Georges Thill & Germaine Féraldy - Roméo et Juliette finale (Columbia, 1929) скачать в хорошем качестве

Georges Thill & Germaine Féraldy - Roméo et Juliette finale (Columbia, 1929)

Georges Thill (1897-1984) was arguably the greatest French tenor of his generation. He was born in in Paris, the son of a publisher who wished for the boy to follow in his footsteps. Thill recalled that his opera loving parents, despite not being musicians themselves, had pleasant voices and enjoyed singing around the house. Young Thill also had a very fine voice but never considered a singing career. Instead, he took a job as a courier on Paris’ stock exchange, which ended when he was drafted in January 1916. He wound up in the air force and enjoyed entertaining his fellow recruits with his vocal talents. At the war’s end, Thill returned to Paris, where an uncle urged him to audition for the Conservatory. With absolutely no training…and presenting pieces he had learned from Caruso 78s…Thill impressed the faculty enough to be accepted as a student. The young tenor spent two years at the Conservatory, where he learned the basics of music. Thill grew frustrated, however, when his singing technique failed to properly develop. Finally realizing that he had a significant talent that needed to be nurtured, he traveled to Naples in early 1921 and presented himself to legendary tenor, Fernando de Lucia. The veteran singer immediately recognized Thill’s gift and agreed to tutor him. The pair worked tirelessly for the next two years, with de Lucia giving Thill a comprehensive vocal education. Throughout his career, Thill gave full credit to de Lucia for molding him into a great artist. A recommendation to perfume magnate and opera benefactor Jacques Rouché led to Thill’s audition at the Opéra de Paris. The young tenor was given a trial contract, making his debut on February 24, 1924 as Nicias in Thaïs. For the rest of the season, however, Thill was only given tiny roles such as Borsa in Rigoletto, the Messenger in Aïda and the Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte. It wasn’t until September of that year that Thill again sang a principal role, the Duke in Rigoletto. Following this “second debut”, the tenor enjoyed a long and satisfying tenure with the Opéra, spending two decades on its stage. Although other important theatres enjoyed Thill’s appearances, Opéra de Paris remained his artistic home for most of his career. In 1928 Thill debuted at the Opéra-Comique as Don José in Carmen. The same year, he became the first French singer to appear at the Arena di Verona, when he sang Calaf in Turandot. Calaf served as the role for his Teatro Colón and La Scala debuts, in 1929 and 1930, respectively. Important debuts at Covent Garden, Staatsoper Wien and La Scala followed, with Thill making his U.S. debut with the Metropolitan Opera as Roméo on March 20, 1931. Although he received favorable reviews and was received warmly by the public (especially young women, who sent hundreds of letters to him!), Thill simply didn’t enjoy New York and left after just a single season. In June 1934, Thill was involved in a devastating auto accident. While trying to avoid a cyclist, the tenor lost control of his car and struck a tree. He fractured his femur and wrist and received other serious injuries. Thill spent several months recuperating but was back at work by year’s end. The tenor also took advantage of the motion picture medium, making several popular films during the 1930s. His radio appearances, as well as his recordings, were quite popular, and he was a noted recitalist. By the time Thill reached his late 40s, his voice was in decline. He cancelled many appearances, giving his final stage performance as Canio at the Opéra-Comique in 1953. Thill continued giving recitals for a few more years, culminating in an all Wagner concert in Paris on March 25, 1956. Following this appearance, the 58 year old tenor retired from singing. His remaining years were spent teaching young singers, giving masterclasses and speaking his mind about the declining state of opera in the latter half of the 20th century. Georges Thill passed away in Draguignan on October 17, 1984, in his 87th year. Georges Thill was a versatile tenor with over 50 roles to his credit, including the leads in Werther, Alceste, Manon, Faust, Hérodiade, Lakmé, Damnation de Faust, Mefistofele, Samson et Dalila, Tosca, Andrea Chénier, Don Carlo, Sadko, Le Prophète, Die Meistersinger, and Lohengrin. Thill’s was essentially a lirico-spinto instrument, which he used with great nuance and artistry. By his own admission, however, his career was probably shortened by the assumption of strenuous roles that simply didn’t suit his voice, such as Arnold in Guillaume Tell, Raoul in Les Huguenots, Radames in Aïda, and the title roles in Parsifal and Tannhäuser. Luckily, his many recordings, made for Columbia between 1927 and 1947, capture the tenor in his prime. Here, Thill joins Germaine Féraldy for the final scene from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. This epic performance was recorded on four discs (the last of which is badly warped!) for the Columbia label in Paris from December 6-9, 1929.