The greatest tenor?

After the sad demise of Pavarotti, most opera lovers would probably rank Placido Domingo as the top living tenor. Me too.

BBC Music Magazine polled a panel of 16 critics a few months ago and Domingo outranked Pavarotti (and even Caruso) to take top spot.

But I’d be just as happy to queue to see an exciting younger talent who always thrills the house on his regular visits to Covent Garden – the Argentinian Marcelo Alvarez.

The top five tenors in the BBC Music poll were:

1. Domingo
2. Caruso
3. Pavarotti
4. Wunderlich
5. Bjorling

I hardly know the recordings of Wunderlich or Bjorling, so I must investigate: joy to come!


Gerry Smith