Great Historical Singers (Nicolai Ghiaurov)

Nicolai Ghiaurov had one of the most beautiful bass voices of all time.  The male voice parts are counter-tenor, tenor, baritone, bass-baritone and bass.  There are subcategories for each voice part, but those are the basic voice parts for men.  Nicolai Ghiaurov was a true bass which is rare, with a wide range and an awesome sense of line in his singing.  He was at home in Russian, French and Italian repertoire.  His portrayals of so many characters are immortal, and will remain that way.  He was also first rate in Russian song repertoire.  Ghiaurov is one of the most recorded bass singers in history, and he left many great recordings.  He sang for over forty years in the worlds major opera houses such as La Scala, Vienna State Opera, The Metropolitan Opera and many more. He was married to star soprano Mirella Freni from 1978 until his death.  He kept singing as late as 2001,  just so he could be with her according to Wayne Connor.  For a really good introduction to Ghiaurov, check out "The Singers" series released by Decca.  The cd with Ghiaurov in that series is a winner.  It features him singing repertoire in French, Italian and Russian, all with him singing at a young age. Ghiaurov was always great, but at a young age he had power, easiness at the top, and a rock steady vibrato. Among my favorites on the cd are the last two tracks, which are Gremin's Aria from "Eugene Onegin", and Aleko's Cavatina from "Aleko." Aleko is an opera that Rachmoninoff composed in his teens.  Ghiaurov was all about the musical line and phrase, and therefore a great artist. Another recording which represents the art of Nicolai Ghiaurov at his best is the double cd of Russian songs on Decca. The recordings were made in 1971 and 1974, so he is in his prime.