Baritone Simon Keenlyside is a rarity in an era of focus on specific repertoires: a real operatic generalist whose interests and expertise range from the very earliest -- L'Orfeo -- to the newest -- premieres of Adès' The Tempest and Maazel's 1984. Tales of Opera is limited to just a fraction of that span, from the late eighteenth to the very early twentieth centuries. The album's focus on the standard repertoire seems geared to bringing Keenlyside, whose discography, which, with a few exceptions, is weighted toward less ...
Read More
Baritone Simon Keenlyside is a rarity in an era of focus on specific repertoires: a real operatic generalist whose interests and expertise range from the very earliest -- L'Orfeo -- to the newest -- premieres of Adès' The Tempest and Maazel's 1984. Tales of Opera is limited to just a fraction of that span, from the late eighteenth to the very early twentieth centuries. The album's focus on the standard repertoire seems geared to bringing Keenlyside, whose discography, which, with a few exceptions, is weighted toward less familiar works, to the attention of the traditional opera lover. (This is supported by the tone of the program notes, which consist of Keenlyside's personal reflections on these arias, assuming the listeners' prior familiarity with them.) That's a highly appropriate goal for this old-fashioned recital because Keenlyside's mastery of this stylistically diverse music ought to have strong appeal to any audience, as well as anyone who loves lyrical bel canto singing, and vivid, intelligent...
Read Less
Add this copy of Tales of Opera to cart. $3.39, good condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Sony Classical.
