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u/Guelfi-Granforte-Fan

r/opera
Singers you've probably never heard of- Saturno Meletti, "Come un ape"
▲ 10 r/opera

Singers you've probably never heard of- Saturno Meletti, "Come un ape"

Looking for a Dandini sung by an actual baritone, and an exquisitely squillante one at that? Look no further than Saturno Meletti, one of Mellocchi's lesser-known students who was largely limited to comprimario and secondary roles on the international stage yet possessed a voice the size of his namesake planet. The best Dandini after his contemporary Afro Poli.

This excerpt is from a complete recording of La Cerentola with Giulietta Simionatto and Cesare Valletti from 1949.

https://youtu.be/NvUhaQlsQzo?si=rKxAtII0WPALTm6x

u/Guelfi-Granforte-Fan — 2 days ago
▲ 10 r/opera

Singers you've probably never heard of- Ivan Petroff, "Ah, per sempre"

https://youtu.be/u3cD0W7KmcY?si=V3em6kyhhcaCQPr8

(not to be confused with Ivan Petrov, the Russian bass)

Ivan Petroff, an incredible Bulgarian baritone trained at least in part by Fernando De Lucia, with an incredibly beautiful and ringing voice, is all but forgotten nowadays- yet should be a reference for baritones in my book. The beauty of tone, the squillo, and the lack of artifical thickness all too common in baritone voices- all of these hallmarks of a great artist.

u/Guelfi-Granforte-Fan — 5 days ago
▲ 6 r/opera

Recitatives that outdo their following arias?

What recitatives are there that people think are more interesting, better listens or both than the arias that follow them?

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u/Guelfi-Granforte-Fan — 7 days ago
▲ 5 r/opera

Singers you've probably never heard of- Alfred Piccaver, "Preislied"

https://youtu.be/7ZlOlfzPG9M?si=j8-tt4GAjWqAWhU4

Not a piece I often listen to, but I think it is the rare example of a piece that sounds better in concert setting with a piano rather than with an orchestra, and this recording is great because of the excellent tenor and great accompanist.

Piccaver was an American-English spinto tenor (his father was from Lincoln) who sang primarily in Vienna, competing directly with Miguel Fleta. His voice is bright, almost to a fault- the timbre can be white and overly nasal at times, along with a slightly "masky" sound, but the overall beauty of the sound and the ringing quality of the voice endears him to me.

Though his interpretation is a bit stale, the nonchalance and ease with which he sings this very difficult piece is incredible. He is also largely unknown tenor these days, so I thought I'd share this little gem to give him some of the appreciation he merits.

For more recordings of his, see the Dead Tenors' Society youtube channel.

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u/Guelfi-Granforte-Fan — 9 days ago