Like Chocolate for...
CDs: Juan Diego Florez: Voce d'Italia: Arias for Rubini and Sentimiento Latino
Whether you agonize over decisions or make them quickly, there remain certain things to which the answer invariably is "Yes. Oh, yes, please." For example:
The Divine—yes, Divine, as in just and delicious—fair trade chocolate at the front counter of Olsson's.
A screening of Mamma Mia! at the Avalon Theatre, which can only leave you with a smile and a head buzzing with .
And then there's that PBS rebroadcast of the recent headline-making production of Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment, and not just because of the sight of Natalie Dessay in Pippi Longstocking red pigtails and Juan Diego Florez arriving on stage in a tank. The comedy's fine, but it's Florez's voice that left the New York audience cheering. Click on the mp3 file at left and see if you don't agree with them.
And for those of you who need a visual, click on to experience Florez singing "Ah! Mes amis" in an earlier production.
At a time when a veritable U.N. Assembly of tenors—Roberto Alagna, Jose Cura, Ben Heppner, Gregory Turay, Rolando Villazon, among others—seems to be turning up on stages around the world, Juan Diego Florez has earned his share of the attention.
This 35-year-old Peruvian tenor has a radiant, pleasing voice that shines in the bel canto repertoire, as is evident on Voce d'Italia: Arias for Rubini, which consists entirely of scenes from Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini. Don't worry if you don't recognize most of the material, some of which was written for the legendary 19th century tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, to whom Florez pays tribute. The texts are all included, and so are the thrills, courtesy of Florez's wonderful voice.
The tenor is in a decidedly different mood, though no less passionate, on Sentimiento Latino. He even sits in on the bongos! This material is Latin American popular music and utterly charming. Backed by orchestra and mariachi band, Florez sounds ardent but not overwrought, and if you're wondering how an opera star can be so at home with pop, wonder no more: Ruben Florez, Juan Diego's father, was a folk singer and guitarist.
Yes, chocolate is wonderful—"the favorite food of women," opined a gentleman of my acquaintance. But music answers a few other cravings, and requires the occasional divine voice. I think we've found one.
Whether you agonize over decisions or make them quickly, there remain certain things to which the answer invariably is "Yes. Oh, yes, please." For example:The Divine—yes, Divine, as in just and delicious—fair trade chocolate at the front counter of Olsson's.
A screening of Mamma Mia! at the Avalon Theatre, which can only leave you with a smile and a head buzzing with .
And then there's that PBS rebroadcast of the recent headline-making production of Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment, and not just because of the sight of Natalie Dessay in Pippi Longstocking red pigtails and Juan Diego Florez arriving on stage in a tank. The comedy's fine, but it's Florez's voice that left the New York audience cheering. Click on the mp3 file at left and see if you don't agree with them.
And for those of you who need a visual, click on to experience Florez singing "Ah! Mes amis" in an earlier production.
At a time when a veritable U.N. Assembly of tenors—Roberto Alagna, Jose Cura, Ben Heppner, Gregory Turay, Rolando Villazon, among others—seems to be turning up on stages around the world, Juan Diego Florez has earned his share of the attention.
This 35-year-old Peruvian tenor has a radiant, pleasing voice that shines in the bel canto repertoire, as is evident on Voce d'Italia: Arias for Rubini, which consists entirely of scenes from Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini. Don't worry if you don't recognize most of the material, some of which was written for the legendary 19th century tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, to whom Florez pays tribute. The texts are all included, and so are the thrills, courtesy of Florez's wonderful voice.The tenor is in a decidedly different mood, though no less passionate, on Sentimiento Latino. He even sits in on the bongos! This material is Latin American popular music and utterly charming. Backed by orchestra and mariachi band, Florez sounds ardent but not overwrought, and if you're wondering how an opera star can be so at home with pop, wonder no more: Ruben Florez, Juan Diego's father, was a folk singer and guitarist.
Yes, chocolate is wonderful—"the favorite food of women," opined a gentleman of my acquaintance. But music answers a few other cravings, and requires the occasional divine voice. I think we've found one.
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