Rolando Villazón

“All those excerpts [Rigoletto, Macbeth, Don Carlo, La Traviata and I Lombardi], in a slightly resonant acoustic, show Villazon to be a master Verdian, able to realise the composer’s intentions by following the music exactly as intended...a good memento of a singer in his vocal prime in repertoire in which, for too brief a period, he excelled.” MusicWeb International, 18th April 2013

“Villazón's fiery, temperamental vocal character is particularly well suited to Verdi's heroes, and he delivers "La Donna è Mobile" with every ounce of the Duke's disdainful promiscuity on bulging display.” The Independent, 5th January 2013 ***

“Villazon has made an interesting choice of programme...His sense of style and occasion are as unbridled as ever, the top of the voice not quite as free as it once was...[Noseda] has the taste not to try to make a whole opera out of each aria.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013

“It is good that the voice seems to have returned, but I find it disappointing that Villazon has not used it more imaginatively in this recital...When a solid tone and a ringing voice are needed, Villazon fits the bill: his top notes are not puny efforts but peal out.” International Record Review, February 2013

“Throughout, the greasepaint in Villazón’s singing finds a match in the fiery dash of the Orchestra Teatro Regio Torino and its conductor Gianandrea Noseda, always strong on drama, rhythm and colour.” The Times, 15th November 2012 ***

“Pappano keeps authoritative control over the temperature gauge throughout and never lets the emotions boil over into abject melodrama... in the last act [Villazon's] singing is coloured by a desperate sincerity which would melt the hardest heart.” The Telegraph, 16th March 2012 ****

“Villazón dies spectacularly well, navigating the arc from infatuation to despair to determination. Sophie Koch excels as the remorseful Charlotte...Not a dry eye in the house.” The Independent, 15th March 2012 ****

“[Villazon's] performance here — impassioned, poetic, both thrillingly extrovert and poignantly introverted — banishes most of the demons that have plagued him ...Pappano lets the Wagnerian orchestration rip in the interludes.” Sunday Times, 18th March 2012

“Villazón is back where he’s seen at his best...he throws himself right inside the torments of Werther...you’ll either be irritated or charmed by Villazón’s rather cobwebbed habit of sliding upward toward key notes...But there are also numerous times when the subtlety and beauty of his vocal effects take the breath away...Villazón’s ardour finds its match in Antonio Pappano’s conducting. He never shrinks from the luscious ache in Massenet’s music” The Times, 30th March 2012 ****

“The role of the orchestra is brilliantly realised in Antonio Pappano's performance...Sophie Koch's Charlotte persuades but Roland Villazón's hypersensitive Werther has more sob than suavity.” The Independent on Sunday, 8th April 2012 ****

“[Villazon] successfully negotiates the exposed or awkward passages. In the bigger singing of the third act...there's a touch of the old, devil-may-care Villazon...Even better is [Koch's Charlotte]...But what seems most likely to allow this recording to enter the lists of classic interpretations is Antonio Pappano's conducting...revealing the score's stresses and strains while deftly conveying its momentum.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 ****

“Villazon's style of singing Massenet is distinctly Latin...his characterization of the part, which benefits greatly from the live stage production and Pappano's breathtakingly theatrical conducting...strikes me as uniquely compelling, even if his singing is not scrupulous stylistically...[Pappano] brings both a Wagnerian sound and Tchaikovskian volatility...I will return to this set as often for Pappano as I will for Villazon.” International Record Review, May 2012

“Tingling with nervous intensity, Villazon's Werther is alive at every moment in the mind's eye...Aside from Villazon, the strongest personality in the cast is Antonio Pappano, who gets detailed playing from the orchestra. This is Massenet with an Italianate cut but his sense of drama is second to none, rising to white heat at the climax of that fateful Christmas Eve meeting.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012

“There’s no one better [than Pappano] at glossing over the piece’s longueurs...buy this set for the white-hot orchestral playing. Brief orchestral interludes erupt with colour under Pappano and the score’s fruitier outbursts are incandescent” The Arts Desk, 26th May 2012

“[Villazon] is fresh in tone and, most important of all, his half-voice is still in marvellous shape. Few if any present-day tenors have such an array of nuance. Villazon applies this with the music and text in mind, not to show off his technically impressive diminuendo... Anyone buying his/her first Werther who chooses the present one will, I’m convinced, fall in love with both the work and the artists.” Musicweb International, August 2012

“Galas are usually more fun to attend than to listen to after the event, but this celebration of the 10th anniversary of Emmanuelle Haïm's lively French ensemble is a baroque blast...all very stylish fun.” The Observer, 22nd April 2012

“All through the concert, the orchestra has produced good work and some plangent or jubilant sounds as the music requires...Commendations too for the conductor Emmanuelle Haim, who brings much to the pleasure of listening. The planning has resulted in a programme of diversity, of several moods and tempos.” International Record Review, May 2012

“The music is well chosen, all of the highest quality appeal, and splendidly sung by these charismatic artists.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012

“While some will struggle to swallow some of Emmanuel Haïm's more extravagant mannerisms...it's hard not to be swept along by the sheer élan of this live recording...The most interesting singing, for my money, comes from the lively lyric soprano Jaël Azzaretti and Patricia Petibon in La Folie's boisterous aria from Platée. Above all, Haïm and her feisty team summon up the spirit of baroque spectacle for thier celebratory feast.” Classical Music