Boris Christoff recording Boris Godunov
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- Опубліковано 23 кві 2007
- Here is amazing footage of the great bass (and my favourite singer) Boris Christoff in the recording of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. You ask yourself where that subterranean rumble comes from!
Unbelievable..what a glory..what a voice..what a personality.. Please singers LEARN!!! Tears and joy fight eachother listening to this God-Given Artist..
Tone, color, expression, sensitivity to the words, drama = magic.
The first opera I was taken to was Boris Godunov and Christoff was Boris. I was a schoolboy. He was elemental, with a voice like magma, and the death scene was so electric that I leapt out of my seat and had to be forcibly pushed back down. Some years later, I was, once again, at the ROH for his Philip II. The animal intensity, so visceral, again left me breathless and to this day my hair stands on end when I hear that voice. It was not an enormous instrument but it had a majesty beyond mere size.
Une voix sublime et des expressions extraordinaires ! Boris, tu es le plus grand !
as a collector of all the recordings of Christoff (more than 30 years now) this magnificant. Since I was 16 I am addicted to his voice. Please add more if possible
Awesome inmortal forever Bravissssimmmoo Maese Boris 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Incredible!!! The goose bumps are will never go away.
Браво...бравоооо Великолепный певец,
The most immense basso profundo of all times. One of the strongest pillar of the opera art.
My favorite bass! Thanks for this gem.
Выдающийся певец! Гений!
MAGNIFICENT voice!
Насколько могуч и нежен его голос-это чудо!
wonderful. Loved this Man.
At the beginning he whispers in the conductor's ear: "It was good, but not wonderful", probably referring to the feminine word "repetition". Someone says "shall we keep that one", and Christoff replies "no, we'll do it again!" ... just in case anyone was wondering. What he whispers to the bloke sat at the piano we'll never know!
Indeed? Remarcable confidence... Congratulations!
That is nothing short of pure genius!!
Великан! / Giant!
Che interpretazione, quest'uomo diventa ciò che interpreta....grandissimo
Cet enregistrement éffectué pour la première chaine de la télévision française date de Mai 1967.
Le titre de l'émission était "Initiation à la musique"(produite par Bernard Gavoty et Marcel Bluwal).
Le chef qui se trouve face à Christoff est J.C Hartmann.
Brilliant
As another great Christoff fan, I agree with you. He never had as powerful a voice as many of his colleagues.
But power is not everything. It is not even important in my opinion.
The voice of Boris Christoff possessed the most unique timbre (and the darkest one!) as well as the most immense ability for shade and colour I've ever heard. Such cliches like "velvet tone" or "golden tone" suddenly make sense when one hears him. Not to mention his miracluous psychological insight in all of his parts
One way or another "basso profondo" is an existing term that evidently attains different meanings depending on the point of view. I might be totally wrong but for me it's not bound to the overall power but to the lower register excellence and depth of the voice (incl. velvetness, subtleness...) even in pp.
And you are right the unutterable cannot be explained.
Thank you for your insightful comments.
invaluable post. thank you gabba02
Absolutely right!
In the Beginning was the Voice.
And the Voice said, "Let the Universe begin!"
And the Voice was Boris Christoff.
Bernard Gavotti with the black glasses behind the great Boris
Bravo
Too bad, due to visa problems, this great artist never appeared on the stage of the Met.
Thankful for his recordings of Don Carlo, Faust, Aida and, of course, his recordings of "Boris".
Fortunately for the world he chose not to seek a legal career.
As much as I cannot agree on the statement about BCH's voice power the more I cannot accept a similar one about His basso profoundness. BCH is THE basso profondo. His Genius is in the ability to use the power not at all costs but where it's just (He can be a Tunder but also a Mildest Touch) that, in fact, is the core of your comment's second part (which I totally support).
Emozionante
I love him. He is the best Boris of all non-russian singers. Actually - better than most russians. Excepting Petrov and Pirogov.
Heart-stoppingly beautiful. Thank you so much. Is this from a commercial DVD?
I don't know about "basso profundo" - it's a term that makes no sense to me.
It is quite true that Boris could produce a real thundering notes when he wanted to, but I don't think this was his usual voice. Which is all the better and add subtle colours one is not likely to find anywhere else. Indeed, many other basses often sound to me just like shouting (no names so there will be no offended)
Anyway, all this doesn't matter at all. Boris Christoff is simply unique and that's that.
I'm a big Christoff fan, but he was by no means a basso profundo, and his voice was not "immense." By all accounts, his voice was medium-sized.
Can't believe I'm reading this - I heard him in Carnegie Hall and his voice was the biggest one I ever heard - it was like the mouth of hell had opened.
Was it the 2nd or 1st recording of the opera ,he did two Boris Godanov's the 2nd in the 70's I think?
If Maestro Christoff heard this, I think he would've felt very offended(joking). It's known that he definitely wasn't in good terms witch Callas. There's even a story floating around that she offended him very rudely regarding his ethnicity and he "bitchslapped" her, lol.
I doubt that it is 100% true, but there is always some truth to these rumors :)