Ave Maria....By Caruso, Gigli, Lanza.....I'm leaning toward Lanza.

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

Wow in latin? That must be mesmerizing!

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I think I might have misspoke. My hubby sang the Ave Maria in Latin his whole life, starting as a choir boy.

All the Italian favorites, he sung in Italian. He also sang in the chorus of an opera company. He did okay with Italian, but he always stumbled when the opera was in German or French.

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[justoffal]

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I think I might have misspoke. My hubby sang the Ave Maria in Latin his whole life, starting as a choir boy.

All the Italian favorites, he sung in Italian. He also sang in the chorus of an opera company. He did okay with Italian, but he always stumbled when the opera was in German or French.

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The Latin just supercharges it!

 

[justoffal]

The Latin just supercharges it!

I'm assuming Schubert wrote the latin version as the original. OMG .... I've been listening to it in Italian all these years and never once realized how ultimately beautiful it is in Latin!

 

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

The Latin just supercharges it!

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Absolutely!

I have a very sweet memory. When my husband was in a memory care facility, getting ready to die of dementia, we'd sing some favorite songs together just for the sweetness of it.

After covid started separating us, we always had to have the glass of his window between us and singing together lost it's closeness. Then, a couple months before he died, the facility set up a place to meet outside in a courtyard, with a table with plexiglass barrier between us, and a staff member had to be there whenever we were out there together. One day, that staff member was the receptionist, and I started singing Ave Maria, and hubby joined in, and before we were finished, the staff member was weeping. Turns out she had been away from the Catholic Church for a while, and I made a mental note to give her a call one day and ask her if she had started going back to church.

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[justoffal]

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Absolutely!

I have a very sweet memory. When my husband was in a memory care facility, getting ready to die of dementia, we'd sing some favorite songs together just for the sweetness of it.

After covid started separating us, we always had to have the glass of his window between us and singing together lost it's closeness. Then, a couple months before he died, the facility set up a place to meet outside in a courtyard, with a table with plexiglass barrier between us, and a staff member had to be there whenever we were out there together. One day, that staff member was the receptionist, and I started singing Ave Maria, and hubby joined in, and before we were finished, the staff member was weeping. Turns out she had been away from the Catholic Church for a while, and I made a mental note to give her a call one day and ask her if she had started going back to church.

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I don't want to tell you what I'm doing right now. Suffice it to say I almost never do it.

 

[justoffal]

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I love what you said about Pavarotti overpowering the notes. Very well said.

Didn't someone just a bit ago mention Pavarotti "belting", and I wanted to make the comparison of Domingo "caressing" the notes, even when he was giving his full power.

My hubby's voice was probably most like Lanza's, and occasionally he would "belt" a note like Pavarotti -- the one flaw I'd hear in his voice.

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I miss the big lug....lol

He had an amazing voice but yes....too much power! Caruso had a similar effect but he had far more control.

He was a hot shit....had a good sense of humor and did not play up like a snob as so many of his peers did and do. Did lots of great interviews.....one was a fascinating story of how a nine year old Pavarotti sat and talked to a mid sixties Gigli on a bench outside an opera hall.....loved hearing it!

 

[Ava]

I am loving this thread. Each of your stories and impressions of THE GREATS, has captivated me and left me with smiles on my face and a warm, touching glow in my heart. They all remind me of my dad's operatic tenor voice and his sister, my aunt, and her classical training ( Juilliard ) in opera.

I have listened to the three tenors you put up singing the heart-gripping Ave Maria, several times. Caruso wins by a nose in his rendition, for me. I grew up listening to Lanza as dad would sing along with him. I have a love for opera because of those times. Dad actually went to college on two scholarships, one for football and one for voice. He had his own "sponsored" voice radio show on campus. Aunt Peggy sang commercially as well. She, a soprano. She looked like Elizabeth Taylor, the late actress. An Irish beauty.

While Pavarotti's voice could surely fill an opera house, I preferred Domingo to him. But, they all sang with heart and soul and who could ever turn any of them off.

From my heart and soul to all who have contributed to this great thread. You have my admiration.

 

[justoffal]

I am loving this thread. Each of your stories and impressions of THE GREATS, has captivated me and left me with smiles on my face and a warm, touching glow in my heart. They all remind me of my dad's operatic tenor voice and his sister, my aunt, and her classical training ( Juilliard ) in opera.

I have listened to the three tenors you put up singing the heart-gripping Ave Maria, several times. Caruso wins by a nose in his rendition, for me. I grew up listening to Lanza as dad would sing along with him. I have a love for opera because of those times. Dad actually went to college on two scholarships, one for football and one for voice. He had his own "sponsored" voice radio show on campus. Aunt Peggy sang commercially as well. She, a soprano. She looked like Elizabeth Taylor, the late actress. An Irish beauty.

While Pavarotti's voice could surely fill an opera house, I preferred Domingo to him. But, they all sang with heart and soul and who could ever turn any of them off.

From my heart and soul to all who have contributed to this great thread. You have my admiration.

Welcome then good citizen and our hearts right back to you....we have a common bond in our love for this magnificent art! I think we are about to discover a new reason to come to USMB away from the strife of the political wars above...this is real humanity that is universal.

 

[Ava]

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Absolutely!

I have a very sweet memory. When my husband was in a memory care facility, getting ready to die of dementia, we'd sing some favorite songs together just for the sweetness of it.

After covid started separating us, we always had to have the glass of his window between us and singing together lost it's closeness. Then, a couple months before he died, the facility set up a place to meet outside in a courtyard, with a table with plexiglass barrier between us, and a staff member had to be there whenever we were out there together. One day, that staff member was the receptionist, and I started singing Ave Maria, and hubby joined in, and before we were finished, the staff member was weeping. Turns out she had been away from the Catholic Church for a while, and I made a mental note to give her a call one day and ask her if she had started going back to church.

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Precious memories. I can hear you both now and it is heavenly. Thanks for sharing the beauty, 0PJQ.

 

[Ava]

Welcome then good citizen and our hearts right back to you....we have a common bond in our love for this magnificent art! I think we are about to discover a new reason to come to USMB away from the strife of the political wars above...this is real humanity that is universal.

Yes, this is very refreshing to say the least. I am listening to the young boy above singing his heart out as I type this.

Welcome then good citizen and our hearts right back to you....we have a common bond in our love for this magnificent art! I think we are about to discover a new reason to come to USMB away from the strife of the political wars above...this is real humanity that is universal.

Yes, 'tis so refreshing to hear and appreciate beauty than to argue politics, which I usually avoid doing in the first place. I see it as a waste of my time.

 

[justoffal]

One of the most celebrated Opera pieces of all time by Schubert. A real test of a professionals voice.
So difficult to get every nuance correct every note to blend with the next.

If somebody had told me I would have favored Lanza over Caruso and Gigli.... I would have told them they were crazy until I heard this rendition of Ave Maria.



Not an easy decision to make when you have such masterful renditions as these.

Hello everyone....

I just had to add this one it seems like it belonged.