Largo al factotum in English? Yeah, when dramatic baritone Cornell MacNeil sings it! Live, 1968

Betcha never thought you'd hear this! In a 1968 recital, America's monster baritone whips right through an aria that singers with half his voice have difficulty managing. Flexible and agile in the fioritura (right through high A), crystal clear in enunciation, wonderful variations in timbre, and of course those big, sparkling high Gs.
No, Cornell MacNeil never sang a full Barbiere di Siviglia at the Met, but judging from this recording, it's safe to say he would've been among the very best.
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This channel is primarily about vocal emission-aural examples of basically correct singing, correct impostazione-chiaroscuro, vowel clarity, firm and centered pitch, correct vibrato action, absence of throatiness or thickness, sounds free from constriction and from the acoustic noise that accompanies it-with occasional video examples that demonstrate what the body, face, mouth, jaw, and tongue look like when used with correct impostazione-the vocal emission of the one and only Italian school.
Caveat: I'm biased in favor of baritones and baritone literature, but if you want to learn about and listen to all the greatest singers in the old-school tradition, explore this spreadsheet (voice parts are separated by tabs): bit.ly/2W4qmE3

[@bodiloto]

è semplicemente meraviglioso !

[@AfroPoli]

Extraordinary. I would not have thought that it would be so good. Incredible. Thanks for posting.

[@1UShawn]

It really is, unbelievable!

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@kyleaustin7045 He's not woofy. And he is not an underdeveloped tenor.

[@kyleaustin7045]

For the record, my previously deleted comment that featured the descdiption "woofy" and "underdeveloped tenor" referred to Sherill Milnes

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@kyleaustin7045 Milnes isn't an underdeveloped tenor, nor is he woofy. I think you are confused with Nucci.

[@kyleaustin7045]

@@xxsaruman82xx87 I have mixed feeling about him now. I think he's a fine baritone. My previous comment was a bit too extreme.

[@frankfurter6561]

Macneil was just my kind of artist. Authentically funny, highly intelligent and honest. A vocal icon on his fach. Thanks for this gem.

[@SilverSingingMethod]

INCREDIBLE. That huge voice, huge lower register and still flexible. You also hear that strong, clear falsetto. What an amazing voice he had. Besides Ruffo this is the best Largo I have ever heard.

[@nybuffymeister8328]

MacNeil had a remarkable voice. Amazing that in his later years he still managed a fabulous upper register. The tones were open, natural , clear, and could crack the paneling in the back of the Met. family circle. Very different than Warren, but just as effective.

[@ChrisStockslager]

Different from Warren how? Besides Mac’s ringing tone and better low notes vs Warren’s rounder allllllmost over-covered sound, the voices sound similar to me. 😀

[@stone301]

@@ChrisStockslager warren sings with tongue imbalance...in my opinion he’s irrelevant. Opera isn’t about making your voice sound like a frog

[@sw5114]

@@stone301 Guess you do not like Warren. MacNeill and he were very different voices, but both fit the Verdi baritone category better than most others.,

[@labienus9968]

@@stone301 People say the strangest things. Warren was simply one of the greatest Verdi baritones. i thought his bottom a little muddy, his brilliant top sometimes too much of a good thing, his mezza voce and color extraordinary. Only MacNeil is in the same league with his top-and at its best I may prefer his voice

[@gregorymowery8879]

Amazing. I heard him often at the Met in the 70s and 80s. Here is is just fabulous. Nice to hear the voice when its scale was even. It was always a monster sound, but the flexibility is unusual in a voice this large.

[@labienus9968]

I missed Warren-we know what happened to him-but I too heard Mac many times in that same period. Yes, huge voice, extraordinary top. Saw his Rigoletto a number of times-can't believe Warren was better. Hard for people who did not go to the opera in a house the size of the Met how huge many of those famous voices were

[@billcarr54]

Fabulous, very agile for such a big voice; and wonderful to hear the lyrics in english.

[@joaoaurelio1534]

the diction, the leggerezza, the evenness of the emission. Perectly supported sound in every single note, ofc with complete open throat. id say this is pretty much what would happen in garcia's days

[@CadillacFrank]

WOW!!! I never knew real lyrics in English existed!

[@trrill]

Yes, and interestingly Julian Patrick sang the same text in a recital two years later. I'm not 100% sure where the text came from, as I can find no fragment of it on even a very deep search of the internet, but my educated guess is that it was the work of Boris Goldovsky, who was a huge proponent of opera in English in the mid-20th century. He rewrote a number of libretti himself, including Barber of Seville, which was performed in his translation from at least 1953. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6u4ZKN8bd6ZkJo

[@josephhapp9]

Before Internet Opera was always available with translation.

[@kwestakwella]

Never heard him sound so great. I guess I must've heard him many times on MET broadcast when he was past his prime.

[@ER1CwC]

Yes, unfortunately he was over the hill by the time video telecasts became a thing. He was consistently great up until the mid-1970s - more than 20 years into his international career.

[@jacobkusnerik8809]

Didn't expect it in English. Very excellent!

[@billhobbins8823]

This is a great example of Macneil's facility up and down the voice. And, as has been noted, especially so for a voice this big and weighty! I would also recommend recordings by Warren, Milnes, and in a different dimension, Hampson. There is also a fine recording of Robert Merrill navigating this daunting piece with surprising success. The baritonal heft and rugged appeal of Merrill's voice was undisputed, but he shows the ability to do considerable vocal acting.

[@steveburton479]

I'm in complete agreement with my dear friend Bill Hobbins.

[@kyleaustin7045]

Milnes and Hampson are leagues BELOW Macneil. They are all tenors trying to sing woofy.

[@abcdefgh-db1to]

Please ! Hampson is a caricature of a bad tenor ! The two greatest recordings of the aria are probably Ruffo's and Granforte's. I would then the put Stracciari, Warren, Merril, Macneil and the other greats.

[@josephhapp9]

@@abcdefgh-db1to so many computer desk experts.

[@bradycall1889]

With all due respect, Hampson’s alright but he’s overrated.

[@jmalgier]

This is a treasure. Thank you!

[@gerPzoidberg]

It's finally here!! Thank you SO MUCH!!!

[@Tkimba2]

Sempre un piacere riascoltare questa interpretazione, di un livello altissimo. Da non credere

[@matOpera]

Spectacular. Wow, how good that was! Thank you for posting

[@LilovAlexander]

What an amazing recording indeed !!!!! Thank you !!!!

[@ChrisStockslager]

Oh sweet Lord, I've been waiting forever to hear him sing this!!! I'm amazed with the flexibility he had in his voice that I've never heard before! Easily, more fluid than Merrill, certainly, who has been bumped down from number 1 to number 2 favorite in this aria! Trrill: Is there any way I may PLEASE get a recording of this recital, please?? MacNeil is my favorite male opera singer! :D

[@francesca7564]

Thanks for sharing !!!

[@baritonoferal]

Thanks Trrill!!! All live recordings at Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires are amazing...!

[@francobianco2401]

Bravo Dolce Baritono Bravo Figaro Bravo Bravissimo

[@leonoradelagardie]

Wonderful!!!!

[@leokucewicz7009]

Amazing! One wonders how that would have changed Opera if he had sung more Rossini.

[@trrill]

He would've made a wonderful Assur and a wonderful William Tell.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

@@trrill Certo!

[@meltingpot1381]

2:48 GLORIOUS

[@cskyo]

Brilliant!

[@johnbratincevic3634]

BRAVO!

[@dubbelhenke854]

OMG! I knew he was fantastic but....lol....

[@dimitarzhelyazkov9524]

😂Cool

[@josegallardo1097]

Bravoo!!!

[@mikhailtimoshenko]

Madness…

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

That English version is rather interesting especially for Sopranos who can only sing in English.

[@Perrosiutico]

What a delightful rarity! "Big Mac" was the first Rigoletto and Simon Boccanegra I heard at the Met (c.1968). Those were two of his greatest Italian roles but I also heard him sing Trinity Moses in "Mahagonny" in English which had some funny bits for him. It 's a shame he didn't do more comic roles, but the truth is he was simply too valuable for Verdi. He had a good sense of humor which comes through here in his wry introduction to the "Largo."

[@andymanland]

Wooow 😮😮😮😮

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

I can't even find the sheet music for the Soprano Version. Sopranos would have to sing the Bass Clef Vocal part an Octave higher than written to achive this Soprano version.

[@jasonjoe4206]

THE MONSTER HAS DONE IT AGAIN....He makes Tibett and the others sound like schoolboys but I still enjoy listening to them nonetheless...👏👏👏

[@lsmart]

He makes THIS (kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHjLqHeFl6-ebpY) look like a schoolboy??? Macneil is super in this recording, but nobody matches what Tibbett does in this performance.

[@jasonjoe4206]

@@lsmart have u heard Gino Bechi?

[@opera888able]

Is it true? it is said he was the greatest "Rigoletto" since ww2.

[@TheOriginalKazooMaster]

I knew this was doable in English but had never heard it done. Anyone know where these english lyrics can be found?

[@landscapetransformationwit6018]

Nope. Impossible. Didn’t just hear that.

[@liedersanger1]

The only problem is the English. Most of it is unintelligible. And one misses the warmth of the open vowels in Italian, which Rossini wrote FOR.

[@Tkimba2]

David Perkins not a big deal

[@AliBaba-mb1pu]

Its understandable and a cracking effort considering its in English. Its really nice. It hasnt the brrring brrring of Italian, but English is English. Italiano is Italiano.