endless pleather, endless love
Washington National Opera has posted a preview clip of their Lucrezia Borgia (opening on Saturday), and La Cieca predicts they have a hit on their hands. Renée Fleming, though she looks far too young to have a grown son, seems to be singing in a more straighforward and honest way. Hunkentenor Vittorio Grigolo charms even while handicapped by a Billy Idol wig and metallic faux-leather jerkin. If there is one point that puzzles La Cieca, it is that Kate Aldrich should be singing the Brindisi when she so obviously should have interpolated Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller.”
almavivante, it doesn;t get any better with the Rad, and much more off pitch.
Well anyway, the homoerotic stuff is perfectly justifiable for this opera if any. The Borgias would famously stick it in anything: Cesare in particular was scandalously open about his male as well as his female (as well as his blood-related) lovers.
LVPO, we must certainly traverse quite different front in Italy because to my knowledge both personal and through association of others in this profession, Grigolo is very well known in Italy–particularly at La Scala and, as you say, Rome. He has sung in many high-profiled engagements including the most recent Gianni Schicci at La Scala. He is already one of the wealthiest young singers in Europe already granted “star status” wherever he goes. And yes, certainly Desdemona, Marguerite, and Die Marschallin are much heavier vocal parts than Lucrezia, Violetta and Armida. I did not say that they are “light” roles, but they are lighter in comparison. First of all, the former require a singer to compete with a much larger orchestra than the latter, and because of the florid nature of the latter, the distribution of vocal weight and heft is different. It would only be logical and natural for a singer to begin with roles such as Violetta and Armida prior to making theatrical excursions in operas like Faust and Otello. Many seem to forget that so many of the great Marguerite’s in history have all retired that role on the ‘early’ side. It is not an easy and certainly not a light role as so many young sopranos in this modern age seem to be convinced–that is, until they actually have to sing the part.
JoeinDC, perhaps the acoustics at the Kennedy Center are simply amazing, because the several times that I have heard Grigolo dal vivo, I couldn’t disagree with you more. The voice certainly has ping and presence, but he pushes too hard, particularly in the upper middle of the register. It’s a beautiful sound and a voice I quite like if only I didn’t disagree with some of his recent repertoire choices or his seeming lack of attention to certain technical issues that should be addressed. He is certainly very talented and has a thrilling upper extension; I worry that he forces his sound too much in the middle.
Bill & Mrmyster, Re: Pirgu
Pirgu is another young tenor who possesses quite a lot of talent but is seemingly quite misguided in his technique, despite already having sung in very many important places. I have heard this voice several times and I stand by my assessment. If one visits his website, one can easily hear part of the selections from his debut album…the Verdi selections show a voice far too light at this time to be undertaking those roles, the Mozart and Donizetti, while much more suited to his vocal weight and natural vocal color, show many flaws in his technique. I have heard the album in it’s entirety and find it to be extremely underwhelming. The video of “Nessun dorma” on YouTube also speaks for itself: so much of the voice has potential and it is not an unattractive sound, but certainly the aria is unsuitable for his youthfulness and there are many issues with his approach to legato and the way he pushes into the upper parts of the voice. As for his repertoire as listed on his website, I take issue with almost everything: Idomeneo, Romeo, Alfredo, Il duca, Edgardo, and Des Grieux. These are not roles for a voice this size and with so many technical issues that need to be ironed out.