Nicholas Spanos: "Tancredi" - Rossini

Nicholas Spanos countertenor sings "Tancredi" by Rossini in an opera Gala in Athens Megaron Concert Hall, October 2009, with the Orchestra of Colours, under the baton of Miltos Logiades.

O patria, dolce, ingrata patria, alfine a te ritorno!
Io ti saluto, o cara terra degli avi miei: Ti bacio!
E' questo per me giorno sereno:
comincia il cor a respirarmi in seno...
Amenaide... o mio pensier soave,
solo de' miei sospir', de' voti miei celeste oggetto!
Io veni, alfin! Io voglio, sfidando il mio destino, qualunque sia,
meritarti, o perir, anima mia!




Ω πατρίδα, γλυκιά μα αχάριστη πατρίδα, επιτέλους σε ξαναβλέπω!
Σε χαιρετώ, γλυκιά γη των προγόνων μου: σε ασπάζομαι!
Γαλήνια είν' αυτή η μέρα για μένα:
αρχίζει η καρδιά να ανασαίνει στα στήθη μου...
Αμεναΐς... αχ, σκέψη μου απαλή,
μοναδικό της σκέψης και της λαχτάρας μου ίνδαλμα!
Ήλθα, επιτέλους! Πόσο θέλω, κόντρα στο πεπρωμένο μου,
όποιο κι αν είναι,
να σε αποκτήσω άξια, ή να χαθώ, ψυχή μου!


http://www.nicholas-spanos.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Nicholas
• Spanos
• Nikos
• Nicos
• countertenor
• Tancredi
• Rossini
• Νίκος
• Σπανός
• Κόντρα
• Τενόρος
• contre-ténor
• Kontratenor
• controtenore

[tamerlano236]

The best interpretation. Bravo.

[fourmy1060]

Nicholas interprets this bitter return to the homeland in a very expressive way. At first I found the eye movements distracting in the recitative, but I now see they are his way of underlining the text and gazing as he sings. The sound is wonderful.

[TheEdae222]

It sounds better than David Daniels' interpretation to my hears. But maybe with a lack of power with the full orchestra...

Well done !

[serenaluce]

@MisterPapageno We just have different APPROACHES to music. If you only stick to the score what Rossini wrote, listen to your contraltos and be happy! But if a woman is only an APPROXIMATION of a MAN which is not that weird to you, CT is a REAL MAN and treats music with great respect and also expresses a composer's intention to potray a MAN in a similar range! What's so shameful for a MANLY CT to be dressed as a MAN and sing a MAN'S aria? And for women it's NOT shameful to sing man's stuff?!

[serenaluce]

@MisterPapageno There were e.g. Amazons - strong, military women who could fight with men and even beat them in the battle, but they were still strong WOMEN with boobies and vaginas and all WOMEN's bodies and didn't grow penises even if physically they could beat MEN! Again, you are NOT Rossini and don't know exactly why he created this PERVERSION, but FASHION can be WEIRD, but some day also can CHANGE! Perhaps he was just grateful to women for not being castrated himself and gave them roles:-)

[serenaluce]

@MisterPapageno No castrati, then NOBODY can sing their roles with the same quality of sound from the MUSICAL point of view, and NO PROBLEM! Let's not listen to baroque, etc. as such voices don't exist anymore! If YOU are ashamed of singing female pieces in public, then DON'T sing them! But there's a big difference BW singing a TRUE female aria like O mio babbino caro by CTs which sounds weird and a MAN's one for some historical reasons written for women! There's no such thing as MANLIER WOMAN!

[serenaluce]

@MisterPapageno You are a hopeless romantic if think that in opera ONLY music matters, and there are no other reasons why some singers receive roles and some not. Let me remind you again that at time of castrati not only MUSIC decided but e.g. such prosaic matter as finances why women sang castrati roles as they were much CHEAPER.Is it only MUSIC that you discuss and want not to notice anything else? If you talk HISTORICALLY, let's forget eg. ALL castrati stuff as there are no castrati anymore.

[MisterPapageno]

[3] Today anyone sings what he wants: this is not musically and technically possible! ;)

But again this is my very musical opinion of the thing! :D

[MisterPapageno]

[2] The matter is that Tancredi is a trascendant hero and heros were sang by castrati and by females later. This is something you can agree or not personally, as you do; but musically there's nothing to say ;)

I have learned many female pieces during my singing training, but I would never sing in public one of them becase they were written for female voices! The composer knew very well what he wanted and this respect of music is lacking, generetaing the degeneration of singing.

[MisterPapageno]

@serenaluce Then you say that all tastes are fine: I agree! But A music piece is also history of music and saying that Rossini's use of contraltos is illogic and that Rossini's use is a wierd fashion, again I say that you don't understand Rossini historically and musically! And then, in Tancredi Rossini gave the part of king Argirio to a tenor, who sings also very high notes (and Matteuzzi in his rendition sings very very high notes).