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Grigòlo has a repertoire that includes some twenty four
operas by such composers as Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Gounod,
Massenet, Offenbach and Bernstein as well as the sacred works of Rossini. As
one of the leading tenors of his generation, he now performs in the world's
most prestigious opera houses including La Scala, Milan, The Royal Opera House,
London, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, Washington National Opera, Deutsche
Oper, Berlin, Opernhaus Zurich, Palau de Les Arts Valencia, and Chorégies
D'Orange.
On this new Sony
disc, Grigòlo shows conclusively that he also has the voice of a Romantic Hero.
Opening with Jules Massenet’s Toute mon âme!
Pourquoi me réveiller from Werther one
is immediately struck by the emotional pull which Grigòlo brings. There are
effortless climaxes and such fine control. The Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale
Della RAI
www.orchestrasinfonica.rai.it under Evelino Pidò www.intermusica.co.uk/pido provides beautifully sensitive contribution.
L’amour!
L’amour!...Ah! lève-toi, soleil! from Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette is
a sheer delight, with Grigòlo showing a natural feel for all the nuances of
this aria. One can feel the controlled power of his voice. Grigòlo is superb in
Georges Bizet’s La fleur que tu m’avais
jetée from Carmen, again showing his restrained emotional power as he sings
‘The flower you threw at me remained with me in prison.’
Gounod’s Quel trouble
inconnu…Salut, demeure chaste et pure from Faust shows just how beautifully
this fine tenor carefully shapes this aria, aware of each aspect of the text.
We return to Massenet with Instant
charmant…En fermant les yeux from Manon. Here he is briefly joined by soprano,
Sonya Yoncheva. Grigòlo is simply exquisite in the hushed sections. Also from
Manon we have Je suis seul!...Ah! fuyez,
douce image, full of emotion, always exceptionally musical, full of power
and restraint. Absolutely superb.
In Pays merveilleux…Ô
paradis from Giacomo Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine, Grigòlo manages exquisite
control in the restrained high notes, to superb effect.
Jacques-Francois- Fromental Halevy’s opera La Juive provides a fine aria in the
form of Rachel, quand du Seigneur where
Grigòlo maintains a consistently restrained pulse, building to a well-judged
central climax and finale. This tenor has an incredibly fine emotional
presence. Evelino Pidò and Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Della RAI provide fine
support in the orchestral passages that frame this aria.
Grigòlo is joined by Alessandra Martinez for a highly effective
spoken text in Jacques Offenbach’s Et
moi? Moi, la fidèle amie from Les Contes d’Hoffmann before Grigòlo brings his
finely judged emotional voice to Ô Dieu! de
quelle ivresse.
We return to more from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Va! je t’ai pardonné…Nuit d’hyménée.
Sonya Yoncheva joins Grigòlo again this time having more opportunity to show
her full bodied, soprano voice, powerful and complimenting Grigòlo
exceptionally well. Both have an equal power, though Grigòlo displays that
extra ounce of emotion. Evelino Pidò and his orchestra provide a dynamic
contribution in the orchestral conclusion.
Returning again to Massenet, Grigòlo sings Ah! tout est bien fini…Ô souverain, Ô juge, ô
père from Le Cid with some of the most finely judged, controlled,
emotional, singing I have heard for a long time, following every little dynamic
and nuance.
More comes from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with C’est là! Salut! tombeau sombre et silencieux where every phrase contains so much feeling. Grigòlo seems to breathe feeling into this music.
Aria discs come and go but here is something rather exceptional,
with Grigòlo an artist very much in the ascendant. Evelino Pidò and the
Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Della RAI provide much more than mere
accompaniment giving much sensitivity and power.
Grigòlo receives an excellent recording made in the
Auditorium RAI ‘A Toscanini’, Torino, Italy. He is placed a little forward but
attractively so.
There are booklet notes together with full texts and English
translations.
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