**** The opera lover who enjoys Italian nineteenth-century bel canto can certainly enjoy the cd that Michael Fabiano filled with drama from arias by Verdi and Donizetti. They are well chosen, with not only top hits from the repertoire of both composers. Lesser-known arias also receive their deserved place.
Fabiano has a clear and especially powerful voice, which never becomes shrill: a quality that certainly benefits this repertoire. This applies both to Ernani by Verdi, and to Edgardo from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. After all, the tenor occasionally has to pull out all the stops, and then nothing is uglier than a voice that screams. The unforced power of his voice is Fabiano's strength, but the drawback is that he sometimes tends towards monotony. Of course, this also has to do with the choice of arias, which all build on intensity. However, this does not prevent him from singing the lyrical passages with feeling and applying a softer intonation, for example in the closing verses of that wonderful aria Quando le sere al placido from Luisa Miller. Also the long sustained high notes succeed smoothly without stuttering. The always very refined orchestral accompaniment by the excellent London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Enrique Mazzola is also striking.
Typical of recent recordings by Pentatone is a short presentation by the artist himself. That is also particularly to the point here. Fabiano speaks of an "architecture" that brings together the meaning of the text with the music. He has realized this well in his vocal performance, and it contributes to the quality of the recording. Just listen to the despair of Riccardo in the beautiful aria from Un Ballo in maschera. It is also his motivation to love so much of this period in opera literature. Good for us, because it provides a valuable introduction to this American tenor who has already made his mark in major opera houses such as the Metropolitan in New York or Covent Garden in London.
- WHAT: Arias by Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
- WHO: Michael Fabiano (tenor), London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Enrique Mazzola
- RELEASE: Pentatone PTC 5186 750