He was the very great American Spinto tenor, in my 65 years of attending opera, seeing him which I often did, (about 20 times) was always amazing, a rich powerful voice that lasted well, he is in his 50's here and live, not a studio recording!

Just wonderful. I wish You Tube played more of his videos.9

@@shirleyrombough8173 Yes, agreed and consider he was in his Mid. 50's here and still was in solid voice.

@@shirleyrombough8173 This show was from 1970 and also if you look at "Tucker sings Pagliacci on the Ed Sullivan TV show" you'll see him singing the aria Vesti la Giubba at age 56 in a knock out performance, also there is a clip from the "Live Video" of him singing Aida in 1949 as a younger 35 year old man, Conducted by the famous Italian Maestro Toscanini from the complete opera, Toscanini Chose the young Tucker at the time who had made his Met. opera debut in 1945, just 4 years before to sing the very first TV Brdcst. Of Aida and one of the very first Brdcsts. of "complete opera" Live opera Brdcsts . on TV, Tucker was a very great tenor, he lasted well for 30 years, he died in Jan. 1975 at age 61. There also is a live TV show of him singing "You'll never walk alone" with Skitch Henderson playing the piano and also the Aria "Nesun Dorma" from the early 1960's on you tube. RIP.

An interesting perspective, because I’ve often heard, from others who heard Tucker live, that the voice was quite large and penetrating in the house.

I feel like they should always do that, just as in a live performance with the Orchestra in the pit, not only for a huge voice like his Would give a clearer idea of what they're actually capable of

I think Tucker was, indeed, a spinto in later life, but how does one categorize the Caruso organ of his later recordings? Do you mean to say that its baritonal sound doesn't qualify as dramatic? What tenor sound possessed a heavier timbre? The only thing lyric about it was it's incredible flexibility + Caruso's forever ability to lighten the tone. Maybe that makes Caruso Lyric, but I guess I would rather say that you just can't categorize his voice. I can only think of one other tenor, for whom this is true, & that is Bergonzi, who never sounded like a lyric tenor, to me, but who I could never describe as dramatic, either. He has always left me feeling highly respectful, but dumbfounded - a truly strange instrument, & one of the few who was always able to float sound.

Caruso became baritone in weight but not in tone at age 47-48, with all he smoked etc. at age 48 when he died,he was still a spinto. Del Monaco had a far more dramatic tone, BTW I discussed Bergonzi at length with Jan Peerce at his Home when I was a guest there and was working in radio, that was over a weekend very long ago, of course I'm not a singer, like us all only have opinions nobody IMO is always right or always wrong, but for me "my as opinions are the important ones" and I stand by them I only like to talk about those I saw in house, just like everyone else values their own opinions, I value mine and some professional critics I have known, now they are all dead, first of all I'm not a big fan of Bergonzi, I like him especially two great records he made, Trav. and Boheme but not all that much in spinto roles and I saw him many times in concert and opera both from 1961 on, he never did thrill me, nor did Domingo. Bergonzi IMO better in lyric roles because in more Spinto roles for me he was lacking in Spinto top voice, the ringing squillo quality , he was a lyric for some or a lyric spintoor a spinto according to his fans, and some critics said , his Chenier live was "not spinto enough" for a good review at the Met .for me the labels are confusing and can be argued but , my opinion after seeing both men since the late 1950's, (Jussi and Bergonzi) was both had the best commercial Boheme recordings made in the 1950's but I ignore all those who judge just by recordings, you needed to see them in house and Jjan Peerce and others I know did see Bergonzi (as if I care) sure he, (Bergonzi) started as a Baritone and had that rich creamy sound, but the top was not tight, OK but in house, no top squillo, which is ring, the voice never did thrill me, but singing did for great beauty and a warm very rich honey tone, his voice was not as large as either Corelli or Tucker on his best day , he wasn't a good Chenier compared to Corelli or Tucker, but a better singer then Corelli by far and of course later Tucker why I don't know used some heavy accents in Italian opera not needed but a super voice and had the power and ring up top , in French as in Juive and both Carmen, Faust , Hoffmann and Don Jose he did not use heavy accents and there was excellent, but he was not ever a dramatic tenor even later, neither was Corelli, but Corelli had a more dramatic sound then Tucker, even though RT had a very big top voice and FC could have been a good Otello, but as with Caruso and Tucker, FC said no way, Bergonzi and Bjorling both great singers, artists of great perfection, Jussi had the better top, but a smaller voice then Bergonzi, I saw him, he, JB was no spinto, ever, at most a lyric spinto later, but his 1952 RCA Boheme and Bergonzi;s London label late 1950's withtebaldi and Bastianini are the best two Boheme's on studio records for me, but neither tenor is my favorite, though I really lie Lyric JB a lot, Jussi sang so many different kinds of music, a better musician/ artist then Bergonzi, he had terrific low notes also and a better top C then Carlo ever had, he also was sadly in some studio records cold, but live could be warm and always gave a lot in concerts, (not as Italian in sound IMO as Bergonzi) JB was smart, did not sing many spinto roles, his voice was far from large. Peerce told me about Begonzi and said "he was no Rhadamas" but he liked Corelli in the role, even though we know Franco had some very bad habits live, the scooping, a lisp and holding on with his high notes, running ahead of the Cond. etc. but a real great Spinto voice, with his great ringing top etc. top, plus he had dramatic color for sure. Bjoerling could get some spinto tone, but in house his voice was half the size of Tucker or Corelli and so rather small as a comparison to them , so was Barry Morell , a fine tenor, second tier back then, but a smaller voice then on RCA records, The Bergonnzi Met. debut was in Aida, ut the review said wonderful but the high notes they said lacked ring, he didn't get raves for his high notes. GDS was not as perfect a singer, a super great lyric tenor with good power, but sang so open and wrecked it singing wrong roles for a lyric voice, Jussi never sang Forza, Chenier, Don Jose , Calaf. Hoffmann, Luisa Miller etc. and never in Gioconda, a smart man, when he tried Aida in 1958 in a big house, Chicago, JB failed in the role to be a big success there in Chicago where he was adored , his reviews where very mediocre and they mentioned his voice size as small for it, though he sang wonderfully well, as did Gigli in1939 at the old Met, the reviews said the 49 year old Gigli was not spinto enough in that house for the role, (Bjoerling was 47 in Chicago where he also did not do well in the role in Chicago, Gigli did better with it in Europe, as did JB in Europe, smaller houses there.

IMO opinion Bergonzi was a Lyric Spinto tenor, no way to prove it, we all have different opinions and even some paid critics did. Tucker told me he was a Lyric tenor and only later a Spinto but that he felt Otello would hurt his voice he told me that over dinner once but did say he could sing it for sure, but then eh said why do it! You know he was a big fan of Del Monaco, when I asked Tucker of the tenors your age who do you like the most of your peers, he said " Del Monaco" as Lyric tenors go his favorite was no doubt Gigli and of the younger Lyric tenors he liked Gedda a lot, he also told me he thought Lanza had a great natural voice and could have been a great star in opera houses had he gone in that direction, one night in London Tucker was singing Tosca in 1958 at Covent garden and Mario Lanza was there in the opera house to hear the great American Tucker and so they with their wives went out for dinner together after Tucker sang, the two Americans got along very well, I know because Tucker told me so, and I was very close to ML's parents (the Cocozza's) Mary, Tony and the 4 kids and was a frequent guest at their home in the Pacific Palisades Calif. when I lived and worked in radio in L.A. Calif. I must tell you as far as Tucker he was a wonderful man, and in fact I brought Tucker's youngest son who was living in Calif. when I was there over to the Cocozza house to meet Mario's father Tony, (as his wife Mary was already deceased ) she died in July of 1970, in her mid 60's, Tony lived to age 81, he died in 1975.

Caruso was early very lyric, so listen to his1902 "una furtiva " recording or his Tosca early in 1902 I think it was "E Lucean'" that year, totally Lyric, he was never Dramatic in his life, no way , not the right tone for it. (MDM was) and neither was Tucker, Tucker sang in Chicago in 1944 (before his Met opera debut in 1945) and for many years there after, with the Chicago theater of the air, he was a lyric then they did radio Brdcst's of opera's in English over the Chicago radio station WGN , and it went on national radio weekly with great abridged opera's, a one hour live show, lots of it on you tube with many stars like Connley and Peerce also, so listen to his/Tucker's 1944 Boheme and his 1945 Carmen in English and Pagliacci, on you tube, on that radio show, he was totally Lyric then. Bergonzi may have been a baritone early, but his voice was more Lyric then spinto, yet in between as some where, so IMO opinion CB was a Lyric Spinto even though I'm not a big fan of Bergonzi he was excellent, (so was dark voiced Lyric Peerce) and so was lyric spinto "Flaviano Labo" a similar tenor with better high notes then Bergonzi, listen to him on you tube, but Bergonzi like Tucker was always great and Labo wasn't always in top form and was very short at 5' 3' inches tall, "Barioni" may have had a great voice also but was not always at his best, but very good. Consiglio was a great Spinto tenor but often had off nights and never did sing at the Met. he was terrific, the most Bergonzi like Tenor, (since you like Bergonzi,) is surely Flaviano Labo , you'd like him .

Tucker was a true spinto and no lyric tenors sing Samson live as he did, he had a Lauri Volpi told him in Italy, "a Caruso type voice" Volpi and Tebaldi where both fans of the great American Tucker who sang over 700 times in 30 years at the Met. and also was Liked and respected in both Italy and South America, where he often sang in the 1960's.

"...love to have heard..."

The complete 1946 Gioconda with Tucker in his early 30's and sung with Milanov is on you tube.

Sorry you missed him.@@shirleyrombough8173

Unfortunately I don’t have this information

Thanks much!

Unfortunately no! I only have this!

@@OperaMyWorld Too bad but this is so good!! Thanks for responding.

Tucker's Best live "Cielo E Mar" can be heard in the complete "1959 Met. Opera Radio Brdcst." The aria in good sound and has been posted by "German Opera Singer" long ago, it is on you tube from that great complete Met. radio Brdcst. which was also with Milanov and Merrill, but the complete Brdcst. was taken off you tube sometime ago, however you can hear the Cielo e Mar and was very great in every respect from the then 45 year old Tucker in Jan. 1959.

@@shicoff1398 A marvelous rendition indeed! Surely one of the finest Enzos on record.

Yes, and from the complete opera live Met. radio (1959) Brdcst performance, don't miss the "you tube post of the Tucker singing "Cielo E Mar" (posted by German Opera singer years ago)@@chrispietronigro1450

No. Aureliano Pertile e Mario Del Monaco

​@@lz43p15Gigli a differenza dei due meravigliosi ,immensi artisti da lei citati , possedeva tre voci,una tecnica prodigiosa,un fraseggio un legato,e una delicatezza e raffinatezza artistica che non ha uguali , cordiali saluti.

@@salvoferraro6976 diciamo allora che siamo d'accordo si parla di tre immensi tenori ma devo dire che anche altri hanno cantato bene questa aria che sembra adatta a esaltare la vocalità tenorile.

A tal proposito la invito ad ascoltare il meraviglioso Flaviano Labo' in questa romanza.​@@lz43p15