Search - Daniil Shtoda :: Russian Opera Arias

A Russian Tenor to Watch

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/25/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Daniil Shtoda may be an unfamiliar name to all but Russian audiences at present, but listen to this interesting CD and be among the first to appreciate a voice that, while not mature at present, holds interest through a demanding recital and has moments of true beauty.



This young and handsome tenor from St Petersburg is a true Russian lyric tenor, the kind of voice for whom Tchaikovsky wrote operas (his Lensky is particularly beautifully sung). Here, accompanied by Constantine Orbelian conducting the Philharmonia of Russia and the Spiritual Revival Choir of Russia, Shtoda sings arias by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Arensky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and other less well-known Russian composers. Shtoda's voice has intelligent phrasing, superb diction and a basic color of timber that is lush and rich in the middle register but with some evidence of strain in the upper/lower registers. The quibbles are small when one realizes the youthful state of this young man. With growth and exposure on the opera stage and the right coaching these small problems will likely disappear.



In all it is refreshing to hear a new tenor sound that is brimming over with promise. He is definitely a new artist to watch! Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05"