The Great Baritones of Opera - Cornell MacNeil

#baritone #baritonesinger #lownotes #highnotes
A nearly perfect dramatic baritone with both good highs and good lows as well. Though Ruffo may be my favorite because he had more of an influence on my singing journey and on the world of opera as a whole, when it comes to tonality, Cornell MacNeil is probably my favorite.
Here are the links to the credited videos:
Honor and arms: • Can a dramatic bariton...
Votre toast: • RARE: Cornell MacNeil ...
From Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell...) :
"Cornell MacNeil was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to a dentist and a singer. He was interested in opera from a young age, but suffered from severe asthma, which also contributed to his rejection from World War II. He then took on a wartime job as a lathe operator, after which, on his mother's advice, began his vocal studies. Among his teachers were Friedrich Schorr and Dick Marzollo.
Before the end of the war, he sang and made announcements for the Radio City Music Hall Glee Club, for whose audience he announced the surrenders of the German and the Japanese at the end of the war. After a brief audition, he was cast by the composer and director Gian Carlo Menotti as the male lead in his opera, The Consul, which opened on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia. He debuted with the New York City Opera in 1953 as Germont in La Traviata and The Metropolitan Opera House in 1959 as the lead in Rigoletto. In 1959, he debuted in La Scala in Ernani. In 1969, he became president of the American Guild of Musical Artists.
MacNeil's voice was notable for its size and top notes. Despite some vocal decline in the late 1970s, he maintained a high standard throughout his long career. Two of his most notable roles were the title role in Rigoletto, and Iago in Otello. MacNeil was a regular at the Metropolitan Opera.
His debut was on March 21, 1959, as Rigoletto. Rigoletto was also the role he sang the most at the Met, 104 times, including the Met's first telecast of that opera in 1977, in the production by John Dexter.
MacNeil was also well known for the role of Baron Scarpia in Tosca, a role he sang 92 times at the Met between November 2, 1959 and December 5, 1987, which was his last performance with the company. He appeared at La Scala in 1959 (Ernani, with Franco Corelli) and in 1960 (Aida)."

[@grahammorgan3858]

One of the many great baritone of the LP era. A rich deep powerful sound. Thanks for the upload😊

[@bradycall1889]

Thanks for watching!