Performer: Carlo Colombara (Bass), Alejandro Escobar (Tenor)Tracklist
1. Don Carlos: Ella giammai m'amò...Dormirò sol sul manto mio regal by Giuseppe Verdi
2. Attila: Oltre a quel limite t'attendo by Giuseppe Verdi
3. I vespri siciliani: O tu, Palermo by Giuseppe Verdi
4. Macbeth: Come dal ciel precipita by Giuseppe Verdi
5. Ernani: Infelice! e tu credevi...Infin che un brando vindice by Giuseppe Verdi
6. Nabucco: Vieni, o Levita...Tu sul labbro by Giuseppe Verdi
7. Faust: Vous qui faites l'endormie "Serenade" by Charles Gounod
8. Mefistofele: Ecco il mondo by Arrigo Boito
9. Aleko: The moon is high in the sky "Aleko's Cavatina" by Sergei Rachmaninov
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi, Charles Gounod, Arrigo Boito, Sergei Rachmaninov
Conductor: Gyorgy G. Rath
Swiss Italian Orchestra
Key Facts:
Label: Bongiovanni
Recording date: 29 June,2004
You can buy it here
REVIEWS
“In this debut recital, Carlo Colombara reveals a rich, resonant basso cantate. He also exhibits great technical ability and a command of communicating the text of the arias. In the aria from Don Carlo, he is especially fine in his ability to express the anger of the character, and then in “Dormirò sol nel manto mi regal” his use of a mezza voce piano is effective in making the listener feel that he is dreaming. He is quite effective in the lyrical section of the Attila aria, and shows that he has the technique to produce a stirring cabaletta. The same ability is demonstrated in the aria and cabaletta from Ernani. If I have one reservation, it is in the Faust aria. Although his command of French is good, his laughs are somewhat overdone and melodramatic. He also demonstrates an ability to command the Russian language and style in the aria from Aleko. In the last century, native-born Italian singers dominated the opera world. But that period has gone into a decline. Colombara is one of the few world-class Italian singers of today. The sound is excellent; notes and texts and translations are supplied. György G. Rath provides excellent support. Highly recommended”.
Bob Rose, Fanfare
“Da quasi 20 anni Colombara è attivo sui palcoscenici di tutto il mondo, riscuotendo ovunque un lusinghiero successo che premia l’applicazione e la serietà dimostrate sia nella scelta del repertorio, sia la bellezza del mezzo vocale propriamente detto...la cantabilità e la relativa chiarezza dell’ordito rimandano più facilmente a Pinza o al primo Raimondi, rispetto al quale ultimo vanta una più profonda estensione del registro grave. Il disco è globalmente simpatico...il bravo basso bolognese ha dalla sua una comunicativa molto accattivante, altra qualità che lo accomuna al Ruggero Raimondi degli Anni Settanta, all’epoca cantante di non comuni mezzi se non vocali, sicuramente espressivi. Tutti i brani proposti sono cantati veramente bene, con una linea vocale facile, fluida, ben appoggiata sul fiato, ottimamente emessa. La cavata, se vogliamo, manca un po’ dell’ampleur che caratterizzava altri grandi bassi del passato, ma non è un gran peccato, specie scegliendo la linea interpretativa più adeguata ai mezzi a disposizione...Attila vive di un fuoco interiore divorante che...risulta quanto mai evidente: credo che oggi come oggi sia veramente difficile proporne un altro interprete di tale violenza espressiva unita ad una linea di canto così efficace nell’evitare i facili scadimenti nella volgarità...Procida è ormai un cavallo di battaglia di Colombara...La relativa tetragonia psicologica del rivoluzionario palermitano si stempera in un canto ricco di rimpianti e di dolcezze, cui non nuocerebbe qualche nuance espressiva in più per riscattare la convenzionalità in cui lo immerge la scrittura verdiana. Il brano del Macbeth è molto bello nel dipanarsi della linea vocale, non disgiunta da accenti di reale efficacia teatrale. Il vecchio Silva è un po’ troppo giovanile per i miei gusti, mentre – curiosamente, date le caratteristiche vocali di Colombara – il brano di Zaccaria è una delle cose più belle di questo dischetto, in un canto raccolto e a fior di labbra ricco di serena e pensosa ieraticità, resa in modo veramente autorevole. Con i due diavolacci arriviamo al meglio della proposta...La cavatina di Aleko è invece un vero capolavoro: cantata splendidamente, con una messa di voce non immemore di celeberrimi esempi del passato (fra i quali non esiterei a citare anche lo Chaliapin delle incisioni isolate e il Petrov dell’integrale) che lascia presupporre un possibile sviluppo della carriera di Colombara verso i grandi ruoli russi”.
Pietro Bagnoli, Operaclick
The international operatic scene has not, in recent times, been so flush with bass voices of true calibre that it should do anything but celebrate the artistry of Carlo Colombara, who has all the virtues to encompass the leading roles in the operas of Verdi and many other composers. As is self-evident throughout this strenuous programme, he possesses a voice of the appropriate strength and range for ali the arias he attempts. To that basic attribute he adds innate muscianship, a true line, fine breathcontrol and, possibly most important of all, an ability to place words on his capacious tone and give them the meaning needed to convey character. In all these respects he recalls such eminent predecessors as Ezio Pinza, Tancredi Pasero, Boris Christoff, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Samuel Ramey...Ali his qualities are immediately on display in his comprehensively characterised account of Philip II's world-weary monologue from Don Carlo. In the recitative he evinces the weight of sorrow the aging monarch feels, then in the cantilena he suggests the ruler's sorrow and loneliness. Yet all the emotion is kept well within the bounds of the bounds of a strict style. Among the gallery of bass roles Verdi created in his so-called "galley" years, the bluff Attila, the haunted, elderly Silva (Ernani) and the noble Zaccaria (Nabucco) stand out. To each he gave a special trait of character, and Colombara finds the right voice for each. In the piece from Attila, note the splendid attack in the recitative and the powerful delivery of the cabaletta (both verses). Colombara's Silva is as anguished a figure as his Phlilip II, and he finds the right inward tone to portray his hurt feel ings. Zaccaria's thoughts as he prays for the gifts of prophecy are no less admirably enacted. Banquo's doleful aria from Macbeth shows an advance in Verdi's writing for the bass voice: Colombara conveys all its sense of foreboding. From the later I Vespri Siciliani, we hear the solemn Procida's grateful thoughts at his homecoming to his native Sicily. Verdi writes far him one of his great, noble songs; Colombara responds with steady (as always), noble sounds of his own. As with all these Verdian extracts, the effortless, even emission of tone can be taken for granted, something all too rare today. There is also that rewarding sense that all of the parts have been sung and developed on stage. The two very different Mephistos created by Gounod and, later, Boito find Colombara, who has taken both roles on stage, easily differentiating between the sinister, insinuating yet elegant creature of Gounod's imagining and the more extrovert character of Boito's. Both pieces are sung with a predictable feeling for specific character revealed in subtle gradations of tone. The Russian language seems to present no problems to Colombara, whose accentuation of the text is just as vivid as it is in Italian. Although an early work, Rachmaninov's short opera foretells much of the mature composer, particularly in the cavatina for the eponymous anti-hero recorded here. It was great favourite with Chaliapin (who recorded it three times), but Colombara need fear no comparison with his distinguished predecessor in the way he draws the best from this elegiac piece, one that looks forward to many of Rachmaninov's Romances. Here, once again, Colombara creates atmosphere and character without the help of stage effects. Altogether this is a rewarding showcase from a highly individuai singer, one whose appealing voice and innate musicianship are very much enhanced by an intelligent mind. Reliability is here married to vocal inspiration in a very satisfying way.
Alan Blyth, 2003 ©Bongiovanni
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