Search - Roberto Alagna :: Bel Canto: Arias by Bellini & Donizetti; Roberto Alagna

LOVELY RECITAL

GEORGE RANNIE | DENVER, COLORADO United States | 09/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own many recordings of tenor recitals. However, Roberto Algana's new Bel Canto disc has certainly gone to the top of my favorite list. I have listened to it many time having a very difficult time getting past selection number 17 (Tonio's aria from act two of the Daughter of the Regiment) without re-listening to that particular selection two or three times before moving on.
I feel that Roberto has got to be in his prime or at least very close to it. His singing on this album is just beautiful. There are so many high B's, high B flats,and high C's that he should be crowned the "king of the high notes"! Nevertheless, fabulously sung high notes are not the whole story on this recital. He has perfect control of his voice blending all registers just perfectly and interpreting each selection exquisitely. He even has a slight tear in his voice on the more emotional items recorded. There is power to spare as well as much tenderness.
I truly love this recital and only wish that he could record each opera represented therein in its entirety
If you love beautiful singing along with wonderful high notes, get this album."

Alagna's Bel Canto

M. A. Devirgilio | SAN PEDRO, California USA | 09/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is bonanza for the high notes freaks (like me). High C's, D-Flats and even a glorious
High D natural at the end of Roberto Devereux's " A the diro..". Besides those full voiced high notes, he
regales us with perfectly executed appoggiaturas, diminuendos, floating head tones, like the high D-flat
ending of "Un Ange.." from La favorite.
The range of tenorial platitudes covered by Alagna in this CD certainly could earn him the title
of "Primo Tenore Assolutto". Because, at least on record, he does justice to all of those titles enumerated
above. He may not erase memories of some of the competitors from the past, but certainly [...] no one
from the current tenor crop, can sing these selections better than him.
Throughout this CD, Alagna's voice is firm, full toned with a ring that makes him easily identifiable. His incursions into the heroic/spinto Tenor repertory are more than satisfying.
"Sfolgero divino raggio" is a good example, but this aria really belongs to Corelli. For those of you with short
memory, please listen to the live 1960 La Scala recording. Corelli's legato and beauty of tone are
unsurpassed. Alagna's phrasing is a little choppy here.
For some unexplained reason, Alagna's rendition seem to be lowered half tone; his ending
note is a high-C , not a D-Flat as Corelli's.
On the other extreme, his "Sogno soave.." is a good example of his versatility, since it is sung with the required
dynamics and soft tones.
The two arias from "L'Elisir", although satisfyingly sung, when compared with those form his first complete commercial
recording of this opera, show the price that he has paid for widening his repertory. That original Di Stefano like sweetness
has been replaced by a somewhat more metallic sound.
All the above been said, I highly recommend this album for those following Alagna's career, and of course for
the newbbies. Alagna must be commended for constantly stepping into the more demanding repertory..."

'Bel Canto' heroism and sweetness from Alagna

Joy Fleisig | New York, NY United States | 09/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Roberto Alagna, who has had his greatest triumphs in late 19th century French opera, and who is equally admired for his work in Verdi and Puccini, also has extensive stage experience in the bel canto repertory. He has now recorded 14 arias from operas by Bellini and Donizetti, in both Italian and French, familiar selections as well as his usual rarities. The music Alagna sings here was written for six different tenors, and he is obviously keenly aware of this. While he is at his best in sweet lyricism, he (mostly) rises to the challenge of singing some of the heaviest and dramatic arias in this repertory. He has one of the most beautiful tenor voices of our day, excellent musicianship, and the elegance and vocal flexibility this music demands. His high notes are glorious - Cs, C#s and even Ds are strong and nearly effortless, both in full voice and in 'historically correct' falsetto, as in 'Un ange, une femme inconnue'.However, what truly distinguishes Alagna here is not so much the beauty of his singing - although it is often very beautiful indeed - but the intensity, depth and precision of his vocal acting. The detail and level of his word painting is extraordinary. This is a very intelligent artist who has obviously thought very seriously about everything he sings here, and he explains his choices with his usual exuberance and good humor in his booklet essay. The only problem is that there are moments when I feel Alagna overuses the rougher, darker colors in his voice - one can be both heroic and bright-toned. The 'darkening' also muddies his otherwise perfect diction. This is most true in the aria from 'Poliuto', but it also a problem with 'Ange si pur', where I think a gentler approach, especially in the recitative, would have worked better. I suspect this would not be as bothersome in live performance as it is here - indeed, I have never noticed this problem with Alagna live, even singing repertory much heavier than this. For this reason, I suspect the problem is at least partially the recording engineers' fault.Still, Alagna does some thrilling singing in the 'Poliuto', and he might actually be able to handle Pollione on a complete recording or in a small theater. The 'Norma' aria also shows off his very impressive, almost baritonal middle and bottom voice. As a matter of fact, he sings all but the lightest material on the CD more 'heroically' than many bel canto tenors. This is most noticeable in his ringing account of 'Seul sur la terre', which I also think would be more effective on stage. The prison scene from 'Roberto Devereux' is also something I would like to see Alagna do live.The finest selection is the aria from 'Il Pirata', which Alagna himself considers to be the summation of all the demands of this recital. Culminating in a stunning high D, it has heroism, flexibility, sweetness, dynamic variety, and total commitment to character. Almost as fine is the tender, gentle melancholy of 'Sogno soave e casto' with it's beautifully spun vocal line. This sweetness continues in the 'La Sonnambula' and 'Puritani' scenes, where he is splendidly partnered by his wife Angela Gheorghiu, who shows herself to be a Major Soprano even in these brief appearances. As Nemorino is one of Alagna's signature roles, it is no surprise that his two arias from 'L'Elisir D'Amore' are so accomplished. 'Quanto e bella' is appropriately dreamy and innocent, very similar to the way he sang it at the Met in 1999. 'Una furtiva lagrima', equally fine, is a 'compromise' between the traditional version and the 'alternate' version he sang under Pido on the complete recording of the opera for Decca. Basically, he sings the original version's key but adds in the alternate's decorations to the second verse.Finally, Alagna concludes with two scenes from 'La Fille du Regiment'. After giving a sensitive account of Tonio's plea to the Marquise, he sings a jaw-dropping version of the infamous '9-high-C-aria', 'Ah, mes amis'. Not only does he nail all the high Cs (AND sing them legato!), but he has the genuine joy, charm, and elan that we used to get from Luciano Pavarotti. OK, he almost cracks an A before the final C, but that's picky. I think Alagna's decision to make Tonio a childish figure who grows up over the course of this aria is fascinating, but would probably work better in a live performance. Unfortunately, as I doubt that Alagna will actually do this role in an opera house, can we at least hope for a complete recording of the opera with him and Natalie Dessay?While I cannot be as effusive about conductor Evelino Pido as Alagna is, my opinion of him has gone up considerably since his somewhat foursquare conducting of the aforementioned complete 'L'Elisir D'Amore'. He is a bel canto specialist and he supervises lovely playing from the London Philharmonic as a whole and from instrumental solos. London Voices does their usual fine work in the choral segments, and the supporting singers are also excellent. In addition to Alagna's comments, the documentation also includes an essay on these bel canto works (briefly touching on Alagna's career) and summaries of the arias by John Steane, as well as full texts and translations. It is still a pity that, as with all of his EMI CDs, there isn't more detailed biographical and career information about Alagna and none at all about Pido. Alagna has said that he wants to continue singing bel canto roles because he wants to use them to balance the increasingly heavy repertory that he is taking on - they are 'medicine for the voice'. Based on this preview, I am eager to hear him do so. While 'Bel Canto' isn't quite the indispensible work of genius that Alagna's 'French Arias' CD is, it is a fine showcase for one of the great artists of our time."