Search - George London :: Famous Voices of the Past

THE Heldenbaritone

Golden Ear | 01/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"George London's wide repertoire from Mozart over French and and Russian Romanticism to Wagner is very well represented on this record. He fills every aria with great emotion and drama, audially portraying the respective characters with his thrilling presence.



London's voice was one of the most unique in the history of singing. It was astonishingly dark in timbre for a bass-baritone (in fact he sounded more like a bass), yet he managed to reach the F-sharp and even G without any strain. It was also an extremely powerful voice, able to be heard even through the greates orchestral waves. Besides the power and voluptuosness of its sound, it was also remarkably beautiful and velvety in texture. I would count him to the great vocal wonders of all time, next to Caruso, Ruffo, Ponselle and Björling !



Yet I must say , that he sounds a little "bottled up" at times, when singing piano and mezza voce. But at last not everyone singer is perfect (some just get pretty close) !



I'd recommend this recording to anyone who loves the great music of the romantic era and wants to hear it sung as best as it can be. The sound quality is totally acceptable, even if it isn't as clear and "sanitary" as present day studio CDs.

In contrast to some prominent critics opinions, such as Jürgen Kesting, George London symbolizes a monument in opera and the vocal artform !

If you buy this great cd and before thought that Samuel Ramey, James Morris, John Tomlinson, Simon Estes, Jóse van Dam and other modern day Heldenbaritones are about as good in their Fach as any, you're about to get a new definition of Heldenbaritone ! Trust me, it's worth the price !"

George London in Good Voice

M. Sue Snively-ttee | 06/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard George London singing the lead role in "Don Giovanni" with the San Francisco opera, about 45 years ago. In all the time since, I have never heard a better baritone, and the gasps from women sitting near me indicated that he projected enormous appeal to others as well. I was greatly pleased to find a recording of some of his arias. My memory proved to be accurate. It is only too bad that complete opera recordings are not available; of course later performers would only suffer by comparison.



Too bad the pieces are so short. Anyone who wants to hear the best baritone of the 20'th century can get at least a taste."