Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Peter Cornelius, Albert Lortzing :: Famous Opera Arias

Great stuff from the german bass

03/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kurt Moll's voice is perhaps not as rich in texture and polish as some other famous post-war basses (Frick, Talvela, Ghiaurov). It is not crystal clear like the voice of f.i. Lazlo Polgar, the hungarian bass. It is rather veiled, velvety, "smoky" like old whiskey or something. "Black velvet" it is written in the liner notes, and that's a pretty accurate description. But Moll wields it with amazing ease and flexibility, and has a phenomenal breathing technique (listen to the arias from "The Entführung aus dem Serail") to go with it. He has no troubles with the profundo parts of either Osmins or Kaspars (Cornelius) arias, and offers very good versions of famous Wagner-stuff (Meistersinger, Fliegende Holländer). Clearly an intelligent and serious artist, Moll is absolutely worth listening to!"

Over 50 minutes from a great Bass

Petros Kalligas | Athens, Greece | 10/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kurt Moll is in my opinion the best bass I know. His voice has a clear articulation which makes his interpretation of a piece unique. I have heared many basses and with all of them, except Moll I had to have the libretto in-front of me to understand the words. With Moll I do not need to. In this CD he is marvelous and his interpretation unique. I particularly liked the German version of 'Madamina, il catalogo e questo' ('Schoene Donnia, hier ist genau der Register') on which I had some doubts due to the fact that it was in German; however Moll with his superb voice crushed all my doubts and makes me now like the German version more than the Italian! He is also very good in the two 'Der Freischutz' excerpts as well as in 'Der Meistersinger' and in 'The Barber of Bagdad'. The CD containing some less known pieces is an excellent introduction for a beginner and an absolute enjoyment for the professional; all from a really great Bass."