Plus blanche que la blanche hermine

Kurt Baum was what is best known as a "house tenor." He was not an international star; those illustrious and often beautiful creatures who come and go. Rather he was a fixture at the Metropolitan Opera—for 25 years! A man with a voice of steel, an extremely high and powerful top, and someone who was utterly reliable. It seems he never got sick. He could always be counted upon to turn in a good solid performance, usually in the most heroic and demanding of roles. To be frank, his was not a "pretty" voice, nor did he have movie star looks, by any means. He was more in the category of a singing actor, with an unusually high and powerful voice. He was nearly unique in that regard. Another such tenor does not come easily to mind. While he did not sing with stylistic elegance or innate beauty of tone, he did, to give credit where it is due, adhere to precise tempo and pitch, as this aria shows. He intones unexpected pitches and intervals so close in this aria that they verge on dissonance. It is a strange piece of music in that regard. It is also very high in spots, but that is no problem at all for a man who could a Db with seeming ease.