Jon Vickers - another one who seems to be singing only for himself (the way von Karajan seems to conduct only for himself). Sing out, darn you! For me, the best tenors come from the zarzuela tradition where if you want to sing lead, you have to sing baritone. Their tone is just so full! Germans sound like bright, brass instruments, which works maybe for Heldentenor, but I love that rich, rich sound coming from Domingo, Carreras, and Krauss. Listening to Fidelio, I start thinking how odd it is for an opera. It has spoken lines. It has serious themes (Beethoven was sooo idealistic) but we've got a woman dressed as a man who has another woman fall in love with her, an over-the-top villain, a joyous ending. What is this? And then I was reading a libretto (either in this set or the other one) and it said there is broke all the rules. Favorite bits: the prisoners' chorus "Die freie Luft." So beautiful.

The tenor annoyed me here too.