I have always found Rockwell Blake to be a singer of taste and refinement His voice was incredibly , agile,flexible, and to my ears quite lovely as I found his tone warm and appealing, He had crystal clear ringing top tones and incredible, musicianship.A great singer of Bel Canto.
@intelegentable Blake was often called the most flexible tenor alive. Like Sam Ramey when you hear his version you sometimes discover for the first time what the music really was meant to sound like. When all the little notes are actually sung, it's a revelation. He had distinct technical approach which involved a "dark" placement and a lot of smiling. When he was young the voice was rich and vibrant but it didn't last as long as most. Who knows?
Blake has been retired for several years. Toward the end his voice became drier and stiffer. Presumably that's why he quit. I heard Beverly Sills and Liontyne Price in their last years on stage. Cornell MacNeil declined slowly for decades. Only a few like Pavarotti or Bloerling sang well until death. It's best to remember them when they were great
Oh- the good old days at the NY CITY OPERA. Wonderful performances by so many greats! Spent more time there than at the Met. Those Golden Years. I miss them. ~ lou stuart
Exceptional! Unfortunately, the other commentators were right; royalty is expected to do very little actual acting unless they are uncharacteristically passionate. At least that's the case in Bel Canto. There's a whole economy of very conservative gestures that the singer can subscribe to but on the whole, yes, such operas are mostly only vocally exciting. Verdi is the biggest exception to this (and all) rule(s).
I´ve grown to like blakes somewhat rough tone but in this clip he sounds very unrough and clean. Has he ever gone above these high D:s, it sound slike he could because the D does not sound thin and strained.
I have most of the Blake recital CDs. I don't think he ever tried to sing as high as he possibly could no matter how he sounded like Morino, Matteuzzi or Merritt (the M&Ms ?).
Most singer's voices thin out at the very top but a few blossom.
Technically strong - but the emotions ... non-existent. He could've been thinking of a shopping list or what he watch from the TV after the show or which pub to go. Was the composer Rossini? Never liked his operas - but that's just a matter of taste.
It is not that I don't like operas or are familiar with the genre. I've seen well beyond my share of operas - and I've seen the ones with good acting. This just didn't fall in that category. Mere singing just isn't enough! This is stage and on stage you should do more than just sing.
I have seen Mister Blake on stage a few times. His acting was always appropriate to the Opera in which he was singing. Also in Belcanto the emotions should be conveyed with the voice, and again Mr Blake was able to do things that most tenors can only dream to do. I know it is difficult to appreciate this from a Youtube clip.
I'm as much in pain when I have to look at an actor with no dancing or singing skills trying to do musical. Also technically perfect dancers with zero emotional depth are like a red cloth to me. Hopefully we don't try to make arts like science, where experts become more and more focused on their own tiny niche so that eventually they know infinitely much about infinitely small topic. actors should study dancing & singing, dancers acting & singing and singers should study acting and dancing.
I don't understand these comments. Blake has a lot of personality and was a very good actor. The great Pavarotti was perhaps an apptopriate target for these criticisms about acting and dancing - but Blake?
Here he commands the stage revealing himself as the true prince.
His bearing and manner make his regal identity clear. He reminds me of Olivier delivering the Saint Crispin's speech.
Dear Agorante - you might be right. Mr. Blake could be a great actor and he might have charisma and stage presence ... but I couldn't see that in this clip and that's only thing I'm basing my judgement. BUT it might be that I've missed a point - IF his (or directors) intention was to point out that royalty usually aren't mentally present in their various activities and are thinking of next weekends grouse hunting - then he got just right that prince character!!!
Could you please post more from this performance? This is extraordinary singing and I can't wait to hear the duet from Act 1 with Angelina. Does Sills really sing Angelina? Very curious to hear the soprano version of this. Thank you!!!
This and other Rockwell Blake treatments have turned me to look at more bel canto music...it's like watching fireworks-one waits in anticipation of the next big explosion! I love his Handel arias especially. A great talent, so rarely seen today.
This performance is amazing, my vocal teacher coached Rockwell Blake during Cenerentola and told me check out his performances to hear Tenor Leggiero material (what my voice type is).
I seriously can't stop watching this amazing video. Many thanks for posting this! And for those who complain about Rocky's so-called "ugly" timbre need to listen to him here. Beauty, elegance, power, passion, phrasing, and leading man virility. Need I say more?
I studied with Rocky - he really didn't give a care what people had to say. One of his first words to me was "you can't change you timbre....just make it better"
I love that video! I didn't know that was you with Rocky. If there was any tenor I could talk to about technique and music in general it would be Rockwell Blake, or Nicolai Gedda. That must have been an amazing experience, and it seems like he has a great sense of humor as well. Cheers.
I never found his timbre unattractive live. He sang Barber with Asheville Lyric Opera when I was an undergrad and in the chorus. He was marvelous. I thought he sounded beautiful. I do not know that recording equipment really captures the beauty of his voice. He shouldn't care what people think. He has inspired many!
@Tenorboy29307 It's a sad fact that many, many voices are not well-captured by recordings! Never have been, are not now and possibly never will be... I love getting recordings of singers I have heard onstage but so far have only a few that seem to come very close to the actuality of "live" in the theatre performances... the greatest instrument of all is the most difficult to catch!
I had the pleasure of making my debut with Rocky in the Washington Opera production of ITALIANA in ALGERI in the mid 70's. I also had known him as a singer with the service bands (I think he was an Air Force Singing Seargent) before that. Opening night, Sills, and Sarah Caldwell were front row center obviously scouting him. His techniquea was astounding even then, and I remember vividly singing in nthe chorus while he made magic with every aria.
This is the voice that won 2 George London awards and the first Tucker award. And as much as I don't like operas translated into English, OMG -- that high D!
La capacidad de Blake en los años 70 le hace inalcanzable. Nadie ha podido cantar así y desgraciadamente, lo más probable es que nunca, ni siquiera el propio Blake después de la década de los 70.- Esto es de otro mundo.
Totalmente de acuerdo! Al fin alguien sensato entre tanto idiotez que esciben aquí!!!! Si Rossini hubiese escuchado a Rocky se le hubiese caído la quijada al suelo!!! Y de componerle, ni hablar!!!
I was only 8 years old when this was on stage, but good Lord....I think I would give up 10 years of my life to have been there in my late teens and really enjoy it. God Bless you Rocky! No one has or ever will sing that aria as well as you did on that night! WOW!
Amazing!!! I love his tone...it's round, it's even, virile. Singing this rep all the time has taken its toll on his voice. I guess those singers who start out with the difficult bel canto rep end up choosing between singing bel canto until the end of their career, and risking that "worn out" sound, or moving into other repertoire and finishing things up sounding totally in control of things...like Mirella Freni, for example...
What year did Blake record this? He certainly had an incredible range and it carried him forward in his career. He m ust have been up there with Gedda range-wise--high D--but I can't help but wonder if this acted to "thin his voice," to make it a samller sound: I mean something has to give when you stretch a rubber band or a violin string. Does the same apply to our vocal cords?
He hasn't quite perfected his real Rossini technique here yet, see Dolce Speranza elsewhere on this site. But wow! And the Ds are to die for! He really is young here and I can't get used to hearing him sing in English. :)
I have always found Rockwell Blake to be a singer of taste and refinement His voice was incredibly , agile,flexible, and to my ears quite lovely as I found his tone warm and appealing, He had crystal clear ringing top tones and incredible, musicianship.A great singer of Bel Canto.
intelegentable 1 month ago
@intelegentable Blake was often called the most flexible tenor alive. Like Sam Ramey when you hear his version you sometimes discover for the first time what the music really was meant to sound like. When all the little notes are actually sung, it's a revelation. He had distinct technical approach which involved a "dark" placement and a lot of smiling. When he was young the voice was rich and vibrant but it didn't last as long as most. Who knows?
Agorante 1 month ago
Esto si que es lo máximo.
Lástima del italiano.
anticiegosfans 2 months ago
Blake sounds so great here. Dark, elegant, virile. HIs present self is almost a parody of this performance. :-(
flaze3 1 year ago
@flaze3
Blake has been retired for several years. Toward the end his voice became drier and stiffer. Presumably that's why he quit. I heard Beverly Sills and Liontyne Price in their last years on stage. Cornell MacNeil declined slowly for decades. Only a few like Pavarotti or Bloerling sang well until death. It's best to remember them when they were great
Agorante 1 year ago
@Agorante Actually it's said that even Pav lost his high C at the end. Bjorling and Kraus maintained their voices throughout.
But, as you say, age is the great destroyer of virtuosic singing. That and, I suspect, wear.
flaze3 1 year ago
Oh- the good old days at the NY CITY OPERA. Wonderful performances by so many greats! Spent more time there than at the Met. Those Golden Years. I miss them. ~ lou stuart
tempo78 2 years ago
Exceptional! Unfortunately, the other commentators were right; royalty is expected to do very little actual acting unless they are uncharacteristically passionate. At least that's the case in Bel Canto. There's a whole economy of very conservative gestures that the singer can subscribe to but on the whole, yes, such operas are mostly only vocally exciting. Verdi is the biggest exception to this (and all) rule(s).
babydrane 3 years ago
very strong high register!
jowox 3 years ago
I see from your profile that you know what you are talking about. How pleasant!
Agorante 3 years ago
I´ve grown to like blakes somewhat rough tone but in this clip he sounds very unrough and clean. Has he ever gone above these high D:s, it sound slike he could because the D does not sound thin and strained.
jowox 3 years ago
I have most of the Blake recital CDs. I don't think he ever tried to sing as high as he possibly could no matter how he sounded like Morino, Matteuzzi or Merritt (the M&Ms ?).
Most singer's voices thin out at the very top but a few blossom.
Agorante 3 years ago
Technically strong - but the emotions ... non-existent. He could've been thinking of a shopping list or what he watch from the TV after the show or which pub to go. Was the composer Rossini? Never liked his operas - but that's just a matter of taste.
multiph 3 years ago
You comment on the emotions and you are not even sure if Rossini wrote Cenerentola? Indeed a matter of taste.
sevoflurane 3 years ago
It is not that I don't like operas or are familiar with the genre. I've seen well beyond my share of operas - and I've seen the ones with good acting. This just didn't fall in that category. Mere singing just isn't enough! This is stage and on stage you should do more than just sing.
multiph 3 years ago
I have seen Mister Blake on stage a few times. His acting was always appropriate to the Opera in which he was singing. Also in Belcanto the emotions should be conveyed with the voice, and again Mr Blake was able to do things that most tenors can only dream to do. I know it is difficult to appreciate this from a Youtube clip.
sevoflurane 3 years ago
I'm as much in pain when I have to look at an actor with no dancing or singing skills trying to do musical. Also technically perfect dancers with zero emotional depth are like a red cloth to me. Hopefully we don't try to make arts like science, where experts become more and more focused on their own tiny niche so that eventually they know infinitely much about infinitely small topic. actors should study dancing & singing, dancers acting & singing and singers should study acting and dancing.
multiph 3 years ago
I don't understand these comments. Blake has a lot of personality and was a very good actor. The great Pavarotti was perhaps an apptopriate target for these criticisms about acting and dancing - but Blake?
Here he commands the stage revealing himself as the true prince.
His bearing and manner make his regal identity clear. He reminds me of Olivier delivering the Saint Crispin's speech.
Agorante 3 years ago
Dear Agorante - you might be right. Mr. Blake could be a great actor and he might have charisma and stage presence ... but I couldn't see that in this clip and that's only thing I'm basing my judgement. BUT it might be that I've missed a point - IF his (or directors) intention was to point out that royalty usually aren't mentally present in their various activities and are thinking of next weekends grouse hunting - then he got just right that prince character!!!
multiph 3 years ago
He sing better in his language.Great.
Alicuche2 3 years ago
The greatest rendition of Ramiro's aria I ever listened to.
Shabran87 4 years ago 3
Without a doubt!
spgtenor 4 years ago 2
Blake sounds glorious!
BRAVO!!
donatello1 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
as they say in the uk ...not my cuppa tea..sooner listen to Florez
justabrit 4 years ago
Yes, but this is not tea. It is fine champagne!!!
sottoipini 4 years ago 9
sempre grande
maxazi 4 years ago 5
Cuando el enfoque de las cosas lo hacemos desde lo que nos gusta, "a callar todos".-
En honetidad y en justicia qué tenor puede hacer alarde de sus facultades para cantar esto ASI?.
salva1960garcia 4 years ago 5
Could you please post more from this performance? This is extraordinary singing and I can't wait to hear the duet from Act 1 with Angelina. Does Sills really sing Angelina? Very curious to hear the soprano version of this. Thank you!!!
yn65he 4 years ago 3
This and other Rockwell Blake treatments have turned me to look at more bel canto music...it's like watching fireworks-one waits in anticipation of the next big explosion! I love his Handel arias especially. A great talent, so rarely seen today.
vickersman 4 years ago 2
This performance is amazing, my vocal teacher coached Rockwell Blake during Cenerentola and told me check out his performances to hear Tenor Leggiero material (what my voice type is).
agnellodei 4 years ago
I seriously can't stop watching this amazing video. Many thanks for posting this! And for those who complain about Rocky's so-called "ugly" timbre need to listen to him here. Beauty, elegance, power, passion, phrasing, and leading man virility. Need I say more?
spgtenor 4 years ago
I studied with Rocky - he really didn't give a care what people had to say. One of his first words to me was "you can't change you timbre....just make it better"
I personally love his robust sound
rosetheatre 3 years ago
I totally agree with you. I've always loved his sound. Wow, you've studied with him? Are you a leggiero tenor?
spgtenor 3 years ago
Yes I am. There was a posting of the Daughter's aria that I sung a few months ago on youtube. Not sure where it is now.
Check out a lesson that I had with him. There is a post about Dark Timbre that Rocky describes.
rosetheatre 3 years ago
I love that video! I didn't know that was you with Rocky. If there was any tenor I could talk to about technique and music in general it would be Rockwell Blake, or Nicolai Gedda. That must have been an amazing experience, and it seems like he has a great sense of humor as well. Cheers.
spgtenor 3 years ago
I agree too. And I love too his timbre!
signorinaermione 3 years ago
I never found his timbre unattractive live. He sang Barber with Asheville Lyric Opera when I was an undergrad and in the chorus. He was marvelous. I thought he sounded beautiful. I do not know that recording equipment really captures the beauty of his voice. He shouldn't care what people think. He has inspired many!
Tenorboy29307 2 years ago
@Tenorboy29307 It's a sad fact that many, many voices are not well-captured by recordings! Never have been, are not now and possibly never will be... I love getting recordings of singers I have heard onstage but so far have only a few that seem to come very close to the actuality of "live" in the theatre performances... the greatest instrument of all is the most difficult to catch!
Randidan 1 year ago
I had the pleasure of making my debut with Rocky in the Washington Opera production of ITALIANA in ALGERI in the mid 70's. I also had known him as a singer with the service bands (I think he was an Air Force Singing Seargent) before that. Opening night, Sills, and Sarah Caldwell were front row center obviously scouting him. His techniquea was astounding even then, and I remember vividly singing in nthe chorus while he made magic with every aria.
CalvinRE 4 years ago
Actually he was a soloist with the Navy Sea Chanters.
cmorgan22 4 years ago
Does anybody know where I can find this whole opera? Blake sounds amazing.
MaxAaronLichtenstein 4 years ago
If you know it, tell it to me PLEASE. (BLAKE/CINDERELLA) THANKS :)
lasultanica 4 years ago
This is the voice that won 2 George London awards and the first Tucker award. And as much as I don't like operas translated into English, OMG -- that high D!
cmorgan22 5 years ago
La capacidad de Blake en los años 70 le hace inalcanzable. Nadie ha podido cantar así y desgraciadamente, lo más probable es que nunca, ni siquiera el propio Blake después de la década de los 70.- Esto es de otro mundo.
salva1960garcia 5 years ago
Totalmente de acuerdo! Al fin alguien sensato entre tanto idiotez que esciben aquí!!!! Si Rossini hubiese escuchado a Rocky se le hubiese caído la quijada al suelo!!! Y de componerle, ni hablar!!!
fabiantenor 4 years ago
Incredible. His voice is so even in those years, wonderful!
Orfeus80 5 years ago
I was only 8 years old when this was on stage, but good Lord....I think I would give up 10 years of my life to have been there in my late teens and really enjoy it. God Bless you Rocky! No one has or ever will sing that aria as well as you did on that night! WOW!
rosetheatre 5 years ago
Amazing!!! I love his tone...it's round, it's even, virile. Singing this rep all the time has taken its toll on his voice. I guess those singers who start out with the difficult bel canto rep end up choosing between singing bel canto until the end of their career, and risking that "worn out" sound, or moving into other repertoire and finishing things up sounding totally in control of things...like Mirella Freni, for example...
InformedListener 5 years ago
UNREAL!!! need i say more?! BRAVO!!!
joelgarcellano 5 years ago
What year did Blake record this? He certainly had an incredible range and it carried him forward in his career. He m ust have been up there with Gedda range-wise--high D--but I can't help but wonder if this acted to "thin his voice," to make it a samller sound: I mean something has to give when you stretch a rubber band or a violin string. Does the same apply to our vocal cords?
blakemooney 5 years ago
Oh, my. The high D's blew me away! From a New York City Opera broadcast, November, 1980.
cmorgan22 5 years ago
He hasn't quite perfected his real Rossini technique here yet, see Dolce Speranza elsewhere on this site. But wow! And the Ds are to die for! He really is young here and I can't get used to hearing him sing in English. :)
cmorgan22 5 years ago
This shows what Singing means.
principedellindo 5 years ago
fantastic
bonnisolli 5 years ago
The sheep is back in town. ;-) He was really extraordinaire. A special sort of beautiness.
luenendonk1 5 years ago
Unbelievable!!! More of this Cenerentola, please...
Thanks Rocky for opening the path to a new way of singing Rossini.
lightbarytone 5 years ago
This is Blake at his young fresh stage lovley.
Tristiano 5 years ago
This is Blake at his best. Just listen to tha high D at the beginning of the Cabaletta. Perfect...
albertogrilo 5 years ago
I have become addicted to this video. The filati and electric coloratura are to die for!
sevoflurane 5 years ago
Actually I can't find the Rocky's best recording. When I post it, all will be amazed.
Agorante 5 years ago
I am looking forward to it Agorante!
sevoflurane 5 years ago
I pay you for the trouble of getting me this video! I'm singing in a year in English and I am floored by this performance! _ please respond.
rosetheatre 4 years ago
This video (DVD) is readily available from House of Opera.
Agorante 3 years ago
Really? Can one order it online?
sevoflurane 3 years ago
The extent of Rockwell Blake's vocal mastery defies description!!!
MattMorganTenor 5 years ago
WAIT. Sills....she sang Cenerentola? huhhh???
coryisasleep 5 years ago
Sexy legs! Way to go, Rocky!
BurghTunes 5 years ago
Die, false prophets, DIE!!!!!!!!!!! This is the real thing!!!!!!!!!
fabiantenor 5 years ago
Absolutely!!!
sevoflurane 5 years ago
I am deeply in love with Rocky. I even love his brushing, makes him look like a Santa Barbara character
bigpinkypig 5 years ago
Jesus God! This is so amazing!
sevoflurane 5 years ago
I love how viewers call him "Rocky". I might as well, too. Rocky...you're one of the greats.
phanface 5 years ago
it's the, eye of the tiger it's the thrill of the fight...
nypunkeer 5 years ago
Aaahh, good one.
phanface 5 years ago
His wife calls him Rocky and I've heard him refer to himesle in interviews also as Rocky, so it isn't the fan who name him that!
cmorgan22 4 years ago
One God , One Callas, One Rocky ... Thanks ...
callasforever 5 years ago
Could not agree more!
sevoflurane 5 years ago