This is an important document of singing on a level almost forgotten. He makes this music live again and Ghiaurov is really an immortal singer of highest dignity.

This is incredible singing. Thanks for posting this clip.

Nicolai Ghiaurov's voice is a true miracle , a force of nature.

Wow. I thought the title was click bate but this truly is incredible

I was in the public that very night and I can assure you that he dominated all the others Vickers include..and here he was in decline because we're in 1978..his best year was probably 1972, then he began having problems in 1975-76..but he's probably the most beautiful and musical bass that ever existed..his voice had the capacity to dominate and culminate above the others..all of the others,alone or put together, include with the orchestra and the choir..

Just amazing, beyond the human nature, thank you Nicolai!!!

Straordinario Artista!!!Grazie di ❤👍per il filmato.Ebbi la fortuna di vederlo per la prima volta all Arena di Verona in Mefistofele nel 1964!!!

Ghiaurov è il numero UNO!! Bellezza timbrica, tecnica, presenza, colore e.....QUANTITA' del suono !!!! IMMORTALE!

He has a basso profundo quality... truly amazing 👏

This Palais Garnier production was the only time Ghiaurov sang Seneca and sang it likeThe Greatest Bass Ever that he certainly was and still is.

Indeed, greatest basso ever, and further, one of the greatest singers ever.

Nicolai Ghiaurov - GREAT, GREAT, GREAT BULGARIAN VOICES !!! GOD BLESS Your BEAUTIFUL SOUL !!! BOW BEFOR Your FANTASTIC TALENT !!!

I was a few Performances on stage with Ghiaurov and I assure that his voice was floating like a huge river ❤

Oh my god, this is extraordinary!..

You can’t recognize him until he opens his mouth. Then it could be no other singer. I was lucky to have heard him many times in his prime, and certainly have never heard anyone remotely as great since. (I didn’t realize he sang baroque repertoire at all.)

Fabulous post. What a voice! Ghiaurov was stupendous.

Bravissimo Ghiaurov...un dominio del fiato di prim'ordine!

Oltre alla bellezza, il volume della voce è immenso, incredibile! Chissà come doveva essere dal vero!! ☄☄🔥🔥🔥 Grande Ghiaurov, voce bellissima che fa vibrare lo stomaco. 🤩

He has a stupendous voice.

This definitely is Nikolai Ghiaurov. I can't mistake his voice, nor his gestures and mannerisms. But it must be a very early recording, when his voice was very fresh. Very few people know this, but in the late 1970's he was diagnosed with a nasty blood disease (in fact, leukemia, I believe) and this may have had a lot to do with the change in his voice and the direction of his career ever since.

Listening to Ghiaurov and Sutherland in their Lucia di Lammermoor duetto is like going to heaven.

OMG!! what a great video! thx for the upload

Bloody amazing

Talvela was a real big guy. I met him backstage once. He made me feel tiny. (I'm 6'4" and 300 lbs). But of course he never sang properly. He had several odd patches in his voice where he sang some strange tones. But it was a big dark voice and made a big impact in big theaters. I used to have a tape of that Solti Don Carlo. I played it until it crumbled into dust.

Mi Dios ,la voz mas hermosa de bajo. Que cantante!!!!!

Merrill talks about his vocal crisis in one of his two autobiographies. He says he had persistent dry mouth and finally got relief from some sort of glycerine solution someone had told him about. He also tells of giving advice to Giaotti. I didn't know Giaotti had had so many problems. I stand corrected.

Unsurpassable! bookmark 2:33! Much obliged for posting this Mille grazie

IL FENOMENO ! ! ! UNA CASCATA DI DIAMANTI ! ! !

If I had a quarter for every pixel in this video, I'd have 5 cents. Great performance though.

I only heard Van Dam once and I don't remember anything about it. He was singing Angelotti. He was of course not a bass at all but a bass-baritone. He was roughly about the same range as Bryn Terfel. Lloyd did indeed sing through his nose, but not always. He somethimes sounded fine but other times was almost unlistenable. I always marveled at Siepi's soft high Fs rather than the low notes. This recording was made before Ghiaurov had his vocal crisis and changed his technique.

Úžasný zpěv.

A wonderful performance. Thanks for posting.

When I saw this video I was like, OK, it's another one of those videos - someone claiming that one singer is better than all the rest. As soon as I saw that it was Ghiaurov - well, heard, we can't really see him!, I knew that this video wasn't hype. He simply is the greatest.

That's definitely Ghiaurov. I heard him sing in Boito's Mephistopheles in 1968 and in Gounod's Faust in 1978. The only other singers I've ever heard who matched him the hugeness of voice department were Vickers and Birgit Nilsson.

Sorry but I don't remember but I do remember experiencing it at the time. Originally Ghaiurov carried his chest very high - as most voice teachers put it. This is similar to the warnings given to DiStefano. He had incredible color and power at this time. His Mefisto excerpts album shows this very well. Shortly there after his vocal crisis was reported in the press and he readjusted his technique. He was still the best in the world but he was never again quite what he once had been.

Thanks so much. Excellent choice for the excerpt. Would be great if you had the time to post more early Ghiaurov.

Es un bajo extraordinario

Many famous singers have had vocal crises. Bonaldo Giaotti a contemorary competitor of Ghaiurov was another one. I expected to hear Ghaiurov as Moses at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He cancelled and I heard Giaotti instead. Robert Merrill who had survived his own vocal crisis suposedly helped Giaotti. All of these guys were very, very good vocal technitians. Those with less skill and technique never recover and are never heard from again.

Splendida esecuzione nella parte di Seneca di un Ghiaurov in forma smagliante!!! Anche se questa parte è più adatta ad un basso-profondo,per intensità vocale !!! Grazie

@greve @greve There were only a handfull of star operatic basses in the twentheth century - Chaliapin, Pinza, Siepi, Tozzi, Christoff, Ghiaurov, and Ramey. All of these men had marque power. They got the new productions, opening nights, and recording contracts. In the next rank were Hines, Plishka, Talvela, Salminen, Frick, and Moll. First line basses sang Phillip. Second line sang the Inquistor. In the London Don Carlo recording Ghiaurov sang the king and Talvela sang the priest.

Fantastico

I have admired Talvela specifically in t h a t role! His characterising abilities were extraordinary and nuancing incredible.

listen to spoken voice on movies and television from the sixties, compare to today. Totally different vocal techniques. Today actors use whisper-techniques and compression synthesizer.

It is Ghiaurov. He always sang melismas with a raised right hand like he does here...

This sounds like Ghiaurov. If so, definitely one of the greatest basses ever. Could someone confirm?

Very interesting. I had no idea that the press had mentioned his vocal decline. This was recorded in 1978 and I think he sounds fantastic in this role! But there is no denying that his voice was changing by the mid-70s. The low was getting stronger, but on top he began to lose some of the "bite" in the sound. I'd be curious to know what exactly caused these changes. Aging process? Technique? Vocal injury? Disease? Does anyone have any information?

Replay, to Dimitrios Diamantaras.... Could't said it better myself.... Thanks, Patrick Boyle, for uploading, and Your insightful comments I have learned a lot from you....If You can imagien, I wood like, to learn more from You, about singing... Best regards Anders Sweden

Well he IS one of the greatest. In the Top 10 for sure. Siepi outshines him in this piece, but this is still fantastic!

The descendant of Orpheus. GREATEST BASS EVER LIVED!

There is also a Aix en Provence Poppea black and white recording.

It's incredible but isn't an early recording. The year is 1979! I'm SURE because I find this performance on video for sale in a internet site. Great Ghiaurov!!!!!!!!!!!

As bad as the video quality is, one can still see the elegance and freedom with which he sings. No scowling, huffing/puffing, clenching etc.

@Jextxadore Ghiaurov "carried his chest to high". He did not cover his high notes when he first came up. He sang all the way up to a high F without adjusting. Conversely he had a short bottom at first. He skipped the low Fs in Marcel. Maybe I should make a video demonstrating this change.

Wonderful singing. As to technique, from my experience as a soprano, it doesn't mean "playing safe", just the opposite. A secure technique lets you sing vocally taxing music without damaging the instrument. Some young singers blessed with prodigious voices burn out because they lack technique and sing on 'capital' rather than 'interest'. As for unimpaired vocal longevity listen to Virginia Zeani mature from Gilda to Aida, & Mark Reisen is fantastic at 90 singing Gremin.

Regrets that deaf people can not hear real singing like this great man,del monaco.... etc..... viva la mafia today

@onaykk Just what nation forces men to sing Don Giovanni? Here in California guys actually compete to be cast as the Don. All the male non-tenor roles in Don Giovanni have exactly the same range (low A to a high E). The tessitura for the Don is higher than that for Leporello but it is still easy enough. The Seranade and the Champagne Aria are the only sections that are in any way a stretch for a bass. Looks, bearing and style are more important in this role than top notes.

What was the nature of the "vocal crisis" and what was its source? I hear in more modern voices "lyric" voices attempt to become "dramatic" and do so, so it seems to my ear, by what I believe is called the "Valsalva technique" ie compressing the larnyx...meaning one sings with the voice box under pressure at all times.....the exact opposite of what is "technique" in sports that look to maximize outcome...relaxation of muscles groups throughout the movement. Most noticeable victim on current scene, I suggest as Netrebko....from pleasant light soprano, to a huge wobble that sounds like an air raid siren....in the name of becoming more "dramatic"

What year was this please?

Increible!!! En verdad Jehova a dotado a los seres humanos de grandes cualidades!!

@Trombligliotti I'm quite sure that if I were to listen as you suggest to sixties TV I might be able to perceive some differences but the biggest difference which takes no careful study took place in 1928 with Rudy Valee. The biggest recent mic effect has been the use of cardioid mics by gospel quartet basses that started only about twenty years ago. This is a big effect unlike the subtle effects you seem to have noticed.

@zimmelfsho1 I heard Kurt Moll live and Ghiaurov when both were at their peaks. Ghiaurov was better I thought, and so did most of the critics. However Moll sang the low note (or profondo) parts like Osmin and Sarastro and very few if any of the mainstream star bass roles (Phillip II, Boris, Mephisto, etc.) that were a bit higher. Moll recorded supporting bass roles to the bass leads of Ramey. Ghiaurov always was cast in leads.

@royjohnk I hope you're right. I just had his book sent to my Kindle. I'll try to get to it next week.

Great singing but I am always hesitant to claim this or that great singer is the greatest.

@bodiloto Effectivement,y'a de la matière!!!

Intendo ovviamente NICOLAJ GHIAUROV. 👍❤👏👏👏👏👏👏

@Agorante What exactly were the differences between his old and new techniques? Are there any examples?

I'm guessing that you don't listen to much Monteverdi. I sometimes write controversial opinions about various singers but here I'm being completely mainstream. There are only a handful of basses that would considered to be the best of all time. Ghiaurov would be at the top of most critic's list. I have some credentials BTW. I've sung a couple Monteverdi roles on stage and I've posted an aria from this opera on KZfaq.

Good! Great! A Sound Music... Tiáo‧hé

@greve Such preferences are very much open to debate. To talk about the "greatest" in the context of so many fine singers, seems to me a frivolous exercise.

Beautiful, but prefer Siepi.

I posted this excerpt. I think you are asking if there is a better version than this technically. If there is I don't know where it might be. I got this from a House of Opera DVD. Complete operas only cost a few dollars. Google House of Opera or Operapassion.

Agorante, you refer to his "vocal crisis." Could you elaborate? When did this happen, and what happened?

It's very hard for me to understand the unlike,what is wrong?

E una voce meravigliosa ! Please check out some of khankonchak's uploads ofthesuperb Russian basso profondo,Boris Shtokolov,here on KZfaq.He was truly remarkable. Mille grazie for sharing this great clip.

@Agorante Good book.

hello, thank you very much for sharing. What is the name of this piece. Who is the vocalist called?

That is interesting about Merrill. Sounds like an allergy or something of that nature instead of a technical issue. Ponselle used to drink pineapple juice as a remedy for dryness.

I think we are talking about totally different things. Let's not discuss anymore. Internet is too full of pointless arguments. I think Ghiaurov was an amazing singer and a great artist - full stop.

Thanks for reply Agorante; You misunderstand. Microphone was indeed invented more than a century ago, but only today does it exist in everyday life, absolutely everywhere, on every person, all through the day, affecting our lives in the same way internet has changed the way we write letters.

a matter of taste - Ill take Siepi over any other.

@Agorante Please do; it would be a very interesting lesson.

I see that you're still reading these comments :) And I understood that you have been some kind of singer, pretty old nowadays? Because I have the Talvela Heights (6"8') and I'm a young aspiring singer (with pretty good teacher I'd say, he's old and experienced) And I hope I'd get as good as possible, it's very hard path I know, but in the beginning of my singing teachers etc. said I have very good material, big voice etc... Do you have any tips to stay on the "good path"?

@DalokiMauvais He re-made his technique rather early in his career. He sang for most of his career with his "new" method. He was still very good but not as good as he had been early on. I heard him before his technique change. I heard him after also.

@Trombligliotti Good points but bad chronology. Fifty years ago was 1962. Edison invented the mic in 1877 and recordings went electric in 1926 at about the same time that the talkies came in. I agree about the effect of mics on singing but I think you should say a century not a half century.

Heard Ghiaurov several times as King Phillip II in Verdi's DON CARLO. The first time, it was one of the largest voices that I had heard in the Metropolitan Opera. A few years later, it was only a pale imitation of what I had previously heard. In his prime, he was wonderful!

@onaykk As it happens I'm constructing a web site that among other things helps basses sing the Champagne aria. I can't determine a singer's exact passagio as you seem to be able to. I think most singers adjust their passagio point depending on the lie of the music and its speed. In fast pieces you often don't have time to cover.

What year it was??

@greve I wouldn´t say the greatest ever cause there´re other voices, but Compared to Nicolai ... Marrti´s voice is good but there´s no comparison. Ghiaurov voice is spectacular.

@muso2007 Look at Cesare Siepi,Ferruccio Furlanetto,Ezio Pinza;they are %100 basses but unlike our time,they are all forced to sing Don Giovanni.Ghiaurov couldn't survived from this process and had his vocal crisis thanks to both Don Giovanni and Faust(Méphistophélès). Furlanetto has also rapidly quited from this role.Indeed bass "Don Giovanni"s cannot be comparable in taste of timbre with the baritones,tessittura is destructive for real bass materials.Siepi and Pinza overcomed this problem well

Patrick what is your opinion on kurt moll overall? Also is his interpretation of this aria better or worse than ghiaurov's? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oJaVqNuX28vde2Q.html

Basso Profundus

If a pro athlete or a great singer declines from natural aging that is one thing. To say they declined from a "crisis" or "injury" is something different. No one knows what Ghiaurov did or did not do or have except himself or those close to him. As with most singers like Di Stefano it is not a matter of taking chest too high it is a matter of not balancing it and covering that leads to problems. You have to take chest up or you will sing like women do. It is a matter of covering.

@Agorante I totally share same ideas with you like"bearing and style are more important in this role than top notes".However,the number of passagio difficulties in Don Giovanni for a bass having passagio C# or D are too much.Therefore, vocally it cause serious damages even it damages to Dpassagio bass more than C# interestingly.Siepi(best) has passagio C# instead Furlanetto and Ghiaurov has D even for George London(also has Dpassagio).Just look at the agonizing of Furlanetto:/watch?v=l2qOKdVcepM

modern style of singing is very affected by movies and spoken culture today. Actors whisper, and mobile phones allow a more loose, energy-lethargic style of phonation, which makes it impossible to develop relaxed energy while singing, because it is so different from speech. Fifty years ago, before all the microphones and mobiles, people sang more as they spoke, always using the voice in the same way

that was his night

That's why it's important for old farts like me to comment on KZfaq. It was well known at the time. He was said to have 'carried his chest too high'. The reason it isn't remembered better is because after he dropped his top cover he sang everywhere sucessfully. He was still arguably the best bass in the world but he wasn't quite what he had been. You can hear it for yourself. Try his first LPs.

Classic result of singing too muscular in the throat, many men have this crisis around 35-40 when ligaments are not flexible anymore. Many have to stop singing because of too much muscular instability - the cause is bad teachers making the young singers identify the voice with throat-power and not elegance. Big voices can still have amazing flexibility - Birgit for instance, just to name one of the more extreme voices who still was able to make all sorts of emotional lines and vocal effects.

2:30 2:43 G3 - G2

@greve I would say Cesare Siepi...but that's ok!!! :-)

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