BBC Music Magazine's 20 Greatest Tenors

[Derek McGovern]

BBC Music Magazine has just announced the results of a poll of its
"experts" on the 20 greatest tenors "of all time". I have no idea what
criteria they've applied, but here are their results:

1. Plácido Domingo (born in 1941), The King of
the Singers
2. Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)
3. Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007)
4. Fritz Wunderlich (1930-1966)
5. Jussi Bjorling (1911-1960)
6. Lauritz Melchior (1890)
7. Beniamino Gigli (1890-1957)
8. Jon Vickers (born in 1926)
9. Nicolai Gedda (born in 1925)
10. Peter Pears (1910-1986)
11. Tito Schipa (1880-1965)
12. Carlo Bergonzi (born in 1924)
13. Juan Diego Flórez (born in 1973)
14. Peter Schreier (born in 1935)
15. Franco Corelli (1921-1976)
16. John McCormack (1884-1945)
17. Anthony Rolfe Johnson (born in 1940)
18. Alfredo Kraus (1927-1999)
19. Wolfgang Windgasssen (1914-1974)
20. Sergey Lemeshev (1902-1977).

http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com/currentissue.asp

No Lanza (predictably), but no Carreras or Di Stefano either??? And
Peter Pears at #10?!

[Ann-Mai]

Ah, yes! I saw that magazine in a store last week, but it was rather
expensive, so I just took a peek at the list without buying it. I was
very tempted though, curious to read how they reached this particular
rating.

[Joe Fagan]

Wow, Don't Caruso, Lanza, Di Stefano, Wunderlich and the "young" Carreras
HAVE to be in the top five??.... maybe criteria were used that didn't
include good hearing as well as musical poetry?
P.S. I have never even heard of Peter Pears ! I will have to check YouTube!

NOW, that's a good and ez question for the forum to get some people started:
Who are your favorite all time , top 6 voices??......(.need not be
operatic).

Joe

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Joe: We already have a thread on members' favourite operatic voices
-- you created it! ("Your Top Five".) In any event, I think it's best
to consider non-operatic voices separately from operatic ones; I mean,
it's pointless trying to compare, say, Sinatra with Lanza, unless
you're discussing something like phrasing.

As for the BBC poll, presumably, the criteria would have included such
aspects as the number of roles each tenor sang successfully, the
length of their careers, etc. But to include the wonderful Wunderlich,
who died at almost 36, and not to include Di Stefano and Carreras,
both of whom were still giving outstanding performances in their 30s,
makes no sense whatsoever to me.

Let me know what you think of Peter Pears!!

[Armando]

My dear Derek, the BBC Music Magazine list of greatest tenors is as
predictable as it is laughable and not worth commenting on.

[Jan Hodges]

WoW! Domingo at number 1! Peter Pears at  10! AND showing my complete ignorance who are? Sergey Lemeshev (1902-1977 Wolfgang Windgasssen (1914-1974)

Anthony Rolfe Johnson (born in 1940)

Peter Schreier (born in 1935)

Jan

[Heidi]

Hi Jan
Wolfgang Wingassen was a very good Wagnerian Tenor, from Sweeden I
think and Peter Schreier is a lyrical Tenor from Eastern Germany.
Cheers Heidi
On 7 Apr., 02:12, "Jan Hodges"

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[Mike McAdam]

....and Mike McAdam is a strangled tenor from the shower stall at 272
Shortt's Lake Rd. West !!! :-))
I guess what I'm thinking is...how obscure can these Tenors be? Lanza
was anything but obscure. There's still the old toff school tie alive
and well at the hoary old BBC (and/or a plethora of musical
ignorance!).
Did anyone ever see the BBC list of the 20 most beautiful women in the
world?? Say no more!
M.

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[Aline staires]

Hey Mikey; Did someone wake you and rattle your cage???Haven't seen such funny writing from you in quite some time.LOVE IT!!!!! Aline    -------Original Message-------

From: Mike McAdam Date: 09/04/2008 5:56:07 AM To: The Mario Lanza Forum

[Derek McGovern]

Well, it may not be as prestigious as the BBC Music Magazine, but in
August 2007 the Australian ABC Classic FM (Arts & Music) Limelight
Magazine included Lanza at #3 in its Top Ten Male Opera Legends list.
(This information is courtesy of Armando.) The other nine singers
were: #1 Enrico Caruso, #2 Tito Gobbi, #4 Franco Corelli, #5 Giuseppe
Di Stefano, #6 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, #7 Fritz Wunderlich, #8
Luciano Pavarotti, #9 Placido Domingo, and #10 Jose Carreras.

Now admittedly, Gobbi and Fischer-Dieskau were baritones, but as a
list of top tenors, this one makes a heck of a lot more sense than the
ridiculous BBC poll!

Here's what they wrote about Lanza: "The young Alfred Arnold Cocozza
made his student operatic debut as Fenton in Otto Nicolai's The Merry
Wives of Windsor at Tanglewood in 1942 and adopted his stage name;
made professional operatic debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in
New Orleans in 1948; this became his last full opera as Lanza signed a
film contract, starring in five films [whoops!] between 1950 and 1959;
was a keen amateur boxer; played the famous Enrico Caruso in the 1951
The Great Caruso; auditioned for La Scala in Milan in 1958 and was
offered a contract by the company, but died of a pulmonary embolism
before he could return to opera."

[Jan Hodges]

Derek wrote

<Well, it may not be as prestigious as the BBC Music Magazine, but in August 2007 the Australian ABC Classic FM (Arts & Music) Limelight Magazine included Lanza at #3 in its Top Ten Male Opera Legends list.>

Trust the Aussies to be a bit more pragmatic than the Brits! :-) A much more sensible list than the BBC's. At least I don't have to ask who on earth is "Whats'isname" Thanks for that Armando Jan

[Joe Fagan]

Makes good sense; much more fair!

[Lou]

What? A top tenors list without Bjorling? They can't be serious!

[Derek McGovern]

Quite right, Lou: leaving poor old Jussi out (and yet including
Fischer-Dieskau!) makes no sense whatsoever. Gigli also deserved a
look in :-) But apart from those two egregious omissions, it's a
pretty good list!

[Derek McGovern]

Just to clarify: the above post is not from a member of this forum, but from someone who happened to come across this discussion---and was responding to Jan's four-year-old post. Non-members are allowed to post here, but I'd suggest to the person above that if he wants to participate in any more discussions on this forum, then describing any of our members as ignorant is completely out of line. Disagree by all means, but please leave the insults at the door.

As for Domingo being a better conductor than he is a singer, or Peter Pears being an amazing tenor, I beg to differ! I don't know when you heard Domingo live, but if it was in the last fifteen years or so, then you could hardly claim that you heard him during his peak years. Be fair to the guy! He's 72 next month, after all. As for Peter Pears, well, he may have been a stylish singer, but his vocal quality is not exactly miraculous :) Sir Reginald Goodall, who conducted him, once made the comment that Pears only had "one good note" (E Natural above middle C), and I don't think he was exaggerating all that much...  

I love Wunderlich, and consider him one of the greats, but I think it's a bit much to be asserting that his recording of "Dies bildnis ist bezaubernd schoen" surpasses even the efforts of singers who are not yet born!       

[yw...@hotmail.com]

Domingo himself knows he cannot be greater than Caruso.  In an interview, Domingo said there is no doubt in his mind that Caruso is the best tenor that ever lived.   I personally think Caruso is much, much, greater than anyone.

[joemas...@gmail.com]

All I can say is they are imbeciles.