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Christopher Busietta Tenor and Music Teacher
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No blog about opera, written by an operatic tenor, would be complete without some sort of listings of my favourite tenors. In all cases, the overriding factor in my decisions is the beauty of their voice, their technical proficiency and their passionate dramatic interpretations. These are the singers that I continually listen to for enjoyment, inspiration and model for production and quality of sound and interpretation. That isn't to say that I try to copy any these great singers - in fact, if it were possible we would all sound like them! But I certainly listen carefully to what they are doing, either in terms of the sounds they are making and their musical choices. So here are my favourite tenors: #1 - Luciano PavarottiLuciano Pavarotti is my favourite tenor. He is also the most successful recorded opera singer of all time according to record sales (with Andrea Bocelli coming in at 2nd place), with 19.9 million certified sales of recordings (albums, operas and singles) and a claimed sale figure of over 100 million recordings. He may have been criticised for his lack of acting ability, musical sloppiness (debatable), inability to read music or learn parts and for his attempted crossover to pop music but there is no denying how great his voice is, nor his passion or technique. Every Pavarotti recording I have ever heard, unfortunately I never saw him live, has been a revelation and 95% of the time I consider these recordings to be definitive. For me, nobody can replace his Rudolfo in La Bohéme, his Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, his Duca in Rigoletto, his Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore or his Manrico in Il Trovatore. And of course there is his signature - Nessun Dorma! Not only is the voice and musicality unmatched, but every word he sings has meaning and intention – he may not have been able to move his rumoured 396 pounds on stage, but he could certainly portray the roles with his voice and his facial expressions – see his totally convincing Duca in Rigoletto. Luciano Pavarotti sings "Questa o Quella" from Rigoletto. #2 - Juan Diego FlorezJuan Diego Florez is the current "it" tenor and is currently singing in operatic productions and orchestral recitals at all the biggest opera houses in the world as well as recording numerous albums. And is my clear second favourite tenor of all-time. What makes Juan Diego Florez separate from most tenors who climb to the top of the operatic tree is his choice of repertoire and his voice. He is a leggiero tenor, which means he has the lightest voice category for tenors. And he is very, very aware of his limitations, so only attempts the operatic roles that would allow him to be heard above an orchestra. His strengths, however, are absolutely dazzling. What he has in his voice, first and foremost, is the most secure high notes you will ever hear in a tenor. Top C’s are one thing, but he regularly hits beautiful Ds and has even gone up to an Eb on live recordings, though I suspect his voice would go higher if he was willing to push it up there. The second strength he has in his voice is his flexibility. I have never heard such precise and easy coloratura (melodies where you have to sing heaps of notes very quickly) from any tenor EVER. The fast tempi he takes does not make it any easier for him. Because of his amazing technical ability, and of course his musical imagination, he is able to add a lot of nuance to music so complicated and demanding that most tenors are happy just to get through the arias – the compositions of Rossini for instance. And add to that a great physical appearance, endearing stage presence and dramatic commitment and you get a truly one of a kind tenor. I salute him for not only bringing Rossini back, but for being the best interpreter of the most difficult tenor repertoire that has ever been recorded. #3 - Fritz WunderlichGerman lyric tenor, Fritz Wunderlich unfortunately had a very short career, because he died after tripping over his shoelaces on a staircase and breaking his neck at the age of 35, less than a month before his New York Metropolitan Opera debut which would have made him an international star. Believe me, every time someone points out that my shoe laces are untied, I think of Wunderlich. He is the benchmark that every single Mozart tenor should aspire to – perfect phrasing, great vocal colour, elegant and passionate. When it comes to Mozart, there is no-one who can touch him. It is a great shame that he hasn’t recorded all the Mozart operas in their original languages. Of course, Mozart being my favourite operatic composer, Wunderlich rates very highly to me. In a repertoire that is suited to light, high tenors, he was nevertheless not a very light tenor at all – which is testament to his amazing technique and musicality to his singing. He could pull his big voice back to amazingly beautiful pianissimos and sing in a range that is usually uncomfortable for a voice that size without any strain in the sound. Mozart aside, he excelled in German repertoire - notably the Operettas of Franz Léhar, but also tackled some italian repertoire such as Il Barbiere di Siviglia in his unfortunately limited Italian. He successfully recorded many of the big Puccini lyric arias, unfortunately always in a German translation. Finally, his version of the hugely popular Mexican “art-song” Granada, despite being in German, beats the pants off any Spanish singer I have heard so far.
Other tenors I love (honourable mentions): Laurence Brownlee, Carlo Bergonzi, Anton Dermota, Roberto Alagna, José Cura, Joseph Calleja and Andrea Bocelli.
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