Giordano, U: Amor ti vieta (from Fedora)

“Calleja doesn’t suffer from...self-imposed comparisons: the voice is burnished and focused; the top notes whammy yet unforced; the legato tone garnished with saccharine slithers but not sloppy. Calleja doesn’t do final consonants; and sometimes you wish his conductor (Steven Mercurio) had encouraged more ebb and flow. But these throbbing ballads will delight Calleja’s fans.” The Times, 8th September 2012 ***

“It's an unashamedly populist collection, Calleja rolling the Rs of "Granada" and "Arrivederci, Roma" with obvious relish in arrangements replete with castanets and trilling mandolins, before building to the full football climax with spirited renditions of "Nessun Dorma" and a mighty "You'll Never Walk Alone".” The Independent, 8th September 2012 ***

“Calleja is not a Mario Lanza: he's a gifted lyric tenor with a voice that is most comfortable in the head...there's a nice throb in the voice in Lara's Granada...and Tosti's 'A vucchella' would seduce a slab of marble. But 'Vesti la giubba'. 'Cielo e mar' and 'Nessun dorma' all lack vocal drama.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 ***

“an imaginative display of Calleja's art and interpretative approach, clearly captured by Decca's recording team.” International Record Review, December 2012

“Here is one of the most beautiful tenor voices now before the public, treated with musicality, style and feeling...but don’t expect the adrenalin kick that Mario Lanza was able to convey.” MusicWeb International, December 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 ***

“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 ***

“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 ***

This limited edition deluxe version includes a special DVD featuring a 40-minute film on Rolando Villazon containing footage from the recording sessions, candid interview and concert footage with 5 complete arias from Carmen, Les Pecheurs de perles, Eugene Onegin, Der Rosenkavalier and Fedora.

“The young Mexican tenor is an impressive artist, and much about his new recital hits the spot.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2006 ***

“A rarely fine voice in its prime, a live responsive temperament, admirable vocal schooling, all fuelled by innate musical and dramatic feeling: these are some main ingredients… The solo from Les Pêcheurs de perles was chosen for last month's cover disc... and this alone must have encouraged many to wait no longer. A finely poised, long-phrased performance with sufficient of the dream about it and yet a sensitive awareness of modulations, light and shade... But the choice is wide. In the Italian repertoire it ranges from the gracefully lyrical serenade from Don Pasquale to the intensely felt aria of renunciation in Un ballo in maschera. In German, Villazón offers the gently voiced prayer of Alessandro Stradella and the famous aria from Martha... A sorrowful but not over-indulgent account of Lensky's aria in Eugene Onegin is a notable extension of the repertoire...” Gramophone Magazine, April 2006