Nelson Eddy:Unusual Range?
bailey Leeds
Baritone and Bass i.e.
Bass--- Beethoven's 9th Century; Tenor as the Drum Major in Wozzeck;
Bass in Verdi's Requiem; Tenor as Silvio in 1928. I know he sang all
the roles in Make Mine Music ranging from Soprano, Tenor, Baritone to
Bass.
Is this at all unusual, or do most opera singers have this range? Also,
he always referred to himself, simply as "baritone".
Bailey
dtritter
since when is silvio a tenor role?! strictly an iltalian lyric baritone
role. and there have been many baritones who have sung "o freunde, nicht
diese tone ......."
dft
Leonard Tillman
>I've been told, Nelson Eddy sang roles in
> Opera and Concerts as Tenor, Baritone and
> Bass i.e.
>Bass--- Beethoven's 9th Century; Tenor as the
> Drum Major in Wozzeck; Bass in Verdi's
> Requiem; Tenor as Silvio in 1928. I know he
> sang all the roles in Make Mine Music ranging
> from Soprano, Tenor, Baritone to Bass.
>Is this at all unusual, or do most opera singers
> have this range? Also, he always referred to
> himself, simply as "baritone".
Silvio is a lyric-baritone (Eddy's voice, essentially) role, but
yes, he did have an impressive range, also having sung Gremin's aria
(bass) from "Eugen Onegin.
His lowest range is notable in the American "Western" ballad, "Ghost
Riders In the Sky", in which he IMO surpassed in excellence even Vaughn
Monroe, who was most associated with the song (and btw, who earlier had
operatic ambitions, himself).
>Bailey
LT
One mode of learning:
- To suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, --
but in a new way.
dtritter
the movie of "the chocolate soldier" with rise stevens contains a
superlative eddy rendition of moussorgsky's "song of the flea," normally
thought of by most as feodor chaliapin basso territory.
dft
Leonard Tillman
" Silvio is a lyric-baritone (Eddy's voice,
> essentially) role, but yes, he did have an
> impressive range, also having sung Gremin's
> aria (bass) from "Eugen Onegin.
His lowest range is notable in the American
"Western" ballad, "Ghost Riders In the Sky", in which he IMO surpassed
in excellence even Vaughn Monroe, who was most associated with the song
(and btw, who earlier had operatic ambitions, himself).
LT "
" One mode of learning:
- To suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, --
but in a new way. "
>the movie of "the chocolate soldier" with rise
> stevens contains a superlative eddy rendition
> of moussorgsky's "song of the flea," normally
> thought of by most as feodor chaliapin basso
> territory.
>dft
Eddy also recorded this, with very slightly varying lyrics, for
Columbia. It appeared later on their "Harmony" LP series. I actually
preferred it (and a rare Pinza version) to Chaliapin's.
In "The Chocolate Soldier", Nelson Eddy introduced a magnificent
song/serenade that, for whatever the reason, was AFAIK not recorded by
other singers, - "While My Lady Sleeps", written by Bronislaw Kaper.
Premiereopera
>Is this at all unusual, or do most opera singers have this range? Also,
>he always referred to himself, simply as "baritone".
He was "simply" a baritone. His ranged encompassed high G's and Ab's, down to
low G at least.
The same could be said about Tibbett, Merrill, MacNeil, and almost every other
great, or even not great, baritone that sang opera.
Ed
http://www.premiereopera.com for the best in live opera on VIDEO, CD, CD-ROM.
Jeanne Souter
>his lowest range is notable in the American
>"western" ballad "Ghost Riders In The Sky"
And other examples of his bass range were Deep River and Water Boy in
which he sounded remarkably like Paul Robeson, whom he greatly admired.
I think Nelson is no longer viewed too favorably for his operatic
career, because of the wide variety of his music. Someone once referred
to him as the first "crossover artist" . He could go from Danse Macabre
to Shortnin Bread to Evening Star and back to Song of the Flea, amd
sound comfortable in all of them.
But then he never really cared to be remembered as an opera or movie
star.
First and foremost, he thought of himself as a "concert recitalist".
Pen
Karen Mercedes
Major, a heldentenor role that sits, as many helden roles do, slightly
lower in tessitura than other "lighter" tenor roles. In film he sang some
roles originally conceived for tenor (e.g., Capt. Dick in NAUGHTY
MARIETTA), but these were transposed down into baritone tessitura.
I believe Eddy's range was comparable with that of Thomas Hampson, as was
his ability to brighten or darken his sound appropriately. There was a
lack of fluidity in his singing, though at times, as well as an essential
nasality in his production that make his voice distinctive but not always
beautiful. His Italian diction, if his recording of "Non piu andrai" is
any indication, was also nothing to write home about.
Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
________________________________
That man is the happiest who
is most thoroughly deluded.
- Erasmus
Karen Mercedes
Love Lyrics. I had a chance to pick these up on 78 this past weekend, but
was somewhat cowed by the price - a charity thrift shop was asking $12 for
the two discs, and they were rather scratched and filthy, so I just
couldn't bring myself to buy them for that price, despite their (I
suspect) rarity. I do have a chance to change my mind, if anyone can tell
me more about them - would they be worth the $12 investment?
Leonard Tillman
>LT wrote
" his lowest range is notable in the American "western" ballad "Ghost
Riders In The Sky" "
>And other examples of his bass range were
> Deep River and Water Boy in which he
> sounded remarkably like Paul Robeson,
> whom he greatly admired.
Eddy's "Deep River" *I think* I've got.... "Water Boy" is on the same
LP as the abovementioned "Ghost Riders" and the recently discussed
"Ballad of Rodger Young".
Some of these selections may be on CDs by now.
>I think Nelson is no longer viewed too
> favorably for his operatic career, because of
> the wide variety of his music.
Still ironic, given that his opera years were from the early 1920s
to the mid '30s, shortly preceding his movie successes.
>Someone once referred to him as the first
> "crossover artist" . He could go from Danse
> Macabre to Shortnin Bread to Evening Star
> and back to Song of the Flea, amd sound
> comfortable in all of them.
He evidently had an especially solid vocal grounding, as he never
(in my hearings, at least) made a "bad" sound, i.e., anything with
strain, nor any straying from pitch.
>But then he never really cared to be
> remembered as an opera or movie star.
>First and foremost, he thought of himself as a
> "concert recitalist".
And that's what he seemed happiest as, - continuing it to the
last...as he once said he expected to.
>Pen
Leonard Tillman (who, as a fellow Webtv-ite, welcomes you to this
group.)
Matthew B. Tepper
letters to be typed in
news:Pine.GSO.4.43.02122...@saltmine.radix.net:
> The only tenor role I know of that Eddy sang (not transposed) was the
> Drum Major, a heldentenor role that sits, as many helden roles do,
> slightly lower in tessitura than other "lighter" tenor roles. In film
> he sang some roles originally conceived for tenor (e.g., Capt. Dick in
> NAUGHTY MARIETTA), but these were transposed down into baritone
> tessitura.
>
> I believe Eddy's range was comparable with that of Thomas Hampson, as
> was his ability to brighten or darken his sound appropriately. There
> was a lack of fluidity in his singing, though at times, as well as an
> essential nasality in his production that make his voice distinctive
> but not always beautiful. His Italian diction, if his recording of
> "Non piu andrai" is any indication, was also nothing to write home
> about.
Ah, but what of his Gilbert & Sullivan patter songs?
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
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Jeanne Souter
They are beautifully done--Temple Bells, Less Than The Dust, Till I
Wake. I got mine on ebay--many of Nelson's 78s are showing up there. And
I have Kashmiri from radio tapes.
His radio career was intensive--from the Philadelphia opera years in the
20s and early 30s--radio was a constant in his life. In the mid 30s to
the early 50s, he guested on all the music and comedy show--was a
regular guest on Chase & Sanborn (Bergen-- McCarthy show) at the height
of his film popularity. He had 3 shows of his own during the 40s. The
appeal of radio was the live audience. That was the main problem with
films--he really did not like the lack of spontaneity in movies. Much to
his later regret, he chose to stay in Hollywood because Jeanette refused
to leave. But hundreds of OTR tapes are now available--songs he never
recorded.
It is really a shame that he is remembered primarily for the films (only
16) when his music career was so much better, and the music, he
personally loved best was never heard in those films.
Pen
PEACE
bailey Leeds
first time I heard one, I could not believe it was him. Sounded nothing
like his voice, but I only knew his movie songs then. I have the
Columbia 78. 3 record set, and they are a joy to listen to.
Bailey
