Roberto Alagna

La Depêche de Midi (Toulouse) - Jean-Marc Le Scouarnec

"I love facetiousness, I love life..." ... Roberto Alagna is one of the stars of the Toulouse Festival. On Tuesday 4 July, the singer will be giving a recital at the Théâtre du Capitole, a venue where he has had many happy experiences.
 
"I love facetiousness, I love life. It's a short life, it has to be beautiful. To do that, you must never take yourself too seriously, and never hesitate to take the side roads.
 
"Yvan and I don't have any specific programme. Because we know each other so well, we can improvise things on the spur of the moment. There will be opera arias of course, perhaps Rodrigue's prayer from Massenet's 'Le Cid', an extract from Verdi's 'Simon Boccanegra'. And then some Mexican and Neapolitan songs. And why not a tango if we feel like it? "
 
"I jump into projects according to my mood, depending on what I feel like doing. I've never had a career plan. I like to surprise people, to win them over little by little, without singing a hit from La Traviata straight away."

Press review
 

La Depêche du Midi - Jean Marc le Scouarnec - 4/07/2023

"Roberto Alagna was sold out at the Théâtre du capitole for a dazzling and flamboyant return, applauded to the rafters ... The energy and obvious form of the tenor, complicit and generous, was a pleasure to see ... Happy to be there, he wanted it to be seen, and heard too ... The tenor put all his heart and soul into creating peaks of emotion, from the most tenuous delicacy to the most dazzling vocal power."
 
READ ➕ (EXTRACTS): "Toulouse Festival: Roberto Alagna's dazzling return to the Théâtre du Capitole | The great star of the Toulouse Festival, Roberto Alagna sold out the Théâtre du Capitole on Tuesday 4 July. A flamboyant comeback that drew rapturous applause from the audience. [...] On stage too, the temperature rose rapidly during Roberto Alagna's recital, as he finally got rid of his tie during the second half of the concert. But it would have taken much more than a few degrees to dampen the energy of the tenor, whose obvious form was a pleasure to see.

Complicit and generous: Absent from Toulouse for ten years - and for twenty if we stick to the Théâtre du Capitole - Roberto Alagna arrived jokingly, asking the audience: "Have you changed everything here? I don't recognise the auditorium! This complicity, with the audience as well as with Yvan Cassar, at his side at the piano, continued throughout the show. Roberto Alagna was happy to be here, and he wanted it to show. And he wanted it to be heard too, because from opera arias to Neapolitan and Sicilian songs, not forgetting the film theme from 'The Godfather', the tenor poured his heart and soul into creating peaks of emotion, from the most subtle delicacy to the most dazzling vocal power. In a sold-out Théâtre du Capitole, the audience joined in the festivities, applauding wildly as the pieces went by... and singing in turn at the end of the show. Let's hope that Roberto Alagna doesn't have to wait another ten years to return to Toulouse".

Ôlyrix - Thimothée Bougon - 5/07/2023

"ALAGNA AT THE CAPITOLE, A LEGEND ON A HUMAN SCALE .... Generous timbre, never stingy on the high notes ... As well as mezzo forte or forte nuances, he also knows how to play the piano with great finesse ... Extremely at ease on stage and in his playing ... Overflowing affection ... A deeply generous performance ... In the Théâtre du Capitole, he creates a whole atmosphere ... A triumph for Alagna : particularly warm applause between pieces, standing ovation from an ecstatic audience split between deep admiration for this singing star, and a closeness, a familiarity, created by a deeply complicit duet and that generosity exuded by Roberto Alagna, a legend on a human scale."

READ ➕ (EXTRACTS): "ALAGNA AT THE CAPITOLE, A LEGEND OF HUMAN SIZE - With his usual style, Roberto Alagna lends his generous tenor timbre to a variety of repertoires [...]. Never stingy on the high notes, [he] mixes the aesthetics of opera and song. His diction is always clear and the text comprehensible. Although he generally stays in mezzo-forte or forte nuances, he also knows how to play piani with great finesse, particularly on interjections and expressive "Ah! [...] Extremely at ease on stage and in his performance, he creates a whole atmosphere in the auditorium, talking to the audience and also to Yvan Cassar [...] an attentive, relaxed accompanist, with a highly musical and sympathetic presence [...] Roberto Alagna's performance, with its overflowing affect, is profoundly generous. [...] The particularly warm applause between pieces culminated in a standing ovation from the packed Théâtre du Capitole. A triumph for Alagna and an ecstatic audience, torn between deep admiration for this singing star and a closeness, a familiarity, created by a deeply complicit duo and the generosity exuded by Roberto Alagna, a legend on a human scale".

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