Opera tenors going beyond the high D

Added: Jan 30, 2008

From: jowox

Duration: 4:8

Here is compilation of opera tenors going for that extra high note. I´ve not included the puritani high F:s since they´ve already been covered in a video. These notes are indeed very rare. My own favourite is the high E-flat. The tenor can still sound manly at this pitch but the intensity is much higher than on a high D. High E:s and F:s are purely for spectacularity, the sound is seldom pleasant. I start with some common opera tenor notes: 1. Luciano Pavarotti with a solid A4 from "O sole mio", most tenors sing this aria one or two semitones lower. 2. Pavarotti again, this time with a Bb4 from "Pourquoi me reveiller". 3. Pavarotti with the classic Nessun Dorma ending, B4 to A4. 4. The famous high C (C5), done here by Pavarotti in "Pour mon Ame" from "La fille du Regiment" by Gaetano Donizetti. 5. A splendid C#5 by Tito Beltran, from "Povero Ernesto" from Donizetti´s Don Pasquale. Does anyone have a high D by Beltran? 6. A glorious high D by Nicolai Gedda from "Ronde du Postillion" from "Le postillon de Lonjumeau" by Adolphe Adam. 7. Now time for the E-flats...first is a short but good one by Alfredo Kraus in "O muto asil" from Wilhelm Tell by Giacomo Rossini. 8. John van Kesteren with a sustained Eb5 but not with so much chest tone, from "einsam und verlassen" (german version of "Deserto in terra" from opera Don Sebastian by Donizetti). 9. William Matteuzzi with a slightly thin Eb5 in "Languir per una bella" from "L´Ítaliana in Algeri" by Rossini. 10. Matteuzzi with a much better Eb5 in "Che ascolto" from "Othello" by Rossini (not Verdi!). 11. Gregory Kunde with a Eb5 in "Ascolta O Padre" from "Bianca & Fernando" by Vincenzo Bellini. 12. Guiseppe Morino with a Eb5 in the Lucia di Lammermoor duet (as written in the score!) by Donizetti. 13. Morino again, this time a Eb5 in "Non lungidalle torri" "Les Hugenots" by Giacomo Meyerbeer. 14. And another Eb5 by Morino in "Quando Il Cor Da Lei Piagato" from "Maria di Rohan" by Donizetti. 15. Chris Merritt with a nice Eb5 in "Brezza del suol suol" from "I due foscari" by Guiseppe Verdi. 16. Pierre Duval with a stunning Eb5 in the Puritani duet "Vieni fra queste". The duet is pitched up a semitone which means that Duval and Sutherland take a Eb5 and a Eb6 towards the end! 17. Morino with a short E5 in "A cosi triste" from Ermione by Rossini. 18. Morino with a beautiful head voice E5 in "ah dove" from "Semiramide" by Rossini. 19. Chris Merritt with a somewhat strained E5 in "Loin de son amie" from "La Juive" by Jacques Halevy. 20. Matteuzzi with a slightly thin E5 in "La speranza" from Semiramide. 21. Matteuzzi with a better E5 in the duet "D'alma celeste Dio" from "Il viaggio a Reims" by Rossini. 22. Matteuzzi with a stunning E5 from the Ermione duet "A cosi triste" by Rossini. 23. Ivan Kozlovsky with a chesty F5 (very old recording though) in "Ecco ridente in cielo" from "The Barber in Seville" by Rossini. Kozlovsky goes down to a F#2 (!) after this passage, it can be found here on youtube. 24. Matteuzzi with a great F5 in "Languir per una bella" by Rossini. 25. Matteuzzi with another great F5, this time in an aria from "la scala di seta" by Rossini. 26. Can we go even higher? Yes we can...matteuzzi´s highest note is a F#5 (!) in "Partageons son butin" from "le Comte Ory" by Rossini. But maybe matteuzzi has done a high G also? 27. We finish off with a great F#5 by Gregory Kunde in ""Ascolta O Padre" from "Bianca & Fernando" by Vincenzo Bellini. Guiness book of world records lists tenor Stefan Zucker with a sustained high A (!) (A5) in an aria from a live recording of "I Capuleti e I Montecchi" by Bellini. Does anyone out there have this recording? But by judging from his singing of "pour mon ame" (in my favourites here on youtube) it is not worth hearing!

Channel: Music

Tags: chest  head  high  kunde  matteuzzi  morino  opera  pavarotti  range  tenor  vocal  zucker 

Rating: 4.78 (85 ratings)    Views: 52052' favoriteCount='318    Comments: 146