Arias By Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, Gounod & Meyerbeer

Riccardo Frizza (Conductor), Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana (Orchestra), Erwinn Schrott (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Erwinn Schrott
• Orchestra: Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana
• Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
• Audio CD (September 23, 2008)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B001641ZG2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,027 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #69 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Classical (c.1770-1830) > Vocal & Song > General AAS

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Born in Montivideo, Uruguay in 1972 Erwin Schrott has already been acclaimed internationally as an important basso cantante and has appeared at many of the world's most prestigious operatic theaters such as the Teatro alla Scala, Milan,Metropolitan Opera, Opera National de Paris, Washington Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Hamburg State Opera, Theatre Royale de la Monnaie, Teatro Comunale,Firenze, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Los Angeles opera and many others. He has been hailed as one of the most exciting interpreters on the stage today and has been received special acclaim as Don Giovanni and Leporello in Don Giovanni and in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro. Erwin Schrott began the 2007/2008 season singing the title character in Le nozze di Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera. He also performed the title role of Don Giovanni at the Washington National Opera and with the Los Angeles Opera this season. Mr. Schrott will sing the same role in Seville, and perform the role of Pagano in I lombardi in Naples. He also makes his Salzburg Festival debut this summer as Leporello in Don Giovanni. During the 2006/2007 season Erwin Schrott's engagements include Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Carmen at the Vienna State Opera. He returned to Covent Garden in the title role of Don Giovanni, and appeared in the same role in Valencia's new opera house. He also returned to Teatro alla Scala as Don Giovanni. Engagements for future seasons include the title role in Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan and the role of Escamillo in Carmen at La Scala under Daniel Barenboim's direction. Schrott began his 2005/2006 season as Pagano in a new production of Verdi's I lombardi in Florence. Schrott returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Escamillo in Carmen and will also tour with the company to Japan where he appears as Don Giovanni a role he also sang at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and the Tetaro Regio in Turin. He also appeared as Figaro that season in David McVicar's louia new production of Le nozze di Figaro under Antonio Pappano at Covent Garden. Erwin Schrott made his professional debut in Montivideo at age 22 as Roucher in Andrea Chenier, after which he was invited to the Teatro Municipal in Santiago where he made his first appearances in several leading roles including Timur in Turandot, Colline in La bohème, Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Ramfis in Aida. In 1996, he received a scholarship for studies in Italy. He made his Italian stage debut in 1996 at the Teatro Regio de Torino in Boris Godunov. Schrott was catapulted to international attention in 1998 when he won the first prize of both the public and jury in the OPERALIA international competition sponsored and organzied by Placido Domingo. Significant international debuts followed in rapid succession. He debuted at the Teatro Lirico in Calgiari in La bohème followed by his debut at the Arena di Verona in Rigoletto and at the Washington Opera in L'elisir d'amore Schrott also performed Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Israel Philharmonic under Daniel Oren. In 1999 he bowed at the Vienna State and Nice Opera as Banquo in Macbeth, at the Opera National de Paris as Masetto in a new production of Don Giovanni and at the Teatro Comunale in Florence in Turandot. Schrott debuted at the Hamburg State Opera in 2000 in a new staging of La bohème, the year also of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the same work. Schrott made his first appearances at the Theatre Royale de La Monnaie in Brussels in 2001 in a new production of Macbeth under Antonio Pappano. He returned to the Bastille and to the Metropolitan in La bohème and also was heard in two Bellini roles, appearing as Rodolfo in La sonnambula in Rio de Janeiro and as Giorgio in I puritani for his debut at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.. The same year Schrott also sang his first concerts of Verdi's Requiem at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Schtott debuted at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 2002 as Colline and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Banquo. He also bowed at the 2002 Maggio Musicale Fiorentino as Narbal in the new production of Hector Berlioz's Les Troyens under Zubin Mehta. In the autumn of 2002 Erwin Schrott returned to Brussels for a new production of La Boheme under Pappano. Other roles in his developing repertoire also include Mephistopheles in Faust, the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann. In September of 2003 Schrott appeared at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden debut as Leporello in Don Giovanni under Antonio Pappano. He was greeted with unanimous acclaim by both press and public. Following his London debut Schrott made his debut with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan appearing as the Pharaon in the new production of Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon under Riccardo Muti which inaugurated the 2003/2004 season. Schrott sang his first Figaro for the Los Angeles Opera in the spring of 2004. In the spring of 2003 he sang his first performances of the title role of Don Giovanni with the Washington Opera and then appeared in the role in Los Angeles. Escamillo in Carmen entered his repertoire at the Cincinnati Opera. Last season Shchrott returned to Los Angeles in the same role. He starred in Don Giovanni under Zubin Mehta at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 23-SEP-2008

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent recital, January 9, 2009

By 

Rosomax (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arias By Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, Gounod & Meyerbeer (Audio CD)

Looking at most of the other reviews, it seems that Mr. Schrott has inadvertently offended some listeners by his good looks. Even though this is slightly amusing, I would like to put forth a suggestion that while of great value onstage or on video, dashing good looks are neither help nor hindrance for an artist when we're just listening to him sing. I remember the first time I listened to Ewa Podles's CD from Naxos which had no cover pictures whatsoever. I was still awed by her and still am. It's all about voice.

Speaking of which, Erwin Shrott possesses a likable youthful-sounding basso voice, very different from, say, Christoff or Ghiaurov (my all-time favorites) but interesting, rich, and exciting in its own right.

There are some minor enunciation issues, but so minor indeed that they can safely be ignored. All non-native speakers are prone to an occasional slip when trying to sing and emote in a language they haven't grown up with. It is indeed very difficult, as I have experienced first-hand.

Schrott, in my opinion, does a fantastic job with Mozart. For some unknown reason Decca producers chose to space the "Le Nozze" arias apart, but I very much enjoyed Scrott's portrayal of Figaro, particularly "Se vuol ballare" which is given a somewhat sarcastic treatment, coupled with youthful confidence -- this Figaro isn't at the slightest intimidated by his rival. I liked that.

Verdian repertoire is surprisingly vast and well-handled for a basso whose specialty is clearly Mozart. I personally prefer Italian version of Philip's great lament, but Schrott's deeply felt, even intimate, rendition still works, especially in contrast to many shouting versions I heard lately. Banquo's aria from "Macbeth" is superb, Schrott manages to sound older and terrified, yet restrained, the ending high note is beautifully executed.

Finally, his devil roles are not scary (think Ghiaurov, Ramey) but rather energetic and playful.

I would like to conclude by saying that I didn't find his characterizations "flat" or "plain". They're not mesmerizing (yet) perhaps because this is his first recital CD. However, there's a "Le Nozze di Figaro" DVD out and one can immediately see a huge potential this singer has. I, for one, look forward to following his career and will definitely buy his future albums.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Safe, Staid, Perfunctory Performances, September 26, 2008

By 

David Cady (NYC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Arias By Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, Gounod & Meyerbeer (Audio CD)

In a recent New York Times interview, Erwin Schrott is quoted as saying that "he was worried...that the sound of his voice -- 'my ideal sound, my inner sound, what my ear hears' was not coming through on [his debut] recording." The article goes on to disagree, stating that "the engineers have ably captured the heft, warmth and chocolate-tinged colorings of [Schrott's] voice." Personally, I agree a bit with both opinions. In this, his first recital CD, Schrott comes across as an able musician with a decent, often powerful, instrument, but not always an exciting one. Compare this disc to Simon Keenlyside's recent "Tales of Opera," on which he sings a collection of familiar arias with such superb vocal artistry and characterization that it's as if we're hearing them for the first time. No such magic happens during Schrott's ordinary, characterless portrayals; mostly what's lacking is a unique point of view that would separate him from other singers. (In fact, half-way through my first listening, I was so uninvolved I switched my iPod over to David Daniels's new Bach CD, which I had purchased on the same day.) Apparently, Schrott's stage persona is dynamic and almost dangerously spontaneous (I've never seen him, either live or on DVD); if only that shone through on this recording.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The stage image is sexy, but Schrott's vocal acting is serious and a bit flat, September 23, 2008

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Arias By Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, Gounod & Meyerbeer (Audio CD)

Decca is unbashedly leaping into the arena with "barihunk" Erwin Schrott, one of the hottest items on the list of male opera stars who take their shirts off and flirt seductively with their roles. Baritons -- or in this case a deeper bass-baritone - have enough handicaps competing with tenors for center stage, so why not? Schrott's calling card is Don Giovanni, a role where seductiveness is highly desirable, and here he takes on Leporello's catalog aria as well. One notices right away that this is a very good if somewhat generic voice -- solidly placed, dark, and flexible. Schrott really acts the catalog aria, adding a knowing laugh at one point.

To prove that he's not just a charmer, the second aria is King Philip's anguished Act 3 monologue from Verid's 'Don Carlo.' Schrott's basso isn't as rich and deep as Ghiaurov, Christoff, or Ramey, to name some notable Philips, but he's dramatically convincing, and the added flexibility of a "basso cantante," as Decca describes him, keeps this somber music from becoming turgid and lachrymose -- in fact, Schrott sings with a moving, restrained dignity. It's odd to hop back to Don Giovanni, where we hear "Deh vieni alla finestra" sung as suavely as Siepi ever did but with not nearly as much personality and urgency. The Don's Champagne Aria is taken slowly and feels bland rather than fizzy and exuberant.

More Verdi and Mozart follow -- this seems to be the territory Schrott has marked out for himself, but I'm bothered that Figaro's "Seh vuol ballare" sounds so humorless and phlegmatic; this offended groom-to-be doesn't seem upset at all that anaother man wants his bride. Schrott's sexy image, in fact, is tied to a decidedly conservative style of singing, with only occasional flashes of life. "Non piu andrai" should be a slam dunk for any Figaro, but here it sounds like old Don Basilio teaching a vocal lesson. Still, Schrott obviously has a quality voice, and I imagine that on stage his charisma does a lot to fill out the weak spots in his vocal acting.

Here's the track listing:

Berlioz:

Voice des roses (Air de Méphistophélès)

Gounod:

Serenade: Vous qui faite l'endormie (Mephistopheles) [from Faust]

Meyerbeer:

Voici donc les debris... Nonnes qui reposez (from Robert le Diable)

Mozart:

Madamina, il catalogo è questo (from Don Giovanni)

Deh! vieni alla finestra (from Don Giovanni)

Fin ch'han dal vino (from Don Giovanni)

Bravo, signor padrone...Se vuol ballare (from Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 / Act 1)

Le nozze di Figaro: Aprite un po'quegli occhi

Non più andrai (The Marriage of Figaro)

Verdi:

Elle ne m'aime pas! (from Don Carlo / Act 3)

Gran Scena: "Studia il passo, o mio figlio!" (from Macbeth / Act 2)

O toi Palerme (from Les Vespres siciliennes)