Nicolai Gedda Concert in Moscow, October 6, 1980 (Live) (Japan CD)

首度CD發行, 日本制碟
 瑞典男高音(1925~2017)演唱會紀實(1980/10/6)
 與前蘇聯廣電合唱團聯手，精彩演繹廿首，包括一唱成名的經典詠嘆調(T#17，選自比才歌劇<採珠女>丶俄羅斯傳統民歌、柴可夫斯基/拉赫曼尼諾夫: 浪漫曲…
 俄羅斯源音母帶無壓縮輸出、低音染，原味十足

From a very first step of his singing career, Nicolai Gedda’s unique combination of a beautiful voice, perfect schooling and unrivalled versatility have assured him a place of honour among the tenors of past and present. For nearly thirty years already, opera and concert audiences, as well as millions of records fans, have been thrilled by his superb art.

Born in 1925 in Stockholm in the family of the Russian choir-master M.Ustinov, he spent his childhood in Leipzig, where at the age of five he started singing in the Russian Orthodox Church choir directed by his father. Back in Stockholm, his parents could not afford paying for professional singing lessons and Nicolai had to take a bank job. During his military service Gedda often treated his comrades to popular songs and arias.

Discharged, he could not even dream of a professional singing career, in spite of his magnificent voice, perfect pitch and an ardent love of music, if it were not for a chance encounter. A friend of his, a musician of the Stockholm Opera, introduced him to the prominent singer and teacher Karl Ehmann, who was delighted by the promising young man. His studies with K. Ehmann started in 1949, and a few months later Gedda won a Christina Nielssen Fellowship and became a student of the opera school of the Stockholm Academy of Music. From then on, Nicolai Gedda completely devoted himself to music. Already during his opera school years his unique combination of a good voice and acting ability were noticed and in early 1952, the Stockholm Royal Opera invited him to sing the leading part in Adam’ s «Le Postillon de Longjumeau» whose new production was then being prepared.

His debut on April 8, 1952 brought him instant fame: only a month later he signed a contract with EMI for a Paris recording as the Impostor in M. Mussorgsky’s «Boris Godunov» (conducted by I. Dobrowen), in a duo with Boris Christov. The following year saw Gedda in La Scala as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s «Don Giovanni» conducted by Herbert von Karajan, in the premiere of K. Orff «Triumphs» and on records, including Bach’ s Mass in B Minor conducted by Herbert von Karajan. In 1954 Gedda made his debuts in Europe’s three major operatic centres: in the Paris Grand Opera (Hüon in Weber’s «Oberon»), in the London Covent Garden (The Duke in «Rigoletto») and in Vienna (Jose in G. Bizet’ s «Carmen» conducted by Herbert von Karajan). Since 1957 the singer has been a familiar figure in the New York Metropolitan Opera and at Salzburg Festivals.

Gedda has his own warm and intimate style of singing of Russian and Italian songs. Also congenial to classical operetta, he is one of the best performers of popular tunes from J. Strauss, F. Lehar, I. Kalman, F. von Suppe, K. Millöcker and R. Stolz. And last but not least Gedda has saved from obscurity many forgotten works such as J. J. Rousseau’ s «Le devin du village» and is a champion of modern music — in addition to the K. Orff «Triumphs» premiere, he took part in the premiere and the recording of S. Barber’s «Vanessa» conducted by D. Mitropoulos.

Gedda’s voice is unique. It is a dense and compact lyrical tenor with ideally aligned registers, unmarred by the «particolouration» sometimes found in even the best of singers. His vocal technique is superb, and in the mastery and ease with which he handles his high notes he is second to none. Early in his career Gedda consciously avoided parts difficult for a lyrical tenor, but, as his voice grew stronger over the years, he began taking on parts which had always been considered the privilege of dramatic tenors (Ioann in G. Meyerbeer’ s «Le Prophete» Manrico in G. Verdi’s «Il Trovatore», the lead part in R. Wagner’s «Lohengrin»).

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