Best ever Pearl Fishers duet?
mainI’m torn.
Lived with the above all my life.
And this is fairly epic (albeit auf Deutsch).
But this…
Unsurpassed?
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All three are good, right? I’ll go with Bjorling/Merrill. I don’t think Merrill is such a beautiful singer on his own, but he supports Bjorling so well. Little wonder that the Peerce/Merrill collaborations are still so highly regarded (not to mention Toscanini’s input).
Wunderlich/Prey are wunderbar too, but almost ‘too pretty’, nes pas?
Kaufmann and Hvorastovsky are quite good in their way, but I don’t think their voices match so well. There’s something almost hard about Hvorastovsky’s tone. Still, . . .
Well, it could all be a matter of personal preference.
Purely on vocal terms Hvorostovsky’s voice sounds so much freer than Kaufmann’s which loosens up a bit in the second half of the duet. Both make an admirable attempt to sing the text with intention and to observe dynamics.
Wunderlich makes his mark by being a great lyric tenor and Prey, whose recordings I appreciate more and more , has such a gorgeous voice, full of humanity. They bring the scene to life with a feeling of its context so I don’t mind that it is auf deutsch rather than en francais for once.
Bjorling has the right voice for French opera of this period. In fact he made a speciality of Des Grieux , Faust etc. There is just something in that plangent , but ringing tone which brings a tear to the eye and warmth to the soul. Merrill’s singing is wholesome and supportive. I couldn’t be without this recording – even if a section of the duet is cut.
I am always dubious about the use of the word ‘ unsurpassed’ as by meaning it is so ‘final.’ We do love discussing recordings/ performances of the past and present but we can look forward to the performances of singers of the future too..
Very well put. Thanks.
I’m immensely saddened to see Dmitri singing in this clip; it’s still so raw for me.
@Sue: You’re not the only one.
Try this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5SlUmCdXf0
I’ve watched it over and over. He’s so very much missed!!!.
A cousin’s daughter is a medical specialist and my cousin recently told me at a family gathering that her daughter is convinced there’s definitely a rise in the incidence of brain tumours because of the use of cell phones. Please, people, use ear-pieces!!
What? Better than Bocellii/Terfel at the Classic Brits….?!
Oh, for God’s sake. I can imagine people in France laughing at their computers…
Vanzo and Bacquier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgwS1575fLc
Luccioni and Deldi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwu7W4BIWKA
Good point. I feel like poor accents make a dent on the otherwise stellar musical quality of all three clips. (No, I am not laughing at my computer, maybe because I am not French.)
I also love Gedda-Blanc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbAKWOemzjg
Everyone must have been in stitches of laughter, then, when Joan Sutherland warbled and not a single syllable was ever comprehensible.
Quite. I couldn’t abide her. She might have been singing “la la la” for all the meaning the text had. A Scottish opera singer once told me that if you can’t hear the words, it means that the singer isn’t thinking about them. And, Sue, one of your favourite singers (and mine) had impeccable diction, you could hear every word (and so helpful for learning Russian).
Mr Kershaw try and listen to GREAT singers sometime as these two come nowhere close to the above clips
Mr Craig, try to recognise irony!
Oh, for God’s sake. I can imagine French people laughing at their computers.
Try Vanzo and Bacquier or Luccioni and Deldi.
. . . we did. You posted them above. I’m guessing you added that later. Indeed, they’re terrific.
apologies Mr Kershaw in the back of my mind it had occurred to me!
The exclamation mark after the question mark might have been a tip-off — Mr. Kershaw may not know how to do :)!
The best I’ve ever heard was Villazon/Hvorostovsky, followed by Alagna/Terfel. Kaufmann/Hvorostovsky shows for me the problem I mostly have with Kaufmann in the last two or three years: His voice sounds mostly overstretched and as if he’d put too much pressure on it.
Sometimes I dream of getting some pieces in my “ideal” cast. For the pearl fisher’s duet I’d love have to get Neil Shicoff and Sir Thomas Allen at their best … (I got them first time in ‘Boheme’ and they kind of spoiled it for me. I’ve never heard the “O Mimi” duett as wonderfully done as they sang it on this night in London).
Although his musicianship may have been called into question, Merrill’s glorious baritone was not. IMHO, his vocal quality has not been surpassed.
Bjorling and Merrill for me. I was/am a great admirer of Hvorostovsky and consider him the best baritone ever, but I don’t think that his and Kaufmann’s voices match. Fortunately there are plenty other Hvorostosky clips (both solo and with others) to listen to, so I never bother with this one.
I don’t know about best ever, but I enjoy this one:
Placido Domingo & Sherrill Milnes, James Levine conducting the Met orchestra.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psz_KxTLbxY
Bjorling/Merrill. Not even close. Just Google the duet. Hundreds of references to B&M.
Still love Bjorling and Merrill but next best BRYN Terfel and Andrea Bocelli