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Introduction to Roberto Alagna

Steven A. Peterson | Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL) | 05/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Roberto Alagna covers a wide scope of singing on this CD. From Donizetti to Puccini to Bernstein. He displays a smooth, attractive voice. He does exhibit an irritating tendency to introduce little affectations (catches or cries) into his singing on occasion. This album does display well the territory that he covers.



From "La Boheme," "Che gelida manina." His voice is smooth and lyrical. His second "chi son" sparkles as he essays a higher note. Same when he sings "millionaria." On the other hand, those catches/cries on the following words distract one: "gioelli," "ventrar," "tosto," "furto," and "conoscete" (pardon my almost certain spelling errors on these words). The concluding high note is well sung. With Leontina Vaduva as Mimi, he joins the duet "O soave fanciulla." Their voices blend well and the work is touchingly sung. The sound level seemed a bit low.



The twin arias from "Tosca" are nicely sung (with the caveat about those affectations). His voice is not as big as some other tenors, but it is attractive and does the job on these two arias. The final "La vita" in "E lucevan le stella" sounds appropriately dramatic.



Then there is "Il Trovatore." In "Ah si ben mio," Alagna handles the "shakes" competently. His voice is attractive (a couple of those affectations do show up). At the close, he has a brief duet with Angela Gheorghiu that is affecting. Then, on to the tenor's showpiece, "Di quella pira." Alagna's voice is attractive, but sometimes does not seem up to this work. For instance, at the close, his voice does not soar above chorus and orchestra as Tucker and Corelli did (on the other hand, there aren't too many with voices like that). He hits the high notes nicely and handles the demands of this work pretty well.



A final song that shows his skills in another arena--the duet from "West Side Story," "Tonight" (sung appropriately enough with Angela Gheorghiu). Their voices blend well together; both take the music seriously as it is and sing it straight, without "opera-tizing" it. Gheorghiu's voice is wonderful here; Alagna's voice sparkles as well.



Thus, Roberto Alagna is obviously one of the contemporary era's finer tenors. He handles a wide range of works well (e.g., his work from "Lucie de Lammermoor" shows him able to handle the Donizetti work well). Despite affectations, his voice is smooth and rich. It is very easy to listen to and enjoy his art.

"