I'm writing another blog about bullying. Not for extra credit, but to support those who are being bullied and who have been bullied in the past. My best friend and I were just texting about a fifteen year old boy who committed suicide by crashing his parents car into another car. The passengers in the other car were also killed. That is obviously not fair to the two men who were killed, but the boy was probably not thinking rationally at the time. Bullying has to stop. I mean this in a kind and loving way. If I come from a place of hatred, that just makes things worse. That's an important life motto in general. Also, to those kids and adults who used to bully, and have made amends for it, I applaud you with three hands instead of two.
Not only does bullying scar people, but suicides are becoming more and more common. Ever since the internet, bullying has taken new levels. Boys and girls both do it, so both sexes are equally being held accountable by me right now. I've heard of two suicides from bullying this month already. I'm sure there are more that haven't made the news. People need to step up when other kids are being bullied. Tell a good teacher what's going on. Unfortunately, sometimes the teachers are the bullies themselves. How the hell did they get hired? Bullying really needs to be watched carefully because the kids being bullied often hide their inner torment which makes bullying a tough issue to deal with. It's essential to be supportive of kids or adults being bullied, and it only takes one person to make a difference.
Those who are being bullied who might read this, you have my support. Turn to someone for help. Someone other than just your family such as a friend or a teacher. Take an after school activity and forget what other people might think. Forget being embarrassed or made fun of. Easier said than done, I know. I was made fun of for being a musician, and it almost made me quit. I tried playing more sports and thought that would help, but it made it worse because I'm a shitty athlete. What's my point? Stick with what you love, and turn for help if you're getting bullied. As for parents, don't let your kids bully, and don't influence them to bully other kids. Support them and love them. Kids, be sure you tell your parents what's happening. Hiding it makes it harder for your parents to step in and help you. Bullying is a hard problem to solve, but each person can make a difference. I stuck up for someone who was being bullied, and it had a big impact. I don't say that to brag. It's just the right thing to do. The poor guy didn't do anything except sit in class and do his work. Those who think it's funny to torment other people, please stop and make amends. Let's not have any more suicides.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Ten Top Verdi Baritones
Ten Top Verdi Baritones
Ettore Bastianini
Titta Ruffo
Leonard Warren
Cesare Bardelli
Piero Cappuccilli
Robert Merrill
Cornell MacNeil
Apollo Granforte
Pavel Lisitian
Carlo Tagliabue
I'm a Verdiaholic. I refuse to get help for that. One of the most fascinating voice types in the field of opera is a Verdi baritone. It's a baritone on steroids that can sing in the upper fifth of his range for long periods of time with tremendous strength. Here are ten Verdi baritones I really like, not ranked in any particular order. Every singer has something different to bring to the table, so it's hard to rank them.
Ettore Bastianini
Ettore Bastianini debuted as a bass singing the role of Colline in La Boheme. However, he was meant to be a Verdi baritone instead of a bass. He took a year off to make the transition to baritone and became a sensation. Bastianini had sensational clarity in his timbre and a gorgeous and penetrating cut in his sound. Unfortunately he was taken from us by throat cancer when he was just 44. He did not disclose his illness and was booed as a result. Surgery would have saved his life, but ended his career, so he refused it. If you hear him in the following YouTube, you will hear immediately that he was not deserving of being booed. Here he is in one of his best roles, Don Carlo di Vargas in "La Forza del Destino."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n5fEKbnpZT4
Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo was Ruffa Titto's stage name. Ruffo was considered the Caruso of baritones in addition to being dubbed a vocal miracle. When you hear Ruffo you will understand why he is considered a vocal miracle. His voice was a revelation. His top notes were just incredible, with great strength and drive, and therefore a textbook example of the power of a Verdi baritone. Many recordings he made have survived. A great one is Rigoletto's monologue "Pari Siamo."Wayne Connor played this recording at Peabody, and I remember the high G at the end blowing everyone in that room away.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qLDNx71tjWk
Leonard Warren
Leonard Warren was a met regular for over 20 years until his tragic death in 1960. Warren's voice had a soft velvety timbre, with a mind boggling upper range. Warren studied with the great Giuseppe De Luca in New York, but sounded more like Riccardo Stracciari to my ears. Warren's timbre might have been soft, but he had incredible resonance as is evident on live recordings. He was very famous for Verdi roles. He was particularly famous for Rigoletto and Conte di Luna. Those two roles stand out the most for me. Tragically Warren collapsed and died on stage at the age of 48 in the middle of a performance of "La Forza del Destino." There are mixed reports to what exactly happened, but I do know that Warren went way before his time. Here he is singing Conte di Luna's aria from "Il Trovatore."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wTaInoAlpYs
Cesare Bardelli
Cesare Bardelli is not as well known as the other Verdi baritones I have written about thus far, but he belongs on this list without a doubt. His recordings are taken from live performances, because he didn't record in studios to my knowledge. Bardelli's voice was powerful and robust with a strong powerful upper range. Bardelli sang well into his 60s and then retired and taught voice. Here is a live recording of the duet between Enzo and Barnaba, with Franco Corelli singing Enzo.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QbO_bIMXFBc
Piero Cappuccilli
Piero Cappuccilli was one of the smartest baritones whoever lived because of his incredible breath support and musicianship. I'm not trying to favor him by saying that. I am pointing out that his breath support was unique. Cappuccilli started out singing smaller roles such as Masetto and Antonio in "Don Giovanni" and "Le Nozze di Figaro", both roles he recorded under Carlo Maria Giuliani. However, as time went along Verdi roles became Cappuccilli's bread and butter. Cappuccilli's voice was not a voice with a lot of weight, but it certainly was very effective in Verdi roles such as Simon Boccanegra, Rodrigo, Renato, and Conte di Luna. He had a long career, and taught and gave master classes. A car accident in 1992 forced him to retire from singing, and injuries sustained from the accident caused Cappuccilli's death in 2005. Here's a duet from "Simon Boccanegra" with Cappuccilli and Nicolai Ghiaurov.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yAAcpF-wFSI
Robert Merrill
Robert Merrill was one of several American Verdi baritones of the mid to late 20th century. Merrill's voice had a lot of weight and tremendous power and beauty in the middle and upper middle range. The high notes were there and certainly more than respectable. However the middle and upper middle range were like a pipe organ. Merrill specialized in Verdi, and sang Giorgio Germont in La Traviata over one hundred and thirty times. Merrill brought a lot of tenderness to this role, because he was a father himself. Merrill's home was mostly at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang a lot of Verdi roles. Here he is singing "Eri Tu" from "Un Ballo in Maschera."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rM44_3v3Jmo
Cornell Macneil
Cornell Macneil had a very unique baritone voice with a very dark timbre. What is unique is that a listener could easily mistake it for a bass until they hear his high notes. He had a good high A above middle C. Macneil was incredible in his prime, and he recorded Jack Rance in "La Fanciulla del West" and Miller in "Luisa Miller" to great effect. He often interpolated high notes up the octave as he does here in the act 3 aria in "Ernani." He would throw in high A flats which surprises me given the heavy weight of his timbre.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YM-w5VWsQAU
Apollo Granforte
If there is any voice on records that sounds like Titta Ruffo, it is Apollo Granforte's voice because of the tremendous forward resonance and powerful upper range. Granforte trained as a tenor, but was unsuccessful, so he became a baritone. High notes never gave him trouble. Fortunately, several complete opera recordings with Apollo Granforte are available including "Tosca", "Il Trovatore" and "Otello." Here is Iago's Credo from "Otello."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c58kJXdiG5M&feature=plpp
Pavel Lisitsian
If you want fantastic lyricism and sense of line, then listen to Pavel Lisitsian's voice. Lisitsian sang at the Bolshoi from 1940-1966, when he retired. He did appear at the Metropolitan Opera once in a tour of Verdi's Aida, but he mainly stayed in Russia. Therefore, most of the recordings you hear him on are in Russian, despite the fact that he is singing Italian operas. In this recording of the Prologue from "Pagliacci" the listener almost forgets that it was recorded in Russian because it was so good. The high A flat at the end is on an oo vowel in this Russian version. This is a hard vowel to sing a high A flat on, but Lisitsian made it sound easy.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SOpwmPw9z2Q
Carlo Tagliabue
Versatility as far as repertoire and acting are important for a singer's artistic abilities. Tagliabue was a great singer and actor who was quite versatile. He had a long career which mainly centered around La Scala. However, he did sing at the Metropolitan Opera for two years during his career. He not only sang Verdi, but he also sang Wolfram in Wagner's "Tannhauser" in Italian under Karl Boehme. A lot of Italian singers of the early and mid twentieth century ventured into Wagner, and Tagliabue was very gifted at it. He also sang Michele in "Il Tabaro" by Puccini, and there is video footage of his exceptional acting ability from that opera. After his retirement in 1958, Tagliabue focused on mentoring and teaching young singers. Here is Tagliabue and the great tenor Galiano Masini singing a duet from the famous 1941 recording of "La Forza del Destino." If you don't have that recording, it's awesome, so go out and buy it.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Pk99DJzYY
Ettore Bastianini
Titta Ruffo
Leonard Warren
Cesare Bardelli
Piero Cappuccilli
Robert Merrill
Cornell MacNeil
Apollo Granforte
Pavel Lisitian
Carlo Tagliabue
I'm a Verdiaholic. I refuse to get help for that. One of the most fascinating voice types in the field of opera is a Verdi baritone. It's a baritone on steroids that can sing in the upper fifth of his range for long periods of time with tremendous strength. Here are ten Verdi baritones I really like, not ranked in any particular order. Every singer has something different to bring to the table, so it's hard to rank them.
Ettore Bastianini
Ettore Bastianini debuted as a bass singing the role of Colline in La Boheme. However, he was meant to be a Verdi baritone instead of a bass. He took a year off to make the transition to baritone and became a sensation. Bastianini had sensational clarity in his timbre and a gorgeous and penetrating cut in his sound. Unfortunately he was taken from us by throat cancer when he was just 44. He did not disclose his illness and was booed as a result. Surgery would have saved his life, but ended his career, so he refused it. If you hear him in the following YouTube, you will hear immediately that he was not deserving of being booed. Here he is in one of his best roles, Don Carlo di Vargas in "La Forza del Destino."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n5fEKbnpZT4
Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo was Ruffa Titto's stage name. Ruffo was considered the Caruso of baritones in addition to being dubbed a vocal miracle. When you hear Ruffo you will understand why he is considered a vocal miracle. His voice was a revelation. His top notes were just incredible, with great strength and drive, and therefore a textbook example of the power of a Verdi baritone. Many recordings he made have survived. A great one is Rigoletto's monologue "Pari Siamo."Wayne Connor played this recording at Peabody, and I remember the high G at the end blowing everyone in that room away.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qLDNx71tjWk
Leonard Warren
Leonard Warren was a met regular for over 20 years until his tragic death in 1960. Warren's voice had a soft velvety timbre, with a mind boggling upper range. Warren studied with the great Giuseppe De Luca in New York, but sounded more like Riccardo Stracciari to my ears. Warren's timbre might have been soft, but he had incredible resonance as is evident on live recordings. He was very famous for Verdi roles. He was particularly famous for Rigoletto and Conte di Luna. Those two roles stand out the most for me. Tragically Warren collapsed and died on stage at the age of 48 in the middle of a performance of "La Forza del Destino." There are mixed reports to what exactly happened, but I do know that Warren went way before his time. Here he is singing Conte di Luna's aria from "Il Trovatore."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wTaInoAlpYs
Cesare Bardelli
Cesare Bardelli is not as well known as the other Verdi baritones I have written about thus far, but he belongs on this list without a doubt. His recordings are taken from live performances, because he didn't record in studios to my knowledge. Bardelli's voice was powerful and robust with a strong powerful upper range. Bardelli sang well into his 60s and then retired and taught voice. Here is a live recording of the duet between Enzo and Barnaba, with Franco Corelli singing Enzo.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QbO_bIMXFBc
Piero Cappuccilli
Piero Cappuccilli was one of the smartest baritones whoever lived because of his incredible breath support and musicianship. I'm not trying to favor him by saying that. I am pointing out that his breath support was unique. Cappuccilli started out singing smaller roles such as Masetto and Antonio in "Don Giovanni" and "Le Nozze di Figaro", both roles he recorded under Carlo Maria Giuliani. However, as time went along Verdi roles became Cappuccilli's bread and butter. Cappuccilli's voice was not a voice with a lot of weight, but it certainly was very effective in Verdi roles such as Simon Boccanegra, Rodrigo, Renato, and Conte di Luna. He had a long career, and taught and gave master classes. A car accident in 1992 forced him to retire from singing, and injuries sustained from the accident caused Cappuccilli's death in 2005. Here's a duet from "Simon Boccanegra" with Cappuccilli and Nicolai Ghiaurov.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yAAcpF-wFSI
Robert Merrill
Robert Merrill was one of several American Verdi baritones of the mid to late 20th century. Merrill's voice had a lot of weight and tremendous power and beauty in the middle and upper middle range. The high notes were there and certainly more than respectable. However the middle and upper middle range were like a pipe organ. Merrill specialized in Verdi, and sang Giorgio Germont in La Traviata over one hundred and thirty times. Merrill brought a lot of tenderness to this role, because he was a father himself. Merrill's home was mostly at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang a lot of Verdi roles. Here he is singing "Eri Tu" from "Un Ballo in Maschera."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rM44_3v3Jmo
Cornell Macneil
Cornell Macneil had a very unique baritone voice with a very dark timbre. What is unique is that a listener could easily mistake it for a bass until they hear his high notes. He had a good high A above middle C. Macneil was incredible in his prime, and he recorded Jack Rance in "La Fanciulla del West" and Miller in "Luisa Miller" to great effect. He often interpolated high notes up the octave as he does here in the act 3 aria in "Ernani." He would throw in high A flats which surprises me given the heavy weight of his timbre.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YM-w5VWsQAU
Apollo Granforte
If there is any voice on records that sounds like Titta Ruffo, it is Apollo Granforte's voice because of the tremendous forward resonance and powerful upper range. Granforte trained as a tenor, but was unsuccessful, so he became a baritone. High notes never gave him trouble. Fortunately, several complete opera recordings with Apollo Granforte are available including "Tosca", "Il Trovatore" and "Otello." Here is Iago's Credo from "Otello."
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c58kJXdiG5M&feature=plpp
Pavel Lisitsian
If you want fantastic lyricism and sense of line, then listen to Pavel Lisitsian's voice. Lisitsian sang at the Bolshoi from 1940-1966, when he retired. He did appear at the Metropolitan Opera once in a tour of Verdi's Aida, but he mainly stayed in Russia. Therefore, most of the recordings you hear him on are in Russian, despite the fact that he is singing Italian operas. In this recording of the Prologue from "Pagliacci" the listener almost forgets that it was recorded in Russian because it was so good. The high A flat at the end is on an oo vowel in this Russian version. This is a hard vowel to sing a high A flat on, but Lisitsian made it sound easy.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SOpwmPw9z2Q
Carlo Tagliabue
Versatility as far as repertoire and acting are important for a singer's artistic abilities. Tagliabue was a great singer and actor who was quite versatile. He had a long career which mainly centered around La Scala. However, he did sing at the Metropolitan Opera for two years during his career. He not only sang Verdi, but he also sang Wolfram in Wagner's "Tannhauser" in Italian under Karl Boehme. A lot of Italian singers of the early and mid twentieth century ventured into Wagner, and Tagliabue was very gifted at it. He also sang Michele in "Il Tabaro" by Puccini, and there is video footage of his exceptional acting ability from that opera. After his retirement in 1958, Tagliabue focused on mentoring and teaching young singers. Here is Tagliabue and the great tenor Galiano Masini singing a duet from the famous 1941 recording of "La Forza del Destino." If you don't have that recording, it's awesome, so go out and buy it.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Pk99DJzYY
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