Added: 4 years ago
From: ManonLes88
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  • unglaublich, Pavarotti's hohes "C"

  • :...(

  • Veramente bella!

  • Magnificent artists... 

  • And I thought Villazon and Netrebko had the best version. This is heartfelt and perfect in every way!

  • @mickyblue247 Do you really think they beat Netrebko and Villazon? I can't tell but will never tire of comparing. Both are sublime and wonderful :)

  • @haunanithomas Exactly ^.^ I love all four artists too =]

  • @mickyblue247 History will normally prove modernity wrong. This is regarded as the best Boheme in recorded history.

  • The perfect operatic pairing for this duet. Sublime.

  • both incredible Freni is so powerful, well pavarotti we all know his talent...

  • 9 people doesn't like this... damn, there are freak people in this world...

  • wow this is so amazing ....

  • i love comments on youtube. they never have anything to do with the video, its HILARIOUS :P

  • For me, they ARE Rodolfo and Mimi

  • Just my opinion but I think Pavarotti and Freni are the finest of this generation and hearing them sing together is a privilege!

  • nine people dislike perfect music.

  • I always thought Freni worked as well as any soprano with Pavarotti.

  • He is after all king of the high C's

  • I am honestly brought to tears every time I hear this.

  • Surprise High C!!!!!

  • This duet really melts your heart.  The performance here was perfect.

  • To the musically challenged people who "Dislike" this video:

    How does this song not touch your soul? How does it not evoke emotion and tears? I figure you're all culturally deprived and know nothing about amazing music. This is one of the most amazing duets out there!

  • their voices go so well together!

  • It breakes my heart every time.

  • San Francisco Opera, 1990 -- got it (!)

    (Just making a list of places to visit when I finally get my time machine working reliably . . .)

  • it is a C

  • kinda missing him right now...

  • remember them in hamburg...in nthe 70.

    ....

    thanks for these great artists and spezials moments...

  • Sorry! but this is still not up to par with Tebaldi/Bjorling

    Very, very good indeed! But listen to Tebaldi-Bjorling if you want to hear the best.

  • @maxhansendk Tebaldi/bjorling is an excellent duo for this, but I have to say I prefer pavarotti/freni

  • remember that Freni is 55 in this recording and while her vibrato is heavier than what it once was, she's still utterly brillian!

  • WELL, AS I CAN'T SING IT MYSELF, WHO AM I TO CRITICISE.. ITS THE BEST

  • I am so so happy!

  • This is powerful music- Its so overwhelming I think I'm gonna cry every time I listen to it TT_TT

  • fantasticooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­

  • 二人とも凄い。

  • did anyone thing that it is the distanse and the fact that they are behind the set, the orchestra remaining in same position, that makes the "flat" effect"? it is simple physics.

  • These two absolutely kill it with their passion and utter ownership of the score. Maybe she's the tiniest bit short of the top at the end but it is nevertheless the best version on YouTube right now.

  • @MikeDrewYT you might try Mr Jussi Bjoerling and Anna Lisa Bjoerling:

    watch?v=r3v1wIlunzQ

  • I'm watching this for a class.

  • haha

  • Oh i love pav

  • I got this on dvd

  • Best opera song ever

  • HOLY @#$%! The real score doesnt have a high C for the Tenor at the end; instead of an A and C like mimi, it's an f and an e to harmonise. BUT PAVAROTTI'S HIGH C!!! THAT WAS AWESOME!

  • @jc19940 hes not the only one to have done that you know...

  • @jc19940 Yeah but it's also ruining the harmony that Puccini wanted. Roberto Alagna is also doing it, i don't understand why.

  • One of my most favorite arias. Giacomo Puccini was a musical genius to have written such music. And look how long the music has endured. All of his operas are absolute treasures. Some of the most beautiful music ever written.

  • quelle merveille! pavarotti est absolument eblouissant aucun autre tenor n a eu un tel talent ah si nous avions la video dU 17 2 1972 de la fille du regiment ce sont des moments inoubliables pour ceux qui ont vecu de telles prouesses de luciano en live

  • what a stallion pavarotti is

  • It does sound a little flat on that high C, but that does not mean that it was sung flat. Acoustics play a major role in how we perceive the sound and they were off stage with the orchestra front and center.

  • its really Mirella who's flat. Her vibrato is making her spin flat. Its kinda a typical thing with her, but she still has an amazing voice :)

  • What does her "spin" mean?

  • the rate of spin in her vibrato. her vibrato is so big that it causes her to fall slightly under pitch. but she's still amazing!! :)

  • Oh ok cool. I like her style very much too. Thanks!

  • Omg i'm pretty sure he destroyed her ears.

  • jaja.. surely!

  • En opera de lomejor.

  • MERCEDES PASTOR FA

    Extraordinaria interpretación : dos voces magníficas

    27 sep 2009

  • Heartbreakingly beautiful.

  • I really don't hear the flatness on the C...And I'm a soprano with nearly perfect pitch not to mention and ex-woodwinds player. Flatness (and sharpness) bother me an unreasonable amount. That was just the acoustics sounding weird.

  • If you can't hear the flatness on the high C then your pitch is not as nearly perfect(there's no such thing by the way) as you think. And that is from someone that has excellent relative pitch and is a much better woodwinds player.

  • electric tuner.

  • @tdeane34 jut because youve never met someone with perfect pitch doesn't mean it doestn' exist...lol im always bogled by people that make blanket denials like this. ive met 2 people in my young 26 years (10-ish around music) already that have perfect pitch and its no less astounding to hear them describe how their brains work than it is to watch them do what they can

  • @kylezo When did I say that no one has perfect pitch? That's ridiculous.

  • @tdeane34 its not rediculous... "...then your pitch is not as nearly perfect(there's no such thing by the way) as you think" expecing me to wade through this phrasing to a totally different ,meaning than what seemed apparent is rediculous. but thanks for clarifying.

  • @kylezo What I said is there is no such thing as nearly perfect pitch. it's perfect or it isn't. If not then it's called relative pitch.

  • @tdeane34 gotcha.

  • @kylezo yeah read what i said, "then your pitch is not as NEARLY perfect" I said there is no such thing as nearly perfect pitch. "Gotcha" idiot.

  • @tdeane34 lets try to relax, breathe...theres no need for name calling. since when is 'gotcha' something you need to get your panties in a knot about.? like i said, your phrasing was awkward and it was difficult to wade through it to find your completely different meaning than what is apparent. however, i thanked you for clarifying. now we understand each other. calm. i guess theres no point in me trying to be civil with you. you felt attacked and responded with 'ridiculous' and 'idiot'...lovely

  • if you are an ex-woodwind player, you werent good enough to keep it up.

    there is no such thing as "nearly perfect" in terms of pitch. the c is flat, and that is from someone with an electronic tuner.

  • Wow, hostility. I was just making a comment. 99 times out of 100 I am in tune. Ask any one of my voices coaches. And I'm not a woodwinds player any more because no, I wasn't very good. I didn't have a passion for it. Because I love to sing. And that's how I ended up in one of the top high-school level chamber choirs in the nation. Trust me, flatness and sharpness bothers me. It's her vibrato and the acoustics.

  • where did you sing??

  • The Royal Blues Chamber Ensemble in Portland, Oregon.

  • I don't know wha kinfd of place is but nice, I think ! I just forget what did we talking about....so have a nice xstmas!

  • this is unbeleivable

  • Pavarotti and Freni in La Boheme, that is pure magic. I saw a Met performence and that was incredible. He was the best tenor ever, once in a lifetime, all who have heard him and seen him will forever remember.

  • what is the soprano's final note for this aria?

  • its a top(high) C natural

  • is that C7 or C6?

  • L'AMORE con la A maiuscola!!! "...ti starò vicino..obbedisco signor...AMOOOOOOOOR"!!!

    Grazie per regalarci queste emozioni!!!!

  • thank you for this!!!!

  • surely the definitive Rodolfo and Mimi, Pavarotti and Freni made these roles their own.

  • Couldn't agree more. Freni IS Mimi for me.

  • it is so amazing how pavarotti lift the whole scenario and orchestra with him and then nicely land it back on eart... his voice was so beautiful... i miss him

  • Pavarotti makes it sound so easy, bravo!

  • brividi

  • He also couldn't sing African tribal music or pop. What he could sing was Verdi, Puccini, Bellini and Donizetti, and very very well. He was not great at singing everything, but few are.

  • He could also sing Mozart!

  • That's a really interesting comment, I've never really thought about it before in those terms. It's true that Pavarotti really never sang anything non-romantic, but I'll argue that a great singer isn't defined by their versatility but their ability to do something, anything, really well.

    I have nothing but respect for those two, everything they sang sounded wonderful. But when Pavarotti sings Puccini it IS magic, almost as if god has a hand in it, and that is why I believe he's a great singer.

  • No, Pav couldn't sing lieder, but it's like comparing apples and oranges when trying to compare Pav and Wunderlich. Both absolutely INCREDIBLE but also incredibly different. It's not really fair to say Pav's lack of prowess in german artsong somehow makes Wunderlich better than him, just like saying that because Pav sang Puccini better than Wunderlich makes him a better tenor overall.

  • I think this duet simply can't be sung better. It can be sung differently, but in no way better, 'cause it's perfection.

  • this is a very good version of o soave, but my preferred is Bjorling and Tebaldi.

  • FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Bravo Bravo Bravo Bravo MAESTRI.

  • this would be perfection if Freni wasn't flat on the high 'C' but she's still better that 95% of singers who've ever sang this role! Brava!

  • Sorry but it's Pav that is flat on the high C.

  • I didn't notice any flatness....

  • Some fatness, but no flatness... heh hehh. This is so orgasmic.

  • Oh, I stand corrected, its the high "C" at the end. He is ever so slightly out of tune. Anyway, I think the tenor is supposed to sing "E". Whew, makes the rest of us feel normal. Even the best have it hard. Keep in mind that they are backstage when they sing it, so that,s probably why. It sounds

  • PAVAROTTI IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

  • you've been watching too much tv. he's good but there are many others, particularly during the middle century.

  • still do you think there is anyone with a voice which is so unique, sweet and lively as his? You can tell when Pavarotti sings even if you listen to hundreds of performances

  • Yes, Jussi Bjorling, one of Pavarotti's favorite singers, and considered by many one of the century's greatest. The greatest singers are always recognizable, I can always tell Jussi and Luciano in a blind test. Both have a recognizable timbre to their voices and their style and range as lyric tenors is quite unmistakable.

  • Nice :):):)

  • DIVINO

  • Should be listened before Scotto/Pavarotti and then Freni/Pavorotti, what is better?

    No doubts, Freni has such a sweet marvellous angel voice, stupenda!!!

  • I purchase the Pavarotti /Freni performance of La Boheme when I was in college at the Univ. of Iowa in 1971 or 2. I've been listening to it regularly for 25 years, and it still amazes me. I don't know what professional opera critics believe, but I think it to be the greatest recording ever done of La Boheme.

  • The studio recording? Not possible.

  • No one can do it better.

  • You are right in the fact that if fans would see the coughing, hacking, and spitting that goes on in the wings offstage many fans would be nauseated.

  • She's not flat at all! Their vowel shapes and the production of that high a note are just so different that the very acoustic differentials cannot be lined up, particularly from offstage.... Overtones, you know?

  • Who cares if it's b or c or flat or what ever, as long as it sounds like this. It just beatiful!

  • thank you!

  • BRAVA! BRAVA!

  • @mrF1no i agree with u...and just to say...it's in the original tonality.... by an italian man!

  • is better the version of 1979

  • Un très joli duo, deux voix magnifiques

    Merci

  • I agree totally. This duet singing this aria provides me with more tingles from head to toe than any other in all opera.

  • b l i s s. perfect.

  • Pavarotti is AMAZING...no question

  • Never again will there be a Pavarotti or a Freni. There is nothing to compare to this duet between two incredible artists. What a JOY!!!

  • Pavarotti... genial. Y Freni también ^^

  • E allora, commenta! se sei l'esperto perche' non dici niente?

  • lasciatele commentare a noi italiani queste cose, mi dispiace, ma gli esperti siamo noi.

  • Yeah..I realized I made  a mistake in the date. But the substance of the matter stay the same :)

  • Croat-The 1990 has a special meaning actually (besides the 3 Tenors concert which is secondary to me). 1990 is the year in which the 55 yo Pava shut his critics up. He gave a superb performance of La Boheme in SF, then he brought down the house in Rome with Tosca, and then he again brought the audience to his knees with Balo in Maschera...all in one year. I have seen 2 of the 3, all 3 were seen by my parents.

  • Luciano gave this performance of 'La Boheme' in San Francisco in 1988.

  • Croat- I am glad to see that you're a rational man. I am not saying this because we agree on this point. But your analysis is factually correct and carries a core honesty. I will add that his interpretive skills were just as developed. As an example, I will give his 1990 rendition of Tosca in Rome.

  • see, we are in complete agreement on these issues, regarding Pav's vocal prowess. Amongst the singers of his era, he was the best. You will never hear me say otherwise.

    :-)

    And I must admit that I am very fond of Pav's interpretations of Tosca and La Bohème...

  • OettingerCroat-As a Domingo/Carreras lover I can understand your feeble efforts to down play the importance of high notes. But you seem to forget that those glorious high notes are the do-or-die moments which makes the tenor voice so exciting. If that were not the case one could get by with baritones as most top baritones reach the tenor B, and we wouldn't need tenors at all.

  • since you haven't attacked me as viciously as you have attacked others, lets try to establish some common ground:

    Pavarotti had without the slightest doubt the best vocal instrument, certainly of his colleagues and perhaps of all time. I never in any way humored the possibility that Domingo or Carreras were more vocally capable than him. I am not quite the tone-deaf sheep you might have assumed I am.

    that aside, i am very pleasantly thrilled that Pavarotti sang the C here aged 55!

  • OettingerCroat-Opera is NOT theater. Operatic acting is spastic as compared to theatrical. The acting is done through the voice, especially in the Italian repertoire, and the so-called acting is to enhance the vocal artistry. Acting will always play second fiddle in top notch opera.

  • Ironically diStefano and Callas shared the same destiny in their operatic career. I'd take Freni and Pava any day. The reason is in front of your very eyes. At age 55 diStefano was long finished and so was Callas. I have seen this in 1990 live. Freni and Callas brought down the house. It was simply sublime.

  • Tony-As a 22 yo idiot who has never seen Callas or diStefano live (where's my parents did, especially my father's fav was diStefano), I surely have more exposure than you ever will. Callas was distinguished but as much as you think. You're simply biased about her for the obvious reasons. My father even conceded to the fact that Pava was better overall. I'll take his word for it. What do you know? NOTHING!

  • Well, according to your words Pavarotti was wrong saying ''a great line is twenty times more important than high notes''.I don't expect you to understand the art of neither Callas nor di Stefano.Keep listening to singers who took divorce with their soul and art in order to maintain beauty of sound.According to your criteria a good PC singing production program would be the greatest artist ever.

  • Tony-Note that you slice the strongest suite of each and every tenor and use them collectively on Pava in your criticism with complete disregard to their major flaws and the overall picture at large. What matters is to reach a level of excellence in many aspects of vocal artistry -a "minor" detail you chose to neglect as it doesn't fit your prepackaged reality.

  • You might want to ask Ms. Freni and Scotto if Pava lacked any interpretive skills. I highly doubt they'd agree with you, especially with someone who never sat in an opera house listening to them in 3D.

  • Carreras, with his poor technique and limited vocal range, couldn't do much. Some people like you seem to like a chesty voice, hooted, and throaty voice and a tenor who sobs on every note, perceiving it as passionate singing. It's poor singing at best. Even Pava's harshest critics gave him credit for his superb artistry when it was due. You reality in concocted and totally distorted.

  • Callas took the limelight as much with her morally debased personality as he artistic skills. In fact, her singing prime was much shorter than you'd admit. diStefano, likewise, went down a very destructive path due to his recklessness and his unreliable technique. You're slicing the facts to fit your reality once again!

  • LoL..what a bullshit comment. If the instrument cannot produce a superb product (the sound that is) the interpreter cannot interpret. There are 2 sides of an operatic artist. The technician and the interpreter. The interpreter is governed by the technician. Now cut the crap and remember this maxim of opera!

  • Tony-You'd take them all right. As flawed as your line of reasoning is, they do fit your palate well. You're entitled to lowered expectations. As someone who never sat in an opera house listening to Pava, Sutherland, Carerras etc live, you do not know anything about how one feels when they sing. Keep watching and listening in 2D!

  • Keep Pavarotti and Sutherland for yourself I'll take di Stefano and Callas at anytime.They had flawed voices but they sang realistically ,with their soul, they weren't robots of producing notes.

  • In that terms his is less great than Carreras.Your problem is that you can't feel what lies behind the notes.

  • It's a mean of transferring feelings through the art.P. lacked musical,dramatic and interpretive skills.

  • Well, a person who never makes a comment on interpretations like you and considers Pavarotti the best tenor has no clue!Operatic singing is not an exhibition of beautiful voices and high notes.

  • exactly true! opera is theatre, not just music. one needs to put ones heart and passion into it, and not just be able to produce super high notes and hold them out for a half hour. that is not the point of opera, and people who boil it down to that are slightly sick.

  • But I should give you credit for having turned on the Mezza Voce chapter. You were parroting about that one on many pages in regard to a several artist's singing. Yet, you still sound like a textbook.

  • Karajan also was the chief architect in prematurely pushing Carreras into heavier roles which caused his early demise! You failed to mention that! Nice selective memory Sherlock! I suppose you're suggesting James Levine was wrong in saying what he said about La Boheme! Nice going Mr. Textbook! Perhaps you need a better book.

  • This duet ends at Eb for the tenor but top tenors sing in unison with the soprano in the final cadence and end it with a top C. You should hear it in a theater. Sounds marvellous. How do I know? I was there when Pava and Scotto performed it! Also saw him do it in 1990! You haven't got a clue! Again you're pulling textbook material out of your rear.

  • Tony-Your problem is that you read too much and not listen enough. No wonder you sound like a textbook. I'd suggest you get to a reputable opera house and listen to some quality opera. You might have read a lot, but I have personally experienced a good number of GREATS since a long time! Keep reading. You sound like a buffoon which is quite entertaining.

  • Did you refer to the high C in O soave Fancuilla?Well it's not written.Gigli was the first who interpolated the high C.Some tenors such as Gedda,Kraus and Wunderlich sang it as written because an E from a tenor and a mezzo forte high C from the soprano gives better the fading away sound than two fortissimo high C's and it's more elegant too.

  • Tony-So you know opera better than James Levine it seems! Get lost you clueless fiddlestick! lol

  • I have read the score ,something I suppose you have never done.You were the one who thinks he knows better about Carreras than Karajan.

  • What did Levine say about La Boheme?Anyway,I think anyone understands Levine's opinion is less important than Karajan's.He was never in the same class with Karajan.

  • Even the high C of che gelida manina comes after an A ,it's one of the easiest high C's ever written.

  • Your arrogance is pretty amusing.Rodolfo is one of the less demanding roles of the lyric tenor repertoire both vocally and interpretively.

  • Bazone-In your 70some years on this planet you must have missed lots. Life is more than breathing oxygen, but also, is a simple fact which has escaped you in the first 70some years of your life. I wish you better luck in the next 70 years which you will need dearly.

  • I`ve never before read such opinionated crap in all my life.

  • The high C of the duet is written only for the soprano.Get a clue

  • Domingo was the used car salesman of opera. He sung anything and everything with an equal level of mediocrity. Domingo was inferior in terms of vocal artistry to Pavarotti. Pavarotti excelled in the Bel Canto and the lyric Italian repertoire. DOmingo didn't excel in anything. He sold lots of tickets to unsuspecting audiences. Domingo was the King of cracked notes, and transposed operatic roles. Performing in 130 roles is artistic prostitution & shows lack of strive for excellence.

  • I hear you gustav, Domingo's Pagliacci,directed by Zeffirelli is wonderful i have the DVD.

  • Pavarotti and Domingo were the best singers of the last century pav could do some songs better than Domingo and Domingo could do some roles better than Pavarotti ,but i suspect that Pavarotti will take over Caruso's place in the history of the tenor as time moves on, its a shame that Di Stefano had to live in the shadow of Callas he was so much better than her, but its interesting to see the new guys on the block competing to be the new king of this century,look forward to you'r opinions.

  • domingo is still singing.. pavarotti was increddible but domingo wow.. heard both live u

  • Fantastic.....Bravooooo!

  • tdeane-And I checked it too. It's not as flat as you suggest. It's your imagination as you had to swallow your initial words. You were suggesting that it was a top B! LoL...

  • It probably sounds flat because Freni sounds sharp...

  • It's flat enough that I thought it was a B.