“The Marriage of Figaro”, for me, will forever be associated with “Non Piu Andrai”.
For a while I’ve been looking for the version of this song, gone through the likes of Bryn Terfel, Ruggero Raimondi, Hermann Prey and was decided in the end that I was fairly satisfied with Ildebrando d’Arcangelo and Erich Kunz’s versions. Yet, I couldn’t seem to find someone with a big voice – and yet a velvety finish to it. Yes, I do reserve the right to be picky when it comes to picking the ultimate version.
I’m now fairly sure I’ve found it. It’s just too bad that I don’t have a recording of this to share with you – but at the bottom of the post there’s a clip of him singing Don Giovanni.
Yngve Søberg (32) is a bass-baritone with a beautiful, rich middle range and quite a unique sound. I’ve been trying to compare him to someone ever since I first heard him sing the duet from “The Pearl Fishers”. I wondered about Robert Merrill – who was a big, rich Verdi baritone – but Merrill is higher with a more Italian sound. I was also onto Bryn Terfel, but he’s deeper and richer than Bryn. I was onto Dimitri Hvorostovsky in his younger days as well, which I think might be the closest. Don’t quote me on that, though, until I’ve heard more from him. In the end, although I hear elements of some of the aforementioned, I can’t really make a good, clean comparison to anyone – which is a good thing, really.
In the near future I could see him do Dr Bartolo in “The Barber of Seville”, Sagrestano in “Tosca”, Leporello in “Don Giovanni” or Méphistophélès in Gounod’s “Faust” – even though originally a bass, it’s often done by bass-baritones. In ten years’ time, I could see him doing Wagner, which is bass-baritone heaven for those lucky enough to have the voice, strength and dramatics to pull it off.
Considering Yngve Søberg is only 32 at present, and already has a voice that makes you gasp, I feel really excited about being there as he’s starting out – mainly because I think he’s going to be right up there in the future.
Have a listen:
Yngve A. Søberg – Madamina, il catalogo è questo (Don Giovanni)
M
June 4, 2011 at 8:07 am
Listening to Søbergs voice is a thrilling experience; the deep, big and rich voice has been dipped in a warm velvety softness. And he feels it when he sings.