Grande Maestro: John McCormack - Il mio tesoro

[murraymae]

Oh, you GO!!! Those runs are marvelous!!!!! Unsurpassed!!

[NoMoosic1]

Mozart would have kissed him right on the mouth! Perfect!

[SuperAleaiactaest]

sometimes when I get bored I sing along with this recording and try to practice singing the long run in the middle in one breath, but McCormick kicks my ass every time!!!!!

[cimbalok]

I agree. I have never heard Il mio tesoro sung so beautifully or clearly and it's my favorite aria from D.G. so I have heard it a lot.

[Nojnotpu]

wonderful,who can say more.

[marykaye35]

John McCormack owns this aria. Best of the Best.



[ciroalb3]

when will someone put up his pur dicesti? there's also supposed to be a se il mio nome somewhere

[ciroalb3]

when will someone put up his pur dicesti?

[1carrigdhoubh]

John Mc Cormack simply the greatest. A voice of pure gold and what great clarity and diction in an era of early recording technique. No tenor came near him in breath control. In 1932 he sang Panis Angelicus at the open air Mass for the Eucharistic Congress in the Phoenix Park in Dublin Ireland. This event was attended by 1 million people.

[JomeAt10]

I'd love to explore more of his operatic recordings but, sadly, he made so few of them. Il mio tesoro was, as far as I know, the only Mozart recording he ever made. Though he may have performed many since his operatic career continued, in spite of his popular appeal, until he was 37 or 38. Quite some time when you think that he was the youngest resident tenor at Covent Garden in his day.

[JomeAt10]

It seems our Mr McCormack led a busy life. Many people know him as a singer of Irish airs and popular songs of the day. Not many people know that he was also a master of belcanto, technically an Italian tenor of the finest. It's strange for me because I grew up with McCormack and I never heard him sing opera or even sing in another language until recently. Pity, this is one of the finest recordings ever made.

[hugothebear]

@JomeAt10 Indeed a master of Bel Canto, this is just a joy to hear, elegant phrasing, wonderful legato and deliciously articulated words, I am sure the strict training and sensitive musicianship was the grounding for his singing of popular songs, he applied the same highest standards to everything he sang and turned the simplest melody into a masterpiece. My Mum introduced me to him having heard him in concert and I hope you will now explore more of his lovely Opera recordings too.

[bryansorrells]

Brilliant.  Thank you.

[mdbmdbmvc]

Elegant, musical, controlled, insightful - thank you for posting!

[docmalthus]

A performance not so much sung as sculpted in marble!

McCormack was truly incomparable!!

[59hidalgo]

Sublime, inigualable.

[GuidoKaiserBariton1]

Welch eine Stimmführung, perfekter Sitz und endloser Atem....einfach göttlich!

[MrKnockna]

Mozart + The Count = perfection

[oxfordeddie]

Does anybody know when this was recorded and where?

[orlando098]

It's amazing how easy he makes this seem. It sounds like he's singing a bit too lightly for opera, but as far as I know he had no complaints in his day. I guess we just aren't used to hearing opera singers sound like this.

[m134e5]

Mozart operatic roles do not require as heavy a voice as some of the operas from the Romantic period. Orchestras were smaller back then, and Mozart didn't use nearly as many brass instruments in his operas as some other composers did. His voice does seem small for Opera, but I suspect part of that is just because the recording is very old.

[orlando098]

Thanks, yes, I suppose it may well be. If he really had a very small voice I doubt Caruso would have referred to him as the world's greatest tenor, as he is said to have done

[m134e5]

A small voice doesn't mean a bad one. I don't want to leave the opera or recital hall with my ears ringing all the time. Some voices just aren't very heavy voices, and some characters are better portrayed by people with lighter voices. My favorite sopranos and tenors have smaller voices- voices that are better suited to Art Songs, Mozart operas, and works of composers who wrote for similar voice qualities.

[seektheforce]

@m134e5 Also the size of the voice matters little. If they're resonating properly, their voice should be heard at the back of the stage.

[Lovelytenor1]

@m134e5 My heros were of course, Caruso, Bjoerling, Gigli. I also loved Valletti & Schipa. When a great baritone, who sang w/them, told me that my singing reminded him of V & S, I was stunned. It was my greatest compliment.

[orlando098]

@m134e5

No, it doesn't. I agree. But I just mean it was very very very tiny he wouldn't have had so much success as he did I guess.

[flaze3]

@orlando098 but it's beautiful: flowing silver. :) His and Alva's recordings are both fantastic. This is how they SHOULD sound.

[MCHEATH]

@orlando098 In 1918 he got rave reviews as cavaradossi

[orlando098]

@MCHEATH

Yes, he must have been very versatile. But I guess he was always careful to sing with his voice whatever he was singing, and not try to make a heavy sound if he was singing a role that is often sung more heavily etc .Which is very sensible. Also quite light voices can be bright and carry well without being extremely loud.

[mdbmdbmvc]

@orlando098 I understand that McCormack's voice was much bigger than these early recordings would lead one to believe - apparently there is a recording of one opera aria which is really rare because McCormack attacked the fortissimo's with so much force that the early wax pressings would distort

[AfroPoli]

A true delight.

[Zyghnwyr]

In that sublime long melisma on "tornar" , he sounds as if he could carry on for several more bars before needing to breathe. And, technically superb as it is, the sheer joy of the singing hits you in the heart. Majestic.

[bbbartolo]

Someone once asked Caruso if he considered himself the world's greatest tenor.

–Not unless McCormack has suddenly become a baritone, Caruso replied.

[GermanOperaSinger]

@bbbartolo This anecdote has been told in many ways. Another version was that McCormack visited Caruso in a dressing room after attending one of the latter's performances, and asked 'How's the world's greatest tenor doing tonight?' to which Caruso replied, 'Since when did you become a baritone John?' McCormack's records outsold Caruso's in 1911 (or 1913, can't remember exact year). Caruso swore it wouldn't happen again. The two were professional rivals but admired/respected each other very much.

[TheNole2005]

another fault in my opinion is that you can tell he's irish. his accent is too strong here.

[TheNole2005]

I am not a huge fan of this version. McCormack's voice just doesn't do it for me--too light. Very good coloratura, but that's it. I prefer the richness of Wunderlich and don't care about where he takes a breath or not.

[Lisnageeragh]

@TheNole2005 very early recording ...and he does hold the phrasing together along with good intonation in most instances

[nergilcane]

it sends chills down your spine...the most perfect recording of an aria ever made.

[superlative1967]

i purchased a cd off john McCormack 3 years ago just for this aria, it was worth every penny a classic recording.

[paulostroff99]

Superb

[carpalton]

Apart from the magnificent singing, thing I like about this recording is that it still has the traditional appoggaturas (like on "torti") that would later be mistakenly banned by "purist" conductors who didn't realize that Mozart never intended the notes to be sung literally off the page.

Now, of course, with historically informed performance, singers are once again expected to sing them, but I love hearing a reminder of a time when what Mozart expected just came naturally to a singer.

[Lisnageeragh]

@carpalton yes  you get this in some traditional performance to great effect

[federricoilgrande]

Io ho ascoltato una edizione pirata del Met con Jussi come Ottavio, non ce n'è per nessuno, Mc Cormack incluso

[lidiabonini]

Too beautiful for words! And so moving. As an Italian I must commend Maestro McCormak for his perfect pronunciation. He sounds like he really did know the language. Every single accent is on the right syllable and there is no distress in pronouncing double consonants either which instantly tell us that a singer does not exactly knows what he is singing about. Thank you Maestro.

[ciroalb3]

@lidiabonini  he certainly did know Italian, studied under Vincenzo Sabatini, and performed there briefly under the stage name Giovanni Foli. In his film, Song of My heart, there is a brief conversation with the baritone Segurola. But he was actually quite good in all languages. His French, German and Latin are beautiful, the german with a delicious Irish brogue.

[bassfanne45]

I still think the Stuart Burrows recording is the best.

[mdbmdbmvc]

@bassfanne45 funnily a conducting colleague of mine says the same thing - I'm off to have a listen - I am a huge McCormack fan though! :-)

[Raibeart100]

Joseph Hislop, the Scottish tenor, when asked to name his favourite tenors in order of the best first, simply replied; "How lucky we are to have heard them all." I think he made a fair point! McCormack is my own choice, but I wouldn't dispute others.

[f1a6b3]

"Il mio tesoro" is terribly difficult to sing because the singer cannot breath in the middle of the passages. (Otherwise it would be the easiest aria.) The tenor at the premiere in Vienna couldn't do that, and Mozart composed "Dalla sua pace" for him. (Mozart didn't tell him: "Nevermind, breath whenever you like"). McCormack can sing this aria perfectly. Wunderlich and Simoneau cannot. Alva can. And Dermota is sh..

[ibnhazm]

The greatest rendition of this aria? not at all. Listen Wunderlcih or Simoneau, they are much better, even Alva and Dermota.

[bobbyBollyfan]

I own several of his songs & find him superb. In any classical idiom of the opera he was charming, heartwarming, effortless, flawless and majestic, but the second he sung Irish, there was no mistaking his nationality; much in the same manner as Russian songs suit Russian voices. To begrudge him this, would be to begrudge his being McCormack. In cases like his idiosyncrasy can only be termed aura. Thank you for posting this divine gem. :)

[hashatz]

No Doubt! This is THE "Il mio tesoro" recording of all time. None come close.

[Teddyb1939]

Lovely Mozart Aria - limited quality recording but enjoyable never the less

[sophia88two]

Makes it seem effortless.

Just flowing so  melodious .

[telephilia]

His voice was sheer gold.

[hugothebear]

My mum introduced to McCormack's recordings, she was lucky enough to have heard him in concert ! He is a joy to listen to whatever he sings, his diction and articulation of the words is an example for all time, so nice to know that present and future generations might get to know this great man through youtube. I find his interpretations all the more moving because he never resorts to vulgarity or pulling tempi to pieces in the name of "interpretation".

[MrKnockna]

Wonderful rendition cannot be surpassed.If you liked you should listen to Kim Borg singing Judex from Mors et Vita by Gounod,it too cannot be surpassed,Can anyone post this please.

[wollestoncraft]

Fantastic! ( The Stuart Burrows version is wonderful also, discovered it on YT. ) Thanks 4 posting this, listen to it all the time.

[skatesindreams]

I'm sure that Mozart and McCormack have spent time together "above" revelling in the art of singing!

[Kroaky]

This has to be the perfect il mio tesoro, perfect control! Closely followed by tauber and wunderlich!

[mrronan2007]

From the heart pure singer trained by his ultimate desire to deliver upright and as it was written and meant to be . the finest singer that ever lived. The old people believed in singing in ones natural voice .the great thing is this is john just john and he did this for you

[cristinavondrak]

If Wolfgang could only hear this... perfection itself.

[Glaskopft]

Ratings disabled,

of course,,there are only 5 stars available,not 10.

[rouman7]

a genuis at work...............

[shiveringflower]

Beautiful beyond compare.

[vitesenzafine]

this is beyond praise. And such impeccable italian!

[ballyfinboy]

Bravo maestro

[Rigelcentauri58]

Mozart wrote it for him, for him alone......

[Lovelytenor1]

Whenever I need a refresher on the art of singing, I listen to this recording.

[sjperelman]

I first heard this is 1976 and was spellbound. I lost my old tape that was from a radio program and now find this - I am so grateful and my joy restored. Noone ever did this aria as did McCormack, and noone ever will. A masterpiece, a dream passed down to us through the mist of years. Sublime.

Paswalski

[scalparm]

Quite right! I can think of no one who sings this better.  Simply exquisite!

[paulostroff99]

There exists no better recorded performance!

[leboyfriend]

Bravo, cornificius22vain!

[beggo321]

I would of loved to have seen the one occasion when James Joyce and McCormack sang on the same stage.

[schlusnus]

Do I recognize Gerald Moore on the piano??

J.M. made a Count by the Pope and sang like a saint!!

[willbeaver]

That was indeed Gerald Moore at the piano. McCormack toured with him and made a number of recordings with him in his final years, up to 1942.

[ciroalb3]

@willbeaver  surely it's Edwin Schneider at this date.

[willbeaver]

@ciroalb3 I cannot find my original comment. It must have been somewhere else, not under il mio tesoro?

[Stefano2071]

Caruso obsoleto? Ma che dici? Pavarotti e molti altri saranno perfetti tecnicamente, ma l'emozione che mi da Caruso non me la da nessun altro ...

[preruminator]

His voice flows like a crystal clear Irish brook.

[lorgain2]

Stuart Burrows was good but to compare him with McCormack1`s singing of this particular peice, no, this performance recognised by the music world as the numero uno, some people giving opinions here, wouldn`t know their ass from their arias.

[rouman7]

top singer, and this is wonderfull...

[schlusnus]

Thank you Primo. The finest Irish tenor todate his folk songs

are unparalled.

Kathleen Mavourneen is special.

[Nemorino11]

Canto obsoleto, come Caruso e Gigli, oggi non sarebbe più accettabile.

[cornificius22vain]

if so, then so much the worse for the 'accettabilitá' of oggi.

[serRudyll]

O_o Aren't you supposed to breathe at 1:51 ? Very impressive, but I don't like the way his voice sounds - nasally, imho. But this can be due to the old recording.

[GermanOperaSinger]

This is the single greatest rendition of this particular aria that has ever been recorded. Wunderlich was the greatest Mozart tenor who ever recorded, but even he cannot trump McCormack here.

[juancristobal60]

Oh boy!!, how much we trully enjoy John Mc Cormack!!!Daddy O, please hear this from up there in heaven!!!Wonderful!!!

[forallyouknow]

Vocally, definitely McCormack. Interpretatively, definitely Burrows.

[josefbtarseh]

PLESE listen at Francisco Araiza´s version.... you will enjoy it big time......

[xxclearheartsxx]

You're an idiot and know nothing about Mozartian style...

[aguacun]

Seems like you know a lot about Mozart style... but about nothing else.

[xxclearheartsxx]

I prefer Burrows, personally, but I think Araiza's doesn't sound like Mozart. *shrugs*

[aguacun]

Very respectable your opinion as everybody opinion. I just look for make a point about the way you make reference about opinions of other people. You need not to use some kind of words to attack a person because a subjective opinion, that always will have this element, specially in art. Happy new year!

[SENAFOREVER]

Being rude is not very mozartian anyways.

[edmoran73]

The greatest rendition of this aria without any doubt. The real shame is that Enrico Caruso never recorded it. In his early years before his voice darkened and became heavier I imagine he would have sung this aria beautifully. Does anyone know if Jussi Bjorling recorded it?

[primobaritono]

Yes, Jussi sang it in a Carnegie Hall recital and that was recorded. The CD is available.

[edmoran73]

Great! Many thanks.

[bassfanne45]

@edmoran73 The Bjorling recording is on YouTube.

[marchesano]

@edmoran73 Yes, and that performance is on YouTube now as well.

[edmoran73]

Thanks. I did see that some time ago. I love Bjorling, but with this aria McCormack in a class of hos own.

[pasfresh123]

one of the greatest opera aria recordings ever.

[ellandelachapelle]

Mistake. I meant of course 3:05-3:17! Also, I forgot to mention 1:02-1:15. (again, not breathing before "di asciugar".)

[ellandelachapelle]

O.K. Here is the most auspicious places of breathing-control: 1:45-2:01. (even though he does breathe just before "tornar" I think it would be IMPOSSIBLE to sing such a long line. Without decreasing the volume!)2:42-2:54. (everyone else breathes before "di asciugar") At 3:02-3:17 he even INCREASES his volume! (in short: when everynone else sounds like fainting he just keeps on seemingly effortlessly!)(in case you wonder: I was once a musical coach in an opera company.)

[ellandelachapelle]

Best rendition I've ever heard. He was Mozart's favourite tenor? (joking.) He doesn't breathe where everyone else breathes! (I'll tell you were.)(in a sec.)

[ffdiva11]

I fell in love with the tenor voice as a child listening to my grandmother's collection of John Mccormack records,but had never heard this until about 12 years ago.I was completely enraptured.Mccormack has what all great singers possess,the ability to draw you into the emotion of the aria even if you have no understanding of the language or the plot of the opera,you are transported by the sheer beauty of sound and outpouring of emotion.

[gerundino98]

a belter

[stacyblue1980]

I had no idea he could sing this kind of stuff. wow. 5***** tks 4 posting.

[alargedog]

fantastic thanks 4 posting #####

[tenoreilhanuguryazar]

best performans,,thank you...

[papidou1934]

n'oublions pas que thill et lui avait le meme professeur,fernando di lucia on retrouve une qualité sonore et la meme élegance dans le phrasé.

[12340john]

me and this guy have the same name

friggin sweet

=D

[spgtenor]

Beautiful tone, but also great coloratura and excellent breath control. Bravo!

[wollestoncraft]

Will always love the McCormack version, so amazing. The Burrows rendition is great also. A recent YT video of the great Danish tenor Aksel Schiotz singing this aria is very good, the singing is very clean with no blurring of the individual notes and the emotion and beauty of his voice are well suited to the aria. I also enjoy the Luigi Alva video even tho there are some vocal flaws, the performance is very charismatic and fun to watch.

[johnster1964]

I used to think this was te definitive recording until 5 minutes ago when I heard the Stuart Burrows recording. Try listening to that one, it is wonderful

[johnhoie]

I took your suggestion and listened to Burrows. I agree in preferring it to McCormack's, but my all-time favorite is a recording by Gigli. I think the song sounds better with more energy, which both Burrows and Gigli use.

[coopandre]

I still think this is definitive. I must listen to Burrows! The clearity and breath control are astounding.

[MusicaParola]

This is not only the best rendition of this aria. It is perhaps the most remarkable singing in the history of recorded sound.

[Kentoo48]

Technically perfect IMHO. No one has performed this as well

[Krolblach]

Woderful singing, yes. I love McCormack but before you make claims about technical perfection, listen to Stuart Burrows equally marvellous recording. I've never heard such breath control as this. What do you think?

[Kentoo48]

Burroughs rendition is technically sound and the preference for McCormacks recording over Burroughs is only because I feel that McCormack was a little cleaner in his diction and each note that he sang seems more distinct than those in Burroughs rendition

[mdbmdbmvc]

Very interesting this one, i know Stuart Burrows' son and was with him one evening adjudicating at a festival for him. One of my fellow adjudicators told me about the Burrows Il Mio and said he preferred it. I just find McCormack a sort of enchanting musician though having listened to Stuart Burrows I can see why he is favoured too

[Kentoo48]

There is so little difference in the quality of the two perfromances, in my opinion.. I find Burrows voice more appealing than McCormacks but I find a more precise delivery in McCormacks rendition... perhaps I need my ears cleaned

[mdbmdbmvc]

The joy of music - minute differences in many ways - it is just whatever flicks your switch

[jum1801]

I find the Burrows far superior, although I recognize the recording quality may have something to do with it. Here I find Mc sweet but thin, almost nasal, without body, fullness or heft. While I don't want a heroic tenor, I do prefer the richness of Burrows. Burrows' singing seems effortless, and his breathing & control is superb. Mc's voice works so hard that he sounds like a hummingbird flies. And his diction - egad! Mc never got the bog out of his voice, and it grates in Mozart.

[mdbmdbmvc]

I think this might go just a bit far

[1psoas9]

Saltburner is right -- it IS the same in affect all the way through -- until you get to "Nuncio vuol io tornar" where Ottavio becomes rather pleased with himself. BUt that may be characterization of a lover who is all convention, whose passions are in fact imaginary. It's fantastic singing.

[paulostroff99]

Breathtaking performance!Bravo! TY.

[blakemooney]

McCormack may have been a stiff actor on stage but if you had this voice would you waste your time gesturing and feinting to emphasize parts of this aria? No one would? This can not be approached let alone beaten. When in the old SU I attended a concert and at intermission they played this aria and not one sould got up from their seat. Many were weeping when McCormack's recording finished!

[dinastein44]

What a beautiful story! I can well imagine it. I certainly wouldn't get up, I can tell you. Thanks!

[laybl]

I've always considered McCormack the purest-voiced among tenors. This recording reinforces my belief.McCormack can be seen in an English film, "Wings of the Morning"...not a great film, but worth fast forwarding to see as well as hear McCormack.

[bellatrix58]

It is the old School of voices, but wrapped in a velvet box gift, and when you open it,

diamonds, pearls and elegance appear.

Sorry to sound like a bad poet, but Mr. McCormack and his singing inspires me so.

Tahnk you.

[dinastein44]

Not at all like a bad poet, in fact one of the truest descriptions of McCormack's glorious voice. Couldn't have put it better myself!

[rondolfino]

Do you have a date for this recording? I have heard the 1910 recording, which has been said to be even better McCormack. It was at least 50 years ago, on a Suday Family Favourites programme, from the BBC archives. I would love to hear it again!

[dinastein44]

Bliss! I love McCormack and have 4 CD compilations of his sublime singing. Even after his 40th year, when his voice lost some of its youthful freshness, he was still a delight to listen to. Ah to have been born 100 years ago and to have heard him live!

[lorgain2]

No matter how often I hear this, it seems to get better, what a voice.

[saltburner]

As pure singing in this aria, McCormack beats all comers. But he fails to differentiate the two sentiments: In the first part it is consolation for Anna (andate a consolar); in the second it is revenge for the murder of her father (a vendicar io vado). Tauber makes this important distinction.

[grig035]

And that's frankly the reason why I will always prefer the Tauber, even though McC.'s phrasing is broader here and his agility a bit more precise as well. Maybe, if I were to pick one record of this, it might be Schiotz, who brings some of the Tauber feeling (though not all) and some of McC.'s additional fluency (though not all) to this piece. OTOH, for Ottavio's "Dalla sua pace", it would be Tauber (for me) all the way!

[grig035]

@grig035 Thanks to "Saltburner", I've now heard a new discovery: an unpublished "tesoro" of Tauber's, over a decade earlier than the generally available 39 one, a reading with just as precise agility as McCormack's (/watch?v=iNvs-dm5A28)! No, the breath span is still not as broad as McC, but the phrasing is sometimes broader than T.'s '39 one, and I love Tauber's taking everything from "Nunzio" through the first two thirds of the long run as one phrase, whereas McC does breathe before "tornar".

[rm946]

McCormack's tone is so beautiful. Every note perfectly on pitch. And a regular, delicate vibrato, like a violin, not like the gruesome wobbles of todays tenors.

[bilstew]

Truly the best tenor Ireland has produced to date.wonderful singing...

[cyfieithydd]

It's amazing - absolutely amazing. This aria is so difficult and he sounds as if he's out for a Sunday walk!

[paulostroff99]

The all time definitive version!

[Glenmed]

Another anecdote: McCormack spotted Caruso in the lobby of a San Francisco hotel and called out "How's the world's greatest tenor this morning?". "Since when did you become a baritone?" replied Caruso!

[wackymagic101]

That's amazing! Do we have any tenors with that attitude these days?

[tadhgmccabe]

exquisite

[didymus940]

Grande!!!!!! Unbelievable! perfect pronunciation, a perfect control of breath, great singing

[canegrace]

Mozart sarebbe stato deliziato.

[Jim82738]

Unbelievable! The definitive version of this aria.

[AUDlOPHILE]

I would kill to have this on 78!

[stevevandien]

True bel canto singing. The only version I've heard that comes close to McCormack's is that of the young Nicolai Gedda, but Gedda still wasn't quite at this level --

[paulostroff99]

stevevandien-I totally agree with you on this!

[blakemooney]

This aria is considered by many to be the definitive interpretation or version of "Il mio tesoro." With his usual flawless pronunciation and phenomenal breath control John McCormack put this song virtually forever out of the reach of other singers, at least as far as bettering his beautiful version.

[paulostroff99]

blakemooney-I totally agree with that statement!