Aldo Protti - "Ah per sempre" - Catania 1968

"Or dove fuggo io mai... Ah, per sempre io ti perdei... Bel sogno beato"
Riccardo - Aldo Protti
I Puritani - Act I
Catania, 1968
This is the third of several posts I plan to upload showcasing the great Italian baritone Aldo Protti. For me, Aldo Protti was the greatest Italian baritone of the 20th century, no questions asked, and the second greatest Verdi baritone of the 20th century second only to Leonard Warren. Protti doesn't often get the credit he deserves, though, mostly due to the fact that Decca ditched him for Bastianini and marketing reasons prevented him from gaining the same fame (at least during Bastianini's reign at the helm of the baritone repertoire) as his Italian rival. With all due respect to Bastianini who was a great singer and met an all too early death, Protti's baritone has always been to me a much clearer, much more focused sound, with much more edge. Health problems that faced Bastianini surely affected him, but Protti's pure vocal qualities combined with his endless legato, and that unbelievably masculine edge to his voice puts him near the top for me. This "Ah per sempre" shows Protti's tendency to turn everything into Verdian style, but just listen to the clarity and the power from the voice---it's a combination that is really such a rarity these days and we're so fortunate to have had Protti for the decades that he was around. Enjoy!

[@giuseppinascapparone5912]

Grande baritono, uno dei migliori in assoluto, meravigliosa voce.

[@operalinares]

Cosa si puo dire piu di Protti una meravigliosa voce ,esempio di come si canta questo grande Arte Lirico

[@lanfrancogiannini9887]

Uno dei migliori baritono che abbiamo avuto. Bravo Protti

[@manfredrudolf2398]

einer der besten Baritons die ich seit 1955 bis heute in der Wr. Oper gehört habe

[@hermannsteinacher7620]

Trifft auch für mich zu. Und dass (wie ganz oben angedeutet) L. Warren "besser" als Aldo Protti gewesen sei, trifft m.E. objektiv nicht zu, beide waren in ihrer Art hervorragend.

[@hermannsteinacher7620]

Et ego.

[@jimmychoo1857]

I am a trully happy singer, because I have such kind of a RECORD. Thank You for posting Maestro Protti!

[@ceccopisa]

Grande Aldo Protti! Lui era un vero grande baritono, una voce stupenda, magnifico, complimenti.

[@hermannsteinacher7620]

Bester Rigoletto, den die Wiener Staatsoper je erlebt hat.

[@道-p2e]

This is beautiful singing, well fitted to the role, Bravo!!!

[@道-p2e]

@Barone Vitellio Scarpia Magnificent baritone, his voice has great dose of masculine lines. he should be 6'3 tall, then people will start to know, Wow. So under appreciated.

[@carmelo46able]

Un grande Aldo Protti per una bellissima pagina belliniana!

[@pohlpiano]

To whom critics consider first or fifth rate hardly ever bothers real musicians... Protti had a great respect among his peers according to what older singers had told me, and I am not surprised listening to this.

[@kdkevs]

Thanks for putting this on youtube. I have never heard Protti before and this really is an example of clear, consistent singing. I'll be sure to listen to more in the future.

[@yaelpalombo4093]

Voce divina.

[@최인옥-h7y]

Mio Maestro Bravissimo

[@Biser1974]

A chi non piace questo, non sta bene...

[@giuseppinascapparone5912]

Bravissimo e grande baritono!!!

[@hermannsteinacher7620]

One of the best Rigolettos ever!

[@nescionomen241]

Grande Baritono!

[@Tittaruffo8173]

Splendido

[@Tittaruffo8173]

Bravissimo.Artista Eccelso.

[@최인옥-h7y]

Aldo protti Maestro 와 공부하고 노래하던 때가 그립네요 저를 많이 사랑해 주셨었는데...노래에는 정말 뭐라 사족을 붙일 수가 없네요 노래밖에 모르던 분이 셨는데 ... 고맙습니다 좋은 영상 올려 주셔서요

[@moderatoworld3423]

6년 전 댓글이라 보실지는 모르겠지만.. Aldo Prottu Maestro의 이야기를 더 들려주실 수 있으신가요? 정말 궁금하네요

[@time8229]

Uomo grande

[@mikeziemann]

I wouldn't say that Protti was second to Warren. Actually Warren's voice, even though his interpretations were beautiful, sounded very thick, unnatural and weird. Protti's voice is pure nature and excellent technique. Sometimes his interpretations are harsh, I agree, however in the second half of the 20th century there was nobody who could come close to him. But to name him the greatest baritone of 20th century? I disagree. We mustn't forget singers like Tagliabue (absolute maestro), Afro Poli, who had a magnificent voice and beautiful, intelligent interpretations, Titta Ruffo (gigante), Giuseppe Danise (who had a huge voce squillante and was an amazing interpreter too) Enrico Molinari, Mario Basiola and some other Cotogni's students like Viglione Borghese etc. There were many baritones who easily surpassed Aldo Protti but they sang mostly before WWII. Tagliabue is my personal favourite. A great baritone Franco Bordoni, who sang mostly in 70-90 learned how to sing by studying recordings of Gigli and Tagliabue.

[@道-p2e]

It is not right to state who is the best, in the end, this is not olympic games. But to say Warren's voice is "weird", that is weird. He sounds more cultivated and warm, maybe older, and each has the timbre of his own...

[@hermannsteinacher7620]

Leonard Warren was one of the best Verdi baritones of the world, but there is no better Verdi baritone than Aldo Protti.

[@bokewilhelm1452]

habe ihn leider nur einmal in wien gehört als rene

[@SavHub]

My favourite rendition is by Taddei, not on youtube...

[@hermannsteinacher7620]

Protti und Taddei gehören zu den besten Sängern der Opernwelt.

[@ronnieince4568]

I prefer Umberto Urbano with his huge dark baritone but this voice is certainly more elegant and less stentorian .Certainly a great baritone here .

[@민-s1l3b]

3:06

[@MrAngeltoledano]

Muy buena voz y bravo cantante, pero el solfeo no es lo suyo, que pena, además del corte absurdo.

[@panospeters8195]

Verdiano baritono si, ma non belcantista!

[@numetutelare]

Forse ma un baritono come ormai non se ne sentono più.... Adesso non ci sono i belcantisti e neppure i verdiani .... almeno non con queste voci strepitose

[@kingofking168]

Verdiani! Se non cantano con tecnica belcanto. Non e Verdiano! E M° Protti Grande Baritono

[@panospeters8195]

ogni interpretazione operistica deve opporsi alla tradizione! Ecco la misura del paragone per me nell'aria di Ricardo! Giuseppe de Luca! Grande voce con la grazia di vero Belcanto!