The fact that it's written for SUCH a high baritone would seem to indicate that a darker, lower voice quality was not really what he was going for.
Was the role written for Robert Weede, or was he cast after the fact?
I think the idea that it's SUCH [sic] a high baritone role is subjective, and it depends on the singer at hand. Obviously it worked for Weede. You say Tozzi had troubles with it, but it was also late in his career, and it's a heavy role to sing every night. Every voice is different.
I can still easily see Pavarotti looking at the role, realizing it wasn't really right for his "fach" and that furthermore it wouldn't show him off in the way he would have wanted. Maybe there's someone out there who knows what actually happened. |
