Unless something strange happens, I’d be willing to bet that relative newcomer Rolando Villazon will have a phenomenal career. The somewhat dark-hued-but-lyric voice has an innate intensity and beauty that is just the icing on an otherwise splendid cake. He delineates character and sings with a type of “morbidezza” not heard since Carlo Bergonzi, and his training must be impeccable: he delivers a perfect “messa di voce” at the close of “De’ miei bollenti spiriti”, he has a genuine pianissimo (rather than a vague falsetto-like croon), and he handles the bel canto-like cadenzas at the close of both Rigoletto arias with ease, accuracy, and grace. The high-Cs that cap both “O mio rimorso” (only one verse is given) and “Che gelida manina” are beauties. A quick vibrato creeps in around the E-F-G range and might be a problem, but as of now it’s just something to notice.
His taste is flawless–he refuses to sob or moan–but his attention to dynamics and detail say far more than any gulp or whine would: the beautiful L’Arlesiana aria, sung as written without the interpolated high-B, is a heartbreaker, and his legato in “Angelo casto e bel” could melt a stone. Cavaradossi seems a bit heavy for him, but every other selection here is powered ideally. This is the man who might walk away with the prize. Buy this–it’s a remarkable debut recital, and we may just have found the tenor who has everything. He and the orchestra are in very good hands under Marcello Viotti. [2/28/2004]
