by Adriel Bettelheim

The young Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon has drawn comparisons to Placido Domingo because of his sensitive phrasing and the baritone-like quality of his voice. That is not entirely fair. Domingo couldn't emit the ringing high C Villazon does at the end of the showpiece “Faibless de la race humaine!” from Gounod's rarely heard La Reine de Saba . In fact, his new album of French arias on Virgin Classics reveals a singular talent. Villazon is deeply expressive and sensitive to nuance without imposing a particularly strong “take” on the material. His voice is not especially large but sounds virile, with obvious attention to the musical line.

This is Villazon's second album, coming on the heels of an enormously successful debut collection of Italian arias. He sounds totally at ease in the Gounod and Massenet material – so much so that he could give the reigning king of this repertory, Roberto Alagna, a run for his money. In Werther's second act rumination on suicide, for example, Villazon captures the title character's unhinged state, imploring God to be merciful before soaring to a soft high B that oozes vulnerability.

Equally satisfying are Des Grieux's two big arias from Manon . “En fermant les yeux,” in particular, is a beautifully phrased evocation of the pastoral life the Chevalier wishes he could share with Manon , and features Natalie Dessay in a brief bit of luxury casting as the title character. Villazon's “Salut, demeure chaste et pure” from Faust is similarly sensitive and variegated, a notable contrast from Alagna's more pumped-up rendition heard recently at the Metropolitan Opera.

For all his attention to detail, Villazon never micromanages the music and delivers heroic heft when needed, as in the showstopper “O souverain, o juge, o pere” from Massenet's Le Cid . He gets strong support throughout from Evelino Pido and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Perhaps the only shortcoming is that the orchestra at times sounds like it is playing in a different room with drier acoustics. The inclusion of arias from neglected works such as Gounod's Polyeucte and Mireille reveal the composer's intimate, almost bel canto style. The programming also demonstrates that relatively early in his career, Villazon is confident enough in his abilities to avoid rolling out 15 tracks of hits to make a “calling card” CD.

 

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