Alessandro Moreschi Video
cantante castrato italiano
- soprano
- opera, musica da chiesa
- Regno d'Italia
- cantante, cantante lirico, musicista, castrato
Ultimo aggiornamento
2024-05-15
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Monk Samara Meyerbeer Moreschi Marconi Caruso Gounod Mariinsky Theatre Bolshoi Theatre Zimin Opera 1863 1881 1892 1901 1902 1908 1912 1916 1920 1923 1937
David Kristoforovitch Yuzhin +••.••(...)) was a Russian tenor of Greek heritage. Born David Pindekost (some sources give his real name as Pistiko) in Ekaterinoslav, he sang in his hometown church choir and aspired to become a monk in his youth. Brutal criticism from a conservatory professor in St. Petersburg drove Yuzhin to the verge of suicide, causing him to abandon the idea of ever singing again. However, a much needed second opinion convinced the young tenor that there was a future for him on the opera stage. After a period of further study, he auditioned for the Mariinsky Theatre and was accepted into the chorus in 1892. After two years as a chorister, Yuzhin made his debut as a principal artist at the Kazansk-Saratovsk Opera. The young tenor spent the rest of the 1890s appearing throughout Russia, singing in the theaters of Samara, Kharkov, Odessa, Perm, Tiflis, Kazan, Saratov, Odessa, Yalta, Baku and Kiev. In 1901, Yuzhin made his debut at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre as Raoul in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. He remained with the company for the next seven seasons, singing a variety of roles. During his tenure at the Bolshoi, Yuzhin met the woman who was to become his wife, soprano Natalya Ermolenko +••.••(...)). The two went on to become frequent singing partners and remained married until the tenor’s death. Yuzhin was a member of Sergei Zimin’s Opera in Moscow from 1908 to 1912 and also appeared in Italy, Belgium and South America during the first decade of the 20th Century. The busy tenor also organized his own touring company (something that seems to have been popular with Russian tenors of that period) to bring operatic productions to the Russian provinces. Yuzhin’s repertoire of some thirty roles included the tenor leads in such operas as Boris Godunov, The Snow Maiden, Pique Dame, Fra Diavolo, La Traviata, Aïda, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo, Rigoletto, La Gioconda, Pagliacci, Mefistofele, Faust, La Juive and Roméo et Juliette. At the age of only 50, Yuzhin began to curtail his stage performances and began concentrating on concerts and recitals. His final performance seems to have been a gala concert in Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) in 1916. The reasons for his relatively early retirement are not known. Perhaps it was the wear and tear on his voice after two decades of singing some very strenuous repertoire. It might have been to leave more time to dedicate to his touring company. Others have pointed to the possibility that the tenor’s health was failing and that he no longer possessed the physical stamina to perform complete operatic roles. Regardless of the reason, by 1916, Yuzhin’s performing career was over and he concentrated on producing operas on tour to showcase the talents of his wife. By 1920, however, the grueling schedule proved too much for the aging artist. Yuzhin retired to Moscow, where, following a lengthy illness, he died on December 28, 1923 at the age of 60. David Yuzhin left a fairly impressive legacy of about 60 discs, made for G&T, Pathé and the Gramophone Company between 1901 and 1908. One hears a well produced lirico-spinto voice of decent size and range. One also hears unbelievably shoddy musicianship, particularly in his early piano accompanied discs for G&T. Singer and pianist are rarely in synch. Yuzhin blows through rests, constantly forcing his accompanist to jump ahead or quickly change tempo to accommodate the tenor’s rhythmic eccentricities. These blunders may have been the result of nerves due to uncertainty in his first recording sessions (Moreschi, Marconi and even Caruso made similar gaffs in their early recordings), for one notices these types of errors far less in the tenor’s later recordings. Mistakes or not, Yuzhin’s discs give us a priceless glimpse into the art of a lesser known working tenor from Imperialist Russia. In this recording, Yuzhin sings a Russian translation of "Salut, demeure chaste et pure" (complete with a ringing top C) from Gounod's Faust. This was recorded in Moscow for G&T in January of 1902.
Monk Samara Meyerbeer Moreschi Marconi Caruso Bleichmann Mariinsky Theatre Bolshoi Theatre Zimin Opera 1863 1881 1892 1901 1902 1908 1912 1916 1920 1923 1937
David Kristoforovitch Yuzhin +••.••(...)) was a Russian tenor of Greek heritage. Born David Pindekost (some sources give his real name as Pistiko) in Ekaterinoslav, he sang in his hometown church choir and aspired to become a monk in his youth. Brutal criticism from a conservatory professor in St. Petersburg drove Yuzhin to the verge of suicide, causing him to abandon the idea of ever singing again. However, a much needed second opinion convinced the young tenor that there was a future for him on the opera stage. After a period of further study, he auditioned for the Mariinsky Theatre and was accepted into the chorus in 1892. After two years as a chorister, Yuzhin made his debut as a principal artist at the Kazansk-Saratovsk Opera. The young tenor spent the rest of the 1890s appearing throughout Russia, singing in the theaters of Samara, Kharkov, Odessa, Perm, Tiflis, Kazan, Saratov, Odessa, Yalta, Baku and Kiev. In 1901, Yuzhin made his debut at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre as Raoul in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. He remained with the company for the next seven seasons, singing a variety of roles. During his tenure at the Bolshoi, Yuzhin met the woman who was to become his wife, soprano Natalya Ermolenko +••.••(...)). The two went on to become frequent singing partners and remained married until the tenor’s death. Yuzhin was a member of Sergei Zimin’s Opera in Moscow from 1908 to 1912 and also appeared in Italy, Belgium and South America during the first decade of the 20th Century. The busy tenor also organized his own touring company (something that seems to have been popular with Russian tenors of that period) to bring operatic productions to the Russian provinces. Yuzhin’s repertoire of some thirty roles included the tenor leads in such operas as Boris Godunov, The Snow Maiden, Pique Dame, Fra Diavolo, La Traviata, Aïda, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo, Rigoletto, La Gioconda, Pagliacci, Mefistofele, Faust, La Juive and Roméo et Juliette. At the age of only 50, Yuzhin began to curtail his stage performances and began concentrating on concerts and recitals. His final performance seems to have been a gala concert in Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) in 1916. The reasons for his relatively early retirement are not known. Perhaps it was the wear and tear on his voice after two decades of singing some very strenuous repertoire. It might have been to leave more time to dedicate to his touring company. Others have pointed to the possibility that the tenor’s health was failing and that he no longer possessed the physical stamina to perform complete operatic roles. Regardless of the reason, by 1916, Yuzhin’s performing career was over and he concentrated on producing operas on tour to showcase the talents of his wife. By 1920, however, the grueling schedule proved too much for the aging artist. Yuzhin retired to Moscow, where, following a lengthy illness, he died on December 28, 1923 at the age of 60. David Yuzhin left a fairly impressive legacy of about 60 discs, made for G&T, Pathé and the Gramophone Company between 1901 and 1908. One hears a well produced lirico-spinto voice of decent size and range. One also hears unbelievably shoddy musicianship, particularly in his early piano accompanied discs for G&T. Singer and pianist are rarely in synch. Yuzhin blows through rests, constantly forcing his accompanist to jump ahead or quickly change tempo to accommodate the tenor’s rhythmic eccentricities. These blunders may have been the result of nerves due to uncertainty in his first recording sessions (Moreschi, Marconi and even Caruso made similar gaffs in their early recordings), for one notices these types of errors far less in the tenor’s later recordings. Mistakes or not, Yuzhin’s discs give us a priceless glimpse into the art of a lesser known working tenor from Imperialist Russia. Here, Yuzhin sings Bleichmann's "Spring Song". This rare recording was made for The Gramophone & Typewriter Company in Moscow in January of 1902.
Monk Samara Meyerbeer Moreschi Marconi Caruso Mariinsky Theatre Bolshoi Theatre Zimin Opera 1863 1881 1892 1901 1902 1908 1912 1916 1920 1923 1937
David Kristoforovitch Yuzhin +••.••(...)) was a Russian tenor of Greek heritage. Born David Pindekost (some sources give his real name as Pistiko) in Ekaterinoslav, he sang in his hometown church choir and aspired to become a monk in his youth. Brutal criticism from a conservatory professor in St. Petersburg drove Yuzhin to the verge of suicide, causing him to abandon the idea of ever singing again. However, a much needed second opinion convinced the young tenor that there was a future for him on the opera stage. After a period of further study, he auditioned for the Mariinsky Theatre and was accepted into the chorus in 1892. After two years as a chorister, Yuzhin made his debut as a principal artist at the Kazansk-Saratovsk Opera. The young tenor spent the rest of the 1890s appearing throughout Russia, singing in the theaters of Samara, Kharkov, Odessa, Perm, Tiflis, Kazan, Saratov, Odessa, Yalta, Baku and Kiev. In 1901, Yuzhin made his debut at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre as Raoul in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. He remained with the company for the next seven seasons, singing a variety of roles. During his tenure at the Bolshoi, Yuzhin met the woman who was to become his wife, soprano Natalya Ermolenko +••.••(...)). The two went on to become frequent singing partners and remained married until the tenor’s death. Yuzhin was a member of Sergei Zimin’s Opera in Moscow from 1908 to 1912 and also appeared in Italy, Belgium and South America during the first decade of the 20th Century. The busy tenor also organized his own touring company (something that seems to have been popular with Russian tenors of that period) to bring operatic productions to the Russian provinces. Yuzhin’s repertoire of some thirty roles included the tenor leads in such operas as Boris Godunov, The Snow Maiden, Pique Dame, Fra Diavolo, La Traviata, Aïda, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo, Rigoletto, La Gioconda, Pagliacci, Mefistofele, Faust, La Juive and Roméo et Juliette. At the age of only 50, Yuzhin began to curtail his stage performances and began concentrating on concerts and recitals. His final performance seems to have been a gala concert in Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) in 1916. The reasons for his relatively early retirement are not known. Perhaps it was the wear and tear on his voice after two decades of singing some very strenuous repertoire. It might have been to leave more time to dedicate to his touring company. Others have pointed to the possibility that the tenor’s health was failing and that he no longer possessed the physical stamina to perform complete operatic roles. Regardless of the reason, by 1916, Yuzhin’s performing career was over and he concentrated on producing operas on tour to showcase the talents of his wife. By 1920, however, the grueling schedule proved too much for the aging artist. Yuzhin retired to Moscow, where, following a lengthy illness, he died on December 28, 1923 at the age of 60. David Yuzhin left a fairly impressive legacy of about 60 discs, made for G&T, Pathé and the Gramophone Company between 1901 and 1908. One hears a well produced lirico-spinto voice of decent size and range. One also hears unbelievably shoddy musicianship, particularly in his early piano accompanied discs for G&T. Singer and pianist are rarely in synch. Yuzhin blows through rests, constantly forcing his accompanist to jump ahead or quickly change tempo to accommodate the tenor’s rhythmic eccentricities. These blunders may have been the result of nerves due to uncertainty in his first recording sessions (Moreschi, Marconi and even Caruso made similar gaffs in their early recordings), for one notices these types of errors far less in the tenor’s later recordings. Mistakes or not, Yuzhin’s discs give us a priceless glimpse into the art of a lesser known working tenor from Imperialist Russia. In this recording, Yuzhin sings the Pastorale, "Pour Berthe, moi je soupire" (in its Russian translation) from Meyerbeer's Le Prophète. This was recorded for G&T in Moscow in January of 1902.
Alessandro Moreschi Perosi Lauro Antonelli Sistine Chapel Choir Schola Cantorum Cappella Giulia 1903 1936
I'm happy to present two very rare recordings of Domenico Mancini (here age 45), a falsettist soprano who in his youth studied singing with the famed "last castrato" Alessandro Moreschi. As the old Italian school is a school of imitation, Mancini learned to sing not only the "sound" or Moreschi but also with the style of the castrati (which was not peculiar to Moreschi). Mancini did this so completely that Perosi believed he was a true castrato. At around 14, Mancini's voice changed and it was at that point that he joined the falsettisti. Please listen to/read an interview with him here: (http•••) Falsettists had always had a place in Roman choral singing—even in the Sistine Chapel choir, who employed them to fill in the soprano ranks as the castrati's numbers declined and to sing the bulk of the contralto choral parts. Nevertheless, with the advent of the Pope's Motu proprio of 1903, admission of true castrati was strictly forbidden, and there began the effort to train young boys to sing the soprano and contralto parts. As the falsettisti were aging out of the choirs, an entire tradition began to disappear entirely. There were, luckily, a small handful of records made where we can hear this kinda of vocal emission, which is verrrry different from male falsettists today. It is penetrating, silvery, yet mellow sound—never throaty or hooty. One of these I have published before—the Quartetto Vocale Romano, who soprano was also a falsettist who had studied with Moreschi. The bass of the quartet is the same bass heard in the present quartet with Mancini. (http•••) Each of these soloists of these 1936 recording had, in his own time, been a student of the Schola Cantorum school for boys at San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome and had been steeped in the ancient practices of Roman vocal style and choral singing. They each variously held positions as soloists and choral singers for the Sistine Chapel, Cappella Giulia, the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, in the Quartetto Vocale Romano and/or the official pontifical soloist quartets. Domenico Mancini (age 45) – soprano Eugenio Travaglia (age 61) – contralto Armando Fantozzi (age 32) – tenor Augusto Dos Santos (age 55) – bass Maëstro Armando Antonelli (age 50) – organ ..................................... This channel is primarily about vocal emission—aural examples of basically correct singing, correct impostazione—chiaroscuro, vowel clarity, firm and centered pitch, correct vibrato action, absence of throatiness or thickness, sounds free from constriction and from the acoustic noise that accompanies it—with occasional video examples that demonstrate what the body, face, mouth, jaw, and tongue look like when used with correct impostazione—the vocal emission of the one and only Italian school. Caveat: I'm biased in favor of baritones and baritone literature, but if you want to learn about and listen to all the greatest singers in the old-school tradition, explore this spreadsheet (voice parts are separated by tabs): (http•••) #DomenicoMancini #Falsetto #HeadVoice
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- cronologia: Cantanti lirici (Europa). Interpreti (Europa).
- Indici (per ordine alfabetico): M...