Errol Flynn with High Notes

There have been other tenors named Mario - Lanza, Del Monaco and just Mario. But could any of them sword fight like Mario Fillipeschi?

Fillipeschi is arguably the right kind of tenor for the part of Edgardo. The first Edgardo was Gilbert Duprez who created a sensation in Paris when he took over the role of Arnold in William Tell. Duprez sang what they called th "High C from the chest". Donzelli sang in full voice up to a B Natural but before Duprez everyone switched into some kind of falsetto for a High C.

Duprez didn't impress the critics with his lower or mid range. He was the first really famous "High Note Tenor". This is just the sort of voice that Fillipeschi had also. In his mid range his voice is a little driven and stiff. He seems to wait around for the climatic Bs and Cs. But went the moment comes he can sure deliver.

Fillipeschi was probably the top Arnold (Tell) and Raoul (Huguenots) in the forties. In Lucia he couldn't do the death scene (tenore della bella morte) as well as say Di Stefano but in this the wedding scene (tenore della maledizione) he comes into his own - and he looked good in tights while sword fighting.

The first Edgardo I ever saw live was Pavarotti. Even though he was not yet fat, he didn't do it this way.

Enrico - Afro Poli
Bid-the-Bent - Italo Tajo
Lucia - Nelly Corradi

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mario
• Fillipeschi
• Lucia
• Donizetti

[Agorante]

Currently Charlie Handelman has a podcast with what he calls loud tenors. He volunteers that he has never liked Fillipeschi. I can't understand such an opinion. OK, the voice can get a bit hard under pressure but he's a man's man of a tenor. He had tremendous drive and elan.

[lilyflynn55]

The voice is superb , but THIS IS NOT ERROL FLYNN

[Agorante]

Gee, I'm sorry. It was a joke! I didn't imagine anyone wouldn't get it.

I saw Pavarotti live in this part, trust me, he did not fight his way across the stage and jump out a window. I thought it was cool for a real tenor to play the scene the way Flynn did in "Robin Hood" - and without a stuntman.

[CharlotteinWeimar]

Yes, I was surely there. After the famous ballet sequence, to my surprise, a good number of people just got up and left the gallery; they had come purely to see Alicia Markova dancing!!

[AfroPoli]

@CharlotteinWeimar That must have been back in 1958 with Bechi. I have a recording of that William Tell. It is unbelievable. And you were there?!?

[CharlotteinWeimar]

I had the great joy of seeing & hearing Mario Filippeschii in Drury Lane, London with an Italian touring company in Il Trovatore & William Tell. He had exactly the Errol Flynn energy & elan we see here. He sang beautifully too & was hugely entertaining. Bravo Mario, and many thanks for posting this.

[AfroPoli]

Handelman is an insane idiot, a basket case. Period. Who cares what he has to say about the great Filippeschi??

[ditogam]

Hi is one of the GREATEST singer of old school , GREAT Mario Fillipeschi , Thank you for sharing this video, I like him in Gobbi's Rigoletto and did not knew that this Film exists .

[tklogan11809]

the Lucia's so flat and off pitch at the end. I like Fillipeschi, a mix of Jan Peerce and John Alexander. But the lipsyngching's awful, like the film, still superior to the dreadful Lucia staging we currently have at the MET.

[DalilaCarmen]

Is this a film?Which year was it made?I haven't seen Fillipeschi except in Rigoletto.Stunning!

[tomzoricic]

Fillipeschi is best spinto tenor