French Arias.

Marcelo Alvarez [] "FRENCH ARIAS" Opera arias by Massenet, Offenbach, Donizetti, Verdi, Gounod, Meyerbeer, Rossini. Orchestra and chorus of the Opera de Nice, Elder. Texts and translations. Sony SK 89650

It was clear at Marcelo Alvarez's 1998 Met debut -- even buried as he was in the overstuffed Zeffirelli Traviata -- that his was a pleasing, easy voice, and that he knew what a phrase was. It was his return to the Met as the Duke of Mantua, a role in which he took London by storm this past fall, that Alvarez really turned heads. Singing of the most amazing fluidity was joined by an ebulliently demonic stage presence; every word was attended to, and his dynamic agility was breathtaking. This sort of elegance of delivery made him a sure contender in the French repertoire, as this disc proves, a promising match of artist and Fach.

However, the non-French origins of Alvarez (born in Cordoba, Argentina) are immediately apparent in the first aria, the oft-recorded "Pourquoi me reveiller" from Werther, in which articles become pluralized ("le" is sung as "les") and prepositions ("de" vs. "du") interchanged. These accidents of the non-native speaker (or singer) are easily correctible and they should be corrected, no matter how trivial they may seem to his record company. Alvarez is too important an artist for careless preparation or promotion.

Alvarez has the unforced, honeyed tones long associated with the Spanish voice, so well-suited to French vocal music, and he uses his technique as a means of real expression. His sound has an innate beauty, but even more arresting is the imagination with which he uses his voice and points his words. Only occasionally does the core of the voice disappear in mezza voce passages; otherwise the singing is consistently marvelous, and the potential is there for greater things to come. ...