Marcelo Alvarez.(Sound Recording Review)

"THE TENOR'S PASSION" Arias by Puccini, Cilea, Giordano, Flotow, R. Strauss, Bellini, Meyerbeer, Lalo, Bizet. Staatskapelle Dresden, Viotti, Texts and translations. Sony SK 92937

At this juncture in his vocal development, lyric tenor Marcelo Alvarez is beginning to step up a category in vocal weight, attempting some lirico spinto tenor repertoire. Certainly, Alvarez is a savvy enough artist to realize that some of what he is singing here is, at least for now, strictly for the record. But by the grace of a good technique and a microphone, much of it works, with only a few red flags signaling encroaching losses in fluidity to his almost-always lovely sound.

Were this not the age of silly CD titles, this disc would probably be titled simply "Great Tenor Arias," but no matter: Alvarez offers his program of crowd-pleasers with aplomb. The recital opens with an exuberant "Che gelida manina," a bit light in weight but appropriately youthful and boasting an easy high C. Alvarez is also a shade underweight for Pinkerton's "Addio fiorito asil," but there is no denying the sensitivity of his reading, which captures the character's sense of regret in a way that makes him seem less callow. In the two tenor arias from Tosca (an opera he will take up at Covent Garden in 2006), only the high-note climaxes respond effectively to the pressure applied, but, surprisingly, Des Grieux's "Donna non vidi mai" (Manon Lescaut) is a complete success. Alvarezs sunny timbre in this piece is reminiscent of the young Giuseppe di Stefano. The phrase "Manon Lescaut mi chiamo" is sung meltingly, the tenor once again employing his voice to add that extra level of interpretation for which he ...