Customer Reviews

Four American Baritones of the Past

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this CD because I recently decided I was very interested in historical opera and I wanted to hear the most famous of the American baritones. Putting four together on one CD works really well because you get a sense of how different these singers sound from one another. The only singer I had never heard previously was John Charles Thomas. I have to say I liked Tibbett and Merrill best. I was a little wary of the sound quality because I've never bought anything on this label before, but I found the quality to be quite good and would certainly buy other CD's by this company.

The four greatest american baritones of all time, each singing some of their most legendary recordings. Highlights are: Tibbett's Largo al factotum, Thomas's Nemico della patria, Warren's Prologo, and Merrill's Brindisi from Hamlet. Infact anything Tibbett and Thomas sing is bound to be fantastic, especially as their operatic recordings are a little harder to find these days. Its a bit sad that most opera fans dont seem to realise what a massive impact they had on singing in their day, and especially in tibbets case, acting. Warren and Merrill are both phenomonal (although Merrill occasionaly can sound uninspired) but their recordings are much more readily available on different recital cd's and compilations, and you may have them already, which is why i took a star of a full 5 for my review.

This CD brings together the best four baritones America has ever brought forth ! Each one very different from the other, yet all are fantastic.
The unbelievably resonant,gloriously metallic voice of J.C.Thomas ,the thrilling elegance and noblility of Lawrence Tibbett ,the blasting highnotes of Leonard Warren and the voluptuos beauty of Robert Merrill.
There is no "weak link" in the selection, you won't be dissapointed. I personally even see some of the best renditions of arias ever recorded. Such would certainly be Tibbett's perfectly nuanced " Eri Tu " and the vocal fireworks of Warren's "Prologo".

The soundquality of the Tibbet-tracks is good, but bearing some surface noise ,since they where made in the 20's and 30's.
The ones of Thomas are better in quality and the ones of Warren and Merrill very acceptable, indeed.
I would recommend this disc to the vocal connoisseur as well as to the "not everyday opera listeners". I believe it might even be good as a sort of opera starter set to someone who hasn't previously been to the opera much, since the tracks are not too long and they offer thrilling music sung excellently.

This is not the best quality recording; but, good enough to have in your collection. It's a treat to have all four of these great singers on the same CD. I had the privilege of hearing them on radio and TV, so I'll cherish having this CD in my collection.