Connect with us

Hollywood

Music Review: Renowned tenors Juan Diego Florez, Lawrence Brownlee offer new albums

Published

on

Photo: Facebook Page of Lawrence Brownlee

Photo: Facebook Page of Lawrence Brownlee

Juan Diego Florez, “L’Amour” (Decca)

Lawrence Brownlee, “Virtuoso Rossini Arias” (Delos)

For more than a decade, Peruvian Juan Diego Florez and American Lawrence Brownlee have been the world’s leading bel canto tenors, thrilling audiences with their high notes and technical agility in operas by Rossini, Donizetti and other early 19th century composers.

Now in their early 40s, they have released new albums that show them in elegant form and offer a chance to savour the differences between the two light-voiced marvels.

Florez’s first new album in four years is a compilation of arias from French opera, ranging from Adrien Boieldieu’s obscure “La Dame blanche” to Offenbach’s still-popular “La Belle Helene.”

Especially noteworthy are three forays into romantic repertory usually associated with bigger voices two selections from Jules Massenet’s “Werther” and one from Charles Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette.” Though Florez’s sound may be a bit warmer and fuller than in the past and he sings with grace and sensitivity, his voice still seems small for such fare and still bears the penetrating nasal quality that his detractors have always found off-putting. And he clearly has to push the limits of his resources on the climactic high notes. How well he can handle such roles on stage remains a question to be answered when he debuts as “Werther” in a couple of years.

For many fans the album’s highlight will be an irresistibly jaunty rendition of “Mes amis, ecoutez l’histoire” from Adolph Adam’s “Le Postillon de Lonjumeau.” This aria is notable for ascending to a climactic high D, which Florez hits beautifully.

He is ably accompanied by the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, conducted by Roberto Abbado.

buy chloroquine online https://endomedix.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/png/chloroquine.html no prescription pharmacy

Brownlees’s album his first compilation of arias with orchestra is all Rossini and all splendid.

buy celexa online https://endomedix.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/png/celexa.html no prescription pharmacy

There’s an ardent sweetness to his voice that contrasts strikingly with Florez’s more astringent sound.

buy fluoxetine online https://endomedix.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/png/fluoxetine.html no prescription pharmacy

And he is no less a technical magician. Note his repeated daring lunges to high C in “Che ascolta” from “Otello,” or the astonishing 16 seconds he holds the final B-flat in a selection from the one-act “L’occasione fa il ladro.”

Constantine Orbelain conducts the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra of Lithuania.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maria in Vancouver

Lifestyle2 weeks ago

Nobody Wants This…IRL (In Real Life)

Just like everyone else who’s binged on Netflix series, “Nobody Wants This” — a romcom about a newly single rabbi...

Lifestyle3 weeks ago

Family Estrangement: Why It’s Okay

Family estrangement is the absence of a previously long-standing relationship between family members via emotional or physical distancing to the...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Becoming Your Best Version

By Matter Laurel-Zalko As a woman, I’m constantly evolving. I’m constantly changing towards my better version each year. Actually, I’m...

Lifestyle2 months ago

The True Power of Manifestation

I truly believe in the power of our imagination and that what we believe in our lives is an actual...

Maria in Vancouver3 months ago

DECORATE YOUR HOME 101

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Our home interiors are an insight into our brains and our hearts. It is our own collaboration...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Guide to Planning a Wedding in 2 Months

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Are you recently engaged and find yourself in a bit of a pickle because you and your...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Staying Cool and Stylish this Summer

By Matte Laurel-Zalko I couldn’t agree more when the great late Ella Fitzgerald sang “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Ageing Gratefully and Joyfully

My 56th trip around the sun is just around the corner! Whew. Wow. Admittedly, I used to be afraid of...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

My Love Affair With Pearls

On March 18, 2023, my article, The Power of Pearls was published. In that article, I wrote about the history...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

7 Creative Ways to Propose!

Sometime in April 2022, my significant other gave me a heads up: he will be proposing to me on May...