Bass Cage Match: High F to Low F from the Grand Inquisitor Duet

[tklogan111809]

they're all excellent what's wrong with you people

[agreatgeat]

My choice : Ghiaurov! It's a bit disappointing to find out that Ghiaurov's is a studio recording though. I was about to worship him.

[Beth29252]

Hines and Nesterenko have the best low F, Siepi and Ghiaurov phrase this passage the best. Christoff and Plishka are also very good. Van Dam is the only one I find disappointing here, his overall performance is excellent but that low F sounds too low for him. I also have the same problem with Raimondi, but I have to give him credit for singing this passage beautifully in general. Furlanetto sings Phillip very well, however I may be alone in this, but I like him more as the Grand Inquisitor.

[tmdbrown]

For quality of Fs I'd go for Hines from these. But really it's got to be Ramey. /watch?v=wYqAFqOvwWg

[Heldenbariton1]

der schlechteste war Jose van Dam, weil er überhaupt keine tiefen Töne singen kann.:S

[TraVoiBelle]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww GHIAUROV!

[Taenyr]

I really like Nesterenko's dark timbre; he also projects the low F very well. Furlanetto has a beautiful tone.

[ElSalvador50]

Here's the Ramey version

/watch?v=Z9OowfTgP88

[Addiobelpassato]

Firstly: CESARE SIEPI!

Light years later: The Others!

[ElisabettaVS]

I love Raimondi's version, it's the best one for me! No matter if there are 'greater' basses, he's a bass-baritone that can hit extremely beautiful high notes and even the low bass notes, I adore him! Besides him, I like Ghiaurov's version.

[qofu2]

What a wonderful idea! I love love love this duet and the high to low F gives me chills.

[clarksc1988]

Ghiaurov 1, Siepi 2, Hines 3, Furlanetto 4.

I'm very excited to hear Furlanetto do this at the Met next season.

[BorisGodunov]

1. Ghaiurov, because he DOESN'T SLIDE DOWN TO THE LOW F. That's not how it's written, and it's a pet peeve of mine when basses do it. Even Siepi does that, which dismays me.

Raimondi and Furlanetto don't do it, either, but I am not a fan of either of their voices.

Of the "sliders," Siepi and Nesterenko are tops.

[Helvir07]

And where is Talvela and Salminen???!!!!!

[hugodraslik]

Both of them have too heavy voices to sing Filippo. But Salminen was phenomenal Inquisitor, the other side of the duet...

[phatphace]

Siepi, Hines, Nesterenko, Furlanetto... These are the better ones in my opinion. Plishka would be there if not for his timbre, and van Dam's F2 is non-existent. These cage matches are great, alot of famous pieces are distinguished by one very unique and difficult passage. Hope to see more of these.

[oooret]

что ж такое то...это не басы ,а баритоны......что ж такое.....что ж они как крехтят внизу и как залетают наверх.ААААААААААААА

[WhiteProfondo]

Siepi has the best voice!

[Giovenale2]

Siepi e Furlanetto :)

[kmillard]

Siepi and Nesterenko.

[bbassillio]

You made a crime, by posting here among others Rossi-Lemeni.

[maleficare]

I just love Furlanettos interpratation! Power and subteltity!

[minerslave4]

f1 not f0 right? like the 2nd last f from the left

[wotansschwert]

yep. f0 would just be scary lol

[Sieglinde84]

I have to give it to Plishka in this case. He sounds tremendous. Nesterenko, Ghiaurov and Furlanetto very good too.

[raigekimaru]

he's not really a bass, but I have to give this one to Raimondi

[zdymadlo]

I like Nesterenko´s performance. He´s got a problem with the high F at the beginning, but the low F is clean and strong. But in my oppinion, the best is certainly Hines.

[hugodraslik]

Does van Dam sing the low F or not? They should not let baritono to sing bass role.

[VERSCHIN]

Siepi!!!

[wotansschwert]

all things considered, Siepi. Ghiaurov n' Furla r my top 3..no particular order.

I find Plishka to be the most titillating for some reason though

[blichilde]

Siepi!

[BassetHoundTrio]

Sure, Hines has the most power, but who on earth would sing the Inquisitor, whom I think needs to be more powerful and menacing? Thanks for posting this - some great singing here! Want to do an Inquisitor line-up?

[liric01994]

mi sbaglio o Van Dam no prende l'ultima nota?

[wotansschwert]

no prende.

[bedhead045]

Aside from the sharp high F, Hines has the most power; his low F is explosive. I can't believe the relative scarcity of praise Plishka and Lloyd have received; along with Nesterenko, they are exceptionally musical and fluid in their deliveries of this unbelievably difficult passage.

[kunomahou]

for me it could be a tie between Nesterenko and Hines then Giaurov and finally Plishka. Furlanetto and Van Dam should be ashamed to be considered basses

[janmoeyaert1]

Nesterenko is the best.

Furlanetto en Lloyd come close.

Van Dam should be ashamed!

[pannicatack]

Is van Dam even singing the F?

[Doromir]

He was a Bass-Baritone who leaned more toward Baritone than Bass. He had a beautiful voice though and sang a beautiful King Phillippe. His performance of this role should certainly not be reduced to this one note

[pannicatack]

Thank you for the clarification. I'm not too familiar with opera singers.

[liric01994]

mi correggo, Ghiaurov

[BorisGodunov]

Best Low F: Nesterenko

Best overall phrase: Siepi/Ghiaurov tie

Worst: Van Dam (he has not business singing bass roles).

Most overrated: Furlanetto. I never understood the love for him. I find his voice wooly and undisciplined.

[jackbruce]

Furlanetto wins

[wotansschwert]

yep, in the bag!

[saintsaens21]

The worst I found to be Raimondi, a pity cause I like his stint as Escamillo in Carmen very much, but he's no bass

[operamaniak81]

Hines was a GOD of bassi profindi because of power and clearness. My love because of elegance and colour is Ghiaurov.

[liric01994]

Siepi Ghiaurov furlanetto e Ramey

[pechorin1841]

ramey is not on this video

[aeru9]

Ghiaurov, Siepi and Furlanetto! My favourites.

[Placi41]

Siepi, Christoff,  Ghiaurov & Nesterenko

[maleficare]

Furlanetto ftw <3

[opereato]

Look at the favorite video in my channel. This is Orlin Anastassov, singing "Dunque in trono" live in Solothurn in 2008.

[Emlomor]

Rossi-Lemeni et Van Dam ne possèdent pas le fa grave (dommage pour eux ;)

Raimondi le possède mais sa manière de chanter sonne un peu "fausse basse", quand-même

[singerleclair]

I was hoping that Gwynne Howell and Rene Pape would have been in on this matchup. Of the voices here, I am inclined to go with Siepi or Furlanetto. Most of the Russians bottom out on the low F. Hines certainly had an individual approach to singing that is very memorable here.

[KORINADAVA]

fillipo as rolle i thing suits better in BASSO CANTABILE, and from that list you can find some of them.. some BEST of them.

[durchfuerung]

Seul Boris Christoff ne "crie pas" dans le registre aigu et ne perd pas son timbre unique dans le registre bas. Cette phrase est un examen assez dur et meme dirai-je plus ou moins inutil.

[paldrich1]

For sheer power I have to give this one to Hines. Not only did he have amazing high notes but if you listen again you can hear that he is the only one who drowns out the contra bassoons on the sustained low F. Siepi has the finest tone. I would love to hear a Ramey-Siepi comparison. It is hard to compare from recordings. The only way to get an idea of the volume is to compare the voice to the orchestra.

[tiyenin]

It sounds like van Dam crapped out on the final note.

[LLehmannfan]

In my eyes it is a shame, what van Dam does in this recording.

Being myself a baritone, I hit a better and clearer low F than he does here...

[IfYourMomWereATaco]

i have the dvd of the ramey performance, but i have no idea how to upload it...

[Damiano1990]

They have got all beatiful low F (except Rossi-Lemeni and Van Dam), but in my opinion Ferruccio Furlanetto is the "winner" and one of the best Filippo II in Don Carlo. (his last performance at La Scala can confirm that, i suppose)

[sobchakdrums]

siepi is the best hands down. hands down.

[sandrik100]

Nicolai Ghiaurov is the Best

[SiViSaraVendetta]

I think the best ones are Siepi, Nesterenko, Hines and Furlanetto. The both have great high Fs and low Fs, fantastic!

I defintely don't like Lemeni, Raimondi and Van Dam... they are too light for this stuff.

[Aleksei5]

Great stuff! I would put my vote in for either Siepi, Hines or Nesterenko just for power on that lower F!

[MrBPro]

Furlanetto!!! With Hines in a close second.  Furlanetto's voice flows easiest with The high F booming and the low F flowing beautifully and big. What a great vid- thanks!

[nickbaritone]

Siepi, Hines, Ghiaurov and Pliska are excellent. I think this part is too low for Van Dam in general. I idolize him but the color is not right for this opera.

[cameratamaestro]

Hines wins easily.

[rezila]

mr. van dam, where is the low F???

looser

[greve]

Thank you for your ever so interesting cage matches! For me the best: Siepi! He sounds authority although the situation.

[bobom1]

Siepi! In addition to the top and bottom notes both being top class, his length of breath makes the first phrase so long: he can hold the top F for ages without the rest of the phrase sounding curtailed. But I liked Nesterenko, Ghiaurov, Furlanetto and Lloyd as well, especially. Nice choice for a cage match!

[Bass35744]

Cesare Siepi owned! With all due respect to the other bass singers but he put them all to shame :P!

[Tenderness6]

Thank you for your interesting work!

[34fgsfgsdtu48w7qtaqt]

Ghiaurov is the best!!

[Trojanman21c]

if hines held the high note and low note longer, he woulda won hands down. Hines, Siepi, Nesternko and Ghiaurov were the best