On TV: Leonard Warren - Eri tu (Un ballo in maschera) - 1950

Leonard Warren performs “Eri tu che macchiavi“ in a telecast from 1950. We have very little footage of Warren, and this is the only bit extant of him performing Verdi, for which he was best known and at which he excelled. To be able to watch him in action is priceless. ..................................... Yes, the singing is... extra. Trrill™ is about florid passages, improvisatory underpinnings, staccato’d intuitions, and virtuosities even at their most ridiculous. But it’s also about the biggest, boldest form of vocal emission, with 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):