For the eighth week of classes, I've chosen to comment on Thomas Hampson and Anna Netrebko...
Mr. Thomas Hampson, baritone sang Bring Him Home from Les Miserables and I found it to be sung pretty well.. It sounds a little covered to me in this recording... Is this written for a baritone? I can clearly understand what he is singing, and he seems to have a great image in his mind of what is happening in the context of the piece.
I then checked out Mr. Hampson singing The Barber of Seville's well known Largo Al Factotum. His voice seems to fit this piece better... with a million la-la-la's, I find it to be sung buoyantly, and with clear diction. He doesn't need to move his mouth strangely to get all of these words out, which I appreciate. The tempo is incredibly quick! Thank you James Levine! The man can act, he's good looking, he can sing! What a catch! Mr. Hampson is singing with support throughout this entire piece, and when he sings a higher pitch, I actually do not hear a large transition occur... maybe it's because a large transition isn't occurring or because he's just that good at hiding it? It seems there is spin on each note, and his musical relationship with the orchestra is divine!!
Secondly, Ms. Anna Netrebko, Russan born Soprano singing O Soave Fanciulla with Rolando Villazon. Oh my goodness! How beautiful are these two together! She sings with such vibrancy and I have millions of goosebumps! Her support and sound is incredible, but looks effortless, the ultimate balance, it seems. Her low notes even have spin, and focus.. though the upper notes have depth and richness to them as well. Her breath support makes her voice sound even across the board and her facial expression doesn't get in the way, but adds to her ability to show us what the text is trying to say. Love her. Love her. Love her.
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