Customer Reviews

Richard Tauber - My Heart and I

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

 

 

Richard Tauber was, in my opinion, the most seductive and complex singer of this century. His voice was excellent, but not in itself, just as a vehicle for an infinity of shadings, in a plethora of styles. He was arguably the greatest ever operetta singer but his gifts were perfectly expressing themselves in lied, in popular song and in a great part of the opera repertoire ("heldentenor" excepted). Like Kreisler in violin playing, Tauber represented the essence of the Viennese spirit. His vocal specialties included the sweteest mezzavoce or headvoice one could hope for. He was accessible and highly refined in the same time. For the very low price of this Gala CD, you can taste the complex artistry of Richard Tauber, both in his German (better) period and in the "English" one. The reason I'm giving 4, not 5 stars to this CD is that I believe his all-German CD concotions to be more valuable. But for this price...

My problems with this CD are several. With over 20 selections perhaps 7 or 8 are bona fide classics. Far too many seem to be inccluded because they were written or co-writtrn by Tauber. They are less than steller. He should not have sung in English - the accent is extreme. Can non-English singers not learn to stop rolling R's? Even the songs he sings in German are hindered by his propensity to hop up and down octaves to suit his comfort zone. Too bad. No doubt a great artist but not on this CD.