Hey, thanks for the upload - AND - thanks for quoting my description of the finale! I'd always wondered if she had sung it that way on another occasion (other than NY April 1965). Although I don't see the orchestral coda here, nor what she sings for her American debut (high B - A - resolution in G).
Totally in agreement here...a far superior ending. And in this performance, let us not overlook Liccioni, an excellent Marsellais tenor of Corsican extraction who passed away recently. Taken for granted in his day, he would be an asset to any opera house today, as this performance attests.
Thank you for this comment. Georges Liccioni would have been very touched. I studied French repertoire with him for 2 years. A wonderful vocal coach for professional singers and as you say a fine singer. I miss him still. There are comments here about his veristic style - well Georges repertoire was not verismo! He was a respected Werther, ( winning praise from Georges Thill himself) Romeo , Faust, Vincent. He did not sing the Donizetti bel canto repertoire much apart from Edgardo in Lucia ( another success in several houses including Paris) He did sing some Puccini though, Rodolfo ( La Boheme) and a very well received Pinkerton opposite the Butterfly of Gwyneth Jones in Vienna, He also scored a big success as Julien in 'Louise' in New York.
+Fr Cornelius Mattei Georges was my coach when I was living in France. A wonderful and stylish singer as can be attested by the CD dedicated to him in the Singers of the Paris Opera series released shortly after his death. A kind, humane man, wonderful singer and very supportive / helpful coach. I got offered plenty of work following auditions while I was studying with him. He sang with a number of famous leading ladies , not just Caballe, but also Gwyneth Jones among others. I miss his gentle humour and wisdom greatly.
Yes he did and I can assure you that even in his seventies Georges could impress with a beautifully placed top c and the southern warmth of his timbre. Such a wonderful human being too.
Sorry to burst your bubble in this.. but I find the tenor's outbursts and slowly "dying" voice completely ridiculous.. singing is one thing, convincing people of what you are singing about is totally different.. 95% of opera singers become completely ridiculous in tragic moments
Well... Lohengrin, I focused on Donizetti's "Tristan" style, not on Liccioni's veristic interpretation (YES, indeed, far away from bel canto): "the effects of the poison-delirium now gaining ground..."
belcantopera Una morte del tenore in scena, una delle prime tra l'altro della storia dell'opera... Lucrezia Borgia, un'opera innovativa, per la quale Donizetti previde anche una nuova disposizione dell'orchestra: quella utilizzata a tutt'oggi, con gli archi disposti a semicerchio davanti al podio.
belcantopera I dont mind stepping out of Style if you do it gracefully and convincingly.. adding Verismo in Bel canto in many times means adding passion and I like that.. what this tenor does here though brings me laughter.. On the other hand I consider Donizetti a Genius completely misunderstood over time, because of the dreadful interpretations of his work by ridiculous coloratura soprani who used his music as a vehicle to be overloaded with stupid coloratura fireworks completely distorting the musical meaning of his work (so I agree with the overall comment of your post). Opposed to that though, I truly like the cabaleta of Era desso when sung with full support of middle, low and high voice because Lucrezia is an almost Assoluta role.. Most soprani either lack the top (Caballe), the middle (Gruberova, Devia) or the low (Sutherland) to fully explore this magnificent role.. Fleming had it all, but she went into an Atrocity of stylistic choice and sang a dreadful G6 cadenza at the end of Era desso that seems to be coming from the outer space of eternal Stupidity (still her Tranquillo ei possa is flawless)
Hey, thanks for the upload - AND - thanks for quoting my description of the finale! I'd always wondered if she had sung it that way on another occasion (other than NY April 1965). Although I don't see the orchestral coda here, nor what she sings for her American debut (high B - A - resolution in G).
Totally in agreement here...a far superior ending. And in this performance, let us not overlook Liccioni, an excellent Marsellais tenor of Corsican extraction who passed away recently. Taken for granted in his day, he would be an asset to any opera house today, as this performance attests.
Thank you for this comment. Georges Liccioni would have been very touched. I studied French repertoire with him for 2 years. A wonderful vocal coach for professional singers and as you say a fine singer. I miss him still.
There are comments here about his veristic style - well Georges repertoire was not verismo! He was a respected Werther, ( winning praise from Georges Thill himself) Romeo , Faust, Vincent. He did not sing the Donizetti bel canto repertoire much apart from Edgardo in Lucia ( another success in several houses including Paris) He did sing some Puccini though, Rodolfo ( La Boheme) and a very well received Pinkerton opposite the Butterfly of Gwyneth Jones in Vienna, He also scored a big success as Julien in 'Louise' in New York.
+Fr Cornelius Mattei Georges was my coach when I was living in France. A wonderful and stylish singer as can be attested by the CD dedicated to him in the Singers of the Paris Opera series released shortly after his death. A kind, humane man, wonderful singer and very supportive / helpful coach. I got offered plenty of work following auditions while I was studying with him. He sang with a number of famous leading ladies , not just Caballe, but also Gwyneth Jones among others. I miss his gentle humour and wisdom greatly.
Liccioni had a gorgeous voice...very Pavarotti.
Yes he did and I can assure you that even in his seventies Georges could impress with a beautifully placed top c and the southern warmth of his timbre. Such a wonderful human being too.
Sorry to burst your bubble in this.. but I find the tenor's outbursts and slowly "dying" voice completely ridiculous.. singing is one thing, convincing people of what you are singing about is totally different.. 95% of opera singers become completely ridiculous in tragic moments
Well... Lohengrin, I focused on Donizetti's "Tristan" style, not on Liccioni's veristic interpretation (YES, indeed, far away from bel canto): "the effects of the poison-delirium now gaining ground..."
belcantopera Una morte del tenore in scena, una delle prime tra l'altro della storia dell'opera...
Lucrezia Borgia, un'opera innovativa, per la quale Donizetti previde anche una nuova disposizione dell'orchestra: quella utilizzata a tutt'oggi, con gli archi disposti a semicerchio davanti al podio.
belcantopera
I dont mind stepping out of Style if you do it gracefully and convincingly.. adding Verismo in Bel canto in many times means adding passion and I like that.. what this tenor does here though brings me laughter.. On the other hand I consider Donizetti a Genius completely misunderstood over time, because of the dreadful interpretations of his work by ridiculous coloratura soprani who used his music as a vehicle to be overloaded with stupid coloratura fireworks completely distorting the musical meaning of his work (so I agree with the overall comment of your post). Opposed to that though, I truly like the cabaleta of Era desso when sung with full support of middle, low and high voice because Lucrezia is an almost Assoluta role.. Most soprani either lack the top (Caballe), the middle (Gruberova, Devia) or the low (Sutherland) to fully explore this magnificent role.. Fleming had it all, but she went into an Atrocity of stylistic choice and sang a dreadful G6 cadenza at the end of Era desso that seems to be coming from the outer space of eternal Stupidity (still her Tranquillo ei possa is flawless)