Giuseppe Verdi

“Schrott knows how to change his voice’s colour, phrase by phrase, sometimes word by word, especially if the word is “Susannah”. As Figaro in the Mozart selections he’s attractively light and dancing; he can also drip with honey (Voici des roses from La Damnation de Faust) and scowl himself black (Meyerbeer’s Bertram, bound for Hell). Intimacy comes as easily, too, as the loud address: Philip’s monologue from Don Carlos (sung in French) conveys with unusual penetration the sense of someone thinking out loud, quiet and fearful. Blips occur. His articulation fails in the racing words of the Don’s Fin ch’han dal vino. And with the wind in his sails, at the higher altitudes, he begins to suggest a foghorn, settling too rapidly for broad effects. Maybe time and experience will iron out these kinks.” The Times, 25th July 2008 ****

“Don Giovanni’s Serenade and so-called Champagne aria, Leporello’s Catalogue song and all three of Figaro’s big solos feature here, but they are randomly delivered, in a scrambled, nonsensical order...Schrott is suave and honeyed in the serenades from Don Giovanni and Gounod’s Faust, but his singing lacks variety of colour and dynamics” Sunday Times, 27th July 2008 ***

“As compilations go, this album from the newish Uruguayan opera star seems almost arbitrary in its balance and, at times, in its quality. Half the disc is devoted to Mozart and the three Da Ponte roles that made Schrott's name...But he often fares better in the quieter, more beguiling moments than in full flow - not usually the case on stage. Schrott's Verdi is less distinctive, but three arias from Berlioz, Gounod and Meyerbeer bring out the dynamic devil in him.” The Observer, 3rd August 2008

“…has an exceptionally beautiful voice, which he uses to fine effect in some of these arias. Philippe's great aria from Don Carlos is impressive, so is Procida's from Les vêpres siciliennes, and his Berlioz, Gounod and Meyerbeer are striking too.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 ****

“This version of the much-recorded Requiem must be the most spiritual, reverential, and perhaps visionary yet to appear…. I have seldom heard such a sustained legato throughout the slow movements, such warm and seamless singing, such beautiful playing... And the spacious recording, with its very wide range of dynamics (including a rather too insistent bass drum), matches the breadth and scale of the singing and playing, with the correct perspectives where Verdi calls for them—listen right near the start to the care taken over every part of the texture in the unaccompanied "Te decet hymnus" or the shimmering violins at the start of "Lux aeterna" – Gramophone 1990

“This anthology's title track, 'Cielo e mar!', comes from Ponchielli's La Gioconda, the opera that first inspired this thrilling tenor to become a singer. It gets Villazon's first solo album for DG off to a sizzling start, continued with standard fare from Verdi, Boito and Cilea. But there are also rarities, from composers such as Mercadante and Pietri.” The Observer, 22nd June 2008

“Villazon needs no special pleading for the glory of his voice (a dark, baritonal timbre that opens out thrillingly at the top) and his intensity as a performer is captured here as never before. An odd hint of strain in the Boccanegra and Poliuto items suggest he should think carefully before tackling the tenor parts from these operas in the theatre, but the rest is pure gold.” Sunday Times, 8th June 2008 ****

“In glorious voice, Villazón identifies ardently with each of these dreamy or distraught Romantic heroes. His familiar no-holds-barred intensity can occasionally misfire, as in a rather relentless account of a once-popular serenade from Pietri's Maristella. But far more often he compels with his thrilling, darkly burnished tone, generous phrasing and care for legato and shading.” The Telegraph, 31st May 2008

“Villazón sings with admirable intensity, his diction is excellent, and he can float a pianissimo when necessary. The aria from Boccanegra is one of the best things Villazón has done so far on the disc.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008