I'm starting a series (if I am undisciplined in the pursuit of this series, it will just have to be forgiven) about singers who did not make the 14, and first is Roberto Alagna.
Roberto is really strictly an opera singer and never ventures out into other repertoire. He is that rare thing, a French tenor very much immersed in the Italian style. His career is enjoying a resurgence because he appears to be exactly what Peter Gelb is looking for as his leading man for French operas such as Carmen and Romeo et Juliette.
I adore Roberto and have chosen this example of him because it is completely over the top. If you occasionally feel constricted by the passionate but nevertheless controlled Germanness of Herr Kaufmann, then Roberto is the perfect antidote.
He looks good in closeups but falls out of the top group because he occasionally sings out of tune. We are torn. More discipline will mean less passion. Oh dear.
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2 comments:
I don't know where you get the idea that RA is "strictly an opera singer and never ventures into other repertoire" - do you mean other classical repertoire? Because RA is certainly the king of crossover, with several double platinum CDs & DVDs, such as his "C'est Magnifique, Roberto Alagna chante Luis Mariano" and "Le Sicilien" which is Sicilian folksongs. The Louis Mariano Concerts and the Sicilien Concerts, (I believe there were 20 or more this summer) are hugely popular in France, and at some point will probably go international.
Sorry. I tend to pay no attention to crossover. I think I was referring to classical repertoire. Lots of singers appear in opera and classical concerts. Some are even concert only.
I have no objection to crossover and am glad Roberto is successfully supplementing his income.
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