Signor Gaetano

"Savouring the technical and artistic challenges of Rossini and Donizetti, Oropesa is in sparkling form, especially assured in her high register, in airs that seem tailor-made for her voice. At times, her fearless and full-blooded coloratura comes at the expense of steadiness but the results are always exciting. The Dresdner Philharmonie excels in unity and expression under conductor Corrado Rovaris. Adding to the success of the album is the first-class support from the Staatsopernchor Dresden ... This collection is a delight from start to finish".

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"Editor's choice - October 2022: Oropesa's full but eminently flexible soprano is eminently suited to everything here, from the coloratura fireworks of Comtesse Adèle in Rossini's Le comte Ory to the grand style of the same composer's final opera Guillaume Tell. As well as relishing the expressive possibilities of the French language, she's a nuanced vocal actress, attuned to the pathos as well as the perkiness of Marie in Donizetti's La fille du régiment and capturing Lucie de Lammermoor's vulnerability and isolation (even more pronounced in this French version of the opera than in the usual Italian) quite beautifully".

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"Recording of the month: Lisette Oropesa's accomplished florid singing ... emphatically demonstrates that she has retained the ease and lightness of her early years as a soubrette but gained in power and intensity and now is a fully-fledged Lirico spinto ... The final opera here is La fille du regiment ... Just as much a tour de force for Marie, the soprano, who is everybody's little darling. Lisette Oropesa is in her element here and shines with beauty of tone, lightness and elegance ... Considering the formidable singing she delivers elsewhere throughout this enchanting recital: A winner in every respect and a strong candidate for my Recording of the Year!".

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"Vurdering: Ugens cd" - "På Ugens Cd synger han [Lawrence Brownlee] de Rossini-arier, der ligger så naturligt for ham. Og det er tydeligt at høre, at her er en virtuos på hjemmebane. Udover at være en pragtpræstation af Brownlee, er cd'en også en indgang til den særdeles produktive operakomponist Rossinis verden".

"Brownlee's first recital with orchestra, and this new kid on the bel canto block uses it to show us just how good he is when he is on his home turf. The results are thrilling ... The voice itself is full, rich and remarkably supple ... Sit back and enjoy".

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"Recording of the week: If the spark between David and Nozzari was anywhere near as electrifying as the frisson which the two Americans generate here it's small wonder that the composer quickly realised he was onto a good thing ... The sheer delight and inspiration which the two singers find in one another's artistry shines through even in the more sombre excerpts from works like Otello and Le Siège de Corinthe".

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"It is a golden age for lyric tenors and two of the finest are Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres. Their new recording for Warner Classics and Erato, Amici e Rivali, finds them in excellent form as they face off as friends and rivals in the music of Rossini ... Corrado Rovaris elicits transparent, scintillating playing from I Virtuosi Italiani ... 'Amici e Rivali' fuels dreams of Brownlee and Spyres performing these roles together on stage. The sheer beauty and excitement of these top notch performances, however, will delight anyone who just wants to find an escape from the cares of the day and luxuriate in the vocal alchemy that only Rossini could create".

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"Recording of the month: Lawrence Brownlee has, alongside Juan Diego Flórez , a claim to being the best tenor exponent of the art of bel canto since the young Pavarotti in his heyday. This recital ... confirms that status. Not only does he possess a voice of great beauty, agility and elegance, but he deploys it with great taste, discreetly ornamenting the da capo sections of arias without ever resorting to undue prolongation or grandstanding".

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"Vurdering: Ugens cd" - "Polske Aleksandra Kurzak er en rigtig Rossini-pige. Et perlende koleratur-talent med charme og sødme ... På Ugens Cd brillerer hun på sin hjemmebane. Stemmen er ren og klar, varm og charmerende, og det er tydeligt at den polske sopran har følelserne med i stemme-ekvilibrismen. Det er dét der gør hende god".

"Recording of the week: With his sweet, warm timbre (rounder and less astringent than that of his slightly older contemporary Juan Diego Flórez) and endearing stage-presence, Camarena is ideal casting for Donizetti's wide-eyed comic heroes - but it's a thrilling shock to the system to hear him unsheath the vocal steel that lurks within the velvet in the more dramatic roles here, especially once the high Cs, Ds and even E flats start flying".

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"Recording of the month: The three concluding scenes from Marino Faliero, Caterina Cornaro and Rosmonda d'Inghilterra offers splendid opportunities for Camarena to exhibit his brilliant height. And so he does with elegance, seemingly effortlessly and unwavering steadiness and accuracy. With Donizetti specialist Riccardo Frizza in the pit and excellent work from the orchestral and choral forces this is a valuable addition to the Donizetti catalogue and a magnificent full-size portrait of a truly great bel canto artist. Don't miss this one!".

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"Deshayes and conductor Raphaël Merlin have put together an intelligent recital showcasing Rossini's melodic gift as well as show-stopping acrobatics ... She plays an affecting Desdemona, a feisty Rosina and a fiery Semiramide ... [and] is supported by the lively Les Forces Majeures - sinewy, robust playing that is a joy".

"Anybody who has seen Lemieux in Baroque opera will know how she can shine thanks to the combination of an imposing voice and a lively personality ... The most attractive numbers are a clutch of duets. Lemieux is paired with the dreamy, soft soprano of Patrizia Ciofi and their voices intertwine very nicely ... At the end, Rossini's Cat Duet forms a brief encore track. Unsurprisingly, these are two cats who miaow in perfect harmony".

"Vurdering: E (Editor's choice)" - "On the evidence of her first CD recital, the 21-year-old Russian is indeed a precious talent, if not yet quite the finished article".

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "Joyce DiDonato is on thrilling form in these devoted dedications to Colbran ... Choral and orchestral work are equally stylish, and the short tenor solos by Lawrence Brownlee are a treat".

"He has a light, appealing tone and top notes that often hit the mark with real zing ... A sequence of nine high-octane, high-wire Rossini arias isn't necessarily recommended listening in one gulp, whoever the tenor ... But Sekgapane has put together an interesting programme ... With the right training, he could well grow into a Rossini tenor of some stature".

"Editor's choice: For her second solo album, Lisette Oropesa combines her love for both the Franch language and Italian music in an exploration of arias and extracts from operas by Rossini and Donizetti ... As one might expect, it's a recording of great beauty and intelligence, superbly done from start to finish ... She's in wonderful voice throughout, her coloratura at once dazzling and expressive, her sense of line often flawless, text, character and emotions exactingly conveyed .. It's a marvellous recital from a lovely artist and highly recommended".

"It is a CD full of virtuosic display rather than one of in-depth interpretations (that is not a criticism)".

"Editor's choice: Their voices contrast very well. Brownlee's tenor fits the Giovanni David mould, light and flexible with glistening brilliance in his upper register. Spyres, with his darker, baritonal tenor, suits the Nozzari roles, powerful and weighty, but with top notes that can really zing ... With I Virtuosi Italiani offering sterling support under Corrado Rovaris, this is a must-have disc for discerning fans of vocal fireworks".

"Det sjungs så det slår gnistor när musik från sju olika Rossini-operor samlats. Duetterna från Otello och La donna del lago är något alldeles speciellt och man kan inte låta bli att le när Brownlee och Spyres sätter fart. I Rossinis 39 operor spelar tenorrösten en viktig roll ... Men när dirigenten Corrado Rovaris leder I Virtuosi Italiani är det något som inte klaffar. Det saknas finess ... Sångarna däremot håller yppersta klass och höga c och d skjuts upp som vitglödgade raketer i stratosfären".

"Where some tenors use specific word-colouring, Brownlee also takes extra time by making expressive points with rubato ... But his pitch is spot-on. And every so often, such as at the end of Donizetti's "Pour me rapprocher de Marie", there's an arresting colouristic turn, reminding you that Brownlee has his own kind of vocal glamour".

"Vurdering: Gramophone choice" - "Graceful, finished phrasing and an apparently effortless coloratura technique ... Without over-egging the pudding, Kurzak acts vividly for a 'blind' audience, alive to verbal nuance and using coloratura not merely as a vote-catching circus trick, but to enhance character ... This [Il turco in Italia] regularly brought the house down at Covent Garden, and on this evidence it's easy to hear why".

"Recording of the month: This is a hugely enjoyable and unusually satisfying and engaging operatic recital from a singer at the top of his game - a superb album that does Signor Gaetano himself proud".

"Mosuc is not found lacking when it comes to surmounting the fioriture of whichever cabaletta is being sung, her technical prowess ensuring admirable results and the voice well honed, with trills and clean articulation in florid stretches".

"The overall production here is meticulous. Never does one have the sense that she has learnt arias just for the recording ... Mosuc is formidable. Her medium-weight coloratura has the necessary range and flexibility, her upper range being particularly thrilling, with high notes that aren't just confident in dramatically appropriate ways".