Gedda's high D's (Vieni fra queste braccia) with Sutherland

Nicolai Gedda, the Czar of High D's, sings the duet 'Vieni fra queste braccia' (from Puritani) with Sutherland in a April 1963 concert. Conducted by Richard Bonynge.
Rumors are that when Gedda started singing he could barely muster anything above a G (above middle C)...and that two years later he was sliding easily to D's above high C. Not sure whether these rumors are true, but it cannot be denied that Gedda's top register was the most glorious sound that ever came from a man's throat.
If you love dazzling stratospheric high notes and Russians, then Gedda is probably your favorite tenor. Here you will hear him sing two D's and a high C.
Name me one tenor who sings better D's than Gedda.
Trivia: Some of you probably know that Gedda's real name was Nicolai Ustinov. In fact, he was a distant relative of actor Peter Ustinov.

[@jamestyler6933]

I love the audience's response. Much deserved.

[@johnblasiak2499]

That’s incredible amazing beautiful brilliant spectacular

[@trilobit4]

Every time I listen, I fall under a chair. I listen to it very often - unique footage. He sings with Joan, he's not behind her. Who can face Stupenda? The only king of lyrical tenors - Nicolai Gedda.

[@niconico7281]

Gedda vocalmente impresionante!!

[@johnblasiak2499]

Pavavarotti called him af the high notes could not agree more

[@ChrisStockslager]

Wow, the only tenor I've ever heard, who in the high register, wasn't blown into the orchestra pit by Sutherland. NOW THAT'S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!!

[@crazyorganist1609]

Definitely

[@pabloarteta3619]

Kraus quite good, too.

[@lsmart]

Well, it sure was true for Gedda, but it was also true for another young tenor that you may have heard of, named Luciano Pavarotti: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opu4h62sh9KUn6s

[@johnblasiak2499]

Agree lol😂

[@Mariano-ge6de]

Entonces no has escuchado a Kraus. Agudos mejor colocados y poderosos y canto infinitamente más elegante.

[@Etnalleb]

Dont forget Pavarotti and Di Stefano in their prime both had vibrant High D's, But for over-all brillance and longevity no one beats Nicolai Gedda . Gedda truly was King of the High D's.

[@Mariano-ge6de]

Kraus infinitamente mejor que los tres en este papel.

[@pointemeout]

holy christ! that first high note almost caused me to fall to the ground. he establishes himself, in the first minute of this duet, as one of the finest. I dream of singing notes that are soooooo precise and beautiful.

[@vettegaddia6234]

Amazing for him to attempt to do battle vocally with Joan. I was shocked that he was not destroyed. At first, I thought he was wiped out by Joan. After hearing it multiple times, they are both incredible.

[@Operaphile]

Phenomenal :) Why oh why did they not record more together?!?!?!

[@dianaventura7999]

Wow! The biggest high D I've ever heard from either a tenor or a soprano. La Stupenda is the greatest singer of all time and Gedda almost matched her.

[@mjmacmtenor]

Gedda is an idol of mine. I first heard him on the Faust recording with De Los Angeles and Boris Christoff (a recording never surpassed). When I first heard his recording of the Queen of Sheba, it was the greatest floated hi note I ever heard. I first heard his Puritani in the recording he made with Sills (I still have the LP).

[@dianaventura7999]

Bravissimi! I can't believe he actually matches Sutherland's volume on the high D and C. Remember in all of Sutherland's Norma trios, her high D even drowns out all of the Adagisa's and Pollione's who sang with Sutherland. She arguably has even more volume than the entire chorus. So it is just amazing to me that Gedda can match La Stupenda's high D here. Of course that entire operatic performance is legendary. The audience's tremendous ovations did some damage to the opera house, I would assume.

[@leoperarm]

both were of the best singers of the century!

[@johnblasiak607]

The true king of the high notes

[@Oetti]

GLORIOUS D's!!! my favourite lyrical D's are Gedda's, and my favourite dramatic D's are Bonisolli's! Both are amazing. But Gedda's I think I still prefer, because of the way he attacks the high notes...

[@Etnalleb]

No-one but no-one could hit a High D in full voice with such clarity as Nicolai Gedda he simply was the best Lyric tenor in my opinion.Just amazing ty for posting 5*****

[@AmorediPazzia]

Joan and Nicolai performed puritani in New York Carngie Hall and Philadelphia.

[@hiyadroogs]

Thank you sir for your kind words. If the fundamentals of voice were more widely accepted, we could all move happily away from the Can Belto school of singing, back to the bel canto one which brought so much more pleasure & expression! Kind regards, John.

[@g_vezz]

Gedda's high Ds were amazing......Full voice no head tone....He was Sutherland's first great partner...Often over shadowed by Pav.....This performance I believe was in Philadelphia and the opera house is still rocking.....

[@ShawDAMAN]

Amazing..

[@pointemeout]

Only tears help ease the pain of not having been there....simply unbelievable.

[@AulicExclusiva]

Great singing.

[@machovoce6826]

Glorious.

[@debbiewoodburn6786]

Wow! Stupendous!

[@alfredbernasek5422]

EINER DER RITTER VOM HOHEN D EINFACH FANTASTISCH

[@carmelohugopedace4299]

Insuperable Guedda. Para mí uno de los capo tenores del siglo XX. De los pocos que dieron con el Do brillante, pero sacando ese detalle, cantó todo bien y en varios idiomas. Uno de mis preferidos, Y lo misterioso es que habiendo sido hijo de un amante de la ópera, recién de grande lo descubro con gran alegría para mí, porque en mi casa se oían otros tenores también notables, de los 40 a los 80. Por supuesto quizás no tenía el romanticismo y la lírica de Gigii. pero no me negarán que está en el lugar de los grandes,

[@lazatarra]

love those high D's. And live, not a recording. Amazing.

[@Situnadei]

Human voices reaching Heaven, Thanks for uploading so we all can hear the Thrill of Heaven.

[@dianaventura7999]

And she's even more fantastic live.

[@Filippo2192]

Imagine being there...

[@vettegaddia6234]

This is the first time I read a tenor having more comments than Joan Sutherland in any video with her on utube. In the Live from Lincoln Center video with Pavarotti, Sutherland and Horne, almost all of the 140 comments were about Sutherland.

[@LC-ig2jm]

@ german tenor only cares about anyone who is not a male voice. Many folks in the world prefers a great prima donna. the fact than he barely awknowledged dame joan when she is a 100x more famous than gedda makes him suspicious.

[@MrAndredekock]

Liu Cheang I hardly think that Dame Joan is a hundred times more famous than Mr Gedda. For any opera lover with a wide knowledge of the singers current and past, you will know that among tenors Mr Gedda is EASILY in the top ten as far as effortless top notes is concerned and has made recordings with ALL the great sopranos of his day. Every other tenor Dame Joan recorded with, including Mr Pavarotti, where there was a duet like this one, with a combined high C or D, she drowned them out but could NOT drown Mr Gedda! So I will give them EQUAL fame.

[@LC-ig2jm]

Andre de Kock i did exaggerate. dame joan is the bomb, big pav has the goods, he just is replaceable somewhere in the future, dame joan is never replaceable. her kind will never been heard of ever again.

[@vettegaddia6234]

Andre de Kock Just because Gedda can match high D's with Joan does not give him equal fame. Fame is name recognition and legendary status, it has nothing to do to who sings better high D's. There are only 3 other opera legends that have "equal fame" as Joan. They are Caruso, Callas and Pavarotti. You are right, none of them can match Joan's D's, Gedda can. I respect you. But I think you know that, whether you agree with me or not. An added comment, Kraus also match Joan's high D's in this duet.

[@OscarGraumusico]

BRAVÍSIMOS.... ya no existen voces de este calibre.

[@johnblasiak2499]

Sutherland was so good every one seemed plain not so here with Gedda this truly athletic not for soprano they can sing under water but for Tenor it’s unbelievable

[@francescaemc2]

Stupendo!!!! Accidenti! Che sostenuto! Danke. Grazie. Thanks so very much.

[@MrAndredekock]

You kinda hit the nail on the head, lol. Bravo. Mr Gedda was certainly an enigma.

[@LC-ig2jm]

To markgraysondumas, there is an utube post with dame joan singing live with franco c. in the queen's scene in gli ugonotti, meyerbeer. you can clearly hear that dame joan had the bigger volume on the high notes.

[@MrAndredekock]

Actually, Gedda's mother was Swedish and his real father was half Russian, although we're not told what the other half was, we presume it was Swedish. However, he was raised by his aunt on his father's side and her husband, whose name was Ustinov. Gedda was bilingual because his aunt spoke Swedish and his foster father Russian to him, but he actually became a linguist and speaks and writes fluently in 7 languages. I corresponded with him for 10 years from 1973 to 1983 regularly.

[@napejack]

Fantastic, out of the space!

[@songelosodelzefiro2102]

Don't exaggerate! He is screaming...

[@matthieudegott3154]

Screaming??? C'est vous qui exagérez! Non seulement il fait les contre-rés, mais il les fait de poitrine, ce qui est extrêmement rare et difficile, et ici très convaincant. Dans d'autres circonstances, il a fait de tête, ce qui est très bien aussi. Jamais en falsetto.

[@songelosodelzefiro2102]

Excuse me, I understand French, but it would be difficult for me to write in it now without a dictionary. So: Yes, this is my impression, a person who is not a specialist, but only a music lover. I can hear quite a big strain in his voice here and at times rather hysterical tones. I write about my acoustic nad aesthetic impression. Maybe he performs something unusually exceptional here - these chest "les contre-res". But, sorry, when I read these never ending discussions on how much chest or head is in a sound emited by a singer and I can see that discussants - apparently experts! - are not able to come to conclusion, I don't care about the details of vocal techniqe. The aesthetic impression - this is what matters! I like Nicolai Gedda very much, I appreciate his wonderful renditions of various arias and songs. But I don't like him here - that's all. And I suspect - but I may be wrong, of course - that many of those admiring posts here are simply expressions of "political correctness"...

[@MrAndredekock]

What I find really interesting are the comments made by the "officianados" about chest or head voice when not even knowing and understanding the basics of when a head voice or a chest voice is used! The idiots that can even THINK Mr Gedda is using a chest voice in his upper register and especially a high D, well need one say more? And my earlier post was most certainly an admiring post and certainly with no political correctness therein at all! Politically correct when speaking about voice technique to what purpose and end I would ask? The admiration was simply coming from a fellow singer (a baritone) and someone appreciative of an impeccable technique! From a singer, as well as a music and especially a voice lover, I would be remiss if I did not tell you that there is no strain in those upper notes at all! He has lofted the high D perfectly into the head, placed it fractionally on the falsetto and then leaned into the note and supported it on the diaphragm perfectly! On top of it all, both he and Dame Joan are giving incredible forte power to the note and quite frankly, I haven't heard another tenor able to do so quite so magnificently as Mr Gedda does here and in many other recordings! It may well sound strained to you, but then my challenge would be for you to please name a recording by a tenor of a "non-strained" high D and we will then be able to understand your personal knowledge and preferences.

[@bpetii1]

I don't agree with you at all. I personally can't hear any strain in his voice. Its a high D, of course it will not sound like a middle note. (especially by male singers) What I can hear is, that he uses his head voice pretty good mixed with his chest as much as he can and the voice is well-supported. Most of the tenors can't even sing high D, especially not in this good quality.

[@tenorschofield]

Maravillosos ambos!!! (que gran agudo de Nicolai Gedda!!!...es un Re?, que extraodrinario!!!): BRAVO!!!!

[@GermanOperaSinger]

The same applies with Gedda vs. del Monaco. They were a lyric and dramatic tenor, respectively, for a reason. Vocal size. Projection and size are different. A lyric voice may be very focused and sail over the orchestra (this due to harmonic structure), but measuring the actual volume in decibels - the dramatic voiced singer always wins.

[@Nicrhind]

Gosh I wanna hug 'im.

[@marcmo2004]

waou... What powerful high D and good singing !

[@SirDiogoferreira]

Try to listen her performance in Norma, specially in "Perfido...Vanne Si; mi lascia indegno", there you can listen how high Ds should be sung....here they are perfect as well and as usual with respect to Dame Joan

[@MadonnaImperia]

It is a D natural. In some recordings, especially older ones (such as those with Callas and di Stefano) this duet is transposed downwards to accomodate the tenor, but this is not the case here.

[@cjasz4461]

Bravo!

[@Etnalleb]

Gedda i repeat was King of the High D's and in my opinion the Greatest Lyric Tenor. I have the Stabat Mater" with Bjorling singing the D and it was awesome. DiStefano did this duet i believe with Callas and hit those High D's superbly, Pav in his early days could hit the D as well but Gedda will always be my favorite.

[@carlosbauza1139]

Superlativos, ambos!

[@federic017]

Mai ascoltati acuti così limpidi, senza un minimo di flessione...grandi entrambi. saluti

[@emtnz1569]

Qué maravillosos...

[@TreblesBasses]

PERFECTO!

[@orlando098]

@bigus I can't remember where I read it now, but I also read someone who heard him live say something like "just when you thought he couldn't possibly sing any louder, he would go up another gear and lift off the roof"

[@jefolson6989]

I heard Krais take these notes, but Gedda had a HUGE top. This is more exciting.

[@jefolson6989]

KRAUS!

[@g_vezz]

Thank you for reply....

[@thealessio60]

CHE BELLO DOPO L ACUTO QUASI LEGA RIPRENDENDO VELOCEMENTE ARIA PROPIO TANTA BRAVURA

[@pointemeout]

qual gioia!!!!

[@MrAndredekock]

Oh absolutely and read up a few comments above and you will see I agree with you about Ms Callas' acting ability. But in fact we started out discussing the tenor's head register and somehow got onto coloratura sopranos. Mr Gedda was also one of the few tenors who had a natural acting ability and an innate sense for being able to interpret the roles he sang. I think his Alfredo and Des Grieux have never been bettered and he recorded both of them with Ms Sills. The joy of singing and performing!

[@Richiesutherland]

They were both fantastic, and if anyone who never heard her in the house will witness, Joan's voice was immense. She takes her verse quietly, as a musical response to Gedda's (superb) effusive verse. Bellini clearly wanted this, as he didn't write the D for Elvira in her verse. Then in the insieme verse, notice that she gradually moves to her full voice, so that by 2:27 you start hearing the full gush of her sound. She was a great partner.

[@OrpheuCe]

boht incledible singers

[@Herur22]

Yes, they did both. I have both performances and I think this one is from the second one.

[@bloydaage]

@InformedListener The thing about Gedda is that his high notes thrills from high natural B. He does not thrill in the highlights of cavaradossis' or radames' arias, but for certain thrills in those high tessitura lyric roles

[@MrAndredekock]

My pleasure. We can only strive to make the truth become reality by relentlessly pointing out what true good singing is and how singers either have it or don't and why and unfortunately in so doing we will stand on many toes in the can belto camp and become VERY unpopular. God bless and take care, Andre.

[@GermanOperaSinger]

I'm not sure where these rumors originated, but I was told this by someone and when I asked my grandfather (who is a passionate Gedda fan) about it he told me that he had heard about this but wasn't sure whether it was true.

[@rubenorta7189]

mr. brisbane that is not a scream that is a pure brilliant do the pecho at least that is my opinion. thenks for your comment. ruben.

[@Oetti]

the best part about this beautiful aria is not the high D's, nor the high C (even though I think Bellini initially wrote this piece one half-step higher, thereby calling for two high Eb's and a C#, please correct me if I'm wrong), but the rapid decrescendo after the D's! it is so sudden and nerve-wracking, I love it!!!

[@MadonnaImperia]

Screaming?? She tossed off those high D's until she was more than 60 years old, thanks to amazing vocal chords and equally amazing technique. If she had been merely screaming, those high notes would have disappeared long before her 60th birthday.

[@MrAndredekock]

Now I happen to know of TWO people who were at this performance in Philadelphia in 1963 and who will tell you what RUBBISH you are talking! Dame Joan held back for NO-ONE and she is easily MATCHED here by Mr Gedda, the ONLY tenor who had the timbre and POWER to match her note for note. There was some-one who sat 3rd row from the front and verifies that BOTH singers gave their all and that the entire cast was INSPIRED on this particular evening, one of those magical occurrences.

[@tonytony8747]

How lucky to hear both golden age icons in their prime. Sadly, no operatic singers today are even close to this caliber.

[@timsuffolk]

@AriaSinger1 i feel bad to have made the last comment, your English is certainly much much better than any foreign language I could attempt. I think we were actually on the same wavelength. I send you my very best wishes.

[@dianaventura7999]

This is nothing comparing Sutherland's interpolated HUGE high E flat that drown out the orchestra, and John Alexander. Type in the KZbin search to this and you'll be hearing the most magnificent High E flats EVER! Type this in KZbin search....TOTAL RARITY!! Joan Sutherland - Norma - Bellini - Duo Norma/Pollione You will be stunned.

[@timsuffolk]

@AriaSinger1 If Florez and Sutherland had ever sung a high D together she would have overwhelmed him, her voice was so much bigger.

[@alfredbernasek861]

FANTASTISCH UNERREICHBAR

[@GermanOperaSinger]

Actually, you're right...Lauri Volpi had the most thrilling extreme top (above C) of any tenor I've heard...but not fair to compare the two, Gedda was more French sounding lyric tenor than Italian, Lauri Volpi was a true Italian spinto with a bright ringing top.

[@sospello]

Thanks for the sidebar; I had never heard that Gedda's voice was not naturally rather high. Of course, consistently making full resonance very high notes would probably take training and work for almost any tenor no matter how high the untrained voice register might be.

[@hibyeeee2]

To Etnalleb, I agree with you that Nicolai Gedda had great ringing and high C's and D's. But saying he didn't have great volume is just wrong. He was very loud. Just as loud and powerful as a spinto or dramatic tenor except he had the color of a lyric. His voice was probably as big as Mario Del Monaco's just not as dark. Two of my favorite tenors are Nicolai Gedda and Francisco Araiza cuz there voices were loud, powerful, and had great agility.

[@petergraham8681]

The notes are a high D flat & then an F which Gedda sings on the Sills recording.

[@hibyeeee2]

To Germanoperasinger. You have a good point. I always beleived Volpi was a spinto also. I never knew he called himself a lyric tenor. Why would he?

[@Bjoerrelli]

And at 0:44 there´s also high D so two high D ´s and one C# nearly everyone transpose it down half a step but not Gedda!

[@Etnalleb]

@bigus GOS is right in that the the note in question was a Db...i'm sure Wunderlich must have had High D some where in his repertoire but until some-one posts it we will never know.

[@kevinpollockmusic3646]

I don’t think wunderlich ever recorded anything with a high d

[@alfredbernasek5422]

EINFACH TRAUMHAFT

[@alessandroleporati3720]

Amo i russi e adoro questo meraviglioso e insuperabile tenore. Nicolay Gedda..🥰🇷🇺

[@kerstinej]

Era Svedese

[@dianaventura7999]

Sutherland was known for a HUGE wall of sound. Gedda and Corelli are the only tenors I've heard who can be heard when she hits C6 or above. I'm willing to bet Gedda is closer to the mike than Sutherland in this recording. Gedda has a big voice, but still a lyric tenor. Sutherland's voice is large enough for Wagner. John Alexander has a bigger voice than Gedda. We've heard Sutherland drown him out in Norma many times. There is a Alexander/Sutherland Puritani duet on KZbin, listen to it.

[@spevoljub]

This is recorded live in house. They are on the stage and not in front the mic.

[@losfabulosos31]

SHIT ! that was fucking insane !

[@raigekimaru]

Gedda was some sort of bizarre combination of leggiero tenor and lirico spinto (not unlike a male version of sutherland now that I think about it)

[@JanMelet]

That's high

[@Herur22]

GermanOperaSinger, Gedda's real name was NOT Ustinov, because he was never legally adopted by Mihail Ustinov. Though during the childhood he used the name Nicolai Ustinov for a time. His real name was Gädda, after his father Nikolaj Gädda. He later omitted the umlaut for simplicity sake.

[@jung123456]

very smart tenor, not common. Always welcome at the Met.

[@tenorissimo1986]

@muchogustavo1: have we forgotten Giacomo Lauri-Volpi?

[@Mooorhe]

Ah, I see, thank you.

[@MrAndredekock]

It is so refreshing to hear someone who actually knows the voice and its mechanics! Bravo! You are absolutely right in what you have said here and if you listen to Gedda's high F in the Credeasi misera from the same opera, you will hear how for a split second he prepares the high note on the falsetto and then leans into the head voice or register. And as for the power of the head register, well it speaks for itself really and anyone claiming that it is weak need only take a listen here.

[@kevinpollockmusic3646]

Gedda maintains in the foreward to the original Coffin on singing that he NEVER used falsetto and was taught by Novikova that falsetto stripped the squillo from male voices. My teacher studied with Novikova I’m NYC and maintained the same opinion and taught me the same

[@marcmo2004]

GermanOperaSinger says: "Here you will hear him sing two D's and a high C". In my opinion, it sounds more like a high C sharp at 0:40, then a high D at 2:55, then a high C at the end.

[@blaubar]

Sorry, I forgot to say, that Nicolai's real father was a Gädda too. The sister of Gedda's father was the STEPmother (later married with Ustinov) of Gedda. So, Nicolai has had a Stepfather (Ustinov) and a stepmother (his fathers sister Gädda). Complicated, but true...

[@Herur22]

Of course, that's why he studied altogether for 18 years - 6 years with Oehmann and than with Novikova.

[@gaytenor]

@ImJeanValjean : Where pray tell did Bjorling sing a top d? In the aria from Rossini's Sabat Mater which he recorded the high note is a d-flat and he recorded an aria from an operetta with a top c sharp but no top d. After the war he had a tendency to transpose down arias with top c''s a semitone which is common practice.

[@kevinpollockmusic3646]

gaytenor I have an operetta recording - maybe die bettelschtudenten?!? With bjorlijg doing a very solid and bright high D

[@kevinpollockmusic3646]

I forgot the operetta aria, but I have an early Bjorling recording with a fabulous high d

[@hiyadroogs]

Thank you, Andre. It's an unfortunate by product of singing, that occasionally, & very rarely, the flaws in a singers technique can also bring about a sympathetic timbre, or visceral exciting drama. Singers of great stature can possess flawed technique. This only points to the true potential of the voice with perfect technique. There can be great singers without being great vocalists. Students need great role models, & should set aside personality to always listen functionally not aesthetically.

[@orlando098]

@bigus re. Del Monaco having a bigger voice than Lauri-Volpi, I wouldn't be too sure. Corelli, who did not exactly have a small voice, said of LV : "I don't think there has ever been anyone with a brighter voice. He had an extremely ringing voice, extremely loud. He was the only singer who could make the vibration of his voice, not his voice, the vibration, reach the gods". Also Kraus described his voice as heroic.

[@Mooorhe]

I'm almost certain it was D's and a C, apparently the pitch back then was closer to C# and a B.

[@AmorediPazzia]

hmm...I also have both of their performance recording, but I cannot distinguish difference. Does it exists distinguishable diffrence? for example, sound quality...?

[@GermanOperaSinger]

Trust me, it's a Db. 'Dein ist mein ganzes Herz' is in the key of Db, which means a D natural would not work in the piece. You don't need a professional pitch pipe. All you need is a virtual keyboard website. Bonisolli sang a Db also.

[@hibyeeee2]

Germanoperasinger, who had a bigger voice giacomo lauri volpi or mario del monaco? and what kind of tenors are Francisco Araiza, and Gregory Kunde? are they lyrics or spintos?

[@Mooorhe]

I have an April 16th 1963 in NY performance, did they do both?

[@fmercury91]

Well, we don't really have any great recordings of Rosvaenge in his prime. His high D might have been comparable to Geddas'. However, I'll say that of any tenor in the last 50 years nobody comes close. Bonisolli had a great one in a recording of the Rigoletto Cabaletta. But, that was studio recorded. Gedda has what I believe is undisputedly the most secure High D in live performance of any tenor that ever lived.