Tibbett sings "I got plenty of nothin !" from Porgy and Bess

This recording was made under the supervision of the composer George Gershwin himself. Gershwin often stated that he thought Tibbett was the ideal Porgy.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Primobaritono
• opera
• Gershwin
• Porgy
• Bess

[bulbataras]

Great stuff! By the way, what is the picture at 2:35? In this costume he looks like Nestor Makhno.

[primobaritono]

That pic if of Tibbett in his first movie which is now lost. It was with Laurel and Hardy and titled "The Rogue Song". Tibbett played a bandit leader.

[blakemooney]

Tibbett was a leading baritone at the Met, a popular recording artist, owner of a magnificent voice who admitted that Merrill probably had the most beautiful tone of all the baritones. Sadly, he saw his voice decline early and by age 51 he was more or less retired from the Met. Warren then moved to the top and Merrill was second in command. See Joe Shore's writeup: "before Warren there was Tibbett."

[primobaritono]

Do you know of John Charles Thomas ? He too was a Met baritone in the 30's and 40's and a great singer.

[blakemooney]

Yes indeed! He was a great singer. In fact, I found myself mentally identifying with Thomas more than Tibbett. The talk in the mid to late 40's where I was studying voice in St. Louis was always about these two gentlemen. But Tibbett seemed tough, one who brooked no discontent where he was concerned whereas Thomas seemed playful, tolerant. I woldn't tighten up if I had had the opportunity to sing for him.

[primobaritono]

My dad says he visited John Charles at his ranch in apple valley with his friend, the tenor William Olvis. He says Thomas was a very pleasant, welcoming man. From what I could gather from Tibbett's biography "Dear Rogue", Tibbett was very into himself.....an egomaniac perhaps.

[stevosomebizzare]

love and devotion

[SatchmoSings]

I'm amazed at how the Syrian strong--man, Bashar al-Assad so strongly resembles Tibbett.

Separated at birth, perhaps?

[unclejuniorsoprano]

That Gershwin thought so much of Tibbett is hard to argue with, as Tibbett sings it quite well. However, I feel that Willard White IS Porgy. Composers quite often are not the best interpreters of their own music. Examples are numerous. I doubt, for instance, that Gershwin himself could play his piano music as well as did Oscar Levant.

[madamerotten]

@primobaritono At least the soundtrack still exists, however.

[hswatnik]

he is supreme on this-

[stevevandien]

Tibbett suffered a vocal crisis in late 1940-early-41. Apparently it stemmed from his efforts to sing despite strep throat in mid-1940. Ever after, a spastic condition plagued his voice. It closed his throat and made his voice crack when he least expected it to do so. Not surprisingly, Tibbett's tendencies toward alcohol abuse increased during those years. Eventually they killed him, sad to say:) -- This is best described in "Beloved Rogue," the best Tibbett biography to date

[riigoletto]

i adore the man

[opera888able]

L.T. undoutedly one the great baritones of the last century and tho he sings this peice with his usual great skill, dare i say it its a bit too perfect?

[eotto2001]

I had heard this but I didn't know that Tibbett was a white man. Great post.

[Bonacrik]

One of my favorite all time recordings