Nessun Dorma-The Puccini Album —Jonas Kaufmann, tenor; Chorus & Orchestra of the St. Cecilia Academy/Antonio Pappano (Sony 509249)
Robert Levine of ClassicsToday.com penned a clear-eyed and very entertaining review of this disc, just click through to the ArkivMusic page. A brief sample must suffice here; on an excerpt from Gianni Schicchi, Mr. Levine writes, “[Kaufmann] tries his best with Rinuccio’s little aria, singing with great “face” and impeccable diction, and even keeping the vowels pure on the high B-flats, but he sounds as if he could beat the hell out of the whole Donati family, and if I were Schicchi I would keep him away from my daughter at all costs.” The final verdict: “This is an almost perfect recital; when it flops, it’s due to a mismatch between singer and repertoire. But if you want to sing all of Puccini’s arias on one CD (except for Che gelida and E lucevan, which he recorded for Decca), you do what you can. And what he can is pretty magnificent.” ArkivMusic.com gives this disc their highest recommendation with 10’s in Artistic and Sound Quality.
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