Una Furtiva Lagrima
Here again young Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez proves himself a pleasure to listen to. The music on this CD is not as florid as on hisprevious recital, but the manner in which he approaches this selection of scenes by Donizetti and Bellini is just as artful. The tone is beautiful and even from bottom to amazingly easy top; he gets "in" each character; his smooth, elegant delivery ("Una furtive lagrima" is simply and meltingly sung, as is Ernesto's aria fromDon Pasquale) is as wondrous as his acrobatics--rarely have Tonio's nine high Cs from theFille du Regimentaria sounded so natural, so part of the character's enthusiasm, and rarely has Arturo's abrupt rise to high C sharp in "A te o cara" sounded so effortless. Florez's basic sound is sweet, but he can exclaim excitingly, as he does in the scene fromI Capuleti e i  Montecchi. And wait until you hear the ditty from Donizetti'sRita! Rarely has singing sounded like so much fun. Conductor Riccardo Frizza leads the orchestra (and chorus) with knowing early 19th-century style. Don't miss this.--Robert Levine