Nuremberg Review

Ecco le ultime notizie da Norimberga. Qui potete leggere l'articolo originale della stampa tedesca.

NUREMBERG - José Carreras is currently touring Germany with his CD program "Mediterranean Passion". His performance in the Nuremberg Meistersingerhalle made the audience to pull from their seats. Once again it became clear, first category artists do not need the help of a spectacular show of lights neither a warming-up phase. He is very unpretentious, andwith a brief nod to the conductor, José Carreras is immediately on his element. Since he left the opera stage he has focused on very special Catalan song repertoire, he has always been stating that this is the kind of repertory he performs with full sentiment and with all his heart.

Canzone, small arias and songs from Italy and his Spanish homeland, songs in which you can understand a bitter sweet mmelancholy and a large romantic touch. With stories that speak more about the pain of being distant from the person you love rather than of an accomplished love. One day after he turned 62 the star tenor performed in our region and showed himself as an intelligent manager of his vocal skills. Even if the voice has lost a bit of its metal, he still displays all the same expressiveness and dramatic ability. Carreras was never a knight of the high C and he is very aware about his present vocal power.

A question of Charm

Since in 1954, still as an eight-year-old boy, still as Josep, he performed in public for the first time, with "La donna è mobile", he has displayed that very own discreet charm of him, something he kept in what the "Three Tenors" phenomena is concerned, by concentrating above all in the musical message and leaving behind the media circus around the trio. If he now with "Marechiare", by Tosti, or O Marenariello, by Gambardelli, "sings the happiness and the pain of love, he never turns that into small superficial expressiveness but makes a true appeal to the strong heroic feelings. The young Irish soprano Celine Byrne accompanies him on the stage. She shines with Serenade, by Toselli and "Les Filles de Cadiz", by Delibes, two pieces where her warm, full and straight middle voice displays a beautiful sound. Besides opera, she can also sing pieces from musicals beautifully and theencores proved it: "O mio babbino caro" by Puccini, and "I could have danced all night", from "My Fair Lady".

And then there was also place for the Mediterranean anthem: Carreras offered "Granada" by Lara, giving evidenceof all this tenor skills and offering during the evening a photo of redpassion with his rendition of an Andalusian glistering sunny day. Small weakness, the contribution of the New Frankfurt Philharmonic. The project of this orchestra - playing pieces between cross-over and high andsymphonic ones takes its bill on the sound of the ensemble. David Giménez hand may be the only instrument to control too vociferous sound. And so, you hear that the Mediterranean temperament cannot be totally felt in thisGerman rendition. But, in the end, the orchestra turns out to be a very professional accompaniment for the two singers.