Roberto Alagna

REVIEW CONCERT ALAGNA/KURZAK 09/01/2017 Théâtre des Champs-Elysées | By Gérard Mannoni for Altamusica "Roberto Alagna : musicality, mastery and taste, excellence of singing, valiance and tenderness, rich unique vocal tone and emission power. Triumph! "

 

EXCERPT: "[In] the duet of Faust and Marguerite 'Il se fait tard' [...] Aleksandra Kurzak immediately graced us with top notes as clear as spring water and full of beautiful light. All qualities [...] we find also in Elisabetta's aria from Don Carlo by Verdi 'Tu che the vanita' [...]. Top notes are superb, flowing with naturalness, always keeping their roundness and shimmering color, even if we heard some Elisabeth with a stronger medium. At least has Aleksandra Kurzak for her her true youth and does not use her chest voice needlessly.

 

Roberto Alagna then defends the aria of Samson with a lot of musicality and a phrasing modeled with as much mastery as good taste. [In] the duo of Nadir and Leila from Les Pêcheurs de Perles, 'Ton coeur n'a pas compris le mien', in spite of the excellence of singing, one remains a bit disappointed by the musical part.

 

[...] Immediately after comes the admirable duet of Otello and Desdemona, 'Già nella notte densa'. The two singers deploy all the qualities of their voices, ideal purity for the part of Aleksandra Kurzak, perfect valiance and tenderness on the part of Alagna. A real moment of emotion. After the Intermezzo of Manon Lescaut, inevitably one of the climax of the evening with 'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca, where Roberto Alagna can deploy all the richness of his unique tone of voice and the power of his vocal emission, which makes him one of the kings of this repertoire. Triumph and screams of joy in the room!

 

Afterwards, a very beautiful interpretation of the aria of Adrienne Lecouvreur by Cilea, 'Ecco, respiro appena', by Kurzak. A voice decidedly of a rare quality, with this vocal tone so bright, these dreamlike top notes and a strong skill for dramatic expression. And finally, Missis and Mister Alagna complete this program with the very merry duet 'Caro Elisir' from Donizetti's Elixir of love, acted and sung with a verve of true actors and means of great singers."

 

 

 

REVIEW CONCERT 09/01/2017 | By Michel Slama for Anaclase.com "A musical feast at the Theâtre des champs élysées, Alagna really impressed as Samson, emotion, nobility, musicality... Beauty of the soaring voices, ovations perfectly deserved"

 

EXCERPT (translated from French): "The musical "Tout-Paris" was rejoicing, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, packed to the last seats of the gallery lodges, on the occasion of the first great lyrical concert of the year 2017. Aleksandra Kurzak and Roberto Alagna were performing together in front of a particularly attentive and ignitable public ... [...]

 

Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak performed well in "Tu che le vanita", Elisabetta's great aria in Don Carlo (Verdi), showing how her voice has evolved since her debut at Covent Garden in London in L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti). After a Maria Stuarda (Donizetti) who caused a sensation right here and the replacement at short notice of Latvian soprano Kristina Opolais last summer in Munich, switching from the role of Eudoxie to that of Rachel (La Juive by Halévy), she can now tackle much heavier roles. Particularly musician in the aria of anthology of Adriana Lecouvreur by Cilea, "Io son’ l’umile ancella", she seduces an ecstatic audience by her charm and her bewitching tone of voice.

 

Alagna really impressed with an "air de la meule", extracted from Samson and Dalila (Saint Saëns), of exceptional perfection in terms of diction, emotion, nobility and musicality. Arriving at this stage of his career, it is unthinkable that no stage has yet offered him this role that sticks to his skin, while many theaters are featuring passable or even insufficient Samson, starting with our national opera. The other great moment of the tenor is the embodiment of Cavaradossi in the famous "E lucevan the stelle" of Tosca's third act (Puccini). The ovation is perfectly deserved, the tenor being at his peak, irreproachable.

 

As regards the duets, the most crucial will remain "Gia nella notte densa" extracted from Verdi's Otello where the tenor is in his current vocality and where Desdemona perfectly suits his wife. We will pass on the two French duets of "Les pêcheurs de perles" (Bizet) and Faust which add nothing to the glory of our lovebirds. On the other hand, that of L'elisir d'amore (Caro Elisir) is inenarrable and burlesque, both singers and conductors have great fun and heat up the public who laughs heartily.

 

Among the encores, a strange duet from Die lustige Witwe (Lehár) where Roberto Alagna starts in French and Aleksandra Kurzak goes on in Polish. Funny "Exquisite hour" (Heure exquise) ... which still exhilarates us (qui nous grise) by the beauty of the soaring tones of voice. Then, the "Libiamo ne'lieti calici" from La traviata (Verdi) and after the standing ovation of the audience, not wanting to let them go, an ultimate encore of the duet from" La veuve joyeuse"."