Juan Diego Florez - Great Tenor Arias

Here the remarkable young Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez not only offers us what we've become accustomed to---gorgeous, graceful singing of very difficult bel canto gems (in this case, high-flying, virtuosic arias from Rossini's Semiramide and L'Italiana in Algeri. He also ventures into unknown waters. He sings an aria added by Donizetti for an Italian production of The Daughter of the Regiment ("La figlia" rather than the usual "La fille") which turns out to be just right for his voice, and he charms with his crisp diction and youthful approach. Paolino's aria from Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto is a substantial piece of bel canto writing, with some nice coloratura fireworks near the end which Florez sails through with ease, and Rinuccio's ditty from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi---perhaps the most heavily orchestrated piece he's sung and stylistically the opposite of anything else on the CD---is also tossed off with true élan. On the other hand, Florez has a lot to learn about the Gluckian style, judging from his Romantic approach to Orphée's aria, and his French could use some brushing up if he's going to sing anything from Halévy's La Juive, although the vocal hurdles that the composer put in the tenor's way do not seem to bother him at all. A surprising disappointment is "La donna e mobile," which is over-sung and charm free. But can any tenor around be expected to sing all of these (and a few others, too) perfectly? Florez remains a true delight, his sound beautiful, his production easy from top to bottom. Despite reservations, highly recommended. --Robert Levine Amazon.com

Good, but not outstanding

I have enjoyed listening to Juan Diego Florez in the Met's Saturday broadcasts. And I am looking forward to seeing and hearing him this April in their live high definition transmisson of "La Fille du Regiment."
While I found this recording very enjoyable and listenable, I did not feel the emotion I had associated with this young singer. Perhaps I should have started, as other reviewers have suggested, with some of his earlier recordings, especially the "Una Furtiva Lagrima." This recording sounded like a "recital program," which, of course, is what it is. But I felt that he was just singing through some arias, without an awareness of the context and feelings the roles should express.
Nonetheless, the voice is beautiful. The high notes ring. The fluidity is remarkable. I will continue to play and enjoy this recording and, perhaps, at a later time will also acquire some of the earlier.
February 29, 2008

The Tenor who Aims at Vocal Perfection

And rightly he will get to the top.
JDF's Great Tenor Arias are not meant for casual listening. The choice or songs are a bit on the 'rare' side - even the aria from Du Fille di Regiment is an 'alternative' aria to the well-known one with 9 High-Cs.
The timbre of JDF may cause certain 'fatigue' with over-listening, so I wonder if I will be one for his solo recital, at least judging from the studio effect on his CDs.
That said, this is a singer with such precision in nearly all aspectsof the voice production that you will have a really hard time to pick out any of his vocal flaws. Sometimes, it sounds much like a 'human violin' (borrowing from the idea of violinist Joshua Bell's 'Voice of the Violin').
Track 7 and track 1 are both more well-known arias. JDF's singing is simply seamless, though more 'character' may be built into the two arias to enhance the different moods. While track 1 is rightfully melancholic, track 7 calls for more emotional excess in the outburst of the Duke of Mantua against female fickleness.
IF JDF could combine his immaculate signing technique with drama, he will definitely be an unsurpassable singer. October 8, 2007

JUAN DIEGO FLOREZ STILL ROCKS!

I agree that this CD is not quite as good as his first two CDs, but I still enjoy his amazing voice very much.
August 1, 2007

Great Voice

This young tenor is a worthy successor to Carreras, he will be a superb singer. May 12, 2007

Florez shines in enticing variety, versatility of repertoire

An altogether delightful disc. The arias on here that do not require heavy pryotechnics are delightful and reveal a very pleasant insouciance of tone and character that are very fitting, only very intermittently offset by a slight hardness of tone on top. The aria from Semiramide and cabaletta to the charming Cimarosa aria serve up the fireworks, so common on the first disc and perhaps the one that followed it, for those listeners who are attracted to this disc by having heard especially the first and highly brilliant all-Rossini outing. Rossini is also well represented here by a charming romanza and lively cabaletta from Italiana in Algeri.

Several rarities are included, unlike with the above, and he makes something very charming and inviting of the selection from Verdi's Un giorno di regno (Verdi's rarely performed comedic second opera). The alternate Italian aria from Fille du regiment is a welcome supplement to his having recorded the more famous aria for Tony on his second recital disc. The aria from Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia (an easy equal to Lucia in inspiration) is also a highlight, Florez's insouciance of manner here particularly telling, as it has fatal consequences for his character and all this character's buddies in this opera. Eleazar's aria, or one of them, from Halevy's La Juive reveals the possibility of a little greater reach into repertoire that approaches the dramatic for this tenor - but one senses as well that he will and can, should take his time getting there. The tribute to Firenze from Gianni Schicchi at or toward the end of this recital is compelling enough to convince the most hardened travel cynic buying this disc to call the airlines/hotels, inns to book for there right away. The "Che faro" from Orfeo (but sung in French) is an ideal vehicle from which Florez can deliver such a sublime and heartfelt lament, as heard here, albeit a bit too closely recorded.

Carlo Rizzi, not always dependable, gives fine accompaniments here. The engineering does place the voice just a bit too forward, however, yet ironically a voice that has developed full body and better evenness than when his first all-Rossini disc was recorded (yet still certainly too early to tackle the part of Eleazer on stage as of yet), erasing any concerns I may have had at that time. For some readers, any problem with the sound quality here might demote this outing to four stars, but taking the singing, the interesting repertoire chosen for this disc, and the fine, deft accompaniments from Rizzi and the Verdi orchestra from Milan (some alternate band to Muti's peerless one at La Scala? - the endless nature of so much politics in music), have me sticking with five, and with a mind about several other vocal recital discs that have been getting rated too highly on this website.

Ditto. Just received credible correction from Vince Chau of one piece of misinformation I submitted here. The aria that Florez sings from La Juive belongs to the second tenor part of Leopold, not that of Eleazar. While I am on the subject of corrections of my reviews, he also had said that I had incorrectly challenged Gheorghiu's Laggiu nel Soledad for having ended on a high C. Not having been so graphic as that in how I describe what happened there, I had led him to believe and perhaps a few others that I was saying there was no high C in the aria at all, so I have just taken pains to fully explain the situation on the new Gheorghiu Puccini recital by thereby editing my review of it. I would not trade Gina Cigna's ONLY high C TOWARD the end of Laggiu nel Soledad for all the gold in Fort Knox, or Nilsson's or Tebaldi's ...


March 13, 2005

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