Customer Reviews

Sir Thomas Allen: Great Operatic Arias, Vol. 2

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Sir Thomas Allen is one of the most enjoyable singers of the past thirty-plus years and he has been a stalwart on international stages for much of that time. This CD, the second in a series of baritone arias sung in English, was recorded some three years after the first of them and sadly one can note some slight waning of Allen's vocal abilities -- he was, after all, sixty-four when he recorded the present CD. There is just a tad of breathiness that creeps in, particularly in loud passages (and also in pianissimo ones). Still, his diction, characterizations and musicality remain undimmed. There are those, of course, who sniff at non-English opera sung in English but there are many for whom performances in their own language are revelatory, and there is no one better able to provide this sort of 'aha!' experience than Sir Tom.

As for the repertoire on the CD, most of it is from Italian opera: baritone arias from Magic Flute, Falstaff (Ford's monolog), the Don Carlos duet (with the fine tenor, Gwyn Hughes Jones), Macbeth, Don Giovanni ('Madamina'), Figaro ('Se vuol ballare'), Traviata (the duet with Violetta) and so on. The CD ends with 'September Song' from Weill's 'Knickerbocker Holiday', a fine rendition. Although texts are provided, one really doesn't need them. The Philharmonia Orchestra under David Parry provide sensitive accompaniments.

The English singing translations are excellent, many of them by Jeremy Sams, Amanda Holden or Andrew Porter.

Scott Morrison