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Who is this guy? Campbell Vertesi is an operatic bass, of the very low sort. His fach is sometimes called "Basso Profundo" - that's Italian for "he sings really low." Even lower than most basses, which is a bit frightening. He specializes in bass roles like Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), and Colline (La Bohème). This site chronicles Campbell's progress as he begins a career as a young opera singer. If you would like to know more, or wish to submit a complaint about any of the content posted here, please feel free to send him an email.
This page and all of it's contents are licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Tue, 2007-03-27 23:30
ahhhhh good point my friend!
But the role is often sung by a Mezzo. As with many Handel works, this one has been put on by so many various mixed forces that composer's intent in terms of voice type has all but disappeared for some of these roles. Cleopatra is reliably, always a coloratura soprano... but that's about as far as it goes. The rest of the roles can and often are played by mezzos.
If anyone happens to know what the original casting was like, I'd be interested to find out!
But, just because I'm a bass singing it, does that mean I should change the character? I don't think that I get that license as a performer...
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