Legendary Historical Singers

[Que]

I noticed an interest amongst posters for historical singers - let's say singers roughly from the pre-war, 78rpm era.

please post your favourite historical singers!

- Why do you like them?
- In what repertoire did they excel?
- Which recordings do you recommend?

Have fun.

Q

[Que]

I'll kick off with one of my favourite Germanic tenors (Austrian): Richard Tauber.

He did not have a particularly beautiful or big voice, in fact he was adviced not to persue a singing career - he succeeded on sheer determination and incredible musical intelligence.
It's that musical intelligence, charisma and charms that wins me over everytime. He sang serious repertoire as well as light stuff, of which he elevated the musical interest when he sings it IMO. He did opera (Mozart), operetta (Lehar), German Lieder (Schubert) and Viennese songs, folk songs, etc. I like it all.

What does he sound like? Samples I  Samples II

As for recordings, fussy on transfers as I am, I stick with Pearl and Preiser most of the time.
To start with Tauber, the series on Naxos seems a nice option.




If you're willing to spend a bit more, these recommendations:

EMI (2CD) - very nice


Preiser:


Q

[Mozart]

I'm quite fond of Anna Moffo in the role of Violetta. She can be my courtesan any day. 

[knight66]

Moffo was a fairly recent singer and made her recordings in the LP era....I have just bought her Traviata and enjoy it a lot.

Although his later material was issued on LP, Boris Christoff made quite a few 78s with Walter Legge producing. Many are thrown together with his later LP recitals and have been issued on CD. He was a Bulgarian Bass and had a deal of histronic talent. The voice is distinctive and beautifully even until you reach the very bottom range which is not as strong as might be expected. He was a particular champion of Russian art song.

Scroll down here to find about 25  arias or songs. The Prophet by Rimsky Korsakov is pretty spectacular, but really they all have a great deal to offer.

http://www.tsanoff-classic.com/TheGreatestBulgarians/Boris.Christoff/

Mike

[Anne]

There's a Boris Godunov where Christoff sings all 3 bass roles: Boris, Pimen, and Varlaam.  I've heard that it bothers some opera lovers to hear the same voice in all 3 roles.  It doesn't bother me; as long as a singer does a great job, I am happy to listen.

[Que]

Boris Christoff is terrific and was then without parallel, and has been ever since.
Interestingly he does however finds his match in his predecessors - basses from the "East" (all born in Imperial Russia): amongst them Alexander Kipnis, Mark Reizen, Alexander Pirogov, and the illustrious Feodor Chaliapin.

The bass Alexander Kipnis, father of harpsichordist Igor Kipnis, is one of my favourites.
A gorgeous, smooth, deep voice. He sings with clear accent, no matter what foreign language, and songs are often transposed down, but I love every second of it!  Like with Tauber his strength is his unbelievable musical intelligence and psychological insight in the role he sings in opera and the texts of the Lieder he performs. Yes, he did both and just listen to his Brahms Lieder - profoundly hair raising and deeply touching.

I would recommend the Sony Masterworks Heritage issue without hesitation: a wonderfull selection of opera arias and Lieder in a superlative quality transfer (like that whole series btw). One of my desert Island discs and a steal for the price...


Click on picture for samples

Key recommendations on Preiser:


Q

[PSmith08]

I suppose, for people into Wagner, it comes down to two names: Lauritz Melchior and Friedrich Schorr. Melchior is, in my opinion, probably the last true Heldentenor. His Vienna Walküre (act 1) under Bruno Walter really is the standard for Siegmund. That's not fair, but of the great Wagnerian voices since Melchior, only James King really had the power, dark tone, and dramatic abilities of Melchior. That's open for debate, though.

Friedrich Schorr, as can be heard on several releases - a Met Rheingold and Götterdämmerung and the Melchior Siegfried set - is the greatest Wagnerian bass. Unfortunately, the recordings where he could be heard in the best voice are none the best. By the time technology got good enough to really capture the fullness of his voice, he was past his prime. Still, the power and dark tone come through. The man could sing.

[Maciek]

Moffo was a fairly recent singer and made her recordings in the LP era....I have just bought her Traviata and enjoy it a lot.

Although his later material was issued on LP, Boris Christoff made quite a few 78s with Walter Legge producing. Many are thrown together with his later LP recitals and have been issued on CD. He was a Bulgarian Bass and had a deal of histronic talent. The voice is distinctive and beautifully even until you reach the very bottom range which is not as strong as might be expected. He was a particular champion of Russian art song.

Scroll down here to find about 25  arias or songs. The Prophet by Rimsky Korsakov is pretty spectacular, but really they all have a great deal to offer.

http://www.tsanoff-classic.com/TheGreatestBulgarians/Boris.Christoff/

Mike

Mike, how on earth do you find those fantastic sites? Thanks for the link!

[knight66]

I take no real credit, I just googled and eventually stumbled across it.

In case anyone missed it from another thread, here is Mark Reizen at 90 years of age, totally remarkable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4

Mike

[Que]

I take no real credit, I just googled and eventually stumbled across it.

In case anyone missed it from another thread, here is Mark Reizen at 90 years of age, totally remarkable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4

Mike

Mike, thanks for that - I actually did miss that before! 
Absolutely wonderfull.

Q

[knight66]

I have some early Tebaldi tracks, now on CD, they were originally issued as 78s in 1949 and 1950. The parts are in the main the ones she re-recorded later. One disc is on Classic Art History, the other FONO Enterprises. They give a very interesting insight into the genesis of a great singer. She sounds like a different person than her more famous self. Here the tone is brighter, the words more imaginatively used. The voice is utterly beautiful.

I prefer these discs to her later work when to my ears she became more bland.

Mike

[Maciek]

I take no real credit, I just googled and eventually stumbled across it.

In case anyone missed it from another thread, here is Mark Reizen at 90 years of age, totally remarkable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4

Mike

Yes, I noticed before. Amazing!

[jochanaan]

Uh--Caruso?

[George]

Uh--Caruso?

Yes, I'd appreciate some recommendations of his recordings. 

[Tsaraslondon]

In my younger days, I ignored anything from the pre LP age, finding most of them unlistenable,  especially as I had a penchant for sopranos, whose voices took least well to the acoustic recording process. I then read John Steane's wonderful book The Grand Tradition, which, egged on by his enthusiasm for his subject, lead me to investigate more thoroughly singers of a bygone age. What riches I had in store!

From the hundreds of pre war singers I listened to, the soprano who stood out most for me was Rosa Ponselle, who excelled in Verdi and Italian opera. Like Tebaldi, she had a somewhat short top, but unlike Tebaldi an appreciable florid technique. In the middle and lower reaches, her voice had a richness most mezzos cannot approach, and, by all accounts, the voice was huge, though it never lost quality, no matter how loudly she sang. The performances to listen out for are a complete La Traviata from the Met, and studio recordings of arias and scenes from Norma, La Vestale and La Forza del Destino.

Cluadia Muzio excelled in a slightly different repertore from Ponselle's, though she too was a great Violetta. She had a quality best expressed by the Italian word morbidezza, making her, in a sense, easier to love, than the lofty Ponselle. Apart from her recordings of Puccini and Verdi, search out a recording of a lovely song by Donaudy; O del mio amato ben, a performance of exquisite sighs and sweet murmurings.

Other favourite sopranos are Frida Leider, supreme, (better than Flagstad IMO) in Wagner, and actually a pretty good Verdi soprano, witness her D'amor sul'ali rosee from Il Trovatore, perfect trills and all. In fact, she reminds us that Wagner wrote some trills for Brunnhilde in her opening scene. We certainly never seem to hear them these days.

For the French repertoire I turn to Maggie Teyte, who did some marvellous Debussy with Alfred Cortot. I have yet to hear a better performance of Duparc's beautiful Chanson Triste, but Teyte had a lighter side too. Her recording of Tu n'es pas beau from Offenbach's La Perichole is an absolute treasure.

[knight66]

I am going to own up here. I have volume three of the EMI record of singing. 10 discs of 78s running from 1926 through to 1939. By far most of the names are not familiar to me. A lot went past in a blur and I really find the earliest recordings difficult to get much out of.

However this thread has prompted me to have a trawl through it again. It is set out in voice types and then divided into schools. I was surprised to find Maria Cebotari to be regarded as part of the German School, I had assumed she was Italian.

One singer I had already been seeking out is Margarete Klose, a superb mezzo. The recital disc I have is all rather staid, tasteful. What had brought her to my attention was a live extract of her singing Otrud. Live she was electrifying and terrifying. I wonder how closely the studio 78s represent the magnetism of the performers. I have read various stories about them being in formal dress to sing into a horn....surely this kind of thing, together with having to ensure the length of the piece was fitted onto the side of a 78 was a constraint.

I heard one track recently of the aria of King Philip from Don Carlos. It was at a stupendous lick, I assume so it would fit onto two sides.

Mike

[Montpellier]

I'll go for the coloratura sopranos:

Tetrazzini
Medea Mei
Nezhdanova
Melba (to less extent as she did not record much coloratura work)
Marchesi (less of a coloratura and a small voice but pleasant),
to list but a few.

The Nimbus team worked wonders with Tetrazzini on two CD reissues in their Prima Voce series.  The characteristics of her voice were made for recording.  There's a Pearl set - badly done with a few beginnings of tracks obtrusively cut.

I think I liked these singers because they were trained in the bel canto style, something that was abandoned in the early part of the 20th century.

Interesting topic. 

[Maciek]

Is Jan Kiepura any good? What are the opinions of the experts?

Ada Sari?

I don't really know their singing but at least I could acquire their recordings more or less easily...

Maciek

[knight66]

What we need here is clips, reading a whole lot of new names....I would like to know what they sound like.

Mike

[yashin]

Tito Schipa - what a voice.  You will never hear anyone else sing the same rep like him.

Dame Eva Turner - as Turandot.  No singer since has sang the role like her.

Jan Kiepura- in song.  Beautiful.