Cielo e mar.ROLANDO VILLAZON The irrepressible Mexican tenor, who bears a more than passing resemblance to Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English comedian, actor and writer, famous for his title roles in the British television comedies Blackadder and Mr. Bean. (Mr. Bean), is perhaps the most lionized of the three prominent young tenors reviewed here who record for Universal Music--and rightly so. He is clearly the more fully formed artist--one who sings not only with technical assurance, but also dramatic insight, passion and generosity of spirit. Recorded in March 2007, this disc shows no obvious signs that six months later he would withdraw from all engagements for a period of vocal rest Vocal rest is the process of resting the vocal folds by not speaking or singing, which typically follows vocal disorders or viral infections which cause hoarseness in the voice, such as the common cold or influenza. The purpose of vocal rest is to hasten recovery time. . He returned to the stage to great acclaim last January in three performances each of Massenet's Manon and Werther for the Vienna State Opera The Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera), located in Vienna, Austria, is one of the most important opera companies in Europe and throughout the world. Until 1920 it was named the Vienna Court Opera (k.k. Hofoper). . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With this, his first solo CD for Deutsche Grammophon, Villazon embarked on a journey of musical treasure hunting treasure hunting Medical malpractice A popular term for a search for the 'needle in a haystack' by a plaintiff's pathologist-expert in a lawsuit for a 'missed'–ie, false negative pap smear that subsequently proved to have cancer . "I did lots of research, and found lots of pieces," he said. "If my heart beat faster and my skin prickled, then I chose it. If it didn't speak to my skin, then--bah!" The result is a fascinating collection of familiar arias from La Gioconda, Adrianna Lecouvreur, Simon Boccanegra and Luisa Miller alongside forgotten gems from Pietri's Maristella, Gomes's Fosca and Ponchielli's Il figliuol prodigo-among others. With his bright Mediterranean voice (sounding remarkably like the young Domingo at times) and heart-on-the-sleeve delivery, Villazon is well suited to this verismo ve·ris·mo n. 1. Verism. 2. An artistic movement of the late 19th century, originating in Italy and influential especially in grand opera, marked by the use of rural characters and common, everyday themes often treated in a material. But it is not all Italianate bluster. In the well-known title track, "Cielo e mar," he takes his cue from the text and delivers the aria with a rare, prayer-like simplicity. The chorus and orchestra of the Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi is conducted with aplomb a·plomb n. Self-confident assurance; poise. See Synonyms at confidence. [French, from Old French a plomb, perpendicularly : a, according to (from Latin ad-; see by Daniele Callegari. Villazon's next project for DG is rumored to be a collection of Handel arias for release in time for the 2009 Handel anniversary.--NC Deutsche Grammophon: 477 7224 |
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