before it totally fades away
A critic recently downplayed the brilliant and emotional work of a certain magical tenor from Sicily. That critic who has a history of favoring German voices in Italian works, maintains that in the first performance of the season of Manon Lescaut at the Metropolitan Opera, he preferred, ABSOLUTELY NO SURPRISE, the elegant but as he called it “cool, Nordic approach” to this masterpiece of Puccini’s opera of love and longing and youth. That Mr. Giordani, the only Italian in the cast, was too emotional for him. Oh my. For example, this highly emotional reading by two other great compatriots of Marcello’s. This clip of a radiant performance of the final act’s duet of Andrea Chenier, “Vicino a te…” with none other than Franco Corelli, another “emotional” Italian as he was always “accused” of being and the amazing, searing, absolute correct Italian color and size, RENATA TEBALDI. Here in Chenier she removes the ceiling from the Vienna Staats Oper. Perhaps one of the greatest readings of this great duet, to honor these two great voices and the great tenor of Marcello Giordani.
