Search - Joseph Schmidt: My Song Goes 'Round the World on DVD

Joseph Schmidt's Golden Voice

Joseph Barba | Pollock Pines, CA USA | 06/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We are fortunate to have any movie of the spectacular German tenor Joseph Schmidt. Although diminutive in stature, he was vocally the peer of any tenor who ever lived, bar none. In "My Song Goes Round the World" we have a great voice trapped in a sentimental film about a little man who loves and loses the girl of his dreams. What matters here is the magnificence of Schmidt's voice, its timbre, range, effortless delivery, bel canto technique, and rare quality. No present-day tenor surpasses him, even with modern recording technology. To think that this tiny man with the great voice lost his life because of the madness of World War Two is tragic. Buy this DVD, along with his "A Star Fell from Heaven," not to nitpick about the story or to criticize the primitive production values, but to marvel at Joseph Schmidt's glorious vocal gift. He belongs with Bjorling, Caruso, and Gigli. Too bad his life ended before he was given the opportunity to mature fully or to claim the legacy that should have been his."

History Comes Alive

J. Nel | Brakpan, South-Africa | 07/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since I have been a child, my father had LP's with the music of Joseph Schmidt. I got hold of some 78's, among them "Ein Lied geht um die Welt" (unfortunately I had nothing to play it on); eventually I bought a CD with his music - and fell in love with it - for artistic, as well as nostalgic reasons. I read that he made movies - and searched the web in Germany for something of his - without success.
And then it happened, I read about the BelCantoSociety, went in on the internet and within a month, history came alive in my living room. The sound and visual quality shows the that the movie has been around for 70 years, but that, to me, is part of the charm. The whole concept is so different from what we are used to (a very simple storyline, merely as an excuse to make the star sing opera and popular songs alike); the presence of real acting, without computer assistance - and singing witch temps one to say "they don't make them like that anymore"... True, they do make excellent stuff today, perhaps better than this, but it is a unique addition to the collection of any music-, movie-, or movie-history-lover. Some of the finest roots of modern art and entertainment are to be found in this gem."