Legendary Tenors

Note by Alan Jefferson











Son of a Turin restaurateur, Tamagno started in the Turin chorus but soon graduated to leading roles and by 1877 he had reached La Scala. There he proved the ideal choice for Verdi's Otello. At the age of only 36 Tamagno proved sufficiently aware to produce the perfect musical pattern of Shakespeare's Moor. In spite of his health being in decline, on these two excerpts there are no finer trumpet tones for the 'Esultate!', as Otello, General of the Venetian forces, arrives at Cyprus in a storm to tell the people that the Turkish fleet has been sunk. Nor is there an example more absolute in its hopelessness than this 'Niun mi tema', as he realises that he has been duped into killing his wife and, without her or his honour, life is not worth living. Curiously, this big, intimidating man with the huge voice had a soft centre: his all-absorbing hobby was collecting butterflies!

Smirnov graduated from chorister to amateur singer to serious study and then to the Bolshoi in 1904, where he was so highly admired as to be cast as Dante in the premiere of Rakhmaninov's Francesca da Rimini. In 1907 Smirnov was invited to join Rakhmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov along with Chaliapin and the dramatic soprano Félia Litvinne for Diaghilev's display of Russian music in Paris. Then in 1908, he sang the false Dmitri in the Russian impresario's Paris production of Boris Godunov, again at Drury Lane in Beecham's legendary 1914 Season and from 1910-17 was principal tenor of the Mariinsky Company in St. Petersburg. After the Revolution his tours were largely concentrated outside Russia and he finally settled in Riga as a teacher, only to find himself unwittingly back in the USSR when the Soviets took the city in 1944. In this excerpt from Eugene Onegin the young poet, Lenski, has been forced to challenge his once best friend Onegin to a duel. He waits at dawn for his opponent, fearing the outcome and bidding farewell to life and to Olga, the girl he loves.

Born near Rimini, Bonci studied in Paris, and made his debut at Parma in 1896 as Fenton in Falstaff. Regarded at first as Caruso's only serious rival - with his elegant style, agility and lightness - Bonci perhaps lacked Caruso's later darkness of tone and strength of voice. But he was without equal in Pearl Fishers for his sweetness of tone and his polished phrasing, though vocally and temperamentally he was best attuned to Bellini and Donizetti: his Arturo in I Puritani for Hammerstein's opening night at the Manhattan Opera was a resounding success. For the next three years he sang at the Met, making his debut as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. He returned home after service with the Italian Air Force during the First World War, mainly to teach. In this famous aria from Act II of Verdi's Luisa Miller, Count Rodolfo recalls his love for the simple Luisa, victim of a cruel father.

Clément made his debut in Gounod's Mireille at the Paris Opéra Comique in 1889 and was their leading tenor until 1909, singing Paris' first Fenton in 1894 and Pinkerton in 1906 and was Don José in their 1000th performance of Carmen in 1904. In 1909 he went to the Met for one season, opening as Werther, also singing Fenton and, heard here, Massenet's Des Grieux. This excerpt shows the emotional young Chevalier daydreaming about the idyllic cottage where he hopes to live with the morally less than reliable Manon. Clément had great personal charm, a light but penetrating voice used with elegance and style, but at the Met he found himself unfavourably and unreasonably compared with Caruso and so, in 1910, moved to Boston, opening there as Hoffmann. He left to join the French Army and was wounded in the War. Afterwards, he became a voice teacher and concert singer in Paris where he gave his last recital in 1927.

As an extra at the Brno Opera, Slezak sang along with the chorus until his budding Heldentenor voice became apparent. However, at the Berlin Hofoper his inexperience told, and after only a year he moved to Breslau in 1899 to assimilate the tenor repertoire. In 1901 Gustav Mahler called him to the Vienna Hofoper and by late 1907 he took essential lessons from the legendary Polish tenor Jean de Reszke. Following disagreements with Felix von Weingartner, Mahler's successor, Slezak went to the Met, singing Otello at his debut and with Bonci, Caruso and Clément in his first season. Slezak remained there until 1913. His second career in Vienna lasted from 1920-1933, and he also appeared in operetta and cinema, taking advantage of his avuncular comic attributes. He is heard here in one of his outstandingly heavy roles as King Solomon's favourite attendant, Assad, smitten by the Queen of Sheba who is visiting Jerusalem. He reminisces over his first meeting in Lebanon with the fabulous Queen.

From his debut in Naples in 1894, Caruso was destined for huge success and became the standard by which all tenors are judged. He established what was to become the gramophone 'industry' by recording ten 10" sides for £100 in Milan in 1902 - an unprecedented sum in those days! Until 1906 his voice had a rich quality to its tenor ring, then the voice became darker from 1909 until his death from pleurisy in Naples in 1921. At every stage of his career the result was unlike anything heard before or since. He combined a subtle and convincing stage presence with a kind personality and quick wit, making him the perfect operatic tenor and colleague, though he was not averse to pinching ladies' bottoms! At the time of his all-too early death, still in the acoustic recording era, Caruso was studying Verdi's Otello and this farewell to the glories of life comes after the Moor is tricked into believing that his wife is unfaithful. It is one of only two examples from Otello that he recorded among more than two hundred and fifty 78s.

Sobinov graduated as a lawyer in 1894 while singing only as a hobby. He joined a visiting Italian opera company in 1893/4, then studied voice seriously in Moscow. He was accepted by the Bolshoi in 1897 and, with this as his main career, travelled throughout Russia as well as to La Scala, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Berlin. He astonished audiences with his attractive stage presence and expressive voice, encouraging a band of followers known as 'the Sobinovites'. His recitals were as impressive as the opera performances where his Lenski was unsurpassed, while his Alfredo, Des Grieux, Faust and Lohengrin were all finely interpreted and sung - albeit in Russian. He was an intelligent and cultured man who encouraged his native composers' works and this aria from Rimsky-Korsakov's This striking and self-confident tenor was, like Sobinov, trained as a lawyer. He was highly educated and a devout Catholic. After studying with Cotogni in Rome (as did Gigli), he made his debut in 1919 under the pseudonym Giacomo Rubini as Arturo in I Puritani, thereafter singing under his proper name. In 1920 he was a fine Des Grieux in Rome and in 1923 went to the Met. There the other principal tenors were Gigli, Martinelli and Zanelli, but Lauri-Volpi was unstoppable and sang the Duke in Rigoletto with Galli-Curci, Cavaradossi with Jeritza and Turiddu with Ponselle. He remained in New York until 1934, giving 232 performances in 62 operas. He had an excellent technique and a strong voice well able to take the high Cs as Manrico and Radames. Later he sang Otello with great success and was probably at his finest in the 1920s and 30s, yet still singing as late as 1972. Here, in Tosti's Ideale Pertile was born 18 days earlier than Martinelli, in the same Italian village of Montagnana! Deciding on his career at an early age, he sang in church choirs before serious study, then arrived musically 'complete' at La Scala when he was 33, becoming Toscanini's favourite tenor by satisfying the peppery maestro's demands for musicality, elegant phrasing and fidelity to the score. Pertile's ingratiating voice was large, though not essentially beautiful, but he was intelligent and knew how to get the best from it. A strong baritonal support qualified him to tackle Otello and the lighter Wagnerian roles (in Italian) as well as Donizetti, Puccini and Don José in Carmen. He also sang both Boito's and Mascagni's operas about Nero. From 1945 until the end of his life Pertile taught at the Milan Conservatory. Here, as Turiddu, he sings the Sicilian Serenade before the curtain rises on Cavalleria Rusticana. He has returned from the war to claim Lola as his bride, only to find that she has married his neighbour Alfio.

Caruso's mantle was divided after his death between Martinelli and Gigli, with Martinelli taking the more dramatic roles. Martinelli's voice was discovered by an army bandmaster and he studied in Milan, giving his debut performance in Ernani at the Teatro del Verme in 1911. Puccini engaged him for Dick Johnson in Fanciulla del West at Rome. From 1912 to 1914 he sang at Covent Garden making his debut there, aged twenty-five, as Cavaradossi opposite the famous Canadian soprano and Jean de Reszke pupil, Louise Edvina. Here his international career was born. From 1913 until 1946 he was at the Met, creating roles and strengthening his own large repertoire, eventually singing Tristan opposite Flagstad in Chicago. In this track Martinelli sings Dufresne; a married man with a daughter who becomes involved with Zazà, the star singer in a disreputable Paris cafe, but already in Act 1 he tries to put off the mutual attraction - but in vain.

After attending Vienna University Julius Patzak studied conducting under Guido Adler and with the composer Franz Schmidt. While working with cafe bands, he found himself attracted to singing and became a highly skilled self-taught tenor. His debut as Radames in 1926 was a daring achievement and his progress was swift: in 1928 he was called to Munich as leading tenor, then to Vienna for the rest of his career. A famous Mozart singer he arrived at Salzburg in 1938 as a member of Clemens Krauss' ensemble, was heard once in London before the War as Tamino and after it as Florestan, Herod and Hoffmann. Patzak's musicianship, style and intelligent characterisations were heard to best effect, apart from the Mozart tenors, as Palestrina in Pfitzner's opera, and Florestan in Fidelio. He sang in four languages but here he safely translates, from French into his native German, Wilhelm Meister's farewell to Mignon from Thomas's opera.

Born in Denmark of German parents Roswaenge was another self-taught tenor. His debut was as Don José in 1921 at Neustrelitz, from where he went to the Berlin State Opera by 1930 as the leading 'Italian' tenor, followed by Tamino at Salzburg in 1933, Parsifal at Bayreuth in 1934 and 1936, and finally to adoration at the Vienna Opera between 1936 and 1958. Roswaenge nursed his voice carefully so that it altered very little throughout his distinguished career. This aria from Martha gives a good idea of his imperturbable approach to singing. Lionel is an Earl masquerading as a farmer. He has fallen in love with his 'hired maid' - in fact Lady Harriet Durham - who, he believes, has jilted him. He laments her (temporary) loss.

Melchior was unique in the German repertoire with a tone both dark and brilliant. Trained as a baritone his debut was in 1913 as Silvio in Copenhagen, but it was not until 1917 that he decided to become a tenor. After restudy, he sang Tannhäuser in 1918 but was not, at first, a success; with financial support and encouragement from the novelist, Hugh Walpole, Melchior was formerly trained as a Heldentenor singing Siegmund at Covent Garden and Parsifal at Bayreuth in 1924. In 1926 he appeared at the Met, but an awkward stage presence and lack of personal publicity delayed his full acceptance until his Tristan in 1929 placed him beyond all competition. He took several years to 'fix' his characterisations but, having done so, was unwilling to change anything. Siegmund's 'Spring Song' finds him in characteristically ebullient form as the Wälsung who sings of love with his twin sister before carrying her off to conceive the world-hero, Siegfried.

Tauber was unmistakable for the monocle, the sweet, superbly managed voice and astounding musicianship, coupled with a delight in singing every kind of music. He made his debut at Chemnitz in 1913 as Tamino, following it immediately with Max in Der Freischütz, then getting snapped-up for Dresden where he stayed until 1926, breaking his contract to go to Vienna. Although known as 'the SOS tenor' because he was such a quick learner, fame came almost instantly with a huge variety of roles, especially the Mozartian tenors at which he excelled. From 1923-32 he sang as much operetta as opera, being especially associated with Franz Léhar. Forced to leave Germany as a Jew in 1938, he settled in England where he composed and conducted his own works. In 1947 he sang for the last time in one performance of Don Giovanni at Covent Garden, already stricken in health, and this recording is one of the finest examples of the aria to exist. Don Ottavio, engaged to Donna Anna, assures her of his desire to avenge her father's murder by bringing the suspect Giovanni to book.

This Devriès was French and the sixth in a family of originally Dutch singers. His debut at the Paris Opéra Comique in 1904 was as Gérald in Lakmé, after which he sang regularly there and at the Palais Garnier. In 1909 he was called by Oscar Hammerstein to his short-lived Manhattan Opera in New York, opening as Ange-Pitou in Lecocq's La Fille de Madame Angot, and in 1910 sang three performances of Pelléas at Covent Garden opposite Louise Edvina - his sole appearances there. Later he sang Richard Strauss' Herod and Aegisthus and despite the great variety of roles he tackled, Devriès proved himself above all a stylist, both in the opera house and concert hall. One of his most celebrated roles, heard here, was Georges Brown in Boïeldieu's La Dame Blanche where an English officer is persuaded, through the vision of a 'ghost' (Anna, ward of the former steward), to buy a Scottish castle with a hidden treasure and then turns out to be its rightful heir.

After singing lessons in Paris, Thill studied with the legendary Italian tenor Fernando De Lucia. As a strong French patriot Thill fought in the First War and extolled all kinds of his native songs. He was heard at the Paris Opéra, always in French, and at the Opéra Comique in roles not staged in the Opéra, such as Don José, Des Grieux and Cavaradossi. His international career began at Covent Garden in 1928 as Samson, and at the Met as Roméo, but it was inhibited by the language-barrier. As the most famous French tenor between the wars Thill sang Tannhäuser, Parsifal and Lohengrin as well as recording an unusually melodious Siegmund. In the Second War his patriotic 78 'La Rêve passe' became a call to all Free French. He went on singing until 1953 and made some films. In this aria, as the Chevalier Des Grieux turned cleric, he makes an impassioned plea to the vision of his former mistress, Manon, to leave him in peace.

Exactly twinned by birthdate with Melchior, Gigli's training with Cotogni secured him first prize in a singing competition in 1914. Hailed as the tenor, his voice and name soon became famous worldwide; his debut as Enzo in La Gioconda at La Scala that year had Toscanini's full support. His career at the Met lasted from 1920-32, where his exceptionally beautiful voice was heard to utmost effect in all the lyrical roles and he was the highest paid, greatest draw for audiences after Chaliapin had left. Gigli went too, eventually, refusing a cut in salary during the Depression, and was heard in concert where there was always more scope for his personality. He sang throughout the 30s and 40s with a voice that had not diminished in beauty, made films and supported Mussolini. However he easily resumed his post-war career and appeared at Covent Garden in both Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci on one evening. Here is a memento of that occasion; the clown in a travelling comedy performs a role too much like real life. His wife has a lover and he tells the audience: 'No I am not Pagliaccio!'

Chilean by birth with an Italian father Zanelli was educated in Switzerland and entered the family business while singing as an amateur. Being advised to take it up professionally, he went through two periods of training, first as a baritone, and in 1919 gained a Met contract for four years. However the roles of Amonasro (with Muzio and Martinelli) and the Forza Don Carlo were too heavy for him. In 1923 he went to Italy to retrain intensively and emerged as a tenor as Raoul in Les Huguenots and Alfredo in La Traviata both at Naples. These roles seemed too light now and turning to the heavier ones Zanelli sang his first Otello at Turin in 1926, then to high praise at Covent Garden in 1928 and 1930 where he was likened to Tamagno. From then on he became the principal Italian Heldentenor singing Tristan, Lohengrin and Siegmund (all in Italian). His half-brother was the baritone, Carlo Morelli. In this telling example of a multi-coloured aria, Zanelli represents the poet Andrea Chénier in Giordano's opera about love and art during the French Revolution.

First taught by his tenor father, Jussi his father and his two brothers together formed a male quartet which toured Sweden and the USA until 1926. Björling then studied with Joseph Hislop and John Forsell in Stockholm, making his adult debut in 1930 as Don Ottavio. He first sang at the Met as Rodolfo in 1938, staying there until 1941 when he returned to Sweden for the rest of the war. A fine Manrico at Covent Garden was his single pre-war appearance and he only returned there in 1960, a sick man, shortly before his tragically early death. The voice, sumptuous in its timbre and evenness of tone throughout its range with a ringing top B flat was one of the most accomplished Italian-style lyric tenors of the century. Although urged to sing the entire role of Calaf in Turandot, he refused, but often sang in concert and more than once recorded, 'Nessun Dorma' which is given here in the 1944 version.

Schipa's birthdate is uncertain, but he was unquestionably the principal tenore di grazia of this century. Schipa's clear enunciation and extraordinary projection enabled his voice to reach the furthest corner of the barn-like Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires. He first sang there in 1913 after an Italian provincial debut as Alfredo in La Traviata in 1910. In 1915 he reached La Scala as Des Grieux in Manon. The main American successes were after World War I in Chicago and New York where his restrained comedy in L'Elisir d'Amore was much appreciated. At the Met his international tenor colleagues were Martinelli and Lauri-Volpi for three seasons up to 1935. He was only heard in London as a recitalist and as such he gave his last tour, aged 73. Here he is heard as the melancholy poet, Werther, who conceives a fatal love at a ball, and apostrophises over her and Nature.


© 1994 Alan Jefferson

All rights of the producer and of the owner of the recorded work reserved.
Unauthorised copying, public performance and broadcasting of this recording prohibited.