part 2
As last month's selection was so well received I've decided that with the approval of Grandi-tenori subscribers, to present a further six tenors giving us their interpretations of this beautiful aria. The choice of tenors presents some slight problem in (a) do we listen to a selection of historic tenors (b) do we listen to a selection of famous (also historic or semi-historic) tenors, (c) or do we give the not-so-well known present day tenors a chance? There are so many tenors to choose from.

We all have our favourites and I'm not in favour of saying 'this tenor is better than that', although sometimes it can come down to this. Certainly some are of a higher standard than others but all over the world, there are tenors who we've never heard of and in many cases we never will, but they all try to give their best, so I've opted for six voices who are either in mid-career or in the early stages of their careers. They do a decent job. They may not make it to super-stardom but they have chosen singing as a career and in my view, they deserve a wider audience than they may be used to in the normal course of events.

Perhaps we tenor afficionado's can in some small way, be that wider audience.

the tenors, the aria · audio

Singer (01) Boiko Zvetanov. Not entirely unknown, Zvetanov is mentioned in the list of tenors in Grandi-tenori. He was born in Sofia in 1955 and has been singing professionally for well over twenty years. He received his musical education at the Academy for Music in Sofia following which he was engaged at the National Opera House there where during the years 1982-1990, he sang the Duke (Rigoletto), Lindoro (Italian girl in Algiers), Pollione (Norma), Fernando, (La Favorita), Foresto (Attila) and Radames (Aida). He has sung in concert in Russia, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Malta and France. In 1990-92, he appeared at he Vienna State Opera. Since 1991, he has been a member of the Zurich Opera where he has sung an impressive number of roles with some considerable success. His guest appearances have taken him to the major operatic venues of Europe. He has also performed in the United States, Mexico and even Japan. His repertoire takes in more than 50 roles and there is a great deal to admire in his singing.

Singer (02) Deon van der Walt. He was born in Kapstadt, South Africa, in 1958 and studied singing at the University of Stellenbosch. He made his debut as Jaquino in Fidelio at the Kapstady Opera house even befor graduating and numerous scholarships and awards allowed him to continue his studies abroad. In 1981 he won the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg.

His first formal engagements took him to Gelsenkirchen, Stuttgart and Zurich. He made his debut at Covent Garden in 1985 as Almaviva in Rossini's Barber of Seville. Since then he has been counted amongst the leading lyric tenors and has performed at La Scala, Milan, the Hamburg and Vienna State Operas, the Bavarian State Opera (Munich) the Liceu (Barcelona) and New York Metropolitan Opera. He has also recorded a number of roles and be prominent in many filmed works. He has worked with a number of leading conductors and has given numerous concerts and recitals. Whilst he has probably specialized in Mozart, he has performed with success in Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, Massenet's Manon, and Donizetti's Fille du Regiment.

Singer (03) Michael (Misha) Didyk. This young Ukranian tenor with a big voice has been singing professionally since 1994. He inherited a lyric/dramatic voice from his mother and first appeared on stage singing at the age of seven. At the age of fifteen he admitted into the Klmelnnystskyi School of music and at that time he could not play an instrument or even read music. He was then drafted into the Russian Army and sang in concert with the Red Army Chorus throughout Europe. In 1991 he completed his studies at the National Academy of studies at Kiev and went on to study with Professor Anna Maria Bondi at the Opera Bastille in Paris. In 1994 he made his debut at the National Opera of the Ukraine in Kiev, as Alfredo. He remained there for three years, singing Pinkerton, Lensky, Herman (Pique-Dame) and the Duke (Rigoletto). In 1997 he sang Alfredo at the Bolshoi. He sang for two seasons at the Bolshoi, which included at tour to the famous Mariinsky theatre in St Petersburg and in 1998 he sang the role of Percy at he Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, a role that he repeated in 1999-2000. The year 2000 also saw him perform at Tel Aviv and Puerto Rico and as recently as May, 2004, he was very successful as Gustav (or Riccardo) in Verdi's Masked Ball, at Avignon.

Singer (04) Johan Botha. Born 1965 in Rustenburg, South Africa. He had his first singing lessons at the age of ten and at the age of 20, following completion of his education and military service, studied in Pretori first as a Bass-Baritone and later as a tenor. He made his stage debut in Roodenport as Max in Der Freischutz, in 1989. He then got the chance to travel to Europe, where in 1990 he worked with the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and also sang Gustavo in Ballo in Marchera at Kaiserslauten. Over the next two or three years he was to be heard at venues throughout Germany in roles such as Rodolfo, Pinkertonm Des Grieux, Luigi, Turridu and Canio. In 1993 he had his Italian debut at the Teatro Bellini in Verdi's requiem. He then sang Pinkerton at the Opera Bastille, Paris. Within a short time he was singing at the major opera houses in Germany then in the United States. He returned to Vienna, then Berlin then Covent Garden in La Boheme, La Scala in Madama Butterfly (1996), then the New York Met. in 1997 as Canio, which was a huge success. A tour of the major opera houses in the USA followed, then back to Europe. He has since been a performer at the world's major opera houses on repeated occasions and his plans reach far into the future.

Singer (05) Zoran Todorovich. Was born in Belgrade and studied in Frankfurt and Munich. He made successful debuts as Pinkerton at the Vienna State Opera, Alfredo at the Hamburg State Opera and as the Duke (Rigoletto) in 1996/97. Since then, he has sung the lyric roles at Europes major Opera Houses including the Monnaie, Brussels, repeatedly at Vienna, Hamburg and Berlin. He has been successful in Tokyo and in 1999/2000 he was spectacularly successful as Rodolfo at the Sna Francisco Opera. He was again successful as Pinkerton in San Francisco the following year and has been consolidating his career very successfully up to the present time. He is also in great demand as a concert singer and his career seems to going from strength to strength.

Singer (06) Stefano Secco. This young Italian tenor was born in Milan in 1973 and he is well documented in the TENOR columns of Grandi-Tenori. It is my opinion that already his career is showing signs of great things to come. Readers should look him up in Grandi-tenori. He is a lyric tenor with a voice of silvery quality. The future looks very promising indeed for this young tenor.



· Audio ·
Puccini: La Bohème: Che gelida manina:

NB: All audio removed in accordance with GT.com's policy on audio files.

(01) Boiko Zvetanov (1996) » listen to audio | 1.12 mb
(02) Deon van der Walt (1999) » listen to audio | 1.29 mb
(03) Misha Didyk (1999) » listen to audio | 1.13 mb
(04) Johan Botha (2001) » listen to audio | 1.14 mb
(05) Zoran Todorovich (2001) » listen to audio | 1.19 mb
(06) Stefano Secco (1998) » listen to audio | 1.24 mb

Mystery Voice:
And now, with the permission of our tireless editor, I would like to present one more voice. A 'mystery' voice! While the old hands of Grandi-tenori should have no difficulty in recognising this quite wonderful tenor, I hope it isn't just as easy for our younger enthusiasts. Answers to Joern, please, who may give out the result after a couple of weeks or so, if we treat him nicely. If this little snippet is a success, maybe we can re-visit 'Che gelida manina' some time next year and have a listen to some lovely old historic voices we might not be too familiar with.'

(07) The Mystery Voice » listen to audio | 937 kb

Do you know who he is? - Answers can be sent during the next 30 days to:
- - - -

// End of quizz: The Mystery Voice is the Spanish-French tenor Tony Poncet (Antonio Ponce) [1918-79]. See who got it right here.

· Lyrics ·

Che gelida manina, What a frozen little hand,
se la lasci riscaldar. let me warm it for you.
Cercar che giova? What's the use of looking?
Al buio non si trova. We shan't find it in the dark.
Ma per fortuna But luckily
e una notte di luna, it's a moonlight night,
e qui la luna and the moon
l'abbiamo vicina. is near us here.
(mentre Mimi cerca di ritirare la mano). (as Mimi tries to withdraw her hand).

Aspetti, signorina, Wait, mademoiselle,
le diro con due parole I will tell you in two words
chi son, e che faccio, what I am, what I do,
come vivo. Vuole? and how I live. May I?
Chi son? Sono un poeta. Who am I? I am a poet.
Che cosa faccio? Scrivo. What do I do? I write.
E come vivo? Vivo. And how do I live? I live.
In poverta mia lieta In my carefree poverty
scialo da gran signore I squander rhymes
rime ed inni d'amore, and love songs like a Lord.
Per sogni e per chimere When it comes to dreams and visions
e per castelli in aria, and castles in the air
l'anima ho milionaria. I've the soul of a millionaire.
Talor dal mio forziere From time to time two thieves
ruban tutti i gioelli steal all my jewels
due ladri: gli ochi belli. out of my safe-two pretty eyes.
V'entrar con voi pur ora, They came in with you just now
ed i miei sogni usati and my customary dreams,
e i bei sogni miei my lovely dreams,
tosto si dileguar! melted at once into thin air.
Ma il furto non m'accora, But the theft doesn't upset me.
poiche, poiche v'ha preso stanza For their place has been
la speranza! taken by hope.
Or che mi conoscete, Now that you know all about me,
parlate voi, deh! parlete, Chie siete? You tell me now who you are.

Vi piaccia dir! Please do!

Acknowledgements:
- My friend Keith Shilcock, for suggesting and providing the mystery voice.
- The readers of 'Grandi-tenori for being good friends and supporters.
- Editor and friend, Joern H. Anthonisen, for everything.