Puccini: Recondita armonia (from Tosca) (Portrait aria)

“Bergonzi sings with sincerity and style” Opera

“Bergonzi emerges as a model among tenors, with a rare feeling for the shaping of phrases and attention to detail” Penguin Guide

“After he has handsomely done his classical duty with arias from Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Cilea among others, Grigolo lets rip with popular Italian songs, emoting in a properly verismo manner about being lovesick and homesick for the southern sun and the Mediterranean moon...his is an attractive, light lyric voice with a pleasing top but, as yet, shallow in the lower register.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ***

“Like Pavarotti, Grigolo has a forward projection of the voice which propels it smoothly along the line, thus helping legato. His lyric tenor is supple and has a pleasant sound, and he has the virtue of being able (and willing) to employ vocal dynamic, which always benefit strophic songs...Grigolo puts across each message in winning tones.” International Record Review, March 2012

“he brings the same muscular charm to "Torna a Surriento" and "Arrivederci Roma" as he does to "La donna e mobile" and "La danza". Most impressive of all, emotion courses through every syllable of Lucio Dalla's "Caruso".” The Independent, 3rd February 2012 ***

“Grigolo's bright, forward projection and not huge voice suits this Three Tenors repertoire well and he handles it with more respect (and, dare one say, taste) and intelligent use of the words than some of his predecessors therein. The Italian pops, especially 'Arrivederci, Roma', have a refreshing simplicity...this sounds like a serious artist and he's been well recorded and produced.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012

“After he has handsomely done his classical duty with arias from Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Cilea among others, Grigolo lets rip with popular Italian songs, emoting in a properly verismo manner about being lovesick and homesick for the southern sun and the Mediterranean moon...his is an attractive, light lyric voice with a pleasing top but, as yet, shallow in the lower register.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ***

“Grigolo's bright, forward projection and not huge voice suits this Three Tenors repertoire well and he handles it with more respect (and, dare one say, taste) and intelligent use of the words than some of his predecessors therein. The Italian pops, especially 'Arrivederci, Roma', have a refreshing simplicity...this sounds like a serious artist and he's been well recorded and produced.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012

“Like Pavarotti, Grigolo has a forward projection of the voice which propels it smoothly along the line, thus helping legato. His lyric tenor is supple and has a pleasant sound, and he has the virtue of being able (and willing) to employ vocal dynamic, which always benefit strophic songs...Grigolo puts across each message in winning tones.” International Record Review, March 2012

“he brings the same muscular charm to "Torna a Surriento" and "Arrivederci Roma" as he does to "La donna e mobile" and "La danza". Most impressive of all, emotion courses through every syllable of Lucio Dalla's "Caruso".” The Independent, 3rd February 2012 ***

“Calleja can still get down to a pianissimo in a way that few can, such as in the Luisa Miller scene, which is one of the best items thanks to the way he gives the vocal line a flattering lilt. After his Covent Garden success in Simon Boccanegra, the inclusion of the Act 2 scena "O inferno" - another high-point - will be a welcome souvenir.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2011

“his is a bright, warm, unmistakably Mediterranean timbre, with a distinctive quick vibrato that recalls great tenors of the wind-up-gramophone era. Yet he is a thoroughly modern musician...His Che gelida manina is surely the most glamorous and thrilling on disc since Pavarotti’s famous complete recording, but it is no carbon copy...In short, a golden-age voice in its prime.” Sunday Times, 17th July 2011 ****

“He's an artist who has developed in leaps and bounds over the last few years, and who sings with freedom, passion and elegance. His narrow, fast vibrato has a pleasantly old-fashioned sepia-tinted feel about it, and links him to an earlier generation of tenors...It's a recital which shows off Calleja's rich, rounded and ringing sound at its best.” Classic FM Magazine, August 2011 ****

“The two Mefistofele arias receive near-ideal performances, the Pearl Fishers romance (one of two items in which soprano duties are nicely undertaken by Aleksandra Kurzak) is enchanting, and the cavatina from Gounod's Faust is appealingly shaped and crowned with a refined top C...Calleja continues to persuade with a good sense of style.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 ****

“[in the French roles] he shows no cramping of his natural bel canto style by the French line, finding plenty of room to manoeuvre. And when he and the soprano Aleksandra Kurzak begin their dalliance, the chemistry is sublime. Elsewhere, the various Puccini arias from Tosca and Manon Lescaut present Calleja at his best: robust and resonant.” The Independent, 28th July 2011 ****

“Calleja despatches [the programme] with bags of elegance, passion and charm...it's the French arias here that leave you wanting more: his is a beautifully characterised Légende de Kleinzach from Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, and a sexy Ah! Fuyez, Douce Image” The Guardian, 11th August 2011 ****

“Calleja commands resinous, vibrant tone with a rich top register and generous, open-hearted style. This is technically sturdy singing with guts and heart.” The Telegraph, 18th August 2011

“The solidity of his technique is evident in this calorific recital: it takes muscle to support such delicate messa di voce. There's a rare, old-fashioned sweetness of timbre” The Independent on Sunday, 21st August 2011

“Calleja's timbre, brilliant, caressing, keenly focused, is entirely individual...All in all, this is a fine calling-card for a tenor, still only in his early thirties, on the threshold of greatness, during a transition phase of his career. The portents are exciting indeed.” International Record Review, October 2011

“Mozart to zarzuela, Handel to Wagner - this generous collection confirms that our greatest tenor is also our most versatile and musically rewarding whatever style.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2011 *****

““Villazón's singing offers a combination of intelligence and glamour not seen since the ascendancy of Domingo” The New Yorker