This week our Classical reviewer Geoff Adams introduces
two stage vocalist compilations
Bad Boys
Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
and Choir.
Deutsche Grammophon CD.
This is a thematic "must" from famous Terfel.
There is masterful control of voice, passion and great acting
ability as he thrillingly portrays the most diabolical and
roguish characters to scorch the stage - from Mephistopheles
and Iago to demon barber Sweeney Todd, drug dealer Sportin'
Life and Mack the Knife.
An inspired Swedish orchestra, recorded in brilliant sound,
adds its goosebumps in the ears.
Hear gems from Tosca, Don Giovanni and even G&S
(Ruddigore).
There's a bad boy from Les Miserables and Anna Sophie von
Otter gives a cameo cockney performance!
Finally, the Welsh star sings all three roles as Il
Commendatore, Leporello and Don Giovanni!
Success: a troupe of villainous "bad boys" come to
life in 15 tracks.
Father and Son: Wagner scenes and arias
Simon O'Neill (tenor), NZ Symphony Orchestra.
EMI CD.
Recorded in 2009 under conductor Pietari Inkinen, this solo
album by the Kiwi "heldentenor" (heroic tenor voice that
copes with Wagner's huge demands) has tunes sung by Parsifal,
Lohengrin, Siegmund and Siegfried.
His stage performances in the first three roles have been
admired; this is his first display of Siegfried, in Hagen's
Narration and Siegfried's Death.
How wonderfully the voice of the former music student at
Otago University has developed in his successful path to the
Metropolitan (New York), Covent Garden and Bayreuth.
The NZSO also plays the Rhine Journey overture and
Siegfried's Funeral March.
Excellent booklet.
Technical: recorded in concert by Radio New Zealand,
balance and orchestral detail suffer compared with stunning
Terfel disc. O'Neill demands a proper studio recording!
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