Description:
The either-love-him-or-hate-him tenor sensation Andrea Bocelli fulfills his lifelong dream of recording Puccini's rapturous La Bohème, thereby affording fans (who may have previously shunned opera) access to this magical art form. A fragile vulnerability graces Bocelli's Rodolfo. His tenor's tearful tenderness always seems one step away from breaking, but it never does; he always delivers. Instead of opening his throat and letting the voice ride the wave of the breath, Bocelli unabashedly throws his voice towards the high notes. And it works! The sound is light, nasal, and effortlessly produced, and the money notes at
The either-love-him-or-hate-him tenor sensation Andrea Bocelli fulfills his lifelong dream of recording Puccini's rapturous La Bohème, thereby affording fans (who may have previously shunned opera) access to this magical art form. A fragile vulnerability graces Bocelli's Rodolfo. His tenor's tearful tenderness always seems one step away from breaking, but it never does; he always delivers. Instead of opening his throat and letting the voice ride the wave of the breath, Bocelli unabashedly throws his voice towards the high notes. And it works! The sound is light, nasal, and effortlessly produced, and the money notes at his tenor's top expand as vividly as a hot-air balloon. Like a pop singer, Bocelli leans on the middle voice. What he lacks in phrasing, he makes up for through his commitment to passion. Conductor Zubin Mehta's sensitive orchestra teases, expands, frolics, and enriches, frequently upstaging the singers with his rich orchestral emotion. Barbara Frittoli is a vocal battleship, bringing an unpleasantly thick and wobbly soprano to the role of the frail Mimì and frequently submerging Bocelli under steely vocal heft. Her Mimì is not the maker of delicate flowers, but the person who stomps on them when they've accidentally fallen to the floor. Bocelli is not the greatest Rodolfo on record. But if this recording creates a new generation of Puccini lovers, it may be his greatest musical contribution. --Barbara Eisner Bayer
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Manufacturer: Philips
Release date: 7 November 2000
EAN: 0028946406021 UPC: 028946406021
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