The Very Best of Nicolai Gedda

No doubt the most versatile tenor between Caruso and Domingo. 359 Met performances, in five different languages, with perfect diction in each.
This versatility clearly represented on this recording, not only in languages, but also in musicality. The pensive "Una furtiva lagrima," the heroic "Dimitri! Tsaryevich! Dimitri!" the wonderful softness of "Magische Tone."
Thank you, EMI, for bringing together such a representative compilation of this marvelous tenor's works!
And, thank you, Amazon, for making it available at such a reasonable cost--$16.98 for more than two and a half hours beautiful singing.
(I may stand corrected on the five languages at the Met. I am not certain when "Eugene Onegin" was first sung in Russian.)

This 2 disc package is a real feast of Nicolai Gedda's art. I am not qualified to comment on the technicalities of his performances but I think you would be hard to please if you did not absolutely love this album. He sings well known arias in Italian, French, German and Russian and his diction is flawless in all languages. A wonderful rich two or more hours of beautiful singing. BUY IT - You will not be disappointed!

What a range of roles! Gedda moves from Mozart to Donizetti to Verdi and Wagner, and also sings Offenbach, Thomas, Rossini, and Tchaikovsky, inter alia. It is odd to me that his wonderful Rodolfo from "La Boheme" is not included. One of my first opera experiences was at a theater in Peoria, Illinois, in which a performance of "La Boheme" was presented (with Gedda and Mirella Freni). Gedda was remarkable in the role; I wish that some works from that opera had been included here.

Some examples of his work:

"Una furtive lagrima": Gedda's smooth voice works well here, in this nice aria from Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore." His polished style is compelling.

"Fra poco a me ricovera": From Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," this is another aria handled smoothly by Gedda. His musical treatment of this piece is nice indeed. His rich voice does justice to the music.

"La donna e mobile": Nice version, although not as spirited as some. This is very musical, but I'm not sure that Ge3dda's mannered style captured the spirit of the wretched Duke of Mantua. A nice final high note.

"Il mio Tesoro": From Mozart's "Don Giovanni," this is smoothly and richly sung by Gedda. His elegant style works nicely here. Mozart asks a fair amount of the tenor here, and Gedda answers the call.

"In fernem land": This is from Wagner's "Lohengrin," and shows Gedda's range. From Mozart to Wagner is quite a stretch! Gedda sings this well, but his voice may not be ideally suited to this piece.

In addition, Gedda sings operetta as well. If only we could have heard his Rodolfo from "La Boheme"!

This is but a subset of the glorious recorded singing by Nicolai Gedda; however, it is a good sampler of the repertoire that made him legendary. And, at least a couple of the tracks ("Asile Hereditaire" and Lenski's aria) seem to be his best recordings of those particular works. Gedda is a member of a small circle of famed tenors noted for disciplined and artistic vocal production. He could find and consistently produce the "ping" we all love to hear. And, that was necessarily accompanied by flawless breath control. He holds the last note of the rousing "Hereditaire" for approximately eleven seconds! Onward! Ho! The emotion and delicate treatment he showed in Lenski's aria is a high-water mark. I can not imagine it being done better.

I first heard him in a recording of La Boheme (with Freni) in 1975 and have heard him in person both in Faust (1976) and in recital (1981). Whether on stage or in recording, Gedda is remarkable and consistent. If you are new to opera or are younger and addicted to the stars of today (and some of them are very good too), you should hear Gedda. It will raise your definition for what it takes to be a great tenor. Go find a recording of Fritz Wunderlich too.

Beautiful, easy lyric tenor; also great diction and phrasing -- a good example to any tenor on how this rep. should be sung.