No Tenors Allowed: Famous Duets for Baritone and Bass

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Music reviews of No Tenors Allowed: Famous Duets for Baritone and Bass

Music Review: Voices of power
Rating: 5 Stars

The basso cantante of Samuel Ramey and the baritone of Thomas Hampson swirl together like chocolate liqueur in coffee. This CD vibrates with dark sonics. Both artists bring their considerable powers of interpretation to these roles--no fooling around with buffo here, just wonderful singing.

There are a total of eight duets by Cimarosa, Donizetti, Bellini, and Verdi on this CD. Among my favorites:

"Cheti, cheti immantinente" from Donizetti's "Don Pasquale"--The elderly Don Pasquale (Ramey) and his personal physician Malatesta (Hampson) plot to catch Pasquale's young 'bride' in the garden with her lover. This might not sound like a particularly jolly situation, but the duet captures the verve of a hilarious plot--lots of "oh ho's," "ha ha's," and "hee hee's" scattered throughout--the very epitome of bass-baritone hilarity. Listening to this duet, I'm almost tempted to regret Ramey's preference for serious roles over lighter repertory like "Don Pasquale." His old buffoon schemes and whines and chuckles without a trace of vulgarity, just pure musicality. Both singers are patter-perfect.

"Suona ogni labbro il mio nome" from Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra"--This is the first of two great duets between adversaries Jacopo Fiesco, patrician and currently Doge of Genoa (Ramey) and Simon Boccanegra, a plebian and the future Doge (Hampson). Fiesco still hasn't forgiven Boccanegra for stealing the love of his daughter, Maria, who has borne Boccanegra a daughter out of wedlock. In this duet, Ramey's fury contrasts vividly with Hampson's pleading, "Padre mio, pieta t'implora..." as the baritone tells him of the loss of his little daughter (Fiesco's granddaughter). What Boccanegra does not yet know is that his lover, Maria has died. This duet is another fine example of a Verdian father-daughter heartbreaker, in which both men are mourning the loss of a daughter. Hampson sings with dramatic conviction, almost a sweet sound compared to the menacing undercurrent of Ramey's bass, but also dignified.

If you are a fan of the lower fach in Italian opera, NTA is a 'must' for your CD library.

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