Amour, Amour: Opera arias by Massenet, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini
Ramon Vargas, tenor; Munich Radio Orchestra, Marcello Viotti, conductor (RCA).
Canzoni: Songs by Scarlatti, Bellini, Leoncavallo, Tosti and others
Vargas, tenor; Roberto Negri, piano (LaserLight).
Among the “hot” crop of younger opera and recital singers, Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas stands out. He doesn’t have the largest voice in the pack, nor the highest placement; but he does have musicality, interpretive depth, style and spirit. And that can take a singer far, especially one with an ardent, sincere musico-dramatic personality that comes through clearly on two new albums, one of French and Italian opera arias, the other of Italian and Mexican songs.
From the fresh-voiced outpouring that begins the operatic recital album with “Ah, leve-toi, soleil” (from Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette”) through a delicately traced “Che gelida manina” (from Puccini’s “La Boheme”) at the end, Vargas reveals himself as a sensitive interpreter with a good feeling for line, a graceful lirico-spinto tenor who’s right at home in the bantamweight French and lighter Italian roles. His singing on the RCA release, supported firmly by the Bavarian orchestra under Marcello Viotti, is very consistent, with particular strength in the selections from “Manon” and “Werther.”
As good as his work on the operatic CD is, however, Vargas shines even more brightly on his Italian/Mexican song recital, where it’s clear he feels support from an enthusiastic live audience. The songs on this album are less technically challenging, allowing him to focus thoroughly on interpretation, offering highly satisfying performances of such classics as Tosti’s “Ideale” and “Mattinata” and a dramatic performance of the Neopolitan classic “Core’ngrato.” Not surprisingly, Vargas delights his audience with heartfelt, yet debonair, renderings of popular Mexican encores like Ponce’s “Lejos de ti.” In that vein, perhaps the best single item on either set is Maria Grever’s “Munequita linda,” the third of four encores, in which Vargas spins a vocal line of absolute liquidity. Move over, Jose Cura.
