So, today's probably the day everyone realizes that one of the drawback to "Letting Joseph Have His Own Little Corner Of The InterWebs" is that he posts whatever happens to interest him, regardless of anyone else's interest. (OK, so some of you might have already realizes that. But today's the day everyone else learns the painful truth for themselves.)
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a YouTube video called "14 World Famous Tenors Sing Nessun Dorma!" that was nothing but a series of excerpted clips featuring numerous tenors performing the same section of Puccini's famous aria from "Turandot." And I really loved it.
Comparisons have always been a big draw for me, because I very much love the way in which artists brings their own personality and technique and interpretation to something that is exactly the same on paper. But which ends up being very different in practice (given those personalities and technical and interpretive differences).
And then I thought: "The only thing better than this clips would be videos of the entire song!" I don't know if anyone else was thinking that, really. But remember the "This Is My Site" bit from before? Right. So...here. They're not the same versions as the original video, in most cases. But they give you the general idea, all the same.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Opera is not my thing. I'm hoping it will be, eventually. But right now, it's not. Never has been. So these performers are just a beginning, and match as closely as possible to the video that served as my inspiration. So, if you have others you'd like to mention, feel free. I encourage it, in fact.
First off, Plácido Domingo:
Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Turandot, Act 3: "Nessun dorma" (Calaf) · Plácido Domingo Sempre Belcanto - The Legendary First Recital Recording ℗ 1968 Teldec Classics International GmbH Released on: 1991-01-01 Tenor Vocals: Plácido Domingo Choir: Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin Conductor: Nello Santi Orchestra: Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin Composer: Giacomo Puccini Auto-generated by YouTube.
Next, Yonghoon Lee:
Yonghoon Lee sings "Nessun dorma" from TURANDOT Recorded live at the Bayerische Staatsoper on November 25, 2012 Musical direction: Marco Armiliato Stage direction: Carlus Padrissa / La Fura dels Baus Chorus of the Bayerische Staatsoper Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Mario Del Monaco:
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises Nessun dorma! · Mario Del Monaco Mario Del Monaco ℗ 2006 Butterfly Music Released on: 1948-01-01 Composer: G.Puccini Auto-generated by YouTube.
I can't find an official/hashtagged version of Rudy Park's performance for embedding, so let's move on to Franco Corelli, instead:
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises Turandot: Nessun dorma · Franco Corelli · Giacomo Puccini · Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI · Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano della RAI · Arturo Basile · Alfredo Smionetto · Umberto Cattini Verismo Arias: Puccini, Mascagni, Giordano, Cilea, Leoncavallo ℗ 2009 Urania Released on: 2009-08-11 Auto-generated by YouTube.
Next, the legendary José Carreras:
Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Turandot (1994 Remastered Version) , Act III, Scene 1: Nessun Dorma (Calaf, Women's voices) · José Carreras/Petra Malakova/Eva Saurova/Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/Alain Lombard Puccini - Turandot ℗ 1978 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd Digital remastering (p) 1994 Warner Classics, Warner Music UK Ltd Released on: 1994-09-01 Conductor: Alain Lombard Orchestra: Orchestre Philharmonique De Strasbourg Producer: David Mottley Vocals: José Carreras Composer: Giacomo Puccini Auto-generated by YouTube.
Moving past Ettore and Alfred Kim -- again with the embed issue -- we arrive at Mario Lanza:
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises Nessun Dorma · Mario Lanza The Mario Lanza Collection, Vol. 2 ℗ 2015 Acrobat Licensing Ltd. Released on: 2015-09-11 Music Publisher: G Ricordi & Co (London) Ltd. Auto-generated by YouTube.
Nicola Martinucci:
Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America Turandot: Act III: Nessun dorma · Nicola Martinucci Il mito dell'opera: Nicola Martinucci (Live) ℗ 2015 Bongiovanni Released on: 2015-01-01 Artist: Nicola Martinucci Orchestra: Unknown Artist Composer: Giacomo Puccini Auto-generated by YouTube.
No JaeChul Bae -- Yes, there seems to be a strong Korean flavor to this list. -- so let's head on over to Giuseppe Giacomini:
Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America Turandot, Act III: Nessun dorma! · Giuseppe Giacomini Il Mito Dell'opera: Giuseppe Giacomini (Recorded 1969 - 1996) ℗ 2014 Bongiovanni Released on: 2014-02-01 Artist: Giuseppe Giacomini Orchestra: Artist Unknown Composer: Giacomo Puccini Auto-generated by YouTube.
And now, we've arrived at Pavarotti. (Come on. You had to know it was coming.)
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises Turandot, Act III: Nessun Dorma · Giacomo Puccini · New York Philharmonic Orchestra · Zubin Mehta · Luciano Pavarotti Grandes Clásicos de la Opera, Volumen 6 ℗ 2015 Codex Released on: 2015-05-14 Music Publisher: 2015 Codex Auto-generated by YouTube.
And closing things out with The Big Three:
Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Turandot, Act 3: "Nessun dorma" (Calaf) · The Three Tenors The Three Tenors in Concert, 1994 ℗ 1994 Warner Music Netherlands BV Released on: 1994-08-01 Tenor Vocals: Luciano Pavarotti Tenor Vocals: Placido Domingo Tenor Vocals: José Carreras Chorus: Los Angeles Music Center Opera Chorus Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic Conductor: Zubin Mehta Composer: Giacomo Puccini Auto-generated by YouTube.
Oh, hey. I found another list over at ClassicFM. So let's just keep on going, shall we?
Here's Joseph Calleja.
Also, Francesco Merli.
Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America Turandot, Act III: Nessun dorma! · Francesco Merli Il mito dell'oprera: 24 Nessun dorma (Recordings 1926-1982) ℗ 2014 Bongiovanni Released on: 2014-06-01 Artist: Francesco Merli Orchestra: Artist Unknown Composer: Giacomo Puccini Auto-generated by YouTube.
And Beniamino Gigli.
Provided to YouTube by YouTube CSV2DDEX Nessun dorma! · Beniamino Gigli The very best songs of - Vol. 1 ℗ 2011 Replay Music under license to Pirames International Srl Released on: 2011-06-21 Auto-generated by YouTube.
Jussi Björling.
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises Turandot: Nessun dorma! · Giacomo Puccini · Erich Leinsdorf · Jussi Björling · Rome Opera House Orchestra Jussy Bjorling: Opera Arias, (1951 - 1957) ℗ 2010 Classical Moments Released on: 2010-10-02 Music Publisher: Classical Moments Auto-generated by YouTube.
And lastly, Andrea Bocelli.
Oh. And this. Heh.
Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment Nessun dorma! from Turandot (Vocal) · Michael Bolton / 麥可伯特恩 · The Philharmonia Orchestra / 愛樂管弦樂團 · Steven Mercurio My Secret Passion: The Arias ℗ 1998 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT Released on: 1997-11-17 Associated Performer, Producer, Tenor: Michael Bolton / 麥可伯特恩 Associated Performer: The Philharmonia Orchestra / 愛樂管弦樂團 Associated Performer, Conductor: Steven Mercurio Producer: Grace Row Composer: Giacomo Puccini Librettist: Giuseppe Adami Producer: David Reitzas Librettist: Renato Simoni Auto-generated by YouTube.
There. That should keep you busy for a while. (Probably not as long as it took for me to put it together, but it's my corner, not yours, right?)
I'm a certainly open to additions, though. There's something about that high, high, tippy-top moment that gets me every time, died-in-the-wool non-opera-guy though I am.