Programme:
A Tribute to Mario Lanza:
‘Be My Love’ (Brodszky/Kahn) The Toast of New
Orleans
‘Because You’re Mine’ (Brodszky/Kahn) Because You’re
Mine
‘Because’ (D’Hardelot/Teschemacher) The Great
Caruso
‘The Loveliest Night of the Year’ (Rosas/Aaronson, Webster)
The Great Caruso
and from The Student Prince :-
‘Beloved’ (Brodszky /Webster)
and by Romberg/Donnelly:
‘Drink, Drink, Drink’
‘Deep in my Heart Dear’
‘Serenade – Overhead the Moon is Beaming’
Opera at the Movies Arias from:- Rigoletto; Tosca; Les
Pêcheurs de Perles; La Fanciulla Del West; Pagliacci; Martha;
and Turandot
Songs from the Movies:
‘Mattinata’ (Leoncavallo) The Great
Caruso
‘Torna A Surriento’ (De Curtis/DeCurtis) Hear My
Song
‘Granada’ (Lara) Because You’re Mine
‘The Second Time’ (Lai/Rice) Bilitis
‘Where Do I Begin’ (Lai/Sigman) Love Story
‘Mi Corazón Continuara’ (My Heart Will Go On) (Horner/Jennings)
Titanic
One is immediately struck by the remarkable resemblance of the timbre of
Beltrán’s voice to that of the late Mario Lanza. Nothing wrong
with that – the Three Tenors have openly acknowledged their debt to
the American tenor. Beltrán shares the same passion and feeling for
the lines of the songs and his voice equals Lanza’s power (sometimes
it’s too forceful for the material) to project over choir and orchestra
without any sense of strain. Where Beltrán does disappoint is in his
English diction and enunciation. ‘The’ becomes ‘de’;
there becomes ‘der’ etc., tending to spoil his Lanza reminiscences;
but I nitpick for this really is an astonishing reminder of the sad wasted
talent that was Mario Lanza. [The book Mario Lanza – A Tenor in
Exile is reviewed on this
site.]
Beltrán sings the favourite operatic arias listed above with passion
and power if not always with subtlety. This popular programme concludes with
three well-known Neapolitan songs featured quite regularly in movies and
three original songs from recent or not too old films. The over-exposed,
and already trite ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic is
sung as ‘Mi Corazón Continara’ but even the novelty of another
language coupled with Beltrán’s ardour cannot lift it for this
reviewer.
This is an album which will appeal to Lanza enthusiasts and, hopefully, will
encourage more people to further explore the world of opera; and, clearly,
former racing car driver Tito Beltrán is a young tenor to watch.
Reviewer
Ian Lace
|
with the City of Prague
Philharmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus conducted by Paul
Bateman
