Presto Recording of the Week
13th November 2020

Michael Spyres (tenor), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), I Virtuosi Italiani, Corrado Rovaris

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia, Act 1: "All'idea di quel metallo" (Figaro, Almaviva)
Rossini: Ricciardo e Zoraide, Act 1, "S'ella mi è ognor fedele" (Ricciardo) & "Qual sarà mai la gioia" (Ricciardo, Ernesto)
Rossini: Ricciardo e Zoraide, Act 2, "Donala a questo core" (Agorante, Ricciardo) & "Teco or sarà" (Agorante, Ricciardo)
Rossini: La donna del lago, Act 2, "Nume! se a' miei sospiri" (Uberto, Elena) & "Qual pena in me già desta" (Uberto, Rodrigo, Elena)
Rossini: Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra, Act 2: "Deh! Scusa i trasporti" (Leicester, Norfolk)
Rossini: Otello, Act 2, "Non m'inganno" - "Al mio rivale" (Otello, Iago), "Ah! vieni, nel tuo sangue vendicherò le offese" (Otello, Rodrigo) & "Che fiero punto e questo" (Otello, Rodrigo, Desdemona)
Rossini: Le siège de Corinthe, Act 3, "Grand Dieu, faut-il qu'un peuple" (Néoclès), "Cher Cléomène" (Cléomène, Néoclès) & "Céleste providence" (Cléomène, Néoclès, Pamyra)
Rossini: Armida, Act 3: "In quale aspetto imbelle" (Rinaldo, Carlo, Ubaldo)

Two of today’s most brilliant tenors, Michael Spyres and Lawrence Brownlee, strike sparks off each other as they celebrate the star tenors of Rossini’s time, such as Andrea Nozzari, Giovanni David, and Manuel García. Amici e Rivali – ‘Friends and Rivals’ – comprises arias, duets and trios from seven of the composer’s operas, including the ever-popular Il barbiere di Siviglia and the rarely heard Ricciardo e Zoraide. The ‘duelling tenors’ are joined by the effervescent Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, the prize-winning young Spanish tenor Xabier Anduaga, I Virtuosi Italiani and conductor Corrado Rovaris.

"If the spark between David and Nozzari was anywhere near as electrifying as the frisson which the two Americans generate here it’s small wonder that the composer quickly realised he was onto a good thing...the sheer delight and inspiration which the two singers find in one another’s artistry shines through even in the more sombre excerpts from works like Otello and Le Siège de Corinthe." - Katherine Cooper, Presto Classical, 13th November 2020.