Four Golden Tenors of the Past

On this CD:

1. Aida, opera Se quel guerrier io fossi...Celeste Aïda
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi

2. Andrea Chénier, opera Un di all'azzuro spazio
Composed by Umberto Giordano

3. Andrea Chénier, opera Come un bel di di maggio
Composed by Umberto Giordano

4. Fedora, opera Amor ti vieta di non amar
Composed by Umberto Giordano

5. La bohème, opera Che gelida manina
Composed by Giacomo Puccini

6. Il Trovatore, opera Ah! si, ben mio coll'essere
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Aureliano Pertile

7. Il Trovatore, opera Di quella pira
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Aureliano Pertile

8. Luisa Miller, opera Quando le sere al placido
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Aureliano Pertile

9. La forza del destino, opera O tu, che in seno aglo Angeli
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Aureliano Pertile

10. Pagliacci, opera Recitar...Vesti la giubba
Composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performed by Aureliano Pertile

11. Lucia di Lammermoor, opera Tombe degli avi miei
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Beniamino Gigli

12. La Traviata, opera De' miei bollenti spiriti
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Beniamino Gigli

13. L' Africaine, grand opera in 5 acts O Paradiso!
Composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Performed by Beniamino Gigli

14. La Gioconda, opera in 4 acts Cielo e mar
Composed by Amilcare Ponchielli
Performed by Beniamino Gigli

15. Mefistofele, opera Dai campi, dai prati
Composed by Arrigo Boito
Performed by Beniamino Gigli

16. Norma, opera Meco all'altar di Venere
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini
Performed by Giacomo Lauri Volpi

17. Les Huguenots, grand opera in 5 acts Bianca al par di neve alpina
Composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Performed by Giacomo Lauri Volpi

18. Faust, opera Salut! demeure chaste et pure
Composed by Charles Gounod
Performed by Giacomo Lauri Volpi

19. Carmen, opéra-comique in 4 acts La fleur que tu m'avais jetée
Composed by Georges Bizet
Performed by Giacomo Lauri Volpi

20. Tosca, opera E lucevan le stelle
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Giacomo Lauri Volpi

Tracks:

Die Zauberflote: Dies Bildnis Ist Bezaubernd Schon - Bjorn Talen
Der Barbier Von Bagdad: Vor Deinem Fenster - Bjorn Talen
Aida: Ich Lieb' Ihn Ja Noch Immer - Bjorn Talen
Hoffmans Erzahlungen: Es War Einmal Am Hofe Von Eisenack - Bjorn Talen
Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg: Am Stillen Herd - Carl Martin Oehmann
Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg: Morgenlich Leuchtend - Carl Martin Oehmann
Lohengrin: Mein Lieber Schwann - Carl Martin Oehmann
Othello: Jeder Knabe Kann Mein Schwert Mir Entreissen - Carl Martin Oehmann
Andre Chenier: Gleich Einem Fruhlingsabend - Carl Martin Oehmann
Tristan Und Isolde: O Konig, Das Kann Ich Dir Nicht Sagen - Gunnar Graarud
Die Walkure: Wintersturnme Wichen Dem Wonnemond - Gunnar Graarud
Die Walkure: Siegmund Heiss' Ich - Gunnar Graarud
Der Evangelimann: Des Lebenskelch - Gunnar Graarud
Othello: Bei Des Himmels Ehernem Dache - Torsten Ralf
Othello: Gott, Warum Hast Du Gehauft Dieses Elend? - Torsten Ralf
Das Madchen Aus Dem Goldenen Western: Lasset Sie Glauben - Torsten Ralf
Tiefland: Zwei Vaterunser Bet' Ich - Torsten Ralf
Tiefland: Schau Her, Das Ist Ein Taler - Torsten Ralf

Average customer rating:

Sorry guys, wrong CD...
Viva Montagnana!!
ONE GOLD, TWO SILVERS AND ONE BRONZE

Four Golden Tenors of the Past

Manufacturer: Preiser Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000BKBX
Release Date: 1998-07-04

Tracks:

Aida: Se Quel Guerrier Io Fossi...Celeste Aida - Giovanni Martinelli
Andrea Chenier: Un Di All'azzuro Spazio - Giovanni Martinelli
Andrea Chenier: Come Un Bel Di Di Maggio - Giovanni Martinelli
Fedora: Amor Ti Vieta Di Non Amar - Giovanni Martinelli
La Boheme: Che Gelida Manina - Giovanni Martinelli
Il Trovatore: Ah! Si, Ben Mio Coll'essere - Aureliano Pertile
Il Trovatore: Di Quella Pira - Aureliano Pertile
Luisa Miller: Quando Le Sere Al Placido - Aureliano Pertile
La Forza Del Destino: O Tu, Che In Seno Agli Angeli - Aureliano Pertile
I Pagliacci: Recitar...Vesti La Giubba - Aureliano Pertile
Lucia Di Lammermoor: Tombe Degli Avi Miei - Beniamino Gigli
La Traviata: De' Miei Bollenti Spiriti - Beniamino Gigli
L'Africana: O Paradiso! - Beniamino Gigli
La Gioconda: Cielo O Mar - Beniamino Gigli
Mefistofele: Dai Campi, Dai Prati - Beniamino Gigli
Norma: Meco All'altar Di Venere - Giacomo Lauri Volpi
Gli Ugonotti: Bianca Al Par Di Neve Alpina - Giacomo Lauri Volpi
Faust: Salut! Demeure Chaste Et Pure - Giacomo Lauri Volpi
Carmen: La Fleur Que Tu M'avais Jetee - Giacomo Lauri Volpi
Tosca: E Lucevan Le Stelle - Giacomo Lauri Volpi

Customer Reviews:

Sorry guys, wrong CD..........2006-09-26

The previous reviews for this item were, somehow, meant for another item! This item is "Four German Sopranos", not tenors! Pay attention! :)

Viva Montagnana!!.......2004-05-17

Four tenors, Four styles. So much has been said about Gigli, that I can`t really add anything new, other than that I find his singing, the more I hear it, mannered and selfconcious. His famous silvery mezza-voce to me sounds disconnected almost child-like. BUT! If he were to sing today, the world would proclaim him "the umpteenth Tenor!!" Lauri Volpi: Focussed, explosive, virile and almost always thrilling. Now the Montagnana-boys: Martinelli, "The big Bugle" as he was known in New York, is an acquired taste. He has a vibrato very typical of that time, fast and a little tight, and can sound a little bleaty. But listen again, and you`ll be rewarded. He can really spin a line, make the text tell and hits you right in the gut with his timbre. As further listening, I`d recommend the live Otello from the Met with Tibbett and Rethberg. Wonderful!! Now, to the most neglected of all great singers of all time. The most thrilling, visceral, even-voiced. He can carry the lightest pianissimo in any range and make it spin and spin and... He can sing so loudly he`ll pin you to your seat. The voice has presence and ring, what the italians call "squillo" that you can reach out and touch. The voice is focussed like a laser, yet never sounds tight. Even in full flight there`s always some in reserve. Pertile, of course. This is not a dozen-instrument. You`ll never mistake him (or any of the others, for that matter) with any other singer. From the first note I ever heard from him, I have been spellbound. Everything I ever wished I could do and be, he does with consumate ease. You owe it to yourself to hear his "quando le sere al placido" from Luisa Miller. He sings lines that never end, goes from piano to forte in the same phrase without altering the timbre or colour.... I could go on for days, but I think you get the message: Buy this, or any other CD with Pertile and prepare to fall for a singer who would sweep the decks anywhere in the world today. It`s your loss if you don`t!

ONE GOLD, TWO SILVERS AND ONE BRONZE.......2001-05-16

Here we have four Italian tenors of the golden age, who captured world attention in that glorious past for their vocal and interpretative capacity. Other names that come to mind are Caruso, Zenatello, Grassi, Anselmi, Schipa, Paoli, De Muro, Merli and Bonci.

The four tenors on this superb CD have a lot in common. Born within seven years apart, between 1885 and 1892, they (except Pertile) sang at the Met, the temple of operatic singing. All of them displayed mezza voce and heroic top notes on the stage.

This CD has collected and handed to posterity their prowess, when the tenors were in their late thirties and at their prime. Interestingly, one may draw vocal attributes from their performances and make comparisons.

Martinelli displayed a heroic and massive, Pertile, a sage but hard-driven, Gigli, an elegiac or turgid and Lauri-Volpi a robust, limpid and easily extended voice. The gold medal goes to Lauri-Volpi, the silver to Martinelli and Gigli, the bronze to Pertile.

I liked Martinelli in "Come un bel di di maggio"(Chenier) full of pathos, Pertile "Vesti la giubba" (Pagliacci) for great artistry, Gigli "Dai campi, dai prati" (Mefistofele) for inspired mysticism and Lauri-Volpi "Bianca al par di neve"(Les Huguenots) for unique mezza voce.

Lauri-Volpi gets top marks for "E lucevan le stelle"(Tosca) recorded in 1928, when he was at his artistic splendour. The painter Cavaradossi is not his conspiring and patriotic self. He is in prison, reminiscing Tosca's sweet hands, languid caresses and voluptuous appearance. Lauri-Volpi with an extraordinary, exquisite pianissimo sets up the mood before unleashing his despair with a powerful crescendo. It is an unsurpassed rendition of the great aria, as Puccini intended it.

Music Review:

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