I held the curtain for him to step through and sing Tonio's prologue, not at the old Met, but when the Met was on tour in Dallas, Texas. That close to him, he didn't sound "like an old man." The voice was beautiful, but it didn't seem loud or earth-shaking. However, my friends in the audience said it filled the house with total apparent ease. I also was curtain boy in Dallas when Warren sang Germant with Tucker and Steber. I was about fifteen feet from him during his entrance and my first impression was visual: Why did the costumers have his belly padding misplaced so high up on his chest! Then I realized it wasn't padding. Later I read an article published in an Amarillo newspaper about his 52" chest. The article was titled "America's largest chest doesn't belong to Marilyn Monroe. " The article is still with my memorabilia..
Como diría un castizo , “ esto es la leche”. Imposible cantar mejor. Sin duda un grande entre los grandes del siglo XX, afirmación que no comparten alguno de nuestros críticos musicales más reputados. Prefieren a Gobbi o Bruson. Para quien esto escribe, en términos globales , Warren ha sido el barítono más completo del siglo, aún reconociendo la existencia de otras voces de más calidad y cantidad que fueron en su día , sin duda, grandísimos barítonos. Pero no tenían la inventiva ni la grandeza artística de Leonard. Muchas veces BRAVO !!!.
Questo è un canto che lascia sbalorditi...dalla bellezza dell'emissione e senza il minimo sforzo ...sicuramente uno dei più grandi di ogni tempo...e poi un Lab grande come una casa...immenso...saluti
This is so perfect, I can ignore the interpolated A flat at the end( I usually hate singers messing with Verdi). But this is so beautiful, so musical, so spot on.. it makes me get goose bumps. !
ALL singers (well, almost all) mess with composer's written notes. A tenor who did NOT sing the high C at the end of Di Quella Pira would gets booed off the stage. So would the soprano who skipped the high Db at the end of the Lucia extent. There are many, many others. But I agree with you it would be best to apply these expected interpolations judiciously. Remember Rossini's reported comment when he heard Jenny Lind sing Una Voce Poico Fa. Purportedly the maestro said, ''Nice Tune. Who wrote it?"
Extraordinary artist was Leonard Warren!!!...still amazed by the sweetness of his emision, even if he is a so full voice baritone...marvelous!!!, Thanks for sahring!!!...BRAVO!!!
Warren sets the standard & leads the rest by miles! Quilico a distant second. I was so blessed in having been able to see the great LW about a dozen or so times during my operatic "break in" period.
A voice and interpretation that is “immediately imminent and transcendental” as well as touching without forcing any notes or accents. Leonard Warren has it all, voice, musical skills, technique and a superb legato Thank you for posting this great document !
I'll thank you very much. I am a great love of opera but have no formal musical education. I used to buy 45 rpm LW records back in 1953, I have sort of 50 year artistic blackhole in my life & only a few years ago I have returned to opera & a lot of fine things I've missed due to my professional engagements. TH-cam is a blessing, all you have at the tip of your fingers!!
this is verdi's perfect baritone! nobody else has interpreted this like Warren. Incredible! its like it cant get any better and then he goes to the high ending> Amazing
Mr. Warren remains THE greatest Rigoletto I ever had the great honor of seeing - FOUR times. NONE, I mean none of the subsequent pretenders can shine his boots!
billyguns2 : How right you are ! TH-cam is a blessing for all of us music lovers, the amateurs as well as the professionals. Warren's rendition of Pieta, rispetto, amore is wonderful. What a perfect legato and soft line ! But I also love very much Capuccilli's and Bruson's renditions. Just wonderful !! Thank you "Rexeterna" for posting this on TH-cam !
Nunca nadie como el coloso Warren cantará con pasión y agudos colosales como el irrepetible Warren nuncaa habrá otra voz y talento solo tenía 48 años y se desplomó en su ley Urna Fatales Del Mío Destino hasta el cielo se oscureció cuando se fue este grandioso artista🎀
As a teenager I heard Leonard Warren sing this aria on the day of the broadcast. I knew then that this was a magnificent singer, and I have not changed my opinion in more than fifty years. There have been great baritones since Warren, but no one has ever surpassed him. Verdi, himself, would have been thrilled with Warren's voice, although he would have never been happy with the interpolation of the A flat. Warren spoiled me. I am disappointed without that note.
and that is why i will be preparing to get myself ready to take on all roles with a fury. i feel the same way. i want to get that kind of singing back in houses everywhere
Paolo Ferraro +1 Exactly, Conductors who take composers too literally are like extremists who take religion too literally. Composers wanted singers to express themselves and make music.
Horrible comparison. Composers doing the Bel Canto wanted singers to express themselves but not interlope things in it that detracted from the overall opera. The practice of that ended officially during Rossini and Verdi's time.
@@tonshaad1230 Yes and this one is just stupid. The cadenza is already over on the meaningful word 'nenia' and this is the moment Macbeth sort of resigns to his fate accompanied softly by the orchestra. Bad choice.
Great voice, but what in the world was Verdi thinking by putting such heart-felt beautiful music in the mouth of a character whose heart had died long ago.
To everyone criticizing this astonishing singer for singing an A flat at the end of the aria - You do realize that half of the high notes we’re accustomed to hearing in Verdi operas aren’t actually written, right? Have you ever heard/seen one of Muti’s puritanical Verdi performances, where he won’t let anyone sing any high notes that aren’t in the score? Seriously boring. The only singers who never sing an extra high note here and there are the ones who can’t.
Isn't there an Italian phrase or word 'arcibravo'? I think it means more than just a bravo. Anyway, this qualifies. I couldn't tell if this was the live performance or the recording, until I heard the audience at the end. So damn easy.
@posaunistdeluxe As to baritons singing notes beyond the "sol sostenido"or "la bemol"of "al pari di voi, what about Sherril Milnes? -- Sois immobile of Guillaume Tell with the great "songe à ta mère" and others?
Absolutely glorious Verdi singing, regrettably there is not a baritone in the World today that can come anywhere near this excellence. To think that in the 50's there was also Taddei, Bastianni, Gobbi and Merrill - what a golden age! Shame about the high A flat at the end, unnecessary and inappropriate.
@stevevandien Walter Foster, voice teacher at Sam Houston State University, said he would open the curtain for Warren to sing I Pagliacci Prologo at the Old Met. He wondered what the fuss was about because he said it sounded to him like an old man speaking on pitch. AH HAH. You can't imitate his voice. You CAN imitate his approach until it becomes natural to your voice. (That being said, he does sing some notes flat in this selection.)
Warren el mejor Macbeth del.mundo voz insuperable, alma y actuación nunca visto amaba Verdi, era peletero judío y fue corista del.met, irreoetibleeeee
14 ปีที่แล้ว
@Ricocarrino1 Stimmt! Leonard Warren ist und bleibt einer der Grössten aller Zeiten! - Nevertheless, we tryed to do our very best, als wir im Juni 2010 dieselbe Arie aufnahmen! Siehe unten als Videoantwort :-)
Bruson always sounded as though his nasal passages ("passagi") were contaminated by a sinus infection; plus, he had no squillo in his top notes like Warren, Macneil or Milnes)
a flat at the end not necessary. Completely not what the song calls for. I know people like to hear high notes, but for me it has to have a musical purpose. Other then that, Warren is a god.
Rather none of the other singers was able to do that. Warren was equipped with voice of very large scale and he wasn't shy to expose it. Thanks to that his Pietà Rispetto is the best.
In all likelihood, you're completely wrong about that. Mattia Battistini sang an Ab4 in his cadenza at the end of this aria ( th-cam.com/video/7pFu682Y8Sw/w-d-xo.html ); he was alive during the time of Verdi, and is widely considered a master of the style. In fact, he sang for Maestro Verdi several times throughout his career.
For me it is the most important baritone and the ideal interpreter for veri. What a pity that everything,so well sung and carefully said.was ruined by that high A flat at the end. That was(and is ) typical of American audiences;they have to hear a shout at the end of an aria to be happy. I am surprised that such an artist like warren with such a good taste could fall into that grotesque trap. A pity...
The greatest Macbeth.
Tecnica di canto perfetta...canta con una sicurezza da far "(rabbia)"...Artista unico!!! Meraviglioso!!!
Giusto!! Non c'è mai una sbavatura, un piccolo cedimento, la linea di canto è talmente perfetta che rasenta la monotonia!!!
una voce e un attore che non si possono dimenticare .
un Grande .
I held the curtain for him to step through and sing Tonio's prologue, not at the old Met, but when the Met was on tour in Dallas, Texas. That close to him, he didn't sound "like an old man." The voice was beautiful, but it didn't seem loud or earth-shaking. However, my friends in the audience said it filled the house with total apparent ease. I also was curtain boy in Dallas when Warren sang Germant with Tucker and Steber. I was about fifteen feet from him during his entrance and my first impression was visual: Why did the costumers have his belly padding misplaced so high up on his chest! Then I realized it wasn't padding. Later I read an article published in an Amarillo newspaper about his 52" chest. The article was titled "America's largest chest doesn't belong to Marilyn Monroe. " The article is still with my memorabilia..
Hahahah
Wonderful, just wonderful !
Como diría un castizo , “ esto es la leche”. Imposible cantar mejor. Sin duda un grande entre los grandes del siglo XX, afirmación que no comparten alguno de nuestros críticos musicales más reputados. Prefieren a Gobbi o Bruson. Para quien esto escribe, en términos globales , Warren ha sido el barítono más completo del siglo, aún reconociendo la existencia de otras voces de más calidad y cantidad que fueron en su día , sin duda, grandísimos barítonos. Pero no tenían la inventiva ni la grandeza artística de Leonard. Muchas veces BRAVO !!!.
Bravissimo Leo!
Now singing in Heaven!
Grazie mile!
Questo è un canto che lascia sbalorditi...dalla bellezza dell'emissione e senza il minimo sforzo ...sicuramente uno dei più grandi di ogni tempo...e poi un Lab grande come una casa...immenso...saluti
Warren was born to sing this role. Nobody was able to sing it as he did. I heard almost twenty performances of this aria and Leonard is on the top....
Warren splendido, voce e tecnica magnifiche!!!!!
Totally wonderful.
is it not the most beautiful singing you've ever heard? it really doesn't get any better than this..
rexeterna
La mejor del.mundo solo Warren voz,dramatismo, carácter y un la bemol al final grandioso Warren magestuoso inolvidable maestro, el mundo lo aplaudio
Waren, fantastico, un grande! E la variazione finale, con La, ineccepibile.
Having heard this incredible voice several times on the opera stages, I believe he was one of the greatest baritones of all times.
What a voice!
Yes - the most beautiful singing I've ever heard. Heart stopping ...
This is so perfect, I can ignore the interpolated A flat at the end( I usually hate singers messing with Verdi). But this is so beautiful, so musical, so spot on.. it makes me get goose bumps. !
ALL singers (well, almost all) mess with composer's written notes. A tenor who did NOT sing the high C at the end of Di Quella Pira would gets booed off the stage. So would the soprano who skipped the high Db at the end of the Lucia extent. There are many, many others. But I agree with you it would be best to apply these expected interpolations judiciously. Remember Rossini's reported comment when he heard Jenny Lind sing Una Voce Poico Fa. Purportedly the maestro said, ''Nice Tune. Who wrote it?"
Extraordinary artist was Leonard Warren!!!...still amazed by the sweetness of his emision, even if he is a so full voice baritone...marvelous!!!, Thanks for sahring!!!...BRAVO!!!
Warren sets the standard & leads the rest by miles! Quilico a distant second. I was so blessed in having been able to see the great LW about a dozen or so times during my operatic "break in" period.
A voice and interpretation that is “immediately imminent and transcendental” as well as touching without forcing any notes or accents. Leonard Warren has it all, voice, musical skills, technique and a superb legato Thank you for posting this great document !
He is just singing his *heart* out with that impossibly gorgeous voice. I think I am going to faint;)
I'll thank you very much. I am a great love of opera but have no formal musical education. I used to buy 45 rpm LW records back in 1953, I have sort of 50 year artistic blackhole in my life & only a few years ago I have returned to opera & a lot of fine things I've missed due to my professional engagements. TH-cam is a blessing, all you have at the tip of your fingers!!
grandissimo, canta tutto sul colore della voce, tecnica sopraffina...
just gorgeous singing
this is verdi's perfect baritone! nobody else has interpreted this like Warren. Incredible! its like it cant get any better and then he goes to the high ending> Amazing
Quite possibly the greatest Verdi baritone of all time.
Un genio. Voz magnífica.
Exquisite.Thank you for posting ♥️
WOW! God bless you Leonard Warren. What a voice.
Mr. Warren remains THE greatest Rigoletto I ever had the great honor of seeing - FOUR times. NONE, I mean none of the subsequent pretenders can shine his boots!
SOOO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
how old are you?
Magical voice. Much love
Grande e inolvidable! Mi idolo que nunca morirá mientra yo viva.¡Que gran voz...que voz melodiosa!
Einzigartig! Bis heute von keinem Sänger übertroffen. Vor allem nicht in der Gegenwart.
billyguns2 :
How right you are ! TH-cam is a blessing for all of us music lovers, the amateurs as well as the professionals.
Warren's rendition of Pieta, rispetto, amore is wonderful. What a perfect legato and soft line ! But I also love very much Capuccilli's and Bruson's renditions. Just wonderful !!
Thank you "Rexeterna" for posting this on TH-cam !
the best baritone in history so far perfect technique and passion
Nunca nadie como el coloso Warren cantará con pasión y agudos colosales como el irrepetible Warren nuncaa habrá otra voz y talento solo tenía 48 años y se desplomó en su ley Urna Fatales Del Mío Destino hasta el cielo se oscureció cuando se fue este grandioso artista🎀
As a teenager I heard Leonard Warren sing this aria on the day of the broadcast. I knew then that this was a magnificent singer, and I have not changed my opinion in more than fifty years. There have been great baritones since Warren, but no one has ever surpassed him. Verdi, himself, would have been thrilled with Warren's voice, although he would have never been happy with the interpolation of the A flat. Warren spoiled me. I am disappointed without that note.
Warren was GOAT!!
and that is why i will be preparing to get myself ready to take on all roles with a fury. i feel the same way. i want to get that kind of singing back in houses everywhere
"Why the high note at the end?" --- Because he HAD it & shared it unselfishly with the opera-going public!!! WHY NOT???
Paolo Ferraro +1 Exactly, Conductors who take composers too literally are like extremists who take religion too literally. Composers wanted singers to express themselves and make music.
Shared it ? lol come'scritto !!!!
Horrible comparison. Composers doing the Bel Canto wanted singers to express themselves but not interlope things in it that detracted from the overall opera. The practice of that ended officially during Rossini and Verdi's time.
A flat
@@tonshaad1230 Yes and this one is just stupid. The cadenza is already over on the meaningful word 'nenia' and this is the moment Macbeth sort of resigns to his fate accompanied softly by the orchestra. Bad choice.
Great voice, but what in the world was Verdi thinking by putting such heart-felt beautiful music in the mouth of a character whose heart had died long ago.
Ein Massenmörder, der sich ins Selbstmitleid flüchtet. Warren singt auf allerhöchstem Niveau, ist das aber eine rollengerechte Interpretation?
Fantastic; it's almost hard to believe that singing this good is possible!
Fantastico!Unico,Warren!
Seamless velvet from beginning to end. And touchingly emotional, as is appropriate to the aria, as well. Touchingly & thrillingly amazing! Thanks (:
Fantastic, great quality too. I have his complete studio recording of the role but this is actually better IMO.
commmenti meritatissimi!
@rexeterna Maravillosa y calida voz. Gran Tenor.
Amigo sino sabes de ópera por favor no comentes evita lucir tu ignorancia es el más grande barítono dramático de la mitad del siglo XX
Screw best baritone ever... best singer ever.
To everyone criticizing this astonishing singer for singing an A flat at the end of the aria - You do realize that half of the high notes we’re accustomed to hearing in Verdi operas aren’t actually written, right? Have you ever heard/seen one of Muti’s puritanical Verdi performances, where he won’t let anyone sing any high notes that aren’t in the score? Seriously boring. The only singers who never sing an extra high note here and there are the ones who can’t.
A real Verdi baritone, and quite possibly of whom we have recordings --
Isn't there an Italian phrase or word 'arcibravo'? I think it means more than just a bravo. Anyway, this qualifies. I couldn't tell if this was the live performance or the recording, until I heard the audience at the end. So damn easy.
LW was the greatest Verdi baritone in history, bar NONE!
Incredibly! Till this day from no singer excelled. Above all, not in the present.
Massimo interprete, con Bruson, del ruolo. Sit Tibi Ubicumque Pax
No one can come close.........
@posaunistdeluxe As to baritons singing notes beyond the "sol sostenido"or "la bemol"of "al pari di voi, what about Sherril Milnes? -- Sois immobile of Guillaume Tell with the great "songe à ta mère" and others?
W amazing
If anything will melt your heart [and ravish your ears], this will!! I'm so glad:) Thanks to rexeterna!!
The finest baritone to this day!
Absolutely glorious Verdi singing, regrettably there is not a baritone in the World today that can come anywhere near this excellence. To think that in the 50's there was also Taddei, Bastianni, Gobbi and Merrill - what a golden age! Shame about the high A flat at the end, unnecessary and inappropriate.
@stevevandien Walter Foster, voice teacher at Sam Houston State University, said he would open the curtain for Warren to sing I Pagliacci Prologo at the Old Met. He wondered what the fuss was about because he said it sounded to him like an old man speaking on pitch. AH HAH. You can't imitate his voice. You CAN imitate his approach until it becomes natural to your voice. (That being said, he does sing some notes flat in this selection.)
Warren el mejor Macbeth del.mundo voz insuperable, alma y actuación nunca visto amaba Verdi, era peletero judío y fue corista del.met, irreoetibleeeee
@Ricocarrino1 Stimmt! Leonard Warren ist und bleibt einer der Grössten aller Zeiten! - Nevertheless, we tryed to do our very best, als wir im Juni 2010 dieselbe Arie aufnahmen! Siehe unten als Videoantwort :-)
I meant "Verdi"not veri
WHAT AN ARIA
Beautful singing, good interpretation. But Warren is flat during the hole aria. Except at the end.
Sorry, I don't have absolute pitch. But I can find out for you if you like?? Either one is fine with me ;) I adore LW ...
Magnificent as always - But why the high note at the end?
@raphabenbenjamin And? Find me a better rendition of this aria maybe your comment will amount to something.
When you're hot, you're hot ;)
Is that an A or an A flat?
A flat.
Un fora de sèrie, tècnicament, teatralment...
Bruson always sounded as though his nasal passages ("passagi") were contaminated by a sinus infection; plus, he had no squillo in his top notes like Warren, Macneil or Milnes)
@billyguns2 he does sing some notes flat in this selection.
I disagree. I hear no flat notes!
@VinylToVideo he does sing some notes flat in this selection.
@oakroom48 he does sing some flat notes in this selection.
a flat at the end not necessary. Completely not what the song calls for. I know people like to hear high notes, but for me it has to have a musical purpose. Other then that, Warren is a god.
Rather none of the other singers was able to do that. Warren was equipped with voice of very large scale and he wasn't shy to expose it. Thanks to that his Pietà Rispetto is the best.
picky picky picky.
In all likelihood, you're completely wrong about that. Mattia Battistini sang an Ab4 in his cadenza at the end of this aria ( th-cam.com/video/7pFu682Y8Sw/w-d-xo.html ); he was alive during the time of Verdi, and is widely considered a master of the style. In fact, he sang for Maestro Verdi several times throughout his career.
Wow you're so "refined"
For me it is the most important baritone and the ideal interpreter for veri.
What a pity that everything,so well sung and carefully said.was ruined by that high A flat at the end.
That was(and is ) typical of American audiences;they have to hear a shout at the end of an aria to be happy.
I am surprised that such an artist like warren with such a good taste could fall into that grotesque trap.
A pity...
Get a life!!