Verdi: "Il balen del suo sorriso" from Il Trovatore Fischer-Dieskau

I received a request a while ago to upload some examples of DFD singing Italian (or French) opera. So here we go with my first selection. More in time. Those of you who don't care for DFD singing opera, especially Italian opera, don't have to listen. :)


Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
"Il Trovatore" (Act II):
Aria, "Il balen del suo sorriso"

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone)
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Alberto Erede cond.


Portraits by Diego Velazquez



Il balen del suo sorriso
D'una stella vince il raggio!
Il fulgor del suo bel viso
novo infonde a me coraggio!...
Ah! lamor, l'amore ond'ardo
la favelli in mio favor!
Sperda il sole d'un suo sguardo
la tempesta del mio cor.


The flashing of her smile
shines more than a star!
The radiance of her beautiful features
gives me new courage!. . .
Ah! Let the love that burns inside me
speak to her in my favour!
Let the suns glance clear up
the tempest raging in my heart.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• opera
• aria
• Verdi
• Trovatore
• Il
• balen
• Fischer-Dieskau
• baritone
• Italian

[podkivanok]

I love FiDi singing opera !

(Especially early recordings in German translation, I am a heretic, he-he:)

[FiDiTanzer528]

Ha! I guess we're both heretics. I love those early performances sung in German too.

[operablogger]

Thanks for posting this. Nice job with the lyrics and some beautiful backgrounds!

[FiDiTanzer528]

Thanks for the comments. Glad you enjoyed.

[Jonnybrams]

Very interesting to hear this aria approached by DFD in all his lyrical sensitivity and nuance rather than by a typical bellowing Verdi baritone

[FiDiTanzer528]

Someone once accused him of singing this like a Schubert Lied. It was meant as a criticism, but he took it as a compliment. :)

[mongemark]

accuratissima la linea di canto, la mezzavoce è un filo d'oro ('la tempesta del mio cor': chi è mai capace di filare un sol acuto? forse neanche un tenore ci riesce); il fraseggio è nobile ma anche appassionato.

Bisogna urlare per rendere passione e dramma? Verdi sosteneva proprio il contrario

Dieskau un gigante dell'arte dell'arte del canto

[operalover67]

I call this perfection...

[operalover67]

io son d'accordo con mongemark...

[bedove77]

I agree with saiserieht. Rigoletto and Conte di Luna are the most hard to sing . Never he could sing these two in Theater. In french they call it "Ampleur".He miss just it.

[operalover67]

DFD is God...fantastico...immenso...

[saiserieht]

I understand that he wanted to sing this aria. It is such a great one. But this would not have worked live. With a different technique - probably.

Just compare the loudness of the consonants to that of the vowels. Still one of his better Verdi recordings.

[SuperSchooni]

Did DFD ever sing Rossini's Largo al factotum? I think that might have been interesting.

[konradeug]

Nicht umsonst hat Fricsay 1948 gesagt, ich habe einen italienischen Bariton gefunden. Schubert und Verdi sind nicht so weit auseinander, wie manche vielleicht denken. Ich schätze Fischer-Dieskaus Verdi-Aufnahmen genau so hoch ein wie z. Bsp. Liedaufnahmen von Schubert, Schumann, Wolf usw. Ich denke besonders an Don Carlo (mit Bergonzi, Ghiaurov, Tebaldi und Bumbry), Rigoletto (Bergonzi, Scotto) aber auch die frühen deutschen Aufnahmen mit "Ein Maskenball" und "Die sizilianische Vesper".