Absolutely beautiful rendition. Thanks Theodore and pearlmuth3. Tucker, Lanza, Di Stefano, Gigli, Corelli, Volpi, Caruso, Bjorling, Wunderlich, Schmidt, etc. - all great voices and great performances. These discussions of who was the 'greatest' just keep on and on.... We all have our favorite(s) - mine being Caruso as he makes my cry - but isn't it about time that we just let each other have their own favorite(s) without challenging the sanity of others with a different opinion ?
ONE OF THE GREATS....HE HAD A BIG BIG VOICE THAT FILLED EVEN THE LARGEST THEATERS...I SAT IN THE UPPER UPPER BALCONY IN LOS ANGELES ONE TIME AND IT SEEMED LIKE HE WAS 10 FEET AWAY AS HE SANG...THRILLING...I'LL NEVER FORGET IT!!!
che dire .................non occorre commentare- e' stato uno dei grandi - potessimo ascoltare ancora oggi queste voci cariche di pathos, di grande , ma grande armonicita' e sensibilita' artistica
I heard Tucker in recital in the late sixties. The voice had tremendous penetration. As he was holding a note and making a superb crescendo on it (as only he could do), he turned his head slowly. As he faced my direction, I felt a wallop of full gorgeous tone smack my face. I will never forget it.
Tucker could sing above the orchestra without resorting to forcing his voice as most tenors do, maintaining a beautiful sincere sound from beginning to end. Corelli couldn't shine Tucker's shoes.
I never really appreciated Tucker until after he passed away (what an idiot I am!). I must have all his recordings now and love them all. I especially love the way he went through the passaggio (?). He made an unforgettable sound. (By the way, you can blame Bjoerling for me not getting to Tucker later on).
SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!, what a great audio registration of this historical aria, done by one of the best ever!!!.Richard Tucker really "epytomized" the term "alla Caruso", he was the most near singer for me, to follow the road marked by the Great Caruso. His sound is solid, yet he delivers an emotional sound, that touches our hearts, Bravo Tucker, from there,up in heaven where you certainly are!!!!
By the way when I ask my grandfather about Tucker he tells me that such a powerful voice can never sound as good in studio records as it must have been live, he tells me it must have been like a cannon blast when he sang at the Met into the family circle, or so his friends say.
Without going on at length, I heard Tucker many times from 1964 until maybe 72. I would certainly not say that his most salient quality was"power" as was the case with MDM, for example. Much could be said about his vocal virtues, he himself was apparently inordinately proud of his top, but for me, the most, or one of the most distinctive attributes of his singing which made him so much the voice you were drawn to was the tambor of his voice. It was a quality that caused his voice to cut through everything, and everyone, but did not cover other voices the way the larger voiced MDM and Corelli did. I remember in the two performances of the Verdi Requiem I heard so often being amazed at how clearly you could hear his voice seeming to reach like a laser light directly to your ear during the largest choral ensembles.
Thanks for sending this version of Chenier. I had not heard Tucker recorded in this role and certainly he made a fine interpreter of the French revolutionary idealist. The photos are priceless, by the way.
I heard Richard Tucker and Robert Merill live, around 1970 at the Teatro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Their voices were big for sound, volume and area coverage The squillante phrases from tucker were heroic with an easiness of production that demanded a superior technique
...he heard Corelli and Bjorling as well as di Stefano and Bergonzi, Pavarotti, but he was in Asia and Europe most of his middle age and didn't go to the US until he was 60, this was in the mid 1980s. He did not hear Tucker. He saw his first Met performance later that year. Made many friends in New York. They all told him Tucker was the best tenor they heard in all those decades at the Met. My grandfather regrets not having heard him. His favorite is Corelli who he said was very exciting but...
Excellent - Thanks. I have been looking forward to this! Don't think this recording of the opera has been in print for quite a number of years. I have a live rendition I've been meaning to post for some time; hopefully I'll get around to actually doing it in the near future.
Hey GOS thanks for the post, I'm glad it worked. And thanks pearlmuth for sending this, I've been waiting ;-) I'd be lying if I said I didn't still love Lanza's renditions but this is superb. The part I always listen close to is "Su dalla terra, a la mia fronte-veniva, una ca'rezza viva..." When a tenor get's the inflection right on the "ca'rezza" (caress) it just melts your heart. Tucker nailed it. ;-) Now one of my favorite renditions. I see there's more arguing going on here already, sheesh.
Tucker had a voice for the ages, no doubt. Splendid and almost perfect as any singer can get. However I have always considered him too cantorial for my taste. Thanks for posting.
@sugarbist I whole-heartedly agree with you sugarbist very well put. Tucker's duet with Merrill in "Forza" is probably the greatest Tenor/Baritone duet ever recorded. I heard Tucker in person at the S.F Opera House the year before he died and he sounded great despite obviously battling a bad cold.
@sugarbist Yes we all have our favorites and i enjoy each Tenor for the special individual gifts they all had. It's so easy to start a flaming controversy by naming or favoring 1 particular tenor over all the others so from now on i avoid that. Life's to stressful enough with-out arguing over Tenors who are long dead.
@Etnalleb My favorite tenors are MDM Corelli DiStefano Lauri Volpi& no one can sing the so-called American songs like Lanza. I leave Caruso out of the mix & put him on a separate throne where he belongs. Tucker is not one of my favorites, But I have come across some beautiful singing that he has done on YT. Early Butterfly duet. beautiful, along with his Cielo E Mar&Forza is pretty good & Thine Alone.I regret not seeing him LIVE.My impression was that RT was always the reliable House Tenor.Cont'
@ Robert Tillman - I agree with you regarding Tucker. Tucker sounded like he was singing chazzanut (cantorial singing) when singing opera, and like opera when singing chazzanut. Shicoff and Peerce don't have that sob in their operatic singing, though both know how to 'turn it on' (eg- Shicoff singing in La Juive).
Recordings decieve my friend, they really do. In any case even you can hear in this exceptional recording how powerful and focused his spinto instrument is, overwhelming squillo and in your face ring. Lanza never had that effect and neither did di Stefano. No, great singing is not all about volume, I know that. Artistry and musicality also come into play. But Tucker was never lacking on any of these factors.
@Etnalleb I mentioned to German Opera Singer a couple of months ago, That I think each of us has a siren in our heads that MAKES us like one tenor or singer over another.That may be attributing to some of the angry battles on You tube.Even though i do have my favorites, I do go to other tenors that I find interesting.Pertile Barioni Campagnano Fillipeschi Penno Schipa Peerce Gedda with an attempt to appreciate them all,However I'm not always successful. Enjoy
There is difference between a popular singer and a good one. I'm not saying that Lanza was a bad singer. He was an incredible singer. But he was NOT an opera singer! He was a movie star, recording artist, with an operatic voice that could have done well in opera. I love his recordings of 'Be My Love' and the Student Prince songs. His recordings of operatic arias are not really to my taste with the exception of a few. He would have done great in opera but he was NOT an opera singer!
@Shicoffl What does Peerce or Shicoff have to do with what I said about Tucker? My ears tell me that Tucker has a cantorial ring to his voice. He has a great voice no doubt. You are correct about Shicoff he did not sound cantorial. I heard him in person and he was terrific. Thanks for your comment.
[sigh] The Koussevitzky's (you are correct re: varied spelling) are another conversation altogether. Great, thrilling voices made/ developed for another genre altogether. Once we are name dropping, I assume you are familiar with Moishe Oysher who had a voice and musicality I can only dream of
@Etnalleb Tucker really doesnt do too many things wrong .His phrasing is pretty good, He is musically sound& has excellent hi-notes.I like some of his recordings& I think its because of a better Italian accent verses the recordings I don't care for , where his accent is not as Italian.The early Butterfly duet is an example of his voice being very beautiful. perhaps being attributed to a finer accent. I don't like all my favorite tenors in everything they sing,but more so in certain select roles
Lanza was loved in Italy and World Wide for that matter. I challenge you to take a poll asking Italians who sang better Italian and who was the Better singer. Tucker would not come close . Hey your a Tucker Fan Pearlmuth and while i give credit were credit is due Tucker was a great Tenor. But Lanza was an American Icon and the Greatest Singer of his time.
Sorry but that comment made me lol. It's hilarious that the Tucker haters can ONLY ever find 3 things wrong with him: sobbing, no legato, and holding double consonants. Nobody's perfect, get used to it. This role owns Domingo. Tucker was one of the greatest ever to sing Chenier.
In those days, HUC was far more traditional than now. Great cantors including Moshe Ganchoff were teaching in those days. I believe that Neil (at a stage in his career when he was already an established great singer) was asked to sing a number in Hebrew which he declined saying he was uncomfortable with the language and genre.
Wherever did I say he was the best? I like Tucker and Corelli equally on this role as a matter of fact. I simply stated that many people who did hear him sing this role in the house considered him the best voice for it. I am going to have to defend Tucker on the issue of Lanza and di Stefano being more exciting than him however. They had more beautiful voices, (di Stefano in my opinion the most beautiful Italian tenor voice of all time), but there is no way they came close to Tucker's excitement
now this is really great! the man probably had the ideal vocal weight for the role, although his primary heavier-voiced counterparts of the generation (i speak of MDM and Corelli), in my opinion, did it better. Even though they both sounded a bit heavy in the role. but this is still sublime! 5/5
@enricodicapri I'm sorry if I offended you. My attack was directed against that individual, and not Argentinians as a whole. It may appear to be such, so I've removed the insulting comment. Best regards.
The polls are inaccurate because I know that Corelli's fanclub was involved in this project and all of them voted. Most people didn't vote or didn't even know this poll existed until it came out, surely you can't believe that Stefan Zucker was a greater tenor than di Stefano? Well that's what that poll said. Anyway, I didn't vote and I would have voted Caruso, not Corelli if I did. But you didn't mention the BBC poll which Domingo nuts use to promote him, do you know which one I'm talking about?
As for Sirota, certainly the grandest voice the cantorate has ever heard. His musical interpretation is not what he is known for, though those (educated ones) who heard him attest to his improvisational skills. Mizrahi is pleasant enough; certainly an enjoyable middle register - but he doesn't really come into the conversation of great cantors like the aforementioned.
pearlmuth; You know very well Lanza was regarded as the greatest Singer in the World during the 50's.You know all about how he was invited to the Met .(Tebaldi for one). Tucker himself said Lanza would have been Great had he chose to do Opera. I never said Lanza was better in Opera than Tucker . What i did say was he could sing any aria just as well if not better and Lanza in MY opinion and Millions of others was untouchable when it came to exciting a audience you should know that.
Exactly. This argument just won't die, will it. =) Everyone just has to try and hammer a square peg into a round hole. One need only look at the singers who are popular today to see that you don't have to be good to be popular. :-P Lanza should be appreciated for the great singer that he was, but he certainly was not a great opera singer in the accepted sense. Why can't everyone just agree on that fact..... :-O
Neil Shicoff sang as a cantor?! He might have learned a couple of numbers, but as far as I know, he is surprisingly (given his father's cantorial singing) uneducated in cantorial arts.
Of course Domingo can't bring to the table what MDM did. That said, Domingo did more than a very credible job of Otello and did as well as someone not named MDM can. That's like saying Magic Johnson never 'owned' his position because you saw Jordan play. Domingo is also more versatile than MDM was. Yes, less thrilling for Otello or Pagliacci (mind you, I love nothing more than a powerful, dramatic voice) - but Domingo was absolutely a great, versatile workhorse in his day, commmading many roles
My Friend G.O.S. It;s a very risky and dangerously controversial thing to say some-one is the Best because u r always going to spark a debate because not all ppl have the same opinions. While Tucker was a Great Tenor , i have to agree with Oettinger MDM and Corelli were better suited for this role and most critic's beared that out. As for singing this Aria with the improviso several tenors sang it just as well or better... Bonisolli &DiStefano and even Lanza were more exciting to listen to.
@vanderbiltst For your sakeI hope you know more about muscle beach crap than the size of a singing voice. At best Pavarotti had a voice about half the size of Tucker's. Del Monaco did have a large voice but so did Tucker.
In a sense you are comaring apples and oranges. Ganchoff was one of the greats, the last of the 'Golden Age,' but a different animal altogether from Hershman. While his voice was certainly enjoyable to hear, his real contribution was his muscial interpretation and delivery of the liturgy. I gather the voice is what gets you. MH and GS had the finest recorded voices in the cantorate. Until Hershman came into the picture, no one every heard cantorial singing like his before.
So simply by saying Lanza was more popular than tenor X is not enough to justify that he was better. Polls can say all sorts of bullshit, did you see the one where Russell Watson was voted best tenor of today? Well check it out, it was on British Classical Radio poll. Etnalleb you say that you consider Tucker a great tenor yet everything you have posted here seems to be of utter contempt towards him? We can't be really sure unless we heard them live. My grandfather is a very reliable source...
"here is the improvviso sung as well as it will ever be sung" In other words you are saying it is the Best. " The Ultimate Interpreter" another reference to the Best. Tucker in YOUR OPINION was the Best but many people such as myself think he wasn't. My Friend when you say Tucker was more exciting than either DiStefano and Lanza. you are really going out on a limb there. Lanza was to many people the Quintessential Tenor and no-one but no-one will ever come close to him as far excitement go's.
@enricodicapri You'd have to know the history of this person before you jump to conclusions. He's been trolling me ever since I started posting videos on youtube. He's a racist anti-Semite from Argentina, and has about 6 different accounts all trolling my videos. That's why I responded in such a manner. And I see you're from Argentina - I have nothing against Argentinians, just against that individual.
Oh...here we go again. Tucker was better than Domingo on all of the roles above except the ones he never sang like Loris and in those roles there were many great singers who could make much more out of them...like Corelli for instance. Why are you coming on here to trash Tucker and praise Placido? Take your lies and BS somewhere else. I suppose you're also 15 years old and like listening to Bocelli and the 3 tenors concerts.
I did not unfortunate/ly. My experience and 'expertise' is more in the cantorial world than in opera. What I can say is that Tucker had more of an operatic quality to his cantorial singing than anyone else and it frequently sounds like he is singing some kind of oratorio. At times, that works to his advantage, such as his Kiddush. I don't think however, he does any favors for Rappaport's Eilu D'varim, when he sings it relatve to Hershman's recording.
Yes Tucker was very popular in Italy.... and to say Lanza was more popular than Tucker is not really fair. They were two different things! Tucker was popular as a great stage opera singer, Lanza was popular as a film star and a concert/recording artist. So to compare their popularity levels is not really accurate anyway. Can we all just appreciate them for what they were and cut the profanity and stupidity? It's music, to bring enjoyment for heaven's sakes!! If you have to swear do it in PM's!!
GOS. I do believe it was Mrs Caruso who said it was Jussi Bjorling not Tucker who sounded the closet to Caruso's voice. We are arguing over Tenors who have been dead 34 yrs&50 yrs ago respectively it's really farcical. We all have our favorites and those of us that really know truly great singers agree that Tucker , Corelli, DiStefano, and Lanza were all great singers but some were preferred over the others. If Tucker & Lanza were alive to see this they would laugh and say ENOUGH ALREADY.
Corelli only made 15 (or was it 16) on that list, and di Stefano didn't even make the list. Nor did Tucker or Peerce or any other tenor whom I think deserved a higher place or at least a spot on the list. That Domingo was higher than Caruso is outrageous and Pavarotti being number 3, as great a lyric tenor he was, is still stretching things way too far. So as I said these polls and critical reviews are inaccurate, we should not use them at all to reinforce our opinions if we are confident enough
Every poll is just as garbage as the one before or after it. You say that it is ridiculous that Zucker is considered greater than di Stefano, well according to the all knowing poll you speak of that is the case. I've never said anything negative about Lanza or Corelli and I never plan too because I love them both. My only argument was that Tucker was just as great a tenor as Corelli in the spinto repertoire and could also sing better than Corelli in lyric roles. His voice was most like Caruso's.
IMO, The medium sized spinto Domingo was a fair to good Otello, but never a great one. Fine in the lyric portions of the opera but vocally could not match other great tenor's in the Ora Per Sempre, Si Per Ciel and the Esultate, where the great Otello's have driving phrasing and heroic sound,along with the ability to wind up on exclamations that is needed to be an effective Moor. Merli, Zenatello, Del Monaco, Martinelli had these characteristics in their voices. Vickers did not, but was still a very effective Otello.
One of the stupidest comment I've ever seen. You mention Tucker's diction as "peculiar" in defense of Domingo?!? That's quite a laugh when you consider Domingo's unclear diction and generic sound. Domingo doesn't "own" any role because he's never been able to perfect any of the ones in his exuberant 140 role rep.
No, in my opinion he was NOT the best. I have always thought that Caruso was the greatest tenor of them all. Tucker was indeed one of the greatest and I rank him among the best of spinto tenors, along with Corelli and Lauri Volpi. And Lanza and di Stefano's voices had nothing in similarities to Tucker's. Not in the same class in terms of size and vocal weight.
Philadelphia in general is a pretty rotten city. I've been there many times and I've seen the big Lanza mural there, etc; but I'm always glad to leave. They don't call it "FILTH-adelphia" and "KILL-adelphia" for nothing. ;-D
GOS . Every-one had a chance to vote and for those that didn't well they really didn't think enough of Tucker to vote for him, How ridiculous to think that S.Zucker was a great tenor than di Stefano . I think if a poll was taken today Corelli would still win easily. I don't know the BBC poll you talk of but if they promoted Domingo as 1 of the Top Tenors it's garbage anyway and i wouldn't waste my time.
@GermanOperaSinger It´s a tuff subjct THe peronism. I´m fiercely anti peronist and that´s why it offends me to be asosiated to it. It´s like saying that every german is a nazi by definition pr that every american is a extreme right wing republican o a KKK member. The next time, please, stick to the personal aspects of the inividual you are trying to insult. Best of lucks
...sometimes acted like he was out of his mind. He loved Bergonzi and Bjorling too, did not respect di Stefano because of what he did to his wonderful voice. He says di Stefano had the most beautiful voice of them all but he does not respect him.
Always beauty and quality with Tucker. A great artist.
Absolutely beautiful rendition. Thanks Theodore and pearlmuth3.
Tucker, Lanza, Di Stefano, Gigli, Corelli, Volpi, Caruso, Bjorling, Wunderlich, Schmidt, etc. - all great voices and great performances.
These discussions of who was the 'greatest' just keep on and on....
We all have our favorite(s) - mine being Caruso as he makes my cry - but isn't it about time that we just let each other have their own favorite(s) without challenging the sanity of others with a different opinion ?
My appreciation for Richard Tucker has grown substantially over the past 5 years. He was a terrific tenor. Perhaps, I'm just a slow learner.
Nothing short of a great performance from Tucker. He was an amazing tenor. Clarity, beauty, excellent diction and great high notes.
è semplicemente Magnifico .
dal vivo Tucker era un attore Meraviglioso .
bravo !
Voce magnifica
ONE OF THE GREATS....HE HAD A BIG BIG VOICE THAT FILLED EVEN THE LARGEST THEATERS...I SAT IN THE UPPER UPPER BALCONY IN LOS ANGELES ONE TIME AND IT SEEMED LIKE HE WAS 10 FEET AWAY AS HE SANG...THRILLING...I'LL NEVER FORGET IT!!!
I agree! I had the same sensation hearing him at the Old Met in 'Pagliacci'.
che dire .................non occorre commentare- e' stato uno dei grandi - potessimo ascoltare ancora oggi queste voci cariche di pathos, di grande , ma grande armonicita' e sensibilita' artistica
Those of us who were at the Met in the 60s know how lucky we were to have some of the greatest and largest tenor voices of the century....
I heard Tucker in recital in the late sixties. The voice had tremendous penetration. As he was holding a note and making a superb crescendo on it (as only he could do), he turned his head slowly. As he faced my direction, I felt a wallop of full gorgeous tone smack my face. I will never forget it.
Tucker could sing above the orchestra without resorting to forcing his voice as most tenors do, maintaining a beautiful sincere sound from beginning to end. Corelli couldn't shine Tucker's shoes.
Tenore Eccellente Tucker!!
I never really appreciated Tucker until after he passed away (what an idiot I am!). I must have all his recordings now and love them all. I especially love the way he went through the passaggio (?). He made an unforgettable sound. (By the way, you can blame Bjoerling for me not getting to Tucker later on).
I forgive you.
Thank you?@@tobiolopainto
I don't know how that question mark snuck into the reply. @@davidnewton9496
Cosa dire, è il mio tenore preferito, voce non bellissima ma grande espressività e gran temperamento, una voce che lascia un segno grazie prof
SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!, what a great audio registration of this historical aria, done by one of the best ever!!!.Richard Tucker really "epytomized" the term "alla Caruso", he was the most near singer for me, to follow the road marked by the Great Caruso. His sound is solid, yet he delivers an emotional sound, that touches our hearts, Bravo Tucker, from there,up in heaven where you certainly are!!!!
By the way when I ask my grandfather about Tucker he tells me that such a powerful voice can never sound as good in studio records as it must have been live, he tells me it must have been like a cannon blast when he sang at the Met into the family circle, or so his friends say.
Without going on at length, I heard Tucker many times from 1964 until maybe
72. I would certainly not say that his most salient quality was"power" as was the case with MDM, for example. Much could be said about his vocal virtues, he himself was apparently inordinately proud of his top, but for me, the most, or one of the most distinctive attributes of his singing which made him so much the voice you were drawn to was the tambor of his voice. It was a quality that caused his voice to cut through everything, and everyone, but did not cover other voices the way the larger voiced MDM and Corelli did. I remember in the two performances of the Verdi Requiem I heard so often being amazed at how clearly you could hear his voice seeming to reach like a laser light directly to your ear during the largest choral ensembles.
Thanks for sending this version of Chenier. I had not heard Tucker recorded in this role and certainly he made a fine interpreter of the French revolutionary idealist. The photos are priceless, by the way.
I heard Richard Tucker and Robert Merill live, around 1970 at the Teatro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Their voices were big for sound, volume and area coverage
The squillante phrases from tucker were heroic with an easiness of production that demanded a superior technique
...he heard Corelli and Bjorling as well as di Stefano and Bergonzi, Pavarotti, but he was in Asia and Europe most of his middle age and didn't go to the US until he was 60, this was in the mid 1980s. He did not hear Tucker. He saw his first Met performance later that year. Made many friends in New York. They all told him Tucker was the best tenor they heard in all those decades at the Met. My grandfather regrets not having heard him. His favorite is Corelli who he said was very exciting but...
Excellent - Thanks. I have been looking forward to this! Don't think this recording of the opera has been in print for quite a number of years. I have a live rendition I've been meaning to post for some time; hopefully I'll get around to actually doing it in the near future.
Hey GOS thanks for the post, I'm glad it worked. And thanks pearlmuth for sending this, I've been waiting ;-) I'd be lying if I said I didn't still love Lanza's renditions but this is superb. The part I always listen close to is "Su dalla terra, a la mia fronte-veniva, una ca'rezza viva..." When a tenor get's the inflection right on the "ca'rezza" (caress) it just melts your heart. Tucker nailed it. ;-) Now one of my favorite renditions.
I see there's more arguing going on here already, sheesh.
Tucker had a voice for the ages, no doubt. Splendid and almost perfect as any singer can get. However I have always considered him too cantorial for my taste. Thanks for posting.
ruolo e scrittura ideali per Tucker. Mi piace anche la direzione
Great Tucker.
@sugarbist I whole-heartedly agree with you sugarbist very well put. Tucker's duet with Merrill in "Forza" is probably the greatest Tenor/Baritone duet ever recorded. I heard Tucker in person at the S.F Opera House the year before he died and he sounded great despite obviously battling a bad cold.
@sugarbist Yes we all have our favorites and i enjoy each Tenor for the special individual gifts they all had.
It's so easy to start a flaming controversy by naming or favoring 1 particular tenor over all the others so from now on i avoid that. Life's to stressful enough with-out arguing over Tenors who are long dead.
@Etnalleb My favorite tenors are MDM Corelli DiStefano Lauri Volpi& no one can sing the so-called American songs like Lanza. I leave Caruso out of the mix & put him on a separate throne where he belongs. Tucker is not one of my favorites, But I have come across some beautiful singing that he has done on YT. Early Butterfly duet. beautiful, along with his Cielo E Mar&Forza is pretty good & Thine Alone.I regret not seeing him LIVE.My impression was that RT was always the reliable House Tenor.Cont'
@ Robert Tillman - I agree with you regarding Tucker. Tucker sounded like he was singing chazzanut (cantorial singing) when singing opera, and like opera when singing chazzanut.
Shicoff and Peerce don't have that sob in their operatic singing, though both know how to 'turn it on' (eg- Shicoff singing in La Juive).
Recordings decieve my friend, they really do. In any case even you can hear in this exceptional recording how powerful and focused his spinto instrument is, overwhelming squillo and in your face ring. Lanza never had that effect and neither did di Stefano. No, great singing is not all about volume, I know that. Artistry and musicality also come into play. But Tucker was never lacking on any of these factors.
"People in the chorus years ago would be stars today. "
I agree, very regrettable too
@Etnalleb I mentioned to German Opera Singer a couple of months ago, That I think each of us has a siren in our heads that MAKES us like one tenor or singer over another.That may be attributing to some of the angry battles on You tube.Even though i do have my favorites, I do go to other tenors that I find interesting.Pertile Barioni Campagnano Fillipeschi Penno Schipa Peerce Gedda with an attempt to appreciate them all,However I'm not always successful. Enjoy
There is difference between a popular singer and a good one. I'm not saying that Lanza was a bad singer. He was an incredible singer. But he was NOT an opera singer! He was a movie star, recording artist, with an operatic voice that could have done well in opera. I love his recordings of 'Be My Love' and the Student Prince songs. His recordings of operatic arias are not really to my taste with the exception of a few. He would have done great in opera but he was NOT an opera singer!
As for the ultimate instrument of beauty, passion and sentiment look no further than Giuseppe di Stefano. He excelled even Gigli in my opinion.
@Shicoffl What does Peerce or Shicoff have to do with what I said about Tucker? My ears tell me that Tucker has a cantorial ring to his voice. He has a great voice no doubt. You are correct about Shicoff he did not sound cantorial. I heard him in person and he was terrific. Thanks for your comment.
@sugarbist I can't add anything to what you have said here but " I Agree"
[sigh] The Koussevitzky's (you are correct re: varied spelling) are another conversation altogether. Great, thrilling voices made/ developed for another genre altogether. Once we are name dropping, I assume you are familiar with Moishe Oysher who had a voice and musicality I can only dream of
@Etnalleb Tucker really doesnt do too many things wrong .His phrasing is pretty good, He is musically sound& has excellent hi-notes.I like some of his recordings& I think its because of a better Italian accent verses the recordings I don't care for , where his accent is not as Italian.The early Butterfly duet is an example of his voice being very beautiful. perhaps being attributed to a finer accent. I don't like all my favorite tenors in everything they sing,but more so in certain select roles
Lanza was loved in Italy and World Wide for that matter. I challenge you to take a poll asking Italians who sang better Italian and who was the Better singer. Tucker would not come close . Hey your a Tucker Fan Pearlmuth and while i give credit were credit is due Tucker was a great Tenor. But Lanza was an American Icon and the Greatest Singer of his time.
Thanks, that was quite a laugh.
Sorry but that comment made me lol. It's hilarious that the Tucker haters can ONLY ever find 3 things wrong with him: sobbing, no legato, and holding double consonants. Nobody's perfect, get used to it. This role owns Domingo. Tucker was one of the greatest ever to sing Chenier.
@vanderbiltst Yes, they did have quite small voices compared to Tucker.
@GermanOperaSinger Thank you very much! Tell me if you need ay help in your crusade against my felow argentinian!
In those days, HUC was far more traditional than now. Great cantors including Moshe Ganchoff were teaching in those days. I believe that Neil (at a stage in his career when he was already an established great singer) was asked to sing a number in Hebrew which he declined saying he was uncomfortable with the language and genre.
Wherever did I say he was the best? I like Tucker and Corelli equally on this role as a matter of fact. I simply stated that many people who did hear him sing this role in the house considered him the best voice for it. I am going to have to defend Tucker on the issue of Lanza and di Stefano being more exciting than him however. They had more beautiful voices, (di Stefano in my opinion the most beautiful Italian tenor voice of all time), but there is no way they came close to Tucker's excitement
now this is really great!
the man probably had the ideal vocal weight for the role, although his primary heavier-voiced counterparts of the generation (i speak of MDM and Corelli), in my opinion, did it better. Even though they both sounded a bit heavy in the role.
but this is still sublime! 5/5
@enricodicapri I'm sorry if I offended you. My attack was directed against that individual, and not Argentinians as a whole. It may appear to be such, so I've removed the insulting comment. Best regards.
The polls are inaccurate because I know that Corelli's fanclub was involved in this project and all of them voted. Most people didn't vote or didn't even know this poll existed until it came out, surely you can't believe that Stefan Zucker was a greater tenor than di Stefano? Well that's what that poll said. Anyway, I didn't vote and I would have voted Caruso, not Corelli if I did. But you didn't mention the BBC poll which Domingo nuts use to promote him, do you know which one I'm talking about?
I suppose you could say I dabble. I seem to be unable to message you off of this page.
As for Sirota, certainly the grandest voice the cantorate has ever heard. His musical interpretation is not what he is known for, though those (educated ones) who heard him attest to his improvisational skills.
Mizrahi is pleasant enough; certainly an enjoyable middle register - but he doesn't really come into the conversation of great cantors like the aforementioned.
pearlmuth; You know very well Lanza was regarded as the greatest Singer in the World during the 50's.You know all about how he was invited to the Met .(Tebaldi for one). Tucker himself said Lanza would have been Great had he chose to do Opera. I never said Lanza was better in Opera than Tucker . What i did say was he could sing any aria just as well if not better and Lanza in MY opinion and Millions of others was untouchable when it came to exciting a audience you should know that.
Yes of course, I did not mean to leave out Vickers
Wow - tough crowd
Exactly. This argument just won't die, will it. =) Everyone just has to try and hammer a square peg into a round hole.
One need only look at the singers who are popular today to see that you don't have to be good to be popular. :-P Lanza should be appreciated for the great singer that he was, but he certainly was not a great opera singer in the accepted sense. Why can't everyone just agree on that fact..... :-O
Neil Shicoff sang as a cantor?! He might have learned a couple of numbers, but as far as I know, he is surprisingly (given his father's cantorial singing) uneducated in cantorial arts.
Like many another tenor with a large voice and significant squillo, Tucker always sounded better when recorded live, as opposed to his studio records.
Of course Domingo can't bring to the table what MDM did. That said, Domingo did more than a very credible job of Otello and did as well as someone not named MDM can. That's like saying Magic Johnson never 'owned' his position because you saw Jordan play. Domingo is also more versatile than MDM was. Yes, less thrilling for Otello or Pagliacci (mind you, I love nothing more than a powerful, dramatic voice) - but Domingo was absolutely a great, versatile workhorse in his day, commmading many roles
My Friend G.O.S. It;s a very risky and dangerously controversial thing to say some-one is the Best because u r always going to spark a debate because not all ppl have the same opinions. While Tucker was a Great Tenor , i have to agree with Oettinger MDM and Corelli were better suited for this role and most critic's beared that out. As for singing this Aria with the improviso several tenors sang it just as well or better... Bonisolli &DiStefano and even Lanza were more exciting to listen to.
@vanderbiltst For your sakeI hope you know more about muscle beach crap than the size of a singing voice. At best Pavarotti had a voice about half the size of Tucker's. Del Monaco did have a large voice but so did Tucker.
In a sense you are comaring apples and oranges. Ganchoff was one of the greats, the last of the 'Golden Age,' but a different animal altogether from Hershman. While his voice was certainly enjoyable to hear, his real contribution was his muscial interpretation and delivery of the liturgy. I gather the voice is what gets you. MH and GS had the finest recorded voices in the cantorate. Until Hershman came into the picture, no one every heard cantorial singing like his before.
So simply by saying Lanza was more popular than tenor X is not enough to justify that he was better. Polls can say all sorts of bullshit, did you see the one where Russell Watson was voted best tenor of today? Well check it out, it was on British Classical Radio poll. Etnalleb you say that you consider Tucker a great tenor yet everything you have posted here seems to be of utter contempt towards him? We can't be really sure unless we heard them live. My grandfather is a very reliable source...
"here is the improvviso sung as well as it will ever be sung" In other words you are saying it is the Best. " The Ultimate Interpreter" another reference to the Best. Tucker in YOUR OPINION was the Best but many people such as myself think he wasn't. My Friend when you say Tucker was more exciting than either DiStefano and Lanza. you are really going out on a limb there. Lanza was to many people the Quintessential Tenor and no-one but no-one will ever come close to him as far excitement go's.
Sirota died in the early 1940's.
@enricodicapri You'd have to know the history of this person before you jump to conclusions. He's been trolling me ever since I started posting videos on youtube. He's a racist anti-Semite from Argentina, and has about 6 different accounts all trolling my videos. That's why I responded in such a manner. And I see you're from Argentina - I have nothing against Argentinians, just against that individual.
Oh...here we go again. Tucker was better than Domingo on all of the roles above except the ones he never sang like Loris and in those roles there were many great singers who could make much more out of them...like Corelli for instance. Why are you coming on here to trash Tucker and praise Placido? Take your lies and BS somewhere else. I suppose you're also 15 years old and like listening to Bocelli and the 3 tenors concerts.
I did not unfortunate/ly. My experience and 'expertise' is more in the cantorial world than in opera. What I can say is that Tucker had more of an operatic quality to his cantorial singing than anyone else and it frequently sounds like he is singing some kind of oratorio. At times, that works to his advantage, such as his Kiddush. I don't think however, he does any favors for Rappaport's Eilu D'varim, when he sings it relatve to Hershman's recording.
Ha. I wonder why.
Yes Tucker was very popular in Italy.... and to say Lanza was more popular than Tucker is not really fair. They were two different things! Tucker was popular as a great stage opera singer, Lanza was popular as a film star and a concert/recording artist. So to compare their popularity levels is not really accurate anyway. Can we all just appreciate them for what they were and cut the profanity and stupidity? It's music, to bring enjoyment for heaven's sakes!! If you have to swear do it in PM's!!
Just darker, not necessarily heavier.
GOS. I do believe it was Mrs Caruso who said it was Jussi Bjorling not Tucker who sounded the closet to Caruso's voice. We are arguing over Tenors who have been dead 34 yrs&50 yrs ago respectively it's really farcical. We all have our favorites and those of us that really know truly great singers agree that Tucker , Corelli, DiStefano, and Lanza were all great singers but some were preferred over the others. If Tucker & Lanza were alive to see this they would laugh and say ENOUGH ALREADY.
Corelli only made 15 (or was it 16) on that list, and di Stefano didn't even make the list. Nor did Tucker or Peerce or any other tenor whom I think deserved a higher place or at least a spot on the list. That Domingo was higher than Caruso is outrageous and Pavarotti being number 3, as great a lyric tenor he was, is still stretching things way too far. So as I said these polls and critical reviews are inaccurate, we should not use them at all to reinforce our opinions if we are confident enough
Every poll is just as garbage as the one before or after it. You say that it is ridiculous that Zucker is considered greater than di Stefano, well according to the all knowing poll you speak of that is the case. I've never said anything negative about Lanza or Corelli and I never plan too because I love them both. My only argument was that Tucker was just as great a tenor as Corelli in the spinto repertoire and could also sing better than Corelli in lyric roles. His voice was most like Caruso's.
He has a very negative opinion of Mario Lanza so I won't elaborate on that.
No role? Domingo is certainly known for his Otello
IMO, The medium sized spinto Domingo was a fair to good Otello, but never a great one. Fine in the lyric portions of the opera but vocally could not match other great tenor's in the Ora Per Sempre, Si Per Ciel and the Esultate, where the great Otello's have driving phrasing and heroic sound,along with the ability to wind up on exclamations that is needed to be an effective Moor. Merli, Zenatello, Del Monaco, Martinelli had these characteristics in their voices. Vickers did not, but was still a very effective Otello.
One of the stupidest comment I've ever seen. You mention Tucker's diction as "peculiar" in defense of Domingo?!? That's quite a laugh when you consider Domingo's unclear diction and generic sound. Domingo doesn't "own" any role because he's never been able to perfect any of the ones in his exuberant 140 role rep.
No, in my opinion he was NOT the best. I have always thought that Caruso was the greatest tenor of them all. Tucker was indeed one of the greatest and I rank him among the best of spinto tenors, along with Corelli and Lauri Volpi. And Lanza and di Stefano's voices had nothing in similarities to Tucker's. Not in the same class in terms of size and vocal weight.
yah, a bit meaty
Philadelphia in general is a pretty rotten city. I've been there many times and I've seen the big Lanza mural there, etc; but I'm always glad to leave. They don't call it "FILTH-adelphia" and "KILL-adelphia" for nothing. ;-D
W.C. Fields wanted this on his tombstone: I'd rather be here than in Philly!
GOS . Every-one had a chance to vote and for those that didn't well they really didn't think enough of Tucker to vote for him, How ridiculous to think that S.Zucker was a great tenor than di Stefano . I think if a poll was taken today Corelli would still win easily. I don't know the BBC poll you talk of but if they promoted Domingo as 1 of the Top Tenors it's garbage anyway and i wouldn't waste my time.
@GermanOperaSinger It´s a tuff subjct THe peronism. I´m fiercely anti peronist and that´s why it offends me to be asosiated to it. It´s like saying that every german is a nazi by definition pr that every american is a extreme right wing republican o a KKK member.
The next time, please, stick to the personal aspects of the inividual you are trying to insult.
Best of lucks
...sometimes acted like he was out of his mind. He loved Bergonzi and Bjorling too, did not respect di Stefano because of what he did to his wonderful voice. He says di Stefano had the most beautiful voice of them all but he does not respect him.