The King of the High Ds returns with an all-new album of bel canto arias and duets. Juan Diego Florez once again proves why he is THE tenor in demand around the world for the operas of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. In fact, he even broke the 70 year-old taboo against encores at La Scala in Donizetti s La Fille du Régiment, effortlessly tossing off 18 high Cs in a row (twice as many as other tenors)!
For this special album, Florez is joined by an all-star roster of his friends, including Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo, Mariusz Kwiecien, Patrizia Ciofi and Daniela Barcellona. Rarely have so many talents come together on one all-new recording.
Also available is a special deluxe limited edition package that includes the CD and a DVD of interviews, performance clips, a picture gallery and more!
Today's leading bel canto tenor, and one of the world's biggest opera stars, celebrates this Christmas season with a very personal choice of sacred arias and songs, including favorites such as O Come All Ye Faithful, Panis Angelicus, Ave Maria and O Holy Night.
As well as the glorious coloratura for which he is celebrated, the album also reveals the more intimate side of Juan Diego Flórez, in new interpretations of much-loved tenor classics for the festive season. These popular hits take their place alongside less familiar treasures including the "Qui sedes" from Bellini's Mass in A minor and the virtuosic "Alleluia" from Fux's Plaudite, sonat tuba - which call for the thrilling virtuosity that have made Juan Diego Flórez a star in the world's greatest opera houses.
A highlight of the program is the title track Santo - composed by Juan Diego Flórez himself - and infused with the musical colors and rhythms of his Latin American roots. "My father was a folk-singer and I grew up with Peruvian music. My hobby is to compose and orchestrate, and the melody came to me very easily. The hard part is then to find the right instrumental colors and write for all the instruments and the chorus. But it's fun."
Conductor Michele Mariotti of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna was a natural choice for the recording. A native of Pesaro, he studied at the town's Conservatorio Rossini, and the album includes three pieces by the composer with whom Juan Diego Flórez is most closely associated. "The Teatro Comunale orchestra are very good and really understand this repertoire", says Flórez. "Michele Mariotti is a friend of mine and a wonderful conductor. He's only thirty and he's incredible."
This disc by the rising young Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez is a winner. He has a light lyric tenor of quality, stunning coloratura technique, and a real feeling for the Rossini style. He shines in these bravura arias, scattering high Cs and Ds with abandon. There aren't many tenors these days who can fearlessly negotiate the perils of arias like "Cessa di piu resistere" from The Barber of Seville with such aplomb. Nor are there many who can capture both the pathos and the fevered intensity of "Oh fiamma souave" from La donna del lago. Even those who might wish for a warmer, sweeter sound in the bel canto repertory than Flórez's brighter, more brilliant tones should welcome this auspicious solo debut. He's helped by the sure hand of Riccardo Chailly at the helm, ensuring stylistically sympathetic performances. --Dan Davis
UK-only release from Peru's finest vocalist, the obvious successor to Luciano Pavorotti's throne. Although comparisons to Pavorotti are warranted, Florez' main inspiration is Spanish tenor Alfredo Kraus. 15 tracks including 'La Donna E Mobile', 'Una Furtiva Lagrima' and 'Granada'. Universal Classics. 2007.
Juan Diego Flórez is THE tenor for bel canto operas, the first choice for any new production at the world's greatest opera houses. Flórez recently performed the first aria encore at La Scala in 74 years. On Voce d'Italia, he pays tribute to an extraordinary predecessor who inspired some of his greatest stage roles and became the first `superstar tenor': Giovanni Battista Rubini. Like Flórez today, Rubini was loved as much for the touching pathos of his slow singing as for the thrilling power of his fast, high roulades. Roles the two singers have shared include the Prince in Rossini's La Cenerentola, Elvino in Bellini's La sonnambula, Arturo in Bellini's I puritani, Uberto in Rossini's La donna del lago, and the title role of Rossini's Otello. Many of the arias by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti on this new recording with the Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome under Roberto Abbado, are unknown gems which show the tremendous range of Flórez's vocal and dramatic art. Flórez thrillingly tosses off those high Cs which have brought him so much fame, and ventures further into the stratosphere with a few high Ds and his first high E-flat on record.
Our generation's greatest performer on the MET stage showcases her finest performances in one collection. Live At The Met features excerpts from live performances on the Met stage from La Boheme, Don Giovanni, War &Peace, I Puritani, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), Romeo etJuliette, Don Pasquale and Lucia di Lammermoor. Anna Netrebko Live at the Metropolitan Opera is Anna's first live solo album on CD.The selections - including performances with tenors Roberto Alagna, Joseph Calleja and Juan Diego Flórez - demonstrate Anna Netrebko's remarkable vocal range and dramatic imagination. All recorded live, they are infused with her unique vocal magnetism and irresistible on-stage charisma.
