"Marcello Giordani sang like a god." (The New York Times) The Sicilian born tenor, Marcello Giordani, has garnered many accolades for his performances, which include Tosca, Un ballo in maschera, Eugene Onegin, La Damnation... more » de Faust, La favorita, La bohème, Lucrezia Borgia and Verdi?s Requiem. Emerging as one of the leading Romantic tenors of the present day, Marcello Giordani is in demand at the world?s major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna, Zurich and Verona.« less
"Marcello Giordani sang like a god." (The New York Times) The Sicilian born tenor, Marcello Giordani, has garnered many accolades for his performances, which include Tosca, Un ballo in maschera, Eugene Onegin, La Damnation de Faust, La favorita, La bohème, Lucrezia Borgia and Verdi?s Requiem. Emerging as one of the leading Romantic tenors of the present day, Marcello Giordani is in demand at the world?s major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna, Zurich and Verona.
CD Reviews
The most under-rated tenor of today
Rosomax | Boulder, CO United States | 12/09/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When you hear the seemingly endless "fourth tenor" talk, you rarely hear the name Marcello Giordani. This is both good and bad. The good part is that every artist needs to be appreciated as an individual, not simply as a "second XYZ tenor". Another good aspect is that given the context of this discussion, we probably will not see Giordani making a foray into the glitzy world of pop music. The bad part, though, is that the man and his art are not well known on this side of the Atlantic safe for the recent run of "Eugeny Onegin" at the MET. There are precious few commercial recordings available with him, a notable exception being recently released complete "Jerusalem" under Luisi.
So it's a small miracle of sorts that we're able to get this CD, and at an extremely low price.
The voice itself never fails to impress. It has a marvelous bronze ring and a well-focused top, with velvety "baritonal" timbre. It pleasantly reminded this listener of young Jose Carreras. This is a voice that's perfect for early Verdian romantic hero roles, as well as the roles of bel-canto repertoire. This disc, therefore, is a showcase for Giordani's skill in these areas since Verdi, Bellini, and Rossini are prominently featured. Do not delay in getting this CD, this is a tenor you have to hear."
A Decent Introduction to One of Today's Best Tenor's....
Jon M. De Benedictis | Fairfield, CT United States | 10/29/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Though he has been singing professionally for nearly twenty years now, Marcello Giordani has only recently "come into his own" as a tenor. Part of this, I believe, is the lack of hype surrounding him and lack of an exclusive recording contract. While recordings by the likes of Bocelli, Alagna, Cura, and Alvarez flood the CD stores, Giordani's output has been minimal. This is quite unfortunate because, for the most part, Marcello Giordani is better than these singers.
This disc serves as a good introduction to the wonderfully warm and versatile vocie of this Sicilian tenor. He is not necessarily heard at his best here, though. Some of this may have to do with the fact that it was recorded rather quickly at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. While it's nice that the CD has a sort of "live" quality to it, Giordani too often sounds rushed and labored. Still, there are moments to here treasure.
Having seen most of his recent triumphs in New York City over the last couple of years (ADRIANA LECOUVREUR, IL PIRATA & LA GIOCONDA) I feel that his voice is best appreciated live. There are moments where he definitely comes up short on this recording, but there are two major exceptions: the aria from CARMEN and the aria from IL TROVATORE.
Giordani has always professed his love for singing French opera, and that is quite evident with the CARMEN excerpt. It is sung sweetly and with the final high note is right on the mark.
While it may be too soon for Giordani to tackle the role of Manrico in IL TROVATORE, his "Ah! Si Ben Mio" is absolutely perfect and I can safely say that I haven't heard this aria sung that well in quite some time.
While he does well with most of the other pieces on this disc, he won't exactly make you forget any other singers takes on them.
I admire NAXOS for releasing a CD of this tremendously underrated singer, however Giordani deserves even more. One hopes that a recording contract is in the works for him and listeners can then get an even better taste of this great voice.
Those who live in the New York area will have the chance this season to see him at the MET in two of his best roles: Gustavo in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA and Cavaradossi in TOSCA. This will be a way to hear this great singer at his best.
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Don't pass this one by as just another tenor/aria indulgence
Laurie Eckhout | Juneau, AK USA | 02/08/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It took a couple of years to be released but finally it's here and well worth the wait. Giordani's voice embraces fluidly the Italian as well as the French. His flexibility is astounding with no perception of a struggle to attain those notes, high and low. Equally wonderful is Steven Mercurio's always "note-worthy" orchestrations. Mercurio's arrangement of Track 6 and Giordani's excellent vocals, make this a standout on the CD. Another favorite is Bizet's "La fleur..." Giordani's voice really shines in this piece with sweet passion from start to finish. As a whole this CD is full of great music. Every track is a gem. I look forward to future works from both Giordani and Mercurio. Superb CD!"
Very well sung
BDSinC | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | 09/29/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is well presented and the sound quality is OK. I say that because it still sounds like it was recorded from a distance, giving the impressions of not fully being there. The orchestra is led well, and the clarity of the various parts is perfectly balanced, as are the tempi chosen for the various selections. Giordani is a wonderful tenor (and I have to say, for NAXOS label, that is something, for as a rule, I really don't enjoy many of the tenors they select for various projects, though a few really fine ones do turn up from time to time), and like so many have stated, so underrated. His production is not perfect, and there are times his held higher notes wobble more than have a finely handled vibrato. However, that is not problematic to enjoying the music. I find it sad that the selections were edited, by that I mean, in the aria and scene from Rossini's William Tell we only get the cabaletta with chorus once. I love that piece and I think the repeat is very exciting. He manages the High C's so wonderfully that a repeat (so we hear all 9 high C's written) would have been simply wonderful. I was also impressed with how he handled the terribly difficult aria from Bellini's I Pirata, which was written for the great Rubini (who also created the horribly high and difficult tenor role of Arturo in I Puritani, going to a top F, of course, he sang NONE Of those notes from the chest as we hear them here, all were sung in a falsetto) and sung the high D's masterfully. I stress he SANG them because often they are so pushed out by other tenors they are a strain to even listen to.
I never found Giordani straining for anything, but I did find that there were times he seemed to be feeling the music one way, and the conductor felt it differently. There were times I really felt he wanted to "pause" on a note, to draw out a phrase (and in each case I felt this he would have been completely correct to do such a thing), but the conductor was more intent on moving ahead. Those moments gave the impression he was rushed beyond his resources.
Giordani NEVER forces his sound, which is refreshing to hear, but it has presence, it has that something that does command attention. That is why I am so mystified with why we have heard so little, or nearly nothing of him. His voice is extremely pleasing. The balance between his well-developed lower tones and the blend from them to his highest tones is very excellent. His voice doesn't "drop off" as many tenors do when they are approaching the lowest notes in this music. So many tenors have wonderful top notes but virtually no bottom ones. Giordani, on the other hand, has a well developed lower range that carries well, is almost baritonal, but not really, never throaty or husky like some dramatic tenors, and never weak and wimpy like other very strong top note tenors. His voice blends perfectly from one register to the other. There is complete balance in his voice. He uses volume in a very musical way knowing just went to diminish a tone and when to let it pour forth in all its splendor. He is not stuck on simply singing super loudly all the time, or whisper singing to sound delicate and sweet. His musicality is tremendous. He also has sung a long time, and the voice is not as fresh as perhaps it was near the beginning (but it is NOT in decline).
I rated this recording only a 4 because of the basic sound quality. I really hate recordings where I have to turn up the volume to get the real "feel" of the music. Sometimes with NAXOS one is forced to play their recordings at a much higher volume to feel part of the music, to feel the "presence" of the sound. I really don't like that. I should be able to hear that even at a very low level of sound. One could with the old recordings back in the days of Decca and Curshaw engineering things, in many of the older recordings for the 60's. The energy of the performance came through loud and clear. It doesn't in this recording, and it is not the fault of the singer or the orchestra or the skills of the conductor. It is fully the skills of the technicians."
One of the most exciting tenors of these days
Antonio Tamayo MD | Mexico City, D.F. Mexico | 02/11/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Marcello Giordani is on of the most exciting tenors of these days. It has a nice selections of arias. I find that the only thing Giordani is missing is that his high notes are not as solid as other tenors, but none the less this is a must have album to include"
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1