Ramón Vargas - Verdi Arias

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Mexican lyric tenor Ramón Vargas displays an impressive range of Verdian skills in this selection of arias from 12 operas. His tone is open and full, with well-placed high notes and a vigorous delivery, while technique and style combine in a solid bel canto approach. There's some particularly graceful phrasing in the Ernani extract, while the more dramatic Luisa Miller aria is given an especially forthright reading, with the character's disbelieving anger at his emotional betrayal conveyed with spirit.

Vargas is good with words, too. His interpretation of Macduff's aria of loss from Macbeth benefits from committed diction, and he produces some lovely effects throughout this number. Equally memorable are items in French from Les Vêspres siciliennes and Jérusalem (Verdi's 1847 Parisian revision of the 1843 I Lombardi). These are among several rarities included--alternative arias Verdi wrote for later productions of some operas, while Alzira must be one of the least known of all his works. The English translations in the booklet are clumsy, but Vargas's singing is going to give a lot of pleasure. The accompaniments from Edoardo Müller and the Munich Radio Orchestra are topnotch. --George Hall

Tracks:

Ernani: Part II. Scena Ed Aria: Padre, Con Essi Intrepido/Odi Il Voto, O Grande Iddio
I Due Foscari: Act I. Scena E Cavatine: Qui Ti Rimani Alquanto/Dal Piu Remoto Esiglio/Odio Solo, Ed
Alzira: Act II. Scena Ed Aria: Miserandi Avanzi/Irne Lungi Ancor Dovrei/Non Di Codarde Lagrime
Attila: Act III. Romanza: Oh, Dolore! Ed Io Vivea
Macbeth: Act IV. Scena Ed Aria: O Figli, O Figli Miei!/Ah, La Paterna Mano
I Masnedieri: Part I. Scena Ed Aria: Quando Io Leggio In Plutarco/O Mio Castel Paterno/Nell'argilla.
Jerusalem: Act II. Scene Et Air: L'Emir Aupres De Lui M'appelle/Je Veux Encore Entendre
Luisa Miller: Act II. Scena Ed Aria: Oh! Fede Negar Potessi/Quando Le Sere Al Placido
Rigoletto: Act II. Scena Ed Aria: Ella Mi Fu Rapita/Parmi Veder Le Lagrime/Scorrendo Uniti Remota
Il Trovatore: Part III. Scena Ed Aria: Ah! Si, Ben Mio, Coll'essere/Di Quella Pira L'orren
Les Vepres Siciliennes: Act IV. Romance: A Toi Que J'ai Cherie
Falstaff: Act III. Aria: Dal Labbro Il Canto Estasiato Vola

Amazon.com

The Mexican lyric tenor Ramón Vargas displays an impressive range of Verdian skills in this selection of arias from 12 operas. His tone is open and full, with well-placed high notes and a vigorous delivery, while technique and style combine in a solid bel canto approach. There's some particularly graceful phrasing in the Ernani extract, while the more dramatic Luisa Miller aria is given an especially forthright reading, with the character's disbelieving anger at his emotional betrayal conveyed with spirit.

Vargas is good with words, too. His interpretation of Macduff's aria of loss from Macbeth benefits from committed diction, and he produces some lovely effects throughout this number. Equally memorable are items in French from Les Vêspres siciliennes and Jérusalem (Verdi's 1847 Parisian revision of the 1843 I Lombardi). These are among several rarities included--alternative arias Verdi wrote for later productions of some operas, while Alzira must be one of the least known of all his works. The English translations in the booklet are clumsy, but Vargas's singing is going to give a lot of pleasure. The accompaniments from Edoardo Müller and the Munich Radio Orchestra are topnotch. --George Hall

Customer Reviews:

Ramón - Tenor Extraordinaire!.......2003-04-10

First, let me start by saying that I agree with the review by Joy Fleisig of this CD. She was right on the mark with everything. A gorgeous sounding light tenor who did a great performance of Verdi which I didn't think would turn out as good as it did. Ramón gives us exquisitely beautiful pianissimos, but Joy Fleisig was right, there were a few slightly weak and closed throated sounding high notes, but they are made up with a middle range to die for and a rich lower register. Ramón does need to add greater drama and needs to give more character to the roles.

Ramón does a particularly exciting ending to "Nell'argilla maledetta" from Verdi's "I masnadieri". He is also very good in "Ah! Si, ben mio" and "Di quella pira" from Il trovatore. However, in "Di quella pira", Ramón does sound a little weak at the very end of the aria. On the other hand, Pavarotti actually sounds a little strained at the ending of "Di quella pira"(Decca 417 713). If you want to hear "Di quella pira" the way it should be done, listen to Carlo Bergonzi on Decca (289 467), wow, what a thrilling ending that shakes the rafters. In my opinion Ramón needs to open up his throat more during those high notes to let them loose. It sounds like he is trying to protect his voice.

I wanted to give this CD a 4 ½ star rating but there are no half stars, so I am forced to give it a 4 star rating because it is not quite good enough for 5 stars.

I would love to hear Ramón expand his light tenor repertoire to do Tamino in the Magic Flute and other Mozart operas and Handel's Oratorios which his voice is perfectly suited for.

Also, and more importantly, my wish is for Ramón to do Puccini's "La Boheme" and to come out with a CD of Puccini arias and a CD of verismo arias. Can Ramón create the power and, more so, the DRAMA to do versimo? That is yet to be seen. I would like to hope so, because I love listening to Ramón's honey sounding voice.

bel canto at 5 stars plus.......2003-01-18

This guy really knows how to sing. I give this cd 5 stars plus.

Truly "Bel Canto!".......2002-12-29

Ramon Vargas is a wonderful, musical singer. I used to limit myself to the "biggies" such as Pavarotti, Bjoerling, Corelli etc., but I am so glad I have broadened my scope to include non-"legendary" voices.
For, while a tenor like Ramon Vargas may not have the sheer natural vocal endowment to become a "legendary" tenor for the ages, he certainly has the ability in the here-and-now to sing with surpassing beauty and exquisite musicality. He gives these arias a freshness that is, well... refreshing!
He also sings in a very self-effacing and humble manner-- being more interested in letting his voice serve the music rather than his own ego. This type of singing is, for my money, where it's at and you sometimes dont get it with the "legends", perhaps because they know they are "legendary"!

Ramon Vargas sings purely and without artifice and it is moving. I will buy more of his CDs for sure. Buy and enjoy.

Splendid!.......2002-12-20

Indeed, this disc is a treasure of tenor singing. Ramon Vargas once again demonstrates his mastery of Verdian line (listen to Alzira on Philips under Luisi for a complete role). He has a voice that easily lends itself to recordings; it's light, but incredibly bright, clear, and focused. He pays a great deal of attention to the texts, it's remarkably easy to understand every word. One thing that stood out for me was the care with which Vargas approaches every phrase, I am certain he worked relentlessly on polishing each note, each line, to make it just right. In this day & age when half-baked "tenors" are popping up everywhere, it's marvelous to hear a singer whose love and care for the music is so genuine.
Like several folks here, I find Vargas most at home at purely lyric repertoire. But the way Verdi created some of his characters, it's not obvious under what vocal fach do they fall. Case in point - the Troubadour. The part is essentially lyric, but there are some outbursts, such as relating the duel with the Count, or Di Quella Pira that call for dramatic delivery. Lyric tenors have a bit more freedom in Verdian roles than spinto or di forza tenors in a sense that they can negotiate the legato lines with dazzling control, yet some, like Vargas, are able to muster enough power to deliver exciting dramatic moments. Yes, there might a slight lack of dramatic punch to some moments, but all selections impress with a great deal of commitment.
The absolute favorite for me on this CD is "Quando la sere al placido", thankfully sang without the "ohime" at the end. The scene from "I Masnadieri" is fantastic too with some insightful vocal acting. Vargas makes his Duca really sympathetic in "Parmi veder le lagrime", just keep telling yourself "it's the bad guy!" He even adds some nuance at the end (before Borsa et al march in), but, alas, does not sing "per te che le sfere agl'angeli" on a single breath (that makes Duca sound possessed, which he is). Can't wait for the full version, hopefully with Hvorostovsky in title role.
Do yourself a favor and get this disc, there are treasures to be discovered there and old favorites done in fresh ways to be enjoyed.

The 'wrong' voice does right by Verdi.......2002-05-10

For the past 10 years or so, the marvelous Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas has been one of the leading lights of the bel canto repertory. His voice has the sweet, rich, juicy quality shared by many contemporary Mexican and South American tenors. By and large, Vargas has until now limited himself to roles for light voices. Now that he has turned 40, he has decided that he is ready to move on into the fuller lyric repertory, including Verdi. While I do think Vargas' big, bright voice is a bit light for a lot of the 'major' Verdi roles, most of the repertory he sings on this disc suits him to a tee, and at least on record or in a small theatre is well worth hearing. I also give him credit for singing comparative rarities, including alternates for arias from `Ernani', `Attila' and `Les Vepres Siciliennes'.

There are a great many opera fans who, unfortunately, judge fitness for singing Verdi only on the volume and power of the voice, and most of these people would not consider a lyric tenor, certainly a light lyric tenor like Vargas, appropriate to sing Verdi's music. Verdi himself might actually disagree. The 'big' sound that we now associate with Verdi has more to do with 20th Century performance practice than with what was actually done in Verdi's time. Verdi's early work essentially is bel canto in style, far more similar to Bellini and Donizetti than to his later work. In fact, the alternate `Ernani' and `Attila' arias Vargas sings were written for the noted Rossini tenor Nikolai Ivanoff - at Rossini's request.

The `Ernani' selection (which Verdi later reworked into `Ah si, ben mio' in `Il Trovatore') actually does show a slight degree of strain, with some passagio notes and even high notes on the 'o' vowel sounding pinched and nasal, but this is rarely evident anywhere else on the CD. Actually, this nasality is also common among the new generation of Hispanic tenors. With "I Due Foscari", Vargas is in marvelous vocal fettle once again. His rendition of the aria and cabaletta from "Alzira" makes me eager to hear the recording of the entire opera he has made. Throughout the disc he sings with superb legato, great sensitivity, fine diction, and excellent technique. Certainly Vargas' bel canto experience makes coloratura passages easy for him. It is a pity that so few tenors today have these virtues in Verdi, and it is particularly a joy to hear them in the `Il Trovatore' excerpt, even though I think the entire role is beyond Vargas on stage. All the sixteenth-notes in `Di quella pira' are beautifully articulated and he has a fine trill. `Rigoletto', in which I have seen Vargas three times at the Met, seems to be my `unlucky' opera with him - difficult to believe considering his superb performance here. Not only does he sing both verses of `Possente amor' with great elan, but he gives the Duke a sympathetic characterization he rarely gets today. He also produces genuinely sweet, heady tone in the `Falstaff' aria. Finally, Vargas shows great aplomb with the two French selections from `Jerusalem' and `Les Vepres Siciliennes', more so than in the previous work I have heard from him in that language.

I very much appreciate that this CD gives us extended scenes instead of just arias, giving Vargas ample chance to interact with other singers and chorus, especially in `I Masnadieri'. Although James Anderson does a fine job with all the comprimario tenor parts, the shrill and wobbly Annegher Stumphius proves herself totally wrong for the 'Trovatore' Leonora even in her limited contribution. I suspect the production team realized this because they didn't record 'Il dolci suoni mistici'. The men of the Munich Radio chorus do a fine job, although they are miked from a bit too far away and that hurts their diction a bit, especially in the 'Rigoletto' scene.

Conductor Eduardo Muller is sympathetic to and supportive of Vargas and keeps the music going at an exciting clip. He also has the Bavarian Radio Orchestra shine in some brief prelude passages. He conducted some very fine performances of 'Rigoletto' and 'I Puritani' at the Met, and I eagerly await his 'La Cenerentola' there in September 2002.

There are only a few negative points. With the exceptions of Fenton and the Duke of Mantua, roles that he has sung often onstage, Vargas really doesn't make any of these characters that different from each other. Admittedly most Verdi heroes are noble, troubled, and hot-headed, but the situations they deal with here aren't always identical. Along those lines, I wish Vargas had done slightly more with dynamics, especially since we do hear some lovely diminuendi in several selections. It would have been nice, for example, if he had contrasted the two verses of 'Quando le sere al placido' a bit more. None of this is enough to detract from a firm recommendation.

Full texts and translations are provided. There is also an essay on how both Verdi and his compositions are very different than a lot of contemporary myths would indicate, brief notes on the composition of each opera and synopses of the arias (these last a bit scrunched together), and biographies of Vargas and Muller.

Although I enjoyed this album immensely, I advise Vargas to proceed further into this and similar repertory with extreme caution. I admit that I'm not entirely pleased that he is taking on heavier Verdi than this (the Italian version of 'Don Carlo' and the Requiem), albeit in relatively small spaces. If Roberto Alagna, whose voice is a size larger than Vargas' and whose middle voice is more solid and baritonal, must go very slowly and carefully into this repertory, all the more so for Vargas. Still, this is one of the loveliest tenors of our time, who merges a beautiful voice with grace and dignity.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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It's Time [Limited Edition] [Special Edition]

Finzi/Stanford: Clarinet Concertos

Frengers [Import]

Flying Sparks & Heavy Machinery

Greatest Hits

El Dia Que Me Quieras

Ernesto Fama Canta Sus Exitos [Import]

Trying to Believe

Somethin' Bout Love