R.I.P. Carlo Bergonzi

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Carlo Bergonzi, that most stylish of Italian tenors, has sadly passed away, aged 90. Some of my earliest - and most treasured opera recordings - featured his tremendous singing. Always a sensitive singer in terms of phrasing and attack - a sort of antidote to Mario del Monaco and Franco Corelli - he was a joy to hear. I only heard him live once, at a farewell recital at the Royal Opera House. As he launched into his final encore, a member of the audience cried out "Perché?" (i.e. why was he retiring, when the voice was still in such fine form). Bergonzi just shrugged.

http://m.repubblica.it/mobile/r/locali/parma/cronaca/2014/07/26/news/morto_carlo_bergonzi_il_pi_grande_tenore_del_900-92429201

[amateur51]

Carlo Bergonzi, that most stylish of Italian tenors, has sadly passed away, aged 90. Some of my earliest - and most treasured opera recordings - featured his tremendous singing. Always a sensitive singer in terms of phrasing and attack - a sort of antidote to Mario del Monaco and Franco Corelli - he was a joy to hear. I only heard him live once, at a farewell recital at the Royal Opera House. As he launched into his final encore, a member of the audience cried out "Perché?" (i.e. why was he retiring, when the voice was still in such fine form). Bergonzi just shrugged.

What a great age, what a wonderful career, and apparently what a nice man as well as a glorious artist.

Of course I am sad that he has died but he has left an astonishing legacy of marvellous recordings by which we can remember his art and his contribution to human happiness, for which I am certainly grateful.

Grazie mille, Maestro!

[slarty]

I saw him at Covent Garden quite a few times (late sixties and early seventies), he was just great. Not much of an actor, very much in the Björling style of
"stand and deliver" but all the better for that. He had an elegance of singing style that is all but gone these days, especially in the "spinto" roles that he took on.
I remember him well in Ballo and Aida particularly.


RIP Carlo e Bravo!!

[Roehre]

Never seen him, but my rare explorations of Italian opera at that time (mid 1970s) almost all consisted of recordings with him. Much treasured.

RIP Carlo Bergonzi

[Hornspieler]

What a great age, what a wonderful career, and apparently what a nice man as well as a glorious artist.

Of course I am sad that he has died but he has left an astonishing legacy of marvellous recordings by which we can remember his art and his contribution to human happiness, for which I am certainly grateful.

Grazie mille, Maestro!

A wonderful singer in the true Italian Opera tradition.

R.I.P

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Of course I am sad that he has died but he has left an astonishing legacy of marvellous recordings by which we can remember his art and his contribution to human happiness, for which I am certainly grateful.

In a sense, great musicians never die when we have such a rich recorded legacy.

[DracoM]

One the true greats. Wonder who his TRUE inheritor is?

[PrincipessaDiGelo]

*Newbie alert!*

What recording(s) would the panel suggest to introduce someone to the wonders of Bergonzi? Anyone who can elicit these tributes must be pretty extraordinary.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

What recording(s) would the panel suggest to introduce someone to the wonders of Bergonzi? Anyone who can elicit these tributes must be pretty extraordinary.

For those with deep pockets:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Verdi-Tenor-Decca-box-set/dp/B00JX63KXG/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1406376392&sr=1-1&keywords=carlo+bergonzi

For those on a budget:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Carlo-Bergonzi-sings-Puccini-Verdi/dp/B001P9WFHQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1406376392&sr=1-5&keywords=carlo+bergonzi

(Other suppliers are available.)

[french frank]

*Newbie alert!*

Wise words, Principessa! I'm sure people have some suggestions ...

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

*Newbie alert!*

What recording(s) would the panel suggest to introduce someone to the wonders of Bergonzi? Anyone who can elicit these tributes must be pretty extraordinary.

Puccini - La bohème (Decca) with Renata Tebaldi, Ettore Bastianini et al - my very first CD purchase and still one of my favourites

Philips also released a 3-disc set of Verdi arias - not sure if this is available separately, but is included on the giant Bergonzi box Decca recently released.

[Rolmill]

Heard this sad news on the car radio this afternoon. He was my favourite tenor for Verdi and Puccini by a country mile; I loved his distinctive, tight vibrato, superb diction and gorgeous phrasing.

I only heard him live twice: as Edgardo in Lucia at ROH in 1985 (aged 60), where he eclipsed even Joan Sutherland. Then at the Gramophone Awards ceremony in 2000 (aged 76) where he sang a Neapolitan song and the Brindisi duet from Traviata; obviously well past his prime, but nonetheless a memorable occasion.

I would go to his Riccardo (Ballo in Maschera, cond. Leinsdorf) and Rodolfo (La Boheme, as per IGI above) for supreme examples of his art.

[Ferretfancy]

Carlo Bergonzi RIP

I've just seen a brief announcement that Carlo Bergonzi has died at the age of 91, one of the most beautiful tenor voices of all time.RIP

[Richard Tarleton]

I've just seen a brief announcement that Carlo Bergonzi has died at the age of 91, one of the most beautiful tenor voices of all time.RIP

Indeed. An incomporable artist, and a life well lived.

[french frank]

Merging with the thread on A Night at the Opera ...

People may also be interested in this discussion from a little while back.