This recording by the inimitable Giuseppe Di Stefano singing the aubade from Édouard Lalo’s Le roi d’Ys is from a recital in Chicago in 1949. His voice is fresh and rich. He sings the piece in his unique style. Vainement ma bien aimee Below is a video of the tenor singing the same aria 24 years later. His voice at this time was a whisper of what it had been.
For comparison here’s the same aria sung by Miguel Fleta, the first Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot. The tenor was as famous for his filatura in his time as was Di Stefano in his.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ohxBJ6g5RA&feature=related]
Here is the great French lyric tenor Henri Legay singing the song. This singer had virtually his entire career in Paris. His interpretation was probably what Lalo had in mind. Vainement, ma bien-aimée
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE” LE ROI D’S ” ARIA. IS THE CANADIAN CONCERT IN 1949 AVAILABLE? I AM A COLLECTOR OF ALL OF PIPPO’S SINGING, AT LEAST THROUGH THE MID SIXTIES. I BELIEVE I HAVE ALL AVAILABLE , BOTH COMMERCIAL AND RADIO CONCERTS/OPERAS FROM HIS SINGING UNDER THE NAME OF NINO FLORIO IN SWITZERLAND TO THE MID SIXTIES AND SOME AFTERWARDS.
I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING FOR SOME 50 YEARS OF WHO I BELIEVE POSSESED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TENOR VOICE EVER RECORDED. HIS GOD GIVEN TALENT WAS SIMPLY UNBELIEVEABLE
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU,
JERRY
This is the only part of the concert I’ve been able to find. If I come across more, I’ll post it.
The following was sent by Robert Cahen:
November 16, 2011 at 9:11 am (Edit)
I appreciate our mutual adoration for the art of Pippo DiStefano, however, kindly credit my photo
of him, in the red sweater, which is dated 1966. Many thanks.
Hi, I know it is very optimistic to expect a result, or even a reply considering this post is three years old, but I’m wondering if there is anyway you could locate this recording again or set me on the right path? The link has gone dead and the only Di Stefano performances of ‘Vainement, ma bien-aimee’ I can find are a small 45 second extract of the ’49 one from a Pavarotti interview and from the 1973/74 tour when his voice was serviceable, but nowhere near as good as it was in the ’49 concert. It would be magnificent if to hear the full recording. I’m a very casual and ill-informed classical fan and that small extract was like nothing I’d heard before. It really floored me.
I’ve been attending opera for years, and had never heard of “Le Roi d’Ys”, nor heard this aria in any recitals.
Go to 4:07 in the recording of Mr. DiStefano’s 1947 Chicago recital at …
http://youtu.be/tS9SmIhHZ5Q?t=4m7s