Roberto Alagna

Programm

1st Part

Le Villi - Torna ai felici dì

Edgar - Orgia, chimère dall'occhio vitreo

Villi « La tregenda », intermezzo sinfonico 

Manon Lescaut - Tu es belle, brune et blonde

Manon Lescaut - Donna non vidi mai - Intermezzo 

Manon Lescaut - Non !... Pazzo fils !... Guardate

La bohème - Che gelida manina

Tosca - E Lucevan le stelle

Madame Butterfly - Duetto dei fiori e Coro a bocca chiusi 

Madame Butterfly - Addio, fiorito asil

La fanciulla del West - Ch'ella mi creda libero e lontano

La rondine - Parigi! È la città dei desider

Turandot - Nessun Dorma

ENCORES

La Rondine

Il Tabarro - ai ben ragione

Turandot - Non piangere, Liù

Gianni Schicchi - Firenze è come un albero fiorito

Performance

Opéra de Bucarest

Friday 13th of  September 2024

Cast

Orchestre Symphonique de Bucarest

Roberto Alagna - ténor

Direction Musicale : Daniel Jinga

Interview

"On Friday 13 September, another Masters of Classic concert took place, offering an opportunity for the great family of music lovers to get together once again. It's always a pleasure to walk into a concert hall and recognise faces that we regularly see at major musical events! On the bill that evening was tenor Roberto Alagna - known and loved by Romanians, but only appearing in Romania for the 2nd time as a performer. He made his debut on a Romanian stage in 2016, at the National Opera Awards Gala held at the Bucharest National Opera. This time, it was a veritable musical feast, as the Italian-French artist offered a solo concert, being the sole protagonist of the evening. The impressive programme featured a complete selection of Puccini's works in tenor arias. ‘...I'm going to perform arias from all the roles in Puccini's operas in a single evening, which is a great challenge for me...’, declared the renowned artist in an interview for Radio Roumanie Musical. A generous choice, but also a pertinent one, given Puccini's centenary this year, and also an intelligent one, maintaining stylistic coherence. In fact, it was a true complete work, since Puccini's only work without a male role, “Suor Angelica”, was even represented in the programme by an orchestral intermezzo. In all, there were 14 arias and 4 orchestral intermezzos.
But how did Roberto Alagna sing? I can say that this was the highlight of the festival, incomparable with any other concert in the series, past or future. To the applause of the audience, Roberto Alagna took to the stage to the sound of the first aria, **Torna ai felici di** from *Le Villi*. From the outset, it was clear that the evening would be a success. At 61, the artist revealed a voice that the passage of time has left virtually intact. A splendid voice, vigorous, sonorous, homogeneous in all registers, with powerful lows and impressive highs. How many tenors reach this age and retain such vocal quality? It's a difficult feat to achieve, requiring not only talent and excellent technique, but also a disciplined lifestyle, as he himself reveals in the same interview for our channel: "I've respected my voice, I haven't overdone it in my life, I've never been to the disco... I'm a quiet person, I like to spend time at home with my family". The end of the first tune set the scene for the musical evening. 

In impeccable Romanian, he thanked us for the applause, expressed his joy at being with us, said he had missed Bucharest and was going to sing his heart out. During the evening, he even mentioned that he would like to come back. Incidentally, the only Puccini opera he has not yet had the opportunity to perform is *La Fanciulla del West*. ‘... It's a shame, because I would have loved to have played a cowboy, it was my childhood dream’. Perhaps Roberto Alagna will be invited to the Cluj-Napoca production? So the atmosphere was friendly, with Roberto Alagna sincere, communicative and unpretentious, naturally sharing his emotions and fears. Right from the start, he created an atmosphere of communion, erasing all barriers; we were all part of a meeting where we could rejoice in the beauty of opera music and his voice, feeling and savouring every note. The second aria was **Orgia chimera, dall'occhio vitreo** from **Edgar**, after which he announced that he was retiring backstage for a moment's rest, leaving the orchestra to perform the prelude from Act 3 of the same opera. He returned for a series of excerpts from **Manon Lescaut** - *Tra voi belle, brune e bionde*, *Donna non vidi mai*, an orchestral intermezzo and *Guardate, pazzo son* - an opportunity to admire his elegantly linked phrases (as the saying goes, *si canta come si parla*, no?), his singing lines, his perfect diction and his impressive squillo, the hallmark of an exceptional tenor.
After the break, appearing in a new costume, Roberto Alagna prepared us for the first aria of the 2nd half of the concert - **Che gelida manina** from *La Bohème*. A youthful aria for a lyric tenor, just like the one from *Gianni Schicchi*, but the determined artist didn't want to leave out any of Giacomo Puccini's work, so he found within himself the resources needed to interpret these pages with his current voice. He admitted to having some fears about this moment, but after brilliantly overcoming this ordeal, he breathed a sigh of relief. "  "...I don't think my life could have existed without singing. Sometimes I sing without even realising it". It's obvious that singing comes as naturally to him as breathing, and he delighted his audience. Soloist and audience alike shared in the joy of his interpretation of *Che gelida manina*. The high notes were sure, the notes incisive, or on the contrary, warm, luminous and soft, with a refined and well articulated pianissimo finale. Relaxed, he moved on to the next aria - the famous **E lucevan le stelle** from *Tosca*, his remarkably resonant voice again captivating the audience.
His boundless energy also breathed new life into the orchestra, which that evening seemed much closer to the lyrical genre, with the intermezzo from *Suor Angelica*.
Roberto Alagna returned for the well-known aria **Addio fiorito asil** from *Madama Butterfly*, followed by **Ch'ella mi creda** from *La Fanciulla del West* - one of the arias of vocal maturity in the Puccini repertoire, revealing all the richness of his current timbre. After another orchestral intermezzo - **La Tregenda** from *Le Villi* - the programme announced the final number: the aria **Parigi! È la città dei desideri** from *La Rondine*.  Conceived as a surprise, the aria performed was the famous **Nessun dorma** from *Turandot*. Sung with remarkable skill, the aria ended with an apotheotic *Vincerò!*, Roberto Alagna gesturing his gratitude to God for this success, which elicited loud applause and standing ovations. And as not all the Puccini titles had been performed, the others were included as an encore. So we heard an extract from *La Rondine*, then **Hai ben ragione** from *Il tabarro*, *Non piangere, Liù* (again from *Turandot*), and **Firenze è come un albero fiorito** from *Gianni Schicchi*. For the last aria, again a page for a young singer, Roberto Alagna once again shared his fears with us. Although demonstrative, he was very emotional, confiding that he had eaten only a banana all day. He constantly interacted with the audience, even joking, and for the last few tunes he brought his bottle (of tea?) (his fuel, as he called it) on stage.
Experience spoke for itself, proving his effectiveness, and he was able to carry on impeccably with a difficult programme, despite his emotion at seeing his audience in Bucharest again, which made his task all the more difficult. The audience were also treated to what they probably want most from a tenor - brilliant high notes, held for a long time, without the slightest trace of effort. It was a true celebration of music. Bella voce!

Press Review

Radioromaniamuzical - 13 September 2024 - Florica Jalbä
 

"A feast and a delight for the audience at @salapalatului ... The recital by @robertoalagna.tenor was the pinnacle of the @mastersofclassic festival, incomparable to any other concert in the series, past or future ... An evening crowned with success. At 61, the artist revealed a voice that time had left almost intact. A splendid voice, powerful, resonant, homogeneous in all registers, with rich lows and dreamy highs... Overflowing energy... Elegantly linked phrases, impeccable diction, impressive squillo, the hallmarks of a remarkable tenor... How many tenors today reach this age and still retain such vocal qualities? ... An impeccable performance of a difficult programme, made even more complex by the emotion of the reunion with the Bucharest audience ... Brilliant high notes, held without a trace of effort ... A true celebration of music. Bella voce! "

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