Gigli: Non Ti Scordar Di Me

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
What sets Gigli apart from nearly all other 20th-century tenors? His singing is full of contrast. Such 19th-century holdovers as De Lucia varied dynamics, tone color, rhythm and, sometimes, notes. Most singers since at best have had or have created one sonority of individual character, at one dynamic level. Caruso and those who followed him mostly sang at full voice. Pavarotti and company do little varying of dynamics and seldom shade their tones, using the same color to express both happiness and sadness.

Gigli had many sonorities and two basic dynamic levels, loud and soft. Non ti scordar di me finds him in peak form and provides a key to some of his best art, making clear that it was based on chiaroscuro--the contrasting of tone colors, usually in response to words, and of soft passages with loud. He repeats the title song, singing it differently.

Gigli made extensive use of a vocal technique known as "covering," involving darkening the tone and modifying vowels, almost as if some were schwas (like the "uh" sounds in "America"). Early in the film he sings a song, "Mille cherubini in coro," "closed"; repeating it later, he covers so heavily that if you aren't sure to what the term refers, you'll know after hearing him do it.

For this film, one of Gigli's accompanists, composer Ernesto De Curtis, wrote "Non ti scordar di me" and "Addio bel sogno," while Alois Melichar fashioned Schubert's "Wiegenlied," into "Mille cherubini in coro." - Stefan Zucker







REVIEW
"Gigli is curiously moving and ingenuous. He sings in that unrivalled voice of his, mezza voce alternating with impassioned forte." -- Alan Blyth, reviewing in Opera:

"Gigli's personality comes across in a DVD titled Non ti scordar di me, distributed by Bel Canto Society. -- Joseph McLellan, reviewing in The Washington Post

Includes a 24-page booklet with an analysis of Gigli's singing by Stefan Zucker plus many rare photos. -- Bel Canto Society

Music critic Steve Cohen rated this film among the top videos of 1993 in The Philadelphia Jewish Times. -- The Philadelphia Jewish Times:

Songs, excerpts from Trovatore, Rigoletto, Africana, Mignon, Favorita, Marta, Elisir. Dialog filmed in English (not dubbed). -- Bel Canto Society

Audio Languages: English

Number of Discs: 1

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.