia con la Shuerland? despues de eso su voz no te seduce? que lastima amigo, no sabes que lastima me das...

[Agorante]

I heard Kraus on stage for decades. I was always happy to attend one of his performances. But listen to the voice - it is not all that attractive. Charlie Handelman recently posted on his site 15 "new" tenors (Beczala, Calleja, Florez, etc.). Every one of them has a more attractive voice than Kraus.

Von Karajan and Schwartzkopf recorded Cosi first with Simoneau and then with the "new" tenor Kraus. It was not an improvement - less style, less beauty of voice.

[Webarton]

But Kraus still made more sound in his day than any of those tenors.

[Agorante]

Well he certainly has more sound than Juan Diego Florez - The Singing Peanut. I don't know about Beczala but I'm told that Calleja has a real big voice.

[xjavierss]

The best!!!!!!!

[gaytenor]

The best Hoffmann was Tucker in a knockout, and, if truth be told Domingo sang the hell out of the role before he started having real top problems.

[pearlmuth3]

YES HE is FAVORITE OF MINE AS A LYRIC. HEARD HIM AT HIS AMERICAN DEBUT, CHICAGO AND ALWAYS LIKED HIS CLASSY SINGING And great high notes but i like a darker voice in the role with a less careful approach as jhvorotin says but would still rather hear him then many others-- also check out Neil Shicoff in the role, two are on you tube, the earlier version is his best and is acted out very well. Kraus is older here and his high C was still fine so he throws it in too show vocal youth! Bravo

[Agorante]

Funny, I was just about to scold you for not prefering Shicoff - then I read your post again. I too heard Kraus a long time ago about 40-45 years. I saw him first in Elisir with Brsucantini, Grist, and Wixell. I was familiar with his voice from the Cosi recording on Angel with Schwatzkopf. He was an excellent performer on stage but that damn "in the mask" sound! Imagine how good he might have been if he ever knew how to sing properly - like say Shicoff.

[martello79]

"if he ever knew how to sing properly"

hmmm, about Kraus, this seems quite a statement to me. And especially in relation to the technique of Shicoff...

[Agorante]

I think Shicoff sang properly. As he admitted himself he did not seem to have "cords of steel" like some others.

Kraus was never considered to have had a beautiful voice at the time. He was said to have a "lemon and honey" voice. Kind of astringent. I think it was because of his "in the mask" technique.

I remember when he was in town to double the Duke in a series of Rigolettos with Garaventa. The local critic remaked on how Garaventa's voice was sweeter but Kraus was the star.

[martello79]

I agree Shicoff sings properly. Very different from Kraus and in this not comparable.

Off course you can like the in the mask technique or not. But I don't think we should call that technique "not knowing how to sing properly". Kraus had a consistent technique for many many years and to my opinion made big achievements with it.

(Listen for example to the Puritani fragment here on youtube with Deutekom. Absolutely great.)

[Agorante]

Singing "in the mask" tends to protect the vocal cords. It is not surprising that Kraus could sing for a long time. Nor does it in any way prove he had a good technique.

The problem with loud forceful singing is to balance against the environment's radiation resistance. This means you load your vocal cords. If you open your throat (really open your mouth) you emit more and better sound but you risk injury. If you rather unseal the vellum you protect the cords. It is safe but sounds bad.

[martello79]

I agree with your technical explanation. Then we probably come to another matter which is taste. I don't think at all that Kraus sounded bad.

[Agorante]

I wasn't sure to which comment this rejoiner was intended. So I looked for ignorant bullshit among the recent postings. Good news! I found it.

Just a week ago some fool posted that there was no way to make sound except by singing in the mask. Certainly that qualifies as bullshit. But then I noticed that that comment was also from you. What gives? Have you come to your senses?

[Webarton]

It is not bullshit. If you are a singer, you understand that the sound must be in the mask and the middle must be bright and flexible to have a reliable top.

I wish people understood this. Instead you worship people like MDM and Corelli and Domingo Carreras the list goes on, who found out great ways to do it wrong.

Kraus's singing is a demonstration of technique, of mask singing. He stretches the top/the headvoice into all his lower notes..then the top is easily accessible.

[Webarton]

Just compare the length of the careers...

[beginner57]

"lemon and honey voice", is a quotation from Garcia Lorca talking about an astonishing flamenco singer, Silverio Franconetti, half italian and half spanish:"the sweet italian honey mixed with our lemon..." And(maybe it's not casual) Krause is half swiss and half spanish.

So I think it' s a compliment, not a blame!

[randal30]

He is perfect, elegant and his voice is so passional.

Kraus, you are fantastic, what a loss had the Opera World with your death.

Kraus sei fantastico, che grande perdita ha avuto il mondo della lirica con la tua morte.

Un omagio da uno studente di canto (tenore) sarebbe stato bello averti come maesto.

[jhvorotin]

too lyrical, too "coloraturist", too "belcantist" for this type of aria, which should be more theatrical. the high C is inappropriate. His energy is just wastetd on a single, useless note. what a pity given the fact that he sounded so effortless throughout the aria. Ah well...he's an amazing tenor annyway. I'm just criticizing his choices of interpretation that's all.

[BeniaminoGigli]

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!MAESTRO!!!!!!!­!!

[ontologix]

Good singing; zero stars for the interpretation of Hoffmann as an elegant grand-seigneur. He is a deeply troubled poet, loses one loved woman after the other, and resorts to drinking.

Klein-Zack, the ugly dwarf, is a reference to E.T.A. Hoffmann´s figure which was deformed. You just cannot present this ballad in belcanto.

Alexandru Badea in the 2007 Regensburg production by Regina Brandt gave an adequate rendering of this part. Corinna von Rad in Aachen 2008 presented a worried Hoffmann too.

[EmilyGreene1984]

Actually he doesn't loose one woman after another, at least in the opera. The three "women" are supposed to represent three facets of one woman's character - the mechanical doll, the ingenue, and then the courtesan - whom, you see at the end of the opera.

[malamutet]

grande Alfredo, più ti ascolto e più mi piaci, sei nell'Olimpo del canto.

[javiergraciasanchis]

el gran Kraus!!!

[mestrehistoria]

Como siempre, extraordinario en su ejecución, en los tiempos, en la calidad y técnica. Un tenor único, irrepetible e irreplazable.

Gracias maestro.

[tonyantony]

He is great.You should check out Gedda's version , he was great as Hoffmann.

[POTFFREAK4LIFE]

perfect voice.

I heard him many times at the met,superb.

his secret,same repertoire all his carrer.

he always knew his limits.

[Elried]

love his voice and technique but i really dont like his interpratation! and the french diction is pretty strange....

[ontologix]

@Elried

I agree with your comment. A superb voice and singer. But he and/or the director did not understand the role Klein-Zach plays in this opera. The best part is when he sings about Stella. In this passage his interpretation is perfect.

See my page: w w w.o f f e n b a c h-h o f f m a n n.d e

[ontologix]

@Elried

I agree with your comment. A superb voice and singer. But he and/or the director did not understand the role Klein-Zach plays in this opera. The best part is when he sings about Stella. In this passage his interpretation is perfect.

See my page: w w w.o f f e n b a c h-h o f f m a n n.d e

[TrovadorManrique]

*****

[xilpix]

All the young singer have to listen to Alfredo Krauss. Perfect tecnique , insuperable. He teach the true art.

[ISOLDA37]

Totally agree with susejfu!For me Kraus is inimitable!There was nobody like him!God!This is too much!Too good to be true!I simply ADORE him!

[susejfu]

This is a real singer a great interpreter and a superb human being.

All those idiotic fans that adore people like paul pot should listen to this video.

[imaginado]

@susejfu Hmmm... I'm not sure I would call those who like Paul Potts "idiotic fans", and as far as I know (based on the couple of songs I've herd from Potts), Potts delivers a pretty decent performance...

That being said... I agree with you... This is a REALLY GREAT singer and interpreter... and I hope those people you mention would listen to this video. Cheers.

[LOperaSeria]

Potts delivers a "pretty decent performance"? He has a weak little voice and poor breath control. His Nessun Dorma is an absolute jokes. He is admired by those who know nothing about true art.

[imaginado]

@LOperaSeria Maybe... but what can we do? Still... you have to agree that Kraus is a great singer and performer ;) Cheers.

[imaginado]

@imaginado Sorry... was.

[ivancin25]

maestrooo si alguna opera des de kraus es esta .. el maestroo el mejor que convservó la voz y el do de pecho hasta los 71 años...

[jblo9]

This is superb. If it's top register you like. Look no further

[kraber]

Superb diction and phrasing, superb elegance and acting, superb singing skills. Alfredo Kraus had a limited repertoire, but when he chose a role, he was in a class by himself. How long will we have to wait to have another tenor like him?

[Mariosergio61]

Sorry, but probably not in our lives.