Yet, much as I like him myself, I was surprised at seeing some contrary reviews mixed in with the raves on some of his recordings. But it would not explain some of the negative reviews that his recent CD of Rossini and Donizetti arias have received. To go back to Merritt's CD, an extremely glowing review was penned by the editor of Op ra International , who awarded it a prize. My review of CD . I think that the answer is really quite simple.
Different listeners look for different things in singers.
Obviously, no singer possesses all these characteristics to the same extent. By the same token the requirements of different operas, even by the same composer, also vary. As a result, the same singer may come across much better in one work than in another. Finally, there may well be psychological factors involved. Some listeners, most probably those with a preference for sopranos, may simply not like big voiced tenors.