Search - Roberto Alagna, Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Hampson :: Our Christmas Songs for You

A pleasant Christmas concert (mostly)

Matthew Spady | New York, NY | 12/10/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mix three internationally-known opera singers with some popular songs for the Christmas season and you have a recipe for disaster - or so it would seem. Fortunately, the three classically-trained singers on this CD are able, for the most part, to simplify their vocal production, stretch rhythms when necessary, and bend their intonation just slightly to produce a suitable cross between classical and "pop" sound. Hampson's "The Christmas Song" is relaxed and introspective - genuinely lovely, as is his reading of "My Christmas Song for You." (Think Robert Goulet in his prime.)With the slenderest and purist of tones, Te Kanawa sings "Toyland" as a tender lullaby, then gives just the right amount of tone and vocal shading to the ballad "I'll be home for Christmas."Hampson and Te Kanawa's duet version of "Winter Wonderland" is straight out of a `50's movie-musical; it doesn't take much imagination to see them tucked under a fur rug in a sleigh with a snowscape passing behind them.Of the three Alagna is least successful adapting to a pop-style, though for the most part, he sticks with carols for which this approach works - probably the reason he is the one who sings "O Holy Night" the most operatic of all Christmas carols. Alagna's least successful outings are the trios with Te Kanawa and Hampson ("Sleigh Ride" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and "White Christmas"); while the latter two modify their voices and style, he remains "the tenor" making him sound even more out of place. In his duet with Te Kanawa (In the "Bleak Mid-Winter"), one wonders how he could have clung to his operatic sobs given her tender, straight-forward reading of the text. To his credit, his sings understandable, though lightly-accented, English.The orchestrations are pleasant, often restrained. The orchestra and chorus give solid support, shining when necessary and appropriate. On balance, this is a very pleasant Christmas concert."