La Voce del Leone : Titta Ruffo

Ruffo sings "O vin, discaccia la tristezza" from Ambroise Thomas's opera Amleto. He was very famous for his portrayal of Hamlet not only due to his great vocalism but also for his profound acting.

Note the phenomenal change in color when going into the second verse and the amazing cadenza.

Although having a weakness in the lower register, Ruffo had such a distinct baritone timbre which I miss a bit in his colleagues Mattia Battistini and Antonio Scotti. He was idolized by both Leonard Warren (in fact he was instrumental in kindling his desire to be an opera singer) and Robert Merrill. Giuseppe de Luca was in awe of him as well as Tullio Serafin. The opinions of such great artists alone are a worthy testament to the greatness of this singer.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Primobaritono
• Titta
• Ruffo
• opera
• baritone

[Ivanhoe2]

Sir, your informed introductions add a great deal to the enjoyment of listening, Many thanks!

[primobaritono]

Thank you very much! That is indeed very kind of you to say!

[blakemooney]

I'll tell you that all I heard or read in 1950 was "there is no baritone equal to Tita Ruffo." His career was over, of coursem but singers and teachers in and around New Orleans said this so much that after buying every record of his available, I missed out on several other great baritones when they sang at the Auditorium here. Bastianini is not his equal but Tibbett came close. Warren and Merrill dominated the Met until the end.

[primobaritono]

You don't think Gino Bechi plays in that top league ? His huge, open, squillo drenched sound was the closest thing to Ruffo in my opinion.

[paulostroff99]

Are you at all familiar with Pavel Lisitsian? If so,could you please comment on him,as I personally consider him to be on the same level as these other giants-pb

[primobaritono]

I agree with you. Lisitsian is one of my absolute favorites. He had a GORGEOUS timbre and an excellent technique. He wasn't as heavy a voice as Warren,Tibbett or Ruffo but he was one of the great Verdi baritones nonetheless.

[billyguns2]

The greatest baritone of them all. To think that he sounds this good on ancient recording equipment; imagine how he must've sounded in person! Tullio Serafin said Ruffo was one of three vocal "miracles," the other two being Ponselle and Caruso.

[zamu47]

No jugues con la cola del LEON UN GRANDE INSPIRO A NUESRO ZORZAL CRIOLLO CARLOS GARDEL GRACIAS TITTA RUFFO

[lirica2011]

E' veramente un Titta Ruffo "incantatore". Magnifico!!! Divino!!!

[jcab2323]

out of this world..

[1947Rollo]

@lodiopera Quanto sono daccordo con lei.Vedo con ritardo questo video,dove Ruffo è semplicemente da sogno,non solo per tecnica e grande vocalità espressiva,che all'occorrenza sapeva piegare ad esigenze più liriche, ma anche per l'interpretazione vocale che delinea del personaggio,sottolineandone sfumature e stati d'animo che via via si snodano nell'aria.Se lei è daccordo toglierei senz'altro il" forse" dal suo commento postato.Grazie e cordialità.

[Apollogranforte]

Perhaps, to correct some strange ideas of who taught him singing and other myths about this great artist, one should read his autobiography, My parabola. It is availble both in Italian and English

[capoest]

Magnífico!!! Parece que mastica las palabras, tutto sulla maschera.

[legatofancier]

If I remember correctly, Thomas' HAMLET was one of Ruffo's great early successes. No other baritone has the sheer animal intensity of Ruffo. It's such a natural sound, without artificial colorations. an elderly singer who actually heard Ruffo a number of times told me that when Ruffo took his high notes it sounded like bells ringing!

[Lovelytenor1]

@primobaritono So hard to chose. I love Ruffo, Bechi, Warren, Merrill. Tibbett was set apart by the warmth, tear in the voice sound. I'm sure I've left somebody off (McNeil). We just don't seem to have such guys singing today. Let me know if you think a current guy comes close.

[lodiopera]

la piu grande incisione che si conosca del brindisi , e forse nessuno mai piu arrivera a cantarla come lui, grazie ruffo per la tua voce unica, e per le emozioni che sento riascoltado la tua voce, grazie a nome di tutti gli appassionati d'opera

[lodiopera]

salve, sono lodiopera, la tomba di titta ruffo si trova al cimitero monunentale di milano, inseme alla moglie, e alla sua amata adelina fanton,