Opera News‘ Judith Malafronte with a wonderful new review of Michael Spyres’ Delos Debut A Fool For Love:
“For his debut recital CD, tenor Michael Spyres presents A Fool for Love, a romance scenario on which he threads thirteen opera arias, plus encore. The singing of this young American is so engaging…and the commanding and sensitive conductor Constantine Orbelian provides a further gold stamp of approval…
“Postulating a love affair that begins in patriotic pride (with a commanding “Ah! mes amis,” from Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, whose high Cs sound effortless and jubilant) and climaxes in dreamy tenderness (with an exquisitely sweet rendition of Bizet’s high-lying “Je crois entendre encore”), Spyres then turns to the relationship’s aftermath, haunted by sadness, longing and memories. The encore, Lehár’s “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz,” from Das Land des Lächelns, neatly encapsulates Spyres’s style — ardent and elegant, with a lovely sweetness that conveys intimacy and vulnerability. In another era, Spyres would have been a singing star of the radio waves.
Spyres’s musical imagination conjures up a variety of colors without studied effects, and occasionally he manifests a quick, narrow vibrato that registers youthfulness and urgency. Every note is uttered with feeling (“È la solita storia,” from Cilea’s L’Arlesiana, is heartbreakingly fragile), yet one senses a genuine intellect as well…
“Every track of A Fool for Love boasts a unique point of view, fueled by musical and theatrical imagination and totally convincing role excerpts.” —Judith Malafronte, Opera News
Read the full review of A Fool for Love on OperaNews.com!
Listen to the full track of Donizetti: L’elisir d’Amore: “Una furtiva lagrima” on Delos Radio:
A Fool For Love: Track 4: L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love) – Una furtiva lagrima by Delos Radio
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