Carlo Bergonzi - what a great tenor

[Barbirollians]

No doubt a product of the fact that nearly all my opera disc buying had tended to be EMI as unlike many on here I am a fan of the great singing actress Callas I did not know this great tenor's work until rediscovering his collaboration with Tebaldi on a Decca disc of her singing .

A very cheap second hand copy of favourite arias the Sublime Voice of Carlo Bergonzi arrived this morning and is now playing .

A dreadful omission not to know and to have heard this voice - some of the loveliest Italian tenor singing I have ever heard - no sobbing or over emoting just stunning singing in which the music is allowed to say everything but with real character . His collaborations with Tebaldi has also made me rethink my opinion of her - she sounds so much better with him than with del Monaco and like she is really putting effort into her vocal acting.

The 1958 love duet with her from Madame Butterfly with Serafin is stupendous - I have just had to play it three times in a row .

Your favourite Bergonzi recording ? Anyone hear see him live ?

[Barbirollians]

Aah my typing errors are driving me mad. It is as if I have caught BBMitis . Carlo Bergonzi of course not carlol

[Karafan]

Carlo Berbonzi of course not carlol

Oops, haha. Need a spade for that hole you're digging yourself, Barbs?!

Quite agree about Bergonzi, though, a wonderful artist and unfairly rather overshadowed. As a superb Canio for Karajan in the 1960s was, I think, one of the first times I truly appreciated his great artistry.

I remember reading he was always quietly proud of having been born close to Verdi's hometown. And, blessedly, he is still with us

K.

[verismissimo]

[Richard Tarleton]

My first opera LP purchase in the 1960s - La Boheme, quickly followed by Aida, both with Tebaldi . They were a nigh-on perfect partnership, IMV. I have a cracking complete Ernani, with Leontyne Price.

[Ariosto]

He made good fiddles too! I played on one that was possibly worth £4 million. (That was back in the 1680's though, when he made them, not when I played on one).

[Stanley Stewart]

Indeed, I saw Carlo Bergonzi at the ROH several times in the 60s/70s and, coincidentally, I also listened over the weekend to his 2CD set (Decca/Universal), The Sublime Voice, a precise description. No pretentions about acting whatsoever. Almost outrageous in some ways as he would enter and literally stand and take-in the House until it was his cue to sing. In particular, I recall a production of Il Trovatore in the strike -torn 70s when the cast agreed to perform without scenery during an industrial dispute. They all did their bit, albeit on automatic pilot, but right from the start, Bergonzi delivered the goods, fully concentrated as a singer. The run-up to an admittedly show-stopping aria, Di quella pira, brought an exciting sense of hushed concentration to the performance and the ovation on his exit started at a crescendo - and continued for several minutes in the same vein. It took several years before I heard its like again. I bet he loved every moment and probably stood in the wings space savouring every moment!

[verismissimo]

Indeed, I saw Carlo Bergonzi at the ROH several times in the 60s/70s and, coincidentally, I also listened over the weekend to his 2CD set (Decca/Universal), The Sublime Voice, a precise description. No pretentions about acting whatsoever. Almost outrageous in some ways as he would enter and literally stand and take-in the House until it was his cue to sing. In particular, I recall a production of Il Trovatore in the strike -torn 70s when the cast agreed to perform without scenery during an industrial dispute. They all did their bit, albeit on automatic pilot, but right from the start, Bergonzi delivered the goods, fully concentrated as a singer. The run-up to an admittedly show-stopping aria, Di quella pira, brought an exciting sense of hushed concentration to the performance and the ovation on his exit started at a crescendo - and continued for several minutes in the same vein. It took several years before I heard its like again. I bet he loved every moment and probably stood in the wings space savouring every moment!

Great story, Stanley.

[Rolmill]

In my view, he was unequalled in Verdi and Puccini. I only saw him once on the operatic stage, at ROH in the mid-1980s in Lucia (with Joan Sutherland) when he was in his 60s, but I still remember the beauty of his singing of the final scene. His recordings remain as fresh as ever and generally a model of vibrant, stylish singing - and what an instantly recognizable voice!

[CallMePaul]

He is one of very few tenors who could sing the final notes of Celeste Aida as Verdi wrote them (high B pp). Most tenors have felt Verdi's alternative (high B forte followed by B an octave lower pp to be a cop-out and so we have far too many performances singing the high B far too loud. Ignorant audiences always seem to applaud this incorrect ending rapturously! One of the few to make a fair stab at a pp high B is, surprisingly, Jon Vickers (arguably my favourite tenor of a now-retired generation). This should really open a new thread and maybe it will, but I hope his 90th birthday in 2 years' time will remind us of just how great a singer Vickers really was in his heyday!

[slarty]

Barbs asked for our favourite Bergonzi recordings.
I'm amazed that no one has as yet mentioned
Barbirolli MADAME BUTTERFLY Scotto Bergonzi EMI 1966 - still ranked as the best Butterfly of all and the love duet with Scotto & Bergonzi beautifully conducted by JB would melt the stoniest of hearts.

[Barbirollians]

Barbs asked for our favourite Bergonzi recordings.
I'm amazed that no one has as yet mentioned
Barbirolli MADAME BUTTERFLY Scotto Bergonzi EMI 1966 - still ranked as the best Butterfly of all and the love duet with Scotto & Bergonzi beautifully conducted by JB would melt the stoniest of hearts.

How embarrassing I love that performance but had never noticed who the tenor was as it is so much Barbirolli's Butterfly . I must go and play it now to compare that love duet .

[David-G]

I saw Bergonzi three times at Covent Garden. In "L'Elisir d'Amore" with Geraint Evans, in "Luisa Miller" with Katia Ricciarelli, Leo Nucci, Diana Montague, Richard van Allan and Gwynne Howell, and memorably in "Lucia di Lammermoor" with Sutherland. Memorable performances! Those were the days.

[David-G]

... One of the few to make a fair stab at a pp high B is, surprisingly, Jon Vickers (arguably my favourite tenor of a now-retired generation). This should really open a new thread and maybe it will, but I hope his 90th birthday in 2 years' time will remind us of just how great a singer Vickers really was in his heyday!

I could go into raptures about Vickers; but he indeed deserves his own thread for that.

[akiralx]

Isn't Bergonzi now the celebrity 'greeter' at his son's restaurant - or at least he was, probably retired by now.