Un dì felice: Fernando de Lucia - Tito Schipa - Beniamino Gigli

0:00 Fernando de Lucia (1904), 2:08 Tito Schipa (1924), and 3:42 Beniamino Gigli (1936) sing 'Un dì felice, eterea' from 'La Traviata' by Verdi (the tenor opening up to the soprano entrance).

True bel canto: De Lucia is an old-fashioned, nineteenth-century singer through and through, and this means his voice is used like an instrument, warmly and with passion. Volume is not the goal; exquisite line and color, maximum expressiveness ('pal _ pi _ to', 'mi _ ste _ ri _ o _ so', 'cro _ ce' etc.), tasteful ornamentation and perfect legato are the hallmarks of bel canto.
I cannot resist those looooong fermatas, particularly the fabulous morendo at
'da un an _ [fermata & downward portamento] _ no' - 'A year, and longer'...

In the twentieth century, we had Schipa and Gigli to carry on the tradition in somewhat modified form... At least Schipa takes a breath right before 'amor' (2:42) and tries an appropriate upward portamento (well, without cresc.) to 'Di quell'amor'...
and Gigli's 'de _ li _ zia', sweet and lightweight, is a pure Italian delight here!

-------------------------------------

Bella figlia dell'amore: Lanzirotti - Caruso - Pertile - Gigli:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlqgYeLgoGQ
La rivedrà nell'estasi: Caruso - Pertile - Gigli:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuZODYFpPk0
Uploaded by BelSoggiorno

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Un
• dì
• felice
• La
• Traviata
• Giuseppe
• Verdi
• Fernando
• de
• Lucia
• Tito
• Schipa
• Beniamino
• Gigli

[gmmix]

De Lucia's timbre and vocal elegance are very appealing to me. It's a voice one rarely encounters in today's operatic world. Schipa is another of my favorite tenors. Not unlike Tauber, he only has to sing for a few seconds to know for a fact that it's Schipa. Special thanks for the Gigli video.