0:00:11 > 0:00:13We are now in a man's world -
0:00:13 > 0:00:16that of the baritone and the bass,
0:00:16 > 0:00:17and the bass-baritone.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24These are the authority figures, the politicians, the father figures.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26The villains, of course.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Baritones and basses have been a great gift to composers of opera,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39now creating a balance in the world previously run
0:00:39 > 0:00:40by tenors and sopranos.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46The greater warmth of the voices was also exploited in movies,
0:00:46 > 0:00:47and musical theatre.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53I'll be talking to some of the great singers of today,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55'working with them, in fact,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57'to find out some of the tricks of the trade.'
0:00:57 > 0:00:59- Sing a bit.- Get off!
0:00:59 > 0:01:01'How does the breathing work,'
0:01:01 > 0:01:03the body...the soul?
0:01:21 > 0:01:22COFFEE MACHINE HUMS
0:01:25 > 0:01:27In this programme, I'm going to be exploring
0:01:27 > 0:01:30the lowest male voice, in its three main registers.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37On the higher end of this vocal spectrum is the baritone,
0:01:37 > 0:01:42a manly, virile quality that is also warm and paternal.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:01:48 > 0:01:52On the other end is the bass, the rolling thunder,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55the grainy, chocolate-y colour.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57HE SINGS IN SLAVIC LANGUAGE
0:02:00 > 0:02:03And in between sits the fascinating combination of the two -
0:02:03 > 0:02:05the bass-baritone,
0:02:05 > 0:02:10having qualities of the baritone and the bass, as the name suggests.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13This voice is incredibly imposing,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16because it can go high, it can go low,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20and in the middle has a tremendous power and authority.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:02:33 > 0:02:35To sing these thunderous roles,
0:02:35 > 0:02:40the bass-baritone needs power, training and technique.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42He often portrays extreme emotions,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46somehow keeping his own in check.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Here's Bryn Terfel as the brutal Scarpia.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:03:03 > 0:03:07All the roles that you sing are very, very demanding,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09I mean Scarpia...
0:03:09 > 0:03:12If you're singing roles like Scarpia
0:03:12 > 0:03:14or Sweeney Todd, for instance,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18the misfits, the malcontents of our stage,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21then you do tend to really go into those characters,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25and I'm sure every other bass-baritone would say as well.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28And it can come back and bite you in the bum
0:03:28 > 0:03:35if you throw yourself too much into this demonic aspect of a portrayal,
0:03:35 > 0:03:36of acting on the stage.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39'Sometimes it's better just to take a step back,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44'not to dive too much into creating a persona on the stage.'
0:03:46 > 0:03:48# Who, sir? You, sir
0:03:48 > 0:03:50# No-one's in the chair Come on! Come on!
0:03:50 > 0:03:52# Sweeney's waiting!
0:03:52 > 0:03:54# I want you bleeders
0:03:54 > 0:03:56# You, sir! Anybody!
0:03:56 > 0:03:57# Gentlemen, now don't be shy!
0:03:57 > 0:04:00# Not one man, no... #
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Some people would call you also a crossover artist.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04Do you sing differently?
0:04:04 > 0:04:05No, not at all.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07I'd love to hear anybody call me crossover,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11because I would say to them that those people that sang
0:04:11 > 0:04:14these original musicals would have had no amplification at all,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17so they would have been trained,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19either operatically or, you know, trained vocally.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:04:42 > 0:04:46The term bass-baritone emerged in the late 19th century
0:04:46 > 0:04:49when Wagner demanded a higher kind of bass voice
0:04:49 > 0:04:52to sing his stentorian roles.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Bass-baritones can sing baritone parts, and vice versa.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59So let's meet one of the all-time great baritones,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03who could sing everything, and in a highly individual way.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07A well-known Italian opera and film star is visiting London.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10And here he is, Tito Gobbi.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:05:24 > 0:05:30Tito Gobbi made his debut in 1935 when he was just 22.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Over the next 44 years he built up an international reputation
0:05:33 > 0:05:35in almost 100 roles.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42He made feature films, he directed operas and he gave master classes.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:05:45 > 0:05:47When you're studying a role,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50which comes first, the music or the character?
0:05:51 > 0:05:54- I think I leave the music last.- Yes.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Because when...
0:05:59 > 0:06:01When you know the character of the personage,
0:06:01 > 0:06:05the musical interpretation will be much easier after that.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Here's Gobbi as Figaro, the irrepressible handyman and barber.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Little wonder that Gobbi's nickname was "the Acting Voice."
0:06:24 > 0:06:27HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:06:32 > 0:06:37Where did your father get this instinct for character?
0:06:37 > 0:06:40It has to be an obsession, it's a continuous search.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44He was always curious to find out,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47before the story, the plot of the opera starts,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49where was that character -
0:06:49 > 0:06:52where was he born, what had he done before, and what would he do after?
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Unless he died, of course, on stage!
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- Tito Gobbi- is- Baron Scarpia.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07One of his signature roles, he sang it nearly 1,000 times.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15You are truly in a story,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18you are in the theatre to watch a story.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22He gives you that narrative through every twitch,
0:07:22 > 0:07:27every colour in his voice, and every thrust.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Here, Scarpia looks forward to having his wicked way with Tosca,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36the opera's heroine.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:08:11 > 0:08:15He makes his voice ugly, dark, cutting.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17It's like a knife.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22He can sing beautifully, but only when the text asks him to.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24So it's not beauty for beauty's sake.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30This is the consummate singing actor.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:08:36 > 0:08:41He was always looking for the soul of the man within the character.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Because only if you get to that level,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47then you will do things which people will get passionate about -
0:08:47 > 0:08:50will suffer, cry, laugh.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Gobbi excelled in Verdi's multilayered
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Shakespearean characters.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05As Falstaff, here he is at the peak of his powers.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08He colours both voice and the acting,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12to convey an obese old man who thinks he's a slim young seducer.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:09:41 > 0:09:44This is fat singing now.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Now he'll go to skinny singing.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Gobbi, with just the raising of an eyebrow,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27can also portray the pathos of old age.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Falstaff is tragi-comic.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01We pity an old man ultimately disappointed with his life.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06The ghastly old codgers of early 19th century comic opera,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10on the other hand, deserve everything that life throws at them,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12and they're a gift for the comic singer.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18When you walk on the stage,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22I mean, I just start laughing before you even open your mouth.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24You have a repertoire...
0:11:24 > 0:11:28It's not the repertoire - it comes from the intention.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32It's the situation that makes the character comic.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Comic opera emerged as opera for the masses.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45Instead of kings and queens, we have more domestic situations,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49such as finding that a younger woman really isn't that keen.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And these ridiculously colourful characters
0:11:54 > 0:11:56need ridiculously colourful singing.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58HE SINGS RAPIDLY IN ITALIAN
0:12:08 > 0:12:11I've seen you perform so many times in the buffo repertoire,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13the comic repertoire,
0:12:13 > 0:12:18and it seems to me that rhythm, pronunciation, articulation,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20are the principal things.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24So how do you train your mouth, how do you train here,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26- and your throat, to go... - HE MUMBLES RAPIDLY
0:12:26 > 0:12:29..in the Barbiere di Siviglia, I can't even do it myself!
0:12:29 > 0:12:31You have to practise.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Sometimes I do this exercise -
0:12:34 > 0:12:38with my mouth, my teeth really closed,
0:12:38 > 0:12:44just to make my lips work, and my tongue work.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Like, Bartolo for example...
0:12:46 > 0:12:48HE SINGS QUICKLY IN ITALIAN
0:12:54 > 0:12:56The "R" is particularly difficult.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58HE SINGS RAPIDLY IN ITALIAN
0:13:05 > 0:13:09To negotiate such fast tongue-twisting show-pieces,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12the singer not only needs diamond-sharp diction,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14he has to get through it without passing out.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18A lot of the music in the comic operas
0:13:18 > 0:13:19is obviously quick and sparkling.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23That's why, also, the breath has to be very well-placed.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26But you can't stop - the music is always going, so...
0:13:26 > 0:13:29So you have to steal the breath.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31HE SINGS RAPIDLY IN ITALIAN
0:13:38 > 0:13:41If you keep stealing the air...
0:13:42 > 0:13:45..you reach a point where you cannot sing any more, yes?
0:13:45 > 0:13:50Exactly. If you're not used to breathing calmly,
0:13:50 > 0:13:51it doesn't work.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53HE SINGS RAPIDLY IN ITALIAN
0:14:04 > 0:14:07As Rossini was writing his crowd-pleasers,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11in Germany and Austria a new form of music was being born
0:14:11 > 0:14:14in which the sweet, higher register of the baritone
0:14:14 > 0:14:16could come into its own.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21BARITONE SINGS IN GERMAN, PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT
0:14:28 > 0:14:32In the late 18th century, the piano was revolutionizing music,
0:14:32 > 0:14:34so too the Romantic movement.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Lieder, or German song, combined these two elements.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Poems and folk tales were set to music
0:15:03 > 0:15:08and performed in the intimate setting of a home or salon.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10The German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
0:15:10 > 0:15:13made the art of Lieder his life's work.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18DIETRICH SPEAKS IN GERMAN:
0:15:40 > 0:15:43HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Fischer-Dieskau also sang opera,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55but his greatest legacy are his recordings of Lieder -
0:15:55 > 0:15:58almost 600 of Schubert's songs alone.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01These are benchmark interpretations,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05an encyclopaedia of how a baritone might sing, and express.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Fischer-Dieskau was a master of vocal control.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Singing softly is really more difficult than you think,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23because singing softly doesn't just mean to whisper
0:16:23 > 0:16:24and to pull the voice back,
0:16:24 > 0:16:30but it means that the soft sound must be a projected soft sound.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32HE SINGS SOFTLY IN GERMAN
0:16:50 > 0:16:54But, wait a minute, he, when necessary,
0:16:54 > 0:16:59could really clobber you over the head with a mighty sound.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01HE SINGS FORCEFULLY IN GERMAN
0:17:06 > 0:17:08What made Fischer-Dieskau so special
0:17:08 > 0:17:11was the way he could summon up a whole world
0:17:11 > 0:17:13from just notes and words on a page.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19It's almost impossible for a composer to put down on paper,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22in black and white, exactly what he wants.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Therefore I wouldn't hesitate to say that, in my opinion,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29he is a genius when it comes to interpretation,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32because I think he can see further into the mind
0:17:32 > 0:17:34of some of the composers that he sings
0:17:34 > 0:17:36than anyone I've ever worked with.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38He can read between the lines.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46This Schubert song tells of an encounter
0:17:46 > 0:17:49by a father and son with the evil Erlking,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51that only the boy can see.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Fischer-Dieskau acts four separate characters,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57using just the colour of his voice,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00starting with the narrator.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02SINGING IN GERMAN:
0:18:30 > 0:18:32First colour change now.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39Now from father, to son.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54And back to father.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02The beguiling Erlking.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Fischer-Dieskau had a remarkable quality,
0:19:20 > 0:19:25in that he could reinvent himself on the spot,
0:19:25 > 0:19:30forming a myriad colours in the voice,
0:19:30 > 0:19:31but also as an actor.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Did you see the variety in his face?
0:19:35 > 0:19:36SINGING IN GERMAN:
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Taking Lieder from the salon to a cavernous concert hall
0:20:46 > 0:20:49presents a considerable challenge for any baritone,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52even more so if he's singing Mahler,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54who, at the end of the 19th century,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58arranged his highly personal songs for a full symphony orchestra.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Here's the Bavarian baritone Christian Gerhaher
0:21:05 > 0:21:07singing a song from one of Mahler's great cycles.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Intimacy can't be sold.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16You can't go on stage and say, "I am very intimate",
0:21:16 > 0:21:20or something like that, with a big gesture.
0:21:22 > 0:21:28It must remain inside itself a little bit, yes.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35SINGING IN GERMAN:
0:22:03 > 0:22:09In German, the main role is the right colourisation of the vowels.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Every "E" is different, every "A" is different, every "Ah" is different.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16SINGING IN GERMAN:
0:22:30 > 0:22:35Only then, when the authentic colour of vowel is delivered,
0:22:35 > 0:22:40you can start to colour the voice, in order to make some interpretation.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47That means, I am singing the normal vowel "Ah",
0:22:47 > 0:22:50but I can sing it very bright - LIGHTLY: # Ah. # -
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and I can sing it very dark - DEEPLY: # Ah. # -
0:22:53 > 0:22:54and it's the same vowel.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56SINGING IN GERMAN:
0:23:22 > 0:23:26You deliver maybe in the end a kind of coffee,
0:23:26 > 0:23:31because the water goes through the coffee but it has no grains,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34and it is coloured - it is coloured by your own personality,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36what you're delivering,
0:23:36 > 0:23:42but in terms of colour, bringing a kind of enlightenment to singing.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44SINGING IN GERMAN:
0:23:57 > 0:24:03South of the Alps, in the mid-1800s, the Verdi baritone is invited
0:24:03 > 0:24:06to take all the subtle colouring demanded by Lieder
0:24:06 > 0:24:09and use it in the service of full-blown drama.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Verdi was to push the baritone voice to new extremes.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17His baritones had to sing several notes higher,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19and with greater thrust.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25This new top of the range made the baritone even more expressive.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33But, what is it that he demands from his baritones?
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Well, first of all,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38the sheer size of the voice has to be imposing.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43It has to make its effect directly and right at the outset.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:24:51 > 0:24:54The singer must also be able to declaim -
0:24:54 > 0:24:58to act through the words, and to hurl those words
0:24:58 > 0:25:00into the theatre,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03so projection is incredibly important.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Ettore Bastianini was the quintessential Verdi baritone.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21He had the most incredibly exciting high notes -
0:25:21 > 0:25:23he could go higher and higher and higher,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26seemingly endless for a baritone.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Bastianini was the archetypal Italian alpha male.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Born in Tuscany, he had good looks,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50he had charisma and he loved fast cars...
0:25:50 > 0:25:51and women.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56In the 1950s, so commanding was his voice
0:25:56 > 0:25:59that he could hold his own on stage with star sopranos,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01such as Maria Callas,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03and give the tenors a run for their money.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11The richness of that sound, the warmth of that sound,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15the strength of that sound, the masculinity of that sound
0:26:15 > 0:26:20now gave the tenor competition.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:26:39 > 0:26:42That's the distinctive colour of the Verdi baritone.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Warm but with a core of steel,
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Bastianini's voice cuts through the orchestra.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:27:49 > 0:27:53His acting is perhaps more traditional,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57less detailed than a Gobbi,
0:27:57 > 0:28:03but the compensation is this quality of sound -
0:28:03 > 0:28:06burnished, masculine.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09My, I wish Verdi could have heard him.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:28:41 > 0:28:44While the baritone is the most common male voice,
0:28:44 > 0:28:46the bass is rare.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51It's been a gift to composers ever since opera began,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53a vital colour in the musical palette.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59The bass voice is a sound that somehow affects us deeply...
0:28:59 > 0:29:00and it's meant to.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05The bass voice is instantly recognisable.
0:29:06 > 0:29:12It is most often the voice of evil in the operatic world,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16but it is also the voice of the father figure.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18So you have this...
0:29:20 > 0:29:26..dichotomy of menace and warmth,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28evil and pathos,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32and composers have played with these two colours,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34if you like, for centuries.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40HE SINGS IN FRENCH
0:29:42 > 0:29:46If we're talking menace, look no further than Mephistopheles,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49the personification of evil, and temptation,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51sung here by Nicolai Ghiaurov.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55SINGING IN FRENCH:
0:30:01 > 0:30:05Moving a big voice like this is not so easy!
0:30:05 > 0:30:07HE SINGS IN FRENCH:
0:30:31 > 0:30:36The bass voice is very rarely put in the romantic situation.
0:30:36 > 0:30:41Are basses not inclined to romantic experiences?
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Yes, they are, but...
0:30:43 > 0:30:49So the idea of a certain power, commanding energy,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52is very often given to the bass voice.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:31:16 > 0:31:21The low notes of the bass, it's like sitting back in an armchair,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23and being totally relaxed
0:31:23 > 0:31:28and hope that that sound will be like the wonderful bass note
0:31:28 > 0:31:31from an organ pipe or a beautiful cello.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:32:00 > 0:32:03The vibration of the low notes
0:32:03 > 0:32:08would not have the thrill of the tenor singing his highest note.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13It has a wonderful satisfaction, a comfort, an ease,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16but it's a different thrill,
0:32:16 > 0:32:21because the vibrations are much slower with the low notes.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24# Wondrous
0:32:24 > 0:32:26# Wondrous
0:32:27 > 0:32:29# Wondrous
0:32:30 > 0:32:34# Wondrous machine... #
0:32:34 > 0:32:37To sing you need strong muscles in the lower stomach
0:32:37 > 0:32:40and a flexible diaphragm.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43These give you the physical support that the voice needs,
0:32:43 > 0:32:44and especially for a bass.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46# Must be forced, must be forced
0:32:46 > 0:32:47# Must be forced to yield
0:32:47 > 0:32:48# Must be forced, must be forced
0:32:48 > 0:32:50# Must be forced to yield... #
0:32:50 > 0:32:55You know, with singing, the basic, as we say, "support", from here,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58the work done below this level
0:32:58 > 0:33:00has always got to be quite intense.
0:33:00 > 0:33:01It's always working very hard.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05That's where the control comes from, that's where the power comes from,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07that's where the flow of air, that goes over the vocal cords...
0:33:07 > 0:33:09Can I see? Sing a bit.
0:33:09 > 0:33:10Get off!
0:33:10 > 0:33:12No, sing a bit, let me hear.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Well, breathing in, all this works - the abdominals and the diaphragm.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19- Yeah, but sing. - And then when you start singing...
0:33:19 > 0:33:21HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:33:25 > 0:33:29So there's like a counterweight underpinning the sound.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Yes, this is absolutely crucial to the control and power.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35If you're just sort of breathing...
0:33:35 > 0:33:37HE INHALES AND EXHALES RAPIDLY
0:33:37 > 0:33:40HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:33:40 > 0:33:43..the sounds comes out a bit like that.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Wagner's five-hour epics stretch the bass voice to the limit,
0:33:46 > 0:33:51demanding granitic tone, stamina, and the ability, of course,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54to project your voice over a huge orchestra.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56HE SINGS IN GERMAN
0:34:07 > 0:34:10HE CONTINUES SINGING IN GERMAN
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Wow, that's all one note
0:34:20 > 0:34:24and yet it has a power.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28You were projecting that voice
0:34:28 > 0:34:30and I could just sense it was going out
0:34:30 > 0:34:31to the back wall of the theatre.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34We don't have microphones in the opera house and...
0:34:34 > 0:34:37# So every phrase that we sing
0:34:37 > 0:34:39# Has to be projected... #
0:34:39 > 0:34:42..and that is a natural thing,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44as a bird would sing.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48# Except the path
0:34:48 > 0:34:55# That leads to the world outside... #
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Bird or beast, modern or classic,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02all bass repertoire draws on the same core techniques.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05The Minotaur was a role written specially for John Tomlinson
0:35:05 > 0:35:07in 2008.
0:35:07 > 0:35:14# In dreams I seem to remember
0:35:15 > 0:35:23# Sunlight glossing the sea... #
0:35:23 > 0:35:27Diction by itself is dry.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30The text is to be used, not just to be...
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- ENUNCIATING RIGIDLY:- ..enunciated correctly at all times...
0:35:33 > 0:35:37- ENUNCIATING EXPRESSIVELY:- ..it has to be enunciated and used,
0:35:37 > 0:35:42and the words have to be expressed and be vivid.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44SINGING IN RUSSIAN:
0:36:02 > 0:36:05I think you just broke the microphone, John!
0:36:07 > 0:36:11Oh, yes, Russian's important for the bass voice, of course.
0:36:11 > 0:36:12Of course it is.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17There's a wonderful depth. I think for the bass voice it's fantastic.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19OKTAVIST SINGS IN SLAVIC LANGUAGE
0:36:28 > 0:36:33Russia, more than any other country, is the spiritual home of the bass.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38The shudderingly low tones of the basso profondo -
0:36:38 > 0:36:40the very deep bass -
0:36:40 > 0:36:42resonate throughout Russian music,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45a crucial part of its cultural identity.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50The most extreme and astonishing evidence
0:36:50 > 0:36:54of Russia's affinity with the bass is that of the oktavists,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58so called because they sing a whole octave below
0:36:58 > 0:37:00the normal bass register.
0:37:00 > 0:37:01Now, that's low.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03CHOIR SINGS IN SLAVIC LANGUAGE
0:37:15 > 0:37:19The oktavist has the lowest singing voice there is.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Russian cathedrals didn't have organs,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26so this deep bass voice sang the very lowest notes instead.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40Vladimir Miller is one of the very few living oktavists.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50I must say this is the first time I've heard a singer
0:37:50 > 0:37:54with this extraordinary low range.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58When did you discover these low notes?
0:37:58 > 0:38:00IN RUSSIAN:
0:38:09 > 0:38:13IN DEEP VOICE:
0:38:13 > 0:38:16But there is metal in that sound.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18And I tell you that from the back of the church,
0:38:18 > 0:38:20it was exactly the same as from the front.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23The projection was remarkable.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25IN RUSSIAN:
0:38:40 > 0:38:43HE SINGS IN SLAVIC LANGUAGE
0:38:45 > 0:38:47IN DEEP RUSSIAN VOICE:
0:39:02 > 0:39:04HE SINGS IN SLAVIC LANGUAGE
0:39:07 > 0:39:12The oktavist sound is almost only ever heard in church,
0:39:12 > 0:39:16but Russian operatic basses also have a distinctive character.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18MAN SINGS IN RUSSIAN
0:39:28 > 0:39:30This is the Song Of The Volga Boatmen,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33sung by one of the greatest opera stars of the 20th century -
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Feodor Chaliapin.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44Chaliapin was in every way a presence.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46In Italian we say a "personaggio."
0:39:46 > 0:39:50He was entertaining and terrifying.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52But what about his voice?
0:39:52 > 0:39:57Well, the legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein said this -
0:39:57 > 0:40:00that "Chaliapin had a unique quality.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04"Powerful and caressing, soft as a baritone's
0:40:04 > 0:40:06"and flexible as a tenor's.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09"It sounded as natural as a speaking voice."
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Chaliapin was born in 1873 of a peasant family,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26and I think you can hear that in his voice -
0:40:26 > 0:40:29there is something of the landscape,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32a yearning and a melancholy that is Russian through and through.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36MUSIC: Farewell, Prayer And Death by Feodor Chaliapin
0:41:05 > 0:41:10There's a force of nature there that I think is
0:41:10 > 0:41:14perhaps the essence of every great artist.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16BORIS CHRISTOFF SINGS IN RUSSIAN
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Chaliapin established a template for singing in Russian.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32This is the Bulgarian Boris Christoff.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37What unites the two singers is this distinctive Slavic sound.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52We tend to think of the Slavic sound being deep, dark,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56but it has also something to do with the way the language brings
0:41:56 > 0:42:00so many of the sounds back into the throat.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02HE SINGS IN RUSSIAN
0:42:09 > 0:42:13So "oorr-oorr", like almost a swallowed sound,
0:42:13 > 0:42:20but how right it sounds when somebody like Boris Christoff
0:42:20 > 0:42:23sings quintessentially Russian music.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28SINGING IN RUSSIAN:
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Mussorgsky gives the dying Boris Godunov
0:43:24 > 0:43:26a moving paternal moment with his son.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Through the music in opera,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38a composer can uncover the vulnerable, self-doubting side
0:43:38 > 0:43:40of such authority figures.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47This is Philip II of Spain,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50the most powerful man on Earth in the 16th century,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52reflecting on his old age
0:43:52 > 0:43:56and the realisation that his young wife doesn't love him.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00The Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto
0:44:00 > 0:44:03has shaped this role for over 35 years.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10The introduction of the cello starts.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13The voice of the cello and the voice of the bass
0:44:13 > 0:44:15are one unique thing,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18with this natural vibrato that the cello has,
0:44:18 > 0:44:20which should be also in the voice.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:44:50 > 0:44:55'We have the chance to see a human side of King Philip.'
0:44:55 > 0:45:02The risk is to get too much involved emotionally in this.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06And in every single moment, in every single bar,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10you need to have this control of yourself.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13'These beautiful, long phrases,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16'where you have to be very careful in the breath.'
0:45:16 > 0:45:19SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:45:51 > 0:45:54'We have in Italian what we call "linea di canto",
0:45:54 > 0:45:56'the line of singing,'
0:45:56 > 0:46:01which is the distribution of breath, intention,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04from A to Z during a phrase.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:46:24 > 0:46:28'The wave of sound should be controlled
0:46:28 > 0:46:32'in order to arrive to Z healthy, not...
0:46:32 > 0:46:34HE PANTS ..like that, you know?!
0:46:34 > 0:46:39And doing that, you give Philip the sadness,
0:46:39 > 0:46:44the disappointment, the disillusion, all these parts.
0:46:44 > 0:46:45SINGING IN ITALIAN:
0:47:00 > 0:47:03'Every time, you can find something that you never thought before -'
0:47:03 > 0:47:07inflections that you can find in the voice, the colours,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11every time there is some discovery.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Therefore I think that it will be never finished.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34It was unforgettable conducting him in that aria.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37We don't tend to think of a voice like that
0:47:37 > 0:47:39as an instrument for popular music.
0:47:39 > 0:47:4220TH CENTURY FOX THEME SONG PLAYS
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Oh, but wait!
0:47:50 > 0:47:52From when it first started,
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Hollywood had lured great opera stars to appear in the movies.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59Some became just as celebrated on screen as on stage.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04His starring role in Tonight We Sing wins Ezio Pinza immortality
0:48:04 > 0:48:07in the cement of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10The Italian bass Ezio Pinza became a Hollywood star
0:48:10 > 0:48:12when he was almost 60.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27Pinza had established his career in Italy
0:48:27 > 0:48:29and then was one of the biggest names
0:48:29 > 0:48:33at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for 20 years.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36He sang all the classic bass roles,
0:48:36 > 0:48:38but one role was to change everything.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43It wasn't until Mozart's Don Giovanni
0:48:43 > 0:48:46that his career sky-rocketed,
0:48:46 > 0:48:49and that's quite unusual, because the role of Don Giovanni
0:48:49 > 0:48:51is written for a baritone, not a bass.
0:48:51 > 0:48:57It's quite high, but he had tremendous flexibility in his voice.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:49:17 > 0:49:21He had an ability also to bring it way down, to get quiet,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24making him the ideal seducer.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26HE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:49:32 > 0:49:34SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:49:39 > 0:49:41THEY SING IN ITALIAN
0:49:51 > 0:49:57He was also a natural theatre beast, someone who had charisma to burn,
0:49:57 > 0:50:01but despite the glories of his operatic career,
0:50:01 > 0:50:05Ezio Pinza is perhaps best known today for having sung one number,
0:50:05 > 0:50:07one number in particular.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09It was especially written for him
0:50:09 > 0:50:11and it wasn't an operatic aria at all,
0:50:11 > 0:50:15but a song from a musical - South Pacific.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19# Across a crowded room
0:50:19 > 0:50:21# And somehow you know... #
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Rodgers and Hammerstein gave Pinza a gift of a song.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27# You know even then... #
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Some Enchanted Evening is one of the most popular
0:50:29 > 0:50:32and recorded show tunes ever,
0:50:32 > 0:50:37and every nuance, every phrase, was designed for Ezio Pinza's voice.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39# Some enchanted evening... #
0:50:39 > 0:50:41And what an accent!
0:50:41 > 0:50:46# Someone may be laughing
0:50:46 > 0:50:49# You may hear her laughing
0:50:49 > 0:50:53# Across a crowded room
0:50:53 > 0:50:57# And night after night
0:50:57 > 0:51:02# As strange as it seems
0:51:02 > 0:51:05# The sound of her laughter
0:51:05 > 0:51:12# Will sing in your dreams... #
0:51:12 > 0:51:15All the elements of his operatic voice are there -
0:51:15 > 0:51:21the legato, the beautiful, perfect singing, the diction.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24It's honey in voice.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27# Or all through your life
0:51:27 > 0:51:30# You may dream
0:51:30 > 0:51:36# All alone... #
0:51:36 > 0:51:40The bass voice can be commanding, even ominous,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43but Pinza proves that it can also be caressing.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47# Once you have found her
0:51:47 > 0:51:53# Never let her
0:51:53 > 0:51:59# Go. #
0:51:59 > 0:52:02CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:52:08 > 0:52:11We've seen the bass voice as entertainer,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14as the voice of authority,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17as the voice to celebrate God -
0:52:17 > 0:52:20but there was one singer who did all these things,
0:52:20 > 0:52:27and his voice, speaking and singing, made him famous.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30He also used it as a weapon of change.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35His name, of course, was Paul Robeson.
0:52:35 > 0:52:40# Oh, rockin' chair got me
0:52:40 > 0:52:44# Cane by my side... #
0:52:44 > 0:52:47'I sing where I speak.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50'I'm not an opera singer that reaches for the notes, going up there
0:52:50 > 0:52:51'and all around.'
0:52:51 > 0:52:53So if I say, "Waterboy, where're you hiding?
0:52:53 > 0:52:56"If you don't come, I'm gonna to tell your daddy",
0:52:56 > 0:52:57then I sing it to you.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01# Waterboy, where're you hiding?
0:53:01 > 0:53:06# If you don't come, I'm gonna tell your daddy... #
0:53:06 > 0:53:13# My rockin' chair... #
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Paul Robeson's voice made a huge impact,
0:53:19 > 0:53:24but it was not about high notes, it was about stature
0:53:24 > 0:53:26and dignity and strength.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30He was a big man, in fact he was a star athlete,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33an American football player.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35Somehow when you listen to his voice,
0:53:35 > 0:53:36all those things come together -
0:53:36 > 0:53:42that rolling bass voice, that manliness,
0:53:42 > 0:53:44that honesty.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46# Ol' man river
0:53:46 > 0:53:49# That ol' man river
0:53:49 > 0:53:52# He must know somethin'
0:53:52 > 0:53:55# But don't say nothin'
0:53:55 > 0:53:58# He just keeps rollin'
0:53:58 > 0:54:03# He keeps on rollin' along... #
0:54:03 > 0:54:07Robeson was already an admired actor in straight theatre,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10when, in 1928, he landed the role of Joe
0:54:10 > 0:54:14in the stage version of the musical, Showboat.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Ol' Man River made him a household name.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19# But ol' man river
0:54:19 > 0:54:25# He just keeps rollin' along... #
0:54:25 > 0:54:30His singing is not overly emotional, it's not sentimental at all.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35It retains a certain distance, magnificence,
0:54:35 > 0:54:36majesty, even.
0:54:39 > 0:54:44Robeson didn't just entertain, his was a voice of defiance.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47He changed the words of his signature song
0:54:47 > 0:54:50into a clarion call for social change.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54# But I keeps laughin'
0:54:54 > 0:54:58# Instead of cryin'
0:54:58 > 0:55:01# I must keep fightin'
0:55:01 > 0:55:05# Until I'm dyin'... #
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Paul Robeson spent his life fighting,
0:55:07 > 0:55:13putting his voice at the service of the struggle for civil rights.
0:55:13 > 0:55:21# Rollin' along. #
0:55:21 > 0:55:23CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Modestly, I've struggled for the rights of my folk,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28and I have accepted many personal insults.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31But when the insult becomes an insult to my people as a whole,
0:55:31 > 0:55:32then there's danger.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36HE SINGS IN RUSSIAN
0:55:38 > 0:55:42Robeson didn't flinch from danger, he courted it.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44His often-stated support for the Soviet Union
0:55:44 > 0:55:48put him on a collision course with America's Cold War warriors.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58'I'm a believer in socialism.'
0:55:58 > 0:56:01I believe that the socialist lands, in the sense of the Soviet Union,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04China, and the people's democracies, are the hope -
0:56:04 > 0:56:06can I repeat it? -
0:56:06 > 0:56:07the hope of the future.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11SINGING IN RUSSIAN:
0:56:23 > 0:56:28This is a singer who's as famous for his speaking voice
0:56:28 > 0:56:30as for his singing voice,
0:56:30 > 0:56:32and I think that says a lot.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34When he sang, there was a directness,
0:56:34 > 0:56:36as if he were speaking to you.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Of the 24 films he made, Robeson thought this one
0:56:41 > 0:56:47made in Wales was his most significant achievement.
0:56:47 > 0:56:48One, two, three, four, one!
0:56:48 > 0:56:53# Lord God of Abraham
0:56:53 > 0:56:57# Isaac and Israel
0:56:57 > 0:57:01# This day, let it be known... #
0:57:01 > 0:57:04- Here, steady, mate, steady. - # Thou art God
0:57:04 > 0:57:08# And that I am thy servant... #
0:57:08 > 0:57:11The Proud Valley tells the story of David -
0:57:11 > 0:57:16a drifter taken into the hearts of a poor Welsh mining community,
0:57:16 > 0:57:19not only as a fellow worker, not only as a fine singer,
0:57:19 > 0:57:21but as an equal.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Now listen, lads. Dave here is more than a good singer,
0:57:24 > 0:57:26he's as good a butty as ever worked down a pit with me.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29Aye, and he's a decent chap into the bargain.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31Here's Seth talking about him being black.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34Why, damn and blast it, man, aren't we all black down that pit?
0:57:34 > 0:57:36- LAUGHTER - Aye, take a look at yourselves!
0:57:36 > 0:57:39This fella's as good a pal as any of you!
0:57:39 > 0:57:42Come on, David, man, give them a lead!
0:57:42 > 0:57:47# Back to work with no repining
0:57:47 > 0:57:52# All through the night
0:57:52 > 0:57:58# Overhead the stars are shining
0:57:58 > 0:58:01# All through the night... #
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Basses, baritones, bass-baritones,
0:58:12 > 0:58:16sopranos, tenors, mezzo-sopranos, contraltos,
0:58:16 > 0:58:19it's been a revelation for me to see and marvel
0:58:19 > 0:58:21at some of the wonderful archive,
0:58:21 > 0:58:25and to meet and swap notes with their successors today.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28I just wish I could have included more!
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Each generation of singers brings new glory to the works of the past
0:58:34 > 0:58:36and keeps them alive.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39Each generation creates new roles
0:58:39 > 0:58:42that contemporary composers have been inspired to fashion
0:58:42 > 0:58:43specially for them.
0:58:46 > 0:58:50Music can paint the world, and make us see it and us
0:58:50 > 0:58:53through a different prism, in new colours.
0:58:53 > 0:58:55This is what the very greatest singers
0:58:55 > 0:58:58have helped us to do and continue to do.
0:59:00 > 0:59:04MUSIC: The Barber Of Seville Act One by Tito Gobbi and Maria Callas