In my previous post, I described Gerald Finley as the world's greatest baritone, and I mean that. It's not a light task to ascribe 'greatest' to anything.
Okay, I can say - sing - that 'Manchester United are by far the greatest (football) team the world has ever seen' and I can say that Plácido Domingo is the world's greatest tenor (but I am sure he, being a Real Madrid fan, would disagree with the Manchester United claim). Perhaps I can state that Clement Attlee was the greatest British Prime Minister ever, but I am sure many people would disagree. Shakespeare was the greatest playwright - in the English language. The Bible is the greatest book written (but it's not a 'book', it's an anthology). After that I am struggling!
Even when I wrote that Gerry is the world's greatest baritone, I suspected that people would challenge this, especially fans of Bryn Terfel (okay, bass-baritone), Simon Keenlyside and Dimitri Hvorostovsky. Also fans of Thomas Quasthoff, but as he doesn't sing opera I am going to exclude him for the sake of my argument.
Both Bryn and Shirtless, living on farms in Wales, are well known for not wanting to be away from home for long periods, and like Gerald Finley, appear frequently in London (or at least in the case of Bryn, in Britain). Dima is a bit more inclined to travel but nevertheless is London-based and frequently appears. And Thomas Quasthoff is making many appearances in London throughout this season. He doesn't really support my argument, but can't be overlooked if we are talking great baritones.
I got to thinking - I don't think we appreciate the wealth of baritone talent so centred in Britain. If four of the world's top sopranos or four top tenors were so London (Britain) based, it would be remarked upon and seen as extraordinary. Of course, Gerry and Dima are merely British by choice, residence and naturalisation (Gerry is a graduate of a British University - as of course are Bryn and Shirtless).
I am no expert in baritones but I think that in twenty or thirty years (two or three in the case of Bryn) time, when these four great singers are nearing the end of their careers, we will look back at an unprecedented Golden Age of Baritones.
