Puritani from Vienna State opera (09. March 2004)
Stefania Bonfadelli (Elivira)
Manuel Lanza (Riccardo)
Alastair Miles (Giorgio)
Joseph Calleja (Arturo)
Stefan Soltesz cond.
Frankly, the reasons why I came across this radio broadcast were A) it’s a Bellini opera, B) there was no better option on other radio stations at the time. I didn’t expect much from it either. Among the cast I only knew the names of Bonfadelli, Lanza and Calleja, because they were/are listed in OZ’ ensemble. Except Lanza whom I saw in Barbiere once, I knew nothing about other singers nor read any review about them. Anyway, this Puritani turned out to be really fantastic.
Stefania Bonfadelli, replacing indisposed Gruberova, was an amazing Elivra. She has found a good balance between drama and coloratura. The coloratura was breathtaking and the portrait of a girl on the edge of nerve breakdown convincing. A much much better Elvira than Gruberova, IMHO. I mean, Grubi is great in her own way. But I could use her “qui la voce” to put myself to sleep, which does not apply for Bonfadelli. Grubi is surely more impressive in the coloratura department; as for the drama, one is better off with Bonfadelli.
Lanza and others’ performance was remarkable as well, but the biggest "discovery" of the evening for me was Joseph Calleja. I saw his name appearing in OZ’s season program couple times before, but never got the chance to see him. (It was and still is EXTREMELY difficult to get a ticket for Rigoletto at OZ.) It took me a while to get used to his quick vibrato (think Nina Simone), but once I passed that. His voice became utterly fascinating to me. (I’m a big soprano geek and generally don’t care very much for tenors. There are only a handful of tenors whom I’ve taken into my absolutely-favorites realm. ;-) Although only at age of 26, his voice sounds rather mature and yet radiates youthfulness. By mature, I mean, the steady and strengthy timbre one often in older singers. And it’s a voice that makes instantly think “this is a perfect voice for Italian opera". Some already compares him to young Pav, which I failed to see the similarity in. I haven’t heard much of Pav’s recordings, but Calleja does not have this bright and light timbre which is so typical of Pav (according to my very limited experience with Pav). If anyone, then I would put him in the “Carreras"-category. Warm, middle-weight timbre, full and gorgeous which is perfect for romantic heroes/lovers (like Arturo). OTOH, due to his quick vibrato, his voice is rather unique. Of course, a gorgeous voice does not a good singer make. He also has impressive characterizing skill to match his beautiful voice. He more than successfully delivered a portrait of a young passionate lover who knows what’s the right thing to do, even when everyone else does not seem to understand. It’s a shame that I could not see how he acted on stage, but from what I hear through the radio, it must be great.
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[JP says] I've just seen Stefania Bonfadelli's Violetta yesterday, which was fab. Before I finish the review on yesterday's Traviata, here's an old post of mine about the gorgeous Miss Bonfadelli.
Photo:Stefania Bonfadelli:
http://www.br-online.de/kultur-szene/klassik/pages/solisten/img/bonfadelli.jpg
