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The veterans are here to stay

tenor_in_training | 12/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lately there have been a lot of "critics" who attack the veterans of opera just for the sake of getting noticed it seems. All of the Three Tenors were under fire at one time or another. Needless to say, this silliness has no merit whatsoever. Whether you like it or not, people love them and competition fears them. The legion of new tenors can't stand a chance and also owes The Big Three a debt of gratitude. They have proved their worth with 30 years of magnificent singing; I hope they continue to delight their appreciative fans. The critics (you know who you are) will perish into abyss forgotten, or they'll wait till artist's death to speak a word of praise as they did with Maria Callas.On this disc, Luciano Pavarotti delivers beautiful singing and gets a chance to introduce a fresh crop of future superstars. So what if his voice changed a little? Show me a singer whose voice remained the same over the years and I'll show you a person who was afraid of taking risks. Pavarotti still impresses as a passionate Cavaradossi or enraged Macduff. In this concert he even took on the roles of Alvaro and Otello, usually considered "too heavy" for a lyric tenor. Of the young stars, I am particularly impressed with Dwayne Croft, he has it all to become an operatic giant. Leo Nucci, a veteran like Luciano himself, also took up a challenge: not only did he sing Don Carlo, but also bravely welcomed the new generation of baritones personified by Croft. The women are outstanding as well. Having seen the event on video, I was a bit disappointed Decca did not include the final duet from Eugeny Onegin (Focile/Croft) on this disc. It was sensational. Then I learned there was a complete concert audio recording on 2 CDs, that is now sadly out of print. Overall, much like Domingo's "Gold and Silver Gala" (EMI) this concert optimistically reassures that opera has a future."