Six of these recordings were made in 2003 as Villazon
(b.1972) was making an impact on the operatic world. They preceded his
renowned Alfredo in
La Traviata in Willy Decker’s production
at Salzburg in 2005 alongside Anna Netrebko as Violetta (see
review).
He was also heard in productions at Covent Garden. His clear lyric voice
and evident musicality are a joy to hear, as is his clear diction. The
latter is evident throughout and arises from his following of Verdi’s
intentions. The composer was a stickler with his librettists in respect
of their poetry. He then took particular care himself to match his music
to their words. For a singer, following the melodic line and able to
sit the voice on the melody whilst not being tempted to strain or over
sing, makes both phrasing and clarity of words become much easier. Added
to those important outcomes in the case of Villazon is the ability to
express the emotions and intent of the words of the aria within the
context of the opera.
To my ears Villazon’s rendition of the ever-popular
La donna
è mobile from act one of
Rigoletto, that opens this
brief collection, is a particular delight. This is partly because of
the manner in which he plays with the phrases. In this respect he reminds
me of Gigli in one of his farewell concerts long ago. They have remained
imprinted in my mind’s ear (Tr.1). His illustrious Italian predecessor,
accompanied only by a piano, was not as easy and fluent with the final
high note as is Villazon who is able, and willing, to hit that note
with ease and clarity and without any squeezing or distortion of his
voice. Likewise, his more dramatic portrayal of the act two double aria
Ella mi fu rapita ... Parmi veder le lagrime from the same opera
shows his more dramatic side as well as his interpretive skills as he
conveys the Duke’s varying emotions (Tr.8). Both these arias,
along with those from
La Traviata (Tr.2),
I Lombardi (Tr.5),
Don Carlo (Tr.6), and
Macbeth (Tr.7) are derived from
sessions in 2003 conducted by Marcello Viotti who has this music in
his blood. All those excerpts, in a slightly resonant acoustic, show
Villazon to be a master Verdian, able to realise the composer’s
intentions by following the music exactly as intended.
The 2006 recordings under Michel Plasson are set in an even warmer and
somewhat recessed acoustic. The conductor is sympathetic if not as idiomatic
as his Italian counterpart. Viotti would have drawn from the singer
more of the agonies of uncertainty Riccardo feels back in his room after
leaving Amelia under the care of Renato as the conspirators, intent
on his assassination, arrive (Tr.3). On the other hand this may also
be a case of the singer never having sung that role on stage with its
wide variety of emotional travails. In the same manner Villazon could
be considered new to Don Carlo’s act one aria, only having sung
it on stage a couple of times prior to the recording (Tr.6). Nonetheless
his singing tugs at the heartstrings as Carlo’s hopes are raised.
Also evident is the difference in tone and legato between this version
and that in the complete recording of his performance under Pappano
at Covent Garden after the first of his vocal crises necessitated time
away from the stage (see
review).
This latter performance marked the tenor’s return to the house
after his having to take a enforced rest from singing with evident threats
to his vocal well-being. Certainly, his timbre is distinctly more baritonal
than at the time of this recording when he concentrated more on the
bel canto repertoire such as
L’Elisir d’Amore
(see
review).
The occasional signs of vocal effort, and baritonal hue evident in that
Covent Garden recording of
Don Carlo, are also to be heard in
the
Ingemisco from Verdi’s Requiem, also with Pappano on
the rostrum. Recorded in the acoustic of Rome’s Santa Cecilia
Auditorium I cannot help but feel Villazon would have been more capable
of smoother lyric tone and legato along with more ethereal phrasing
a few years earlier.
The short measure is only partly compensated for by the low price. This
disc is, however, a good memento of a singer in his vocal prime in repertoire
in which, for too brief a period, he excelled.
Robert J Farr
Contents List
Rigoletto (1851)
La donna è mobile [2.03]
Ella mi fu rapita ... Parmi veder le lagrime [4.51]
La Traviata (1853)
Lunge da lei ... De' miei bollenti spiriti ... O mio rimorso [5.16]
Un Ballo in Maschera (1851)
Ma se m'è forza perderti (with chorus) [5.15]
Ernani (1851
)
Odi il voto ... sprezzo la vita (with chorus) [7.31]
I Lombardi (1843)
La mia letizia [2.01]
Don Carlo (1867)
Io l'ho perduta lo la vidi [3.28]
Macbeth (1847)
O figli ... Ah! La paterna mano [3.22]
Requiem (1874)
Ingemisco [3.39]
