Finally, Alagna shows us that when it comes to French rep, he has no peer. He doesn't exude emotional torment; it's more like everything has been leached out of him. Bravo!!! Welcome back.
This aria is the most challenged aria for a spinto tenor which Alagna is. Unlike other arias where one cannot push it through and done with it. Alagna would have done it better but it appears he is not in good vocal condition. He didn't get carried away and distroy his reputation and ruin the night for everyone like Villazon.did. Alagna handled a situation well. This is what it takes to be a world class tenor. =)
Grand Roberto ! Roberto est un ténor Lyrico spinto. il à donc un coeur de voix lyrique avec un caractère Spinto. il interprète les rôles qu'il juge en rapport avec ses deux éléments. avec parfois il est vrai une part de risques d'allergando...sur des opéras de type Paliacci ou Turandot. Et si depuis 20ans certains prédisent sa fin... Il est toujours là et continue à mettre la pâtée à pas mal de ténors de diverses générations. 🤞🤞🤞
colora40 From the first moment when I heard him first time he has filled my heart and soul.He is every day in my life.His voice and his person.In my opinion he is absolutely the best.It is not easy to sing as lyric tenor but his tecnic is good and voice is welling out whith this marvellous vibrato.Iwhish him many years more on stage for our joy who love him.
This is actually some of the best singing from Alagna in years, he should stick to this rep and never EVER stray from it. No more Pagliaccis, Trovatores, and esp. no more Aidas.
Alagna's vibrato helps give his voice the metallic quality that carries and his singing here, while not as fresh as it once was, is, by current standards, top shelf.
You can hear Alagna singing in this very same performance "En fermant les yeux" - absolutely beautiful! As to his '90s performances you can see the Romeo & Juliette from '94 Covent Garden, L'Elisir d'amore" from '96 in Lyon ( This is hilarious & available on DVD which I highly recommend), his duet with Bryn Terfel " Au fond du temple sant" from '96, and more...
I'm sorry to say that if all tenors of the world could sing as "bad" as he does in this video, it would be wonderful for the future of the opera ! Maybe he was not in a good day, but the base is strong, nothing is out of tune or cracked. Stop being so negative !
Well, there are places where he is slightly out of tune, but I agree with you. This aria is viciously difficult to sing on a good day. He's obviously indisposed and was still able to carry it off. Just to get out on stage when you feel like that takes enormous courage...especially when you know it's a televised performance in Vienna.
Nessun dorma is just an aria. Pav was not known for the hole production(Turandot) of it nor for the most of verismo. He tried crossover to spinto roles but not that successful. Pavarotti had the most beautiful voice for this century. Our ears are so tune to his stunning quality and we forget his true voice classification.
Ma quanti professori qui... Dicono che la voce di Alagna non vibra, che la posizione è bassa, che la maschera è inesistente, che la voce non è a fuoco... Ma dove le avete le orecchie??? Si vede che è un po' in difficoltà, ma la complessità di quest'aria giustifica la sua preoccupazione. In ogni caso, l'esecuzione è ottima e convincente. Se non avesse appoggiato i suoni in maschera e se la posizione fosse stata bassa, non sarebbe arrivato alla fine...
+loggione1984 Sono pienamente d'accordo, credo che molte persone esprimano opinioni senza conoscere realmente la tecnica vocale, la voce di Alagna sta in maschera pienamente, poi siamo tutti esseri umani, credo che un po' di stanchezza può' creare qualche problema di appoggio, ma si tratta comunque di un grandissimo tenore, questo è un pezzo difficilissimo.
no, I mean what I wrote. Spinto qualities would be his unusually large instrument (for a lyric) and piericing core. His timbre differs in 'weight' and darkness from one recording to another; imo his voice was darker when he was younger. Some argue that the voice declined because he sang too heavy rep. Personally I believe that he had the qualities necessary for alot of the spinto rep. and that the decline had most to do with his age and general health. So to sum up I see him as a 'full' lyric.
I think Alagna is acting & singing so way above most tenors, who stand & gesture & look embarrassed to show any emotion - so he has matured into a spinto which of course is different from his Romeo & Nemorino, but which is why now he is singing "Trovatore" & "Carmen" at the great opera houses - I think he sang "Trovatore" at ROH in June? & will be singing "Carmen" with Elaina Garanca (sp?) in October (new young fabulous Mezzo) at ROH and also at the Met in NYC in January...
Pavarotti is not regarded as a lirico-leggiero. He was however, a full lyric with spinto qualities. His overtones were very pronounced, moreso than in the typical lyrical from what I've understood.
I can't imagine Pavarotti singing the 'true' leggiero rep, like Almaviva or something like that. That, and I also think his success in the light lyric department actually had to do with the vocal thrill it gave that he _wasn't_ the typical voice for the part. It's a bit like hearing Jon Vickers, MDM, Corelli - you don't expect their voice type(s) to be able to cope with what they sing and when they do it really adds a thrill to the listeners experience. IDK, I guess we just judge differently...
Jaaakob I think we are arguing over subtle differences here. I want to concur your argument by this classification. Pavarotti, lirico-leggiero became a full lyric in later career as Caruso was a lyric and became spinto in his later career. Thanks. Good luck.
Pavarotti is no doubt a great singer who classified his own league. His earlier repertoire were Donizetti's. Most tenors with "full lyric" type would not able to attempt in "La fille du regiment". Only the leggiero's could. Pavarotti is not soley typed as leggiero, those who could only part take in leggiero role. Now Pav's wide rage covers from leggiero to lyric or full lyric. So it is best to describe him as "lirico-leggiero. Not just "full lyric"
he takes it as a prayer. imo, this aria should be faced and sung like the expression of a psychological drama rather than as a prayer. different opinions... i accept, thumbs up for alagna.....hehe for now XP
I know you left it 15 years ago, but I just saw your comment and decided to oblige. Here's Alagna at his best singing the repertoire he was made for: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4tLrPVkfCIQ.html&ab_channel=MUEZZAB Enjoy.
Hmm...Bobby sounds sick here...head cold or something...the vocal cords are thick, resulting in that dark sound without the usual core, and the passaggio exceptionally cloudy. I'd like it much if there were posted a video of him singing this aria while healthy. I know he's got it in him.
Great fan of Alagna but I wonder given that he is French that he does not sing in the French style which is not to put weight on the top notes and sing them like Italian opera I wonder if there is any French tenor singing in the traditional in French opera
Jaaa You are stretching a bit. MDM,Corelli and Vicker is noway near lyric, if I understand you correctly. Yes, heavier voices tend to be more explosive on the high notes then those with lighter voice. However, Pavarotti is an exceptional tenor. He has both leggiero and lyric voice. We cannot disregard and solely put him in one classification.
Matt54e It's somewhat inevitable for Alagna and Carrearas to be led into sing heavier roles. They both have heroic quality in their voices. Lyric but quite robust and vulgar at the same time. I disagree on the part about Pav . He was a lirico-leggiero and Pav did lose high notes such as high C,C# and D which he possessed in early time of his career.
To the critics: If you don't like his performances, why do you watch? There are plenty of tenor arias on RU-vid. Just don't listen to the tenors you don't like. Although there are tenors who I like a lot better, there are obviously people who like Alagna a lot. He still keeps getting signed. I doubt that his beautiful wife is the sole reason. And one more comment to the critics: Can you sing better? I doubt it.
Yes, his earlier reperoire was alot of Donizetti but not because he was a leggiero. Do you seriously think he fits in the same fach as JDF, Rockwell Blake, Luigi Alva or Araiza? I sure don't. A lyric tenor should be able to sing La Fille - it's not about ability in that case; it's about if it's fits. And Pavarotti isn't most tenors so his ability to sing Donizetti doesn't have much to do with his innate voice type; rather his technique.
If you read biographies written by his contemporaries and his own writings, you'll know that he was indeed a lyric - and a light one at that. He had trouble getting Bb's.
I never said Pav was leggiero. His is a lirico-leggiero. Names you mentioned above except Araiza are leggiero. Ariza falls into lirico-leggiero as well. Quit contrary to your opinion, Pav's innate talent overwhelms his technique. JDF did Rigoletto. That doesn't make him a lyric tenor and same for Pav. He sang frome Donizetti to Verdi but where had his voice flourished in? If you measure it on a scale, it will lean toward lirico-leggiero classification.
I'm glad to see Alagna back where he belongs rep. wise. But the damage from singing the heavier roles is evident here...the sound has lost it's beautiful bloom. Young singers should take note
This is surely not one of Alagna's finer moments in an operatic role. He conveys the drama of the role visually, but his voice suffers without enough Chiara in most areas of this recitative and aria.
He certainly has the French language perfectly, but the French style is lacking. He sings Massenet's des Grieux like it's Puccini's des Grieux (which I saw in New York, and he was outstanding). But French style requires delicacy and finesse, which I don't think Alagna has in his technique anymore.
i like his 1990's recording, saw his Romeo at Met, no longer has the ringing voice, much drier and it was decades ago, now, not sure... but management loves him, who knows.
I'm no expert but my singing teacher has always told me to sing French opera with the same technique that would be used for donizetti or Mozart. I'm sure I'll Alagna is aware of the distinction between French and Italian Sstyles or delivery I should say but he prefers to sing his French stuff in a big Italian way which is great when you're younger and fit and if you don't sing too too many large roles too frequently but eventually it will take its toll he's starting to sign sound like his in the early stages of developing a di Stefano like hollow voice .Di Stefano is my favourite Italian tenor with a miraculous voice and I love Alagna as well I think he's been the outstanding and brilliantly consistent younger tenor of the last 20 years
THis is not one of Alagna's shining moments. THe voice is placed badly for this music: Oscuro but no Chiara. Strangely, his high B-flats are better than expected, but note how he throws his body into reverse posture to sing those.
I think the problem with Alagna is that he´s so autodidact. He could always hit those high notes so he never have been forced to think about what he is doing, so when his registration turns heavy he can´t do anything to light it up. Pavarotti had the knowledge to be very small and focused above A-natural so he never sang with a heavy top.
Listen to Pav singing verismo rep; then listen to Araiza. Take Nessun dorma for comparison - not close imo, in regards to timbre and voice type. Pavarotti has a considerably darker timbre than leggiero or light lyrics and his coloratura was nothing special. He was equally, or more, famous for singing Verdi and Puccini as he was for Dnz/Bellini. Rigoletto, hm? La boheme? You are getting things backwards; I said that his ability to sing light rep has to do with his talent, not his voice type.
Alagna is great, his Romeo & Werther mid 90s are unsurpassed. His singing now, while still good, is not as good. He's taken some heavy rep as of late (Radames, Canio) which aren't right for his vocal weight, but I think his technical approach isn't quite right. Here, I think he sings a little loose in the passaggio and top, he loses core and focus F G Ab and gets too covered and out of resonance. Maybe in trying to singing darker/thicker as he took heavy roles he lost some focus in the tone...
That is hypocritical. The people that signed Alagna can't sing either. If you're going to say that everyone must be a better singer than Alagna in order to criticize him, then that means the non-singers that praise him are also invalid. Sure it's not the best rendition I've ever heard (Gedda) but it ain't bad, & better than a lot of the crap I've seen lately. But if the opinions of non-singers that dislike it don't matter, the exact same goes for any non-singer who praises it.
I think Alagna is a decent singer, but this response I don't like. In comparison with Villazon he clearly loses. Very small emotions. This aria needs greater costs.
Not Roberto Alagna's best role . . . Many notes sound forced, the fullness varies too much. And some notes sound actually flat to me. Is this, like the Aida Radames, again mostly a casting problem? Not to say that Alagna does not have some beautiful notes here, but the overall qualilty fluctuates too much . . . When the vibrato flattens me, it is never good singing.
