Act II
Dressed as Don Giovanni, Leporello is caught by Don Ottavio, Donna Anna, Zerlina and Masetto in a dark courtyard.  He reveals his true identity and pleads for his life, blaming Don Giovanni for everything under the sun (and why should he not?). Masetto is by no means impressed and tries to shoot the poor servant as he runs away from the scene. Leporello narrowly escapes Masetto's gunshot and Don Ottavio promises to avenge the wrongdoings of Don Giovanni.

Il mio tesoro intanto
andate a consolar,
E del bel ciglio il pianto
cercate di asciugar.
Ditele che i suoi torti
a vendicar io vado
Che sol di stragi e morti
nunzio vogl'io tornar.

It is difficult to choose among abundant great tenors who have sung this aria. The main criterion for my choices is individuality, be it in the approach, interpretation or technique.  The great Swede Gösta Winbergh takes centre stage and is well supported by Danish Aksel Schiötz and Swedish Jussi Björling.  As a bonus, I have included two historic versions by Tauber and McCormack, hopefully making five distinctive renditions from a stylistic point of view.

The Swedish tenor Gösta Winbergh studied engineering and played in a rock band through the 1960s, before pursuing vocal studies at the age of 24 in his home town, Stockholm.  His debut took place in Göteborg as Rodolfo in La Bohème (1973).  He became a member of the Royal Opera Stockholm where he concentrated on the lyric and belcanto repertoire before embracing all major tenor roles by Mozart and, later in life, also heroic title roles in operas by Wagner and Strauss.  He performed in every major opera house in the world and cooperated with leading conductors such as Karajan, Muti, Harnincourt and Solti.  He received Grammy nominations for Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Don Giovanni and Gluck's Iphegenie en Tauride. Winbergh gained a reputation for excellent technique, exquisite lyricism, notable acting abilities, vast repertoire and of course for a beautiful and seductive golden tone of voice. His last success was as Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio.  He died in Vienna in 2002 of a heart attack at the age of 58.

Il mio tesoro intanto is not only a song of vengeance but also a love statement towards Donna Anna.  It is hard to convey tender love AND utter contempt in the same aria. The tenor is left with the almost impossible task of marrying the two extremes in a coherent flow of emotions.  One runs the risk of a) overstating the discrepancy and cutting the aria to schizophrenic pieces or b) being blinded by the beauty of the melody line and trying to sing the whole aria as seductively as possible, forgetting that Don Ottavio actually draws the sword and should display knight-like heroism. Of course, it is also a very demanding aria technically: We have the endless intonation exercises, the treacherous scale leaps and low notes (E flat on “NUNzio” and F below middle C on “vaDO” and “TORnar”) as well as demanding volume dynamics.  A telling anecdote is the fact that Mozart chose to omit the aria at the Vienna premiere altogether, repeating Dalla sua Pace from Act 1 instead, as the tenor for the night was quite simply not up to the task.

GÖSTA WINBERGH:
Winbergh shows remarkable interpretive skills in this live rendition of Il mio tesoro intanto.  He manages to convey the fine balance between sweet lyric qualities in his love statement to Donna Anna as well as true dramatic heroism when pleading for vengeance. Ever changing colours and dynamics between pianissimo and fortissimo are used to great effect, to underline the true meaning of the lyrics.  His Italian diction and pronunciation are almost faultless and he shows great technical skills during the solfeggio cantato.  The two long held “cercate” as well as the second slightly prolonged and carefully sculptured “intanto” are examples of exquisite lyricism. Winbergh's voice has a recognisable clear, ringing "Nordic sound"; a velvet sweet pianissimo and heroic fortissimo. Especially, his mid register is highly effective as he displays a golden timbre.  He may not have the same evenness throughout the register as Jussi Björling has - his low notes may lack some body - but the way he moulds the aria as a whole is of the highest calibre, both technically and from an interpretive point of view.

AKSEL SCHIÖTZ
Aksel Schiötz' 1942 rendition displays a voice that is not big, nor does it have much body perhaps, but it is a shining bright and pure instrument with a firm line, innate elegance and ringing timbre. In the cantata, precision of the infamous solfeggio over "cercate" is exquisite, as Schiötz punctuates every note with ease and displays fluid dynamics as well as vast breath reserves.  The low notes are well produced.  He is most convincing in the initial words of love as he unleashes the sweetest voice imaginable. His plead for vengeance is effective enough, if not the most open mouthed. As a whole, there is a sense of vulnerability in his portrayal.  His diction and pronunciation are good.

JUSSI BJÖRLING
At the 1955 Carnegie hall recital, Jussi Björling displays a remarkable evenness throughout the vocal register.  The low notes ring out with the same sureness and volume as his mid and upper register:  hear the excellent projection of "(va-a-a)DO" and his almost baritonal "TOR(nar)" at the end. His diction and pronunciation are unusually very good.  He shows urgency and true dramatic presence during "Ditele che i suoi torti a vendicar io vado" (tell her that I have gone to avenge her wrongs). Perhaps some more sweetness is called for in order to accompany the tender words of comfort to Donna Anna.  If he does not equal Schiötz' level of precision, he nevertheless masters the difficult intonation exercises with apparent ease, doing the "cercate" in one coherent breath and singing it forte-fortissimo. The timbre is shiny, silvery and fresh. Björling's vibrato in the long held "cercate" is memorable.

Bonuses
John McCormack's rendition is a perfect example of his sweet, seductive timbre. Though he may lack some emotional involvement when pleading for vengeance, one cannot question his convincing intonation exercises or his excellent overall technique.

Tauber has a darker timbre; he produces the low notes beautifully and has a wonderful grasp of the solfeggio cantato. As opposed to McCormack, one of Tauber's major strengths is dramatic presence and he projects a virile Don Ottavio all in all.  Perhaps there should be more lyricism when addressing Donna Anna.

NB: All audio files have been removed in accordance with Grandi Tenori.com's policy on audio files.

I am especially indebted to Dr. Joseph Fragala for all his encouragement as well as help with key comments on technical terms, diction and pronunciation! I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr. Jørn Anthonisen for technical assistance, Mr. John D’Ancona for valuable comments on the score, and Mr. Sören Petersen for providing the soundfile of Aksel Schiötz. Finally, a big heartfelt “thank you” to the tenors presented here for wonderful listening experiences in Mozart and beyond!

My deepest apologies to great artists such as Simoneau, Wunderlich, Roswaenge, Dermota etc. for not finding room for them in this AM.