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Dennis O'Neill is a wonderfully sensitive, intelligent singer--a tenor who varies his tone and delivery for each character. He also sings the music as written, with every dynamic shading in place. Yes, he manages high B-flats pianissimo without resorting to falsetto, and he also rises somewhat heroically to heavier moments. But there's a rub. The loud, high notes are a bit nasty--a slight wobble comes into the voice and a sense of strain is more than noticeable. His exquisite, piano beginning of "O paradiso" ("Oh land of dreams") from
L'Africaine is only a sad memory when you hear the vaguely bawled high notes throughout. His "Reve" from
Manon is lovely in its sustained peacefulness, and while he's very exciting in the big Act II duet from
Ballo (with soprano Susan Bullock as a fine Amelia), there are always those unfortunate "big" notes to reckon with. Perhaps that's why the gorgeous
Pearl Fishers duet, with baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore, ends the program so successfully. The soft notes are more prominent than the troublesome forte ones. Perhaps this is being too picky--O'Neill is a worthy singer, he makes these arias and scenes palatable in translation (even Alvaro's music from
Forza is believable), and artistry like this is a pleasure to come across.
--Robert Levine
