Marking a departure for the Peruvian bel canto superstar, this new recording offers a personal survey of the French operatic repertoire from Donizetti to the romantic outpourings of Gounod and Massenet, including Massenet’s ‘Pourquoi me Reveiller’ from Werther.
This is a disc that not only plays to Flórez’s strengths – virtuosic and high-lying – but also shows a new side to the popular singer, featuring repertoire which he has rarely sung on stage
The first solo album in four years by one of the classical world’s biggest stars reveals a voice which has become richer, rounder and more mellow; the choice of repertoire draws further new colours from this ever-stylish tenor.
The Times
7th March 2014
***
“The brilliant tone and breath control remain; but Flórez is human after all, and he’s been singing his lungs out round the world for more than 15 years. All he needed, perhaps, was a few extra retakes...everything is beguiling, dressed in succulent accompaniments from Roberto Abbado and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna orchestra. You just have to watch for the voice’s quirks.”