Press Digest
Concert, Teatro Comunale Bologna, January 5, 2001
By Jean Peccei
On December 23, 2000 an article appeared in La Repubblica ('Carreras al Comunale biglietti in prevendita') discussing the closing event for Bologna's European City of Culture 2000 celebrations - a concert with Jose Carreras at the Teatro Comunale on January 5, 2001. Joining Carreras for the concert were the soprano, Cinzia Rizzone, the flautist, Giorgio Zagnoni and the pianist, Lorenzo Bavaj. The announced programme would begin with Carreras singing 'Luna Nova' by Alessandro Costa and 'Fenesta che lucive' by Bellini. This would be followed by the soprano with 'La zingara' by Giuseppe Verdi, after which the two voices would alternate in the first part of the programme with pieces by Luigi Denza, Gioachino Rossini and Giacomo Puccini. The second part would include pieces by Astor Piazzolla (played by Zagnoni and the New Quartet Italiano), Toselli, Tosti and Rendine, and conclude with a duet from Lehar's The Merry Widow and Cardillo's 'Core n'grato'.
A note about Cinzia Rizzone. She recently sang in Sly with Carreras at the Teatro Regio, Turin in the part of "Prima Ancella". Translating from her biography at the Orchestra Filharmonica diTorino site:
"Cinzia Rizzone began her music studies in the cello and later in voice at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples. She went on to graduate in voice with brilliant results at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Turin where she was taught by Rosina Cavicchioli. She has taken a master class with Schwarzkopf at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and courses in Italy at Katia Ricciarelli's Accademia Lirica Internazionale, studying with Maestro Ugo Benelli. In 1990 she began to give concerts both in Italy and abroad participating in important baroque and contemporary music events. [...] The winner of international singing competitions at the Teatro Comunale di Modena and at Savigliano, she performed in L'elisir d'amore and The Barber of Seville. Following this, she performed in Cenerentola, Henrico Leone, Orfeo e Euridice and La Traviata. In 1997 after winning a voice competition organized by the Budapest Opera, she made her debut as Alice in Verdi's Falstaff at the Filarmonico di Verona and the State Theatre of Budapest. She has taken part in the summer season at the Arena di Verona in Macbeth and Carmen and has performed as a soloist in cultural programmes recorded by the RAI and other television companies."
As of the 23 of December, there were still places available throughout the theatre, La Repubblica noting that there had been not quite the race for tickets as there had been for Riccardo Muti's October concert with the La Scala orchestra. However, by a two days before the concert, Marina Amaduzzi reported in two articles in La Repubblica ('Josè Carreras chiude dodici mesi di show' 4.1.2001 and 'Due grandi platee per il tenore' 5.1.2001) that only a few tickets remained...
"A high note from one of the warmest and most beautiful voices in opera will bring down the curtain on Bologna 2000. After 10 years of absence, the great tenor Josè Carreras who tomorrow will give an extraordinary concert at the Teatro Comunale arrives in Bologna. There is enormous anticipation for this event."
The city of Bologna had also arranged for a free 'big screen' simultaneous broadcast of the concert to be given in the Medica Palace Theatre. Approximately 400 places in the front rows were reserved for the senior citizens of Bologna who were offered free transport to the theatre since...
"The Committee of Bologna 2000 wanted to ensure that the maximum number of its citizens could hear the great Spanish tenor".
Further details about the programme were announced in an article in La Repubblica ('Jose Carreras: Romanze e Piazzolla fino a Canta Napoli' 5.1.2001) by Fabrizio Festa. Puccini would be represented by 'Terra e Mare' and 'Mentia l'avviso', Rossini by 'Bolero', Tosti by 'A vucchella' and 'Ideale', Denza by 'Si tu m'amais' and 'Vieni', Massenet by 'Elegie', Satie by 'Je te veux', Toselli by 'Serenata', and Rendine by 'Vurria'. However, Fabrizio Festa did not appear terribly impressed by the programme...
"The program, despite the fact that the concert marks the close of Bologna 2000 (and therefore one might be permitted to expect a bit more), does not stray far from the by now customary (and not only for Carreras) entertainment programmes offered by opera stars. Completely absent are operatic arias (Verdi is practically ignored with only one piece and that was sung by the soprano). Instead, romanzas and the inevitable songs from the Neapolitan repertoire."
Carreras had arrived in the city on the day before the concert and held the general rehearsal on the afternoon of the performance. He also found time to talk to the press. In La Repubblica ('Carreras gran finale di Bologna 2000' 5.1.2001), Marina Amaduzzi noted Carreras' humility when he said...
"Returning to sing in Bologna is a great satisfaction, but also a challenge, because after so many years, I need to show that that I still have something to give to a public as enthusiastic and discerning as this one."
She noted also that Carreras did not conceal his happiness at singing again in Bologna...
"My professional activities at an international level began when I was very young, after having won a competition at Parma. So the region of Emilia is very close to my heart. And, the Teatro Comunale is very prestigious one to which I am always happy to return. The last time I was here was in 1990. It was a piano recital with Maestro Lorenzo Bavaj, a very beautiful concert and it's a pity that 10 years have passed since then."
He told the press that his relationship with the city has always been very intense over and above his professional commitments...
"I have been here many times because I have very good friends here with whom I have passed stupendous evenings, in particular Bruno Borsari (creator of 'Musica Insieme'). I cannot think of any other place in the world where you can eat better tagliatelle than his mother makes. I also have a very beautiful artistic memory, the recording Manon Lescaut with The Orchestra del Teatro Comunale conducted by Riccardo Chailly. And then there was the time that I came, invited by the University to speak about the fight against leukemia. I felt honoured to be invited by the most prestigious university in Europe. Bologna is a stupendous city that offers everything at all levels commerce, gastronomy, culture and music."
Carreras announced that the concert that evening would be "a bit different and unusual". He went on to say..
"I hope the public will like it. We will sing the arrangements that Maestro Luca Loggi has prepared for the occasion, with some pieces that the public is expecting, and pieces that I like. It will be an evening of emotions and beautiful music. After a career of 30 years, it is a privilege to be able to go on stage and communicate what I feel inside."
The concert appears to have been a great success, including the 'big screen relay' to an almost full house at the Teatro Medica. Writing in La Repubblica ('Carreras canta l'addio a Bologna Duemila' 6.1.2001) Ilaria Venturi mentioned the numerous dignitaries present in the audience, including the Mayor of Bologna, Giorgio Guazzaloca and said...
"He wipes his forehead with a white handkerchief, and accompanied by Lorenzo Bavaj on the piano, he begins 'Luna Nova'. He does not hide his emotion. [...] It was the return of Carreras to Bologna after 10 years and he was greeted with applause from his first appearance all the way to the end of the official programme, the duet from Act III of The Merry Widow."
The next day the Gazzetta di Reggio and Il Resto del Carlino had virtually identical reviews. According to the critic of Il Resto del Carlino ('Un trionfo per Carreras nell'addio a Bologna 2000' 6.1.2001)...
"Carreras appeared in excellent form and the numerous public (including those in the Teatro Medica where the concert was shown on big screen television) rewarded him with resounding applause and shouts of 'Bravo, bravo' after each piece. [...] Carreras for his part, was able to display once again one of the most beautiful tenor voices of the last 30 years. Gaining particular ovations and especially appreciated were Toselli's 'Serenata' in which Carreras was accompanied by all the musicians [flute, piano, and string quartet], 'Vurria', 'Core n'grato' and the duet from The Merry Widow sung with Cinzia Rizzone. Two encores closed the evening."
On January 9, 2001 a longer review appeared in the print version of Il Resto del Carlino. In 'Trionfale Recital di Jose Carreras a Bologna: Da Lehar a Napoli' Adriano Cavicchi wrote...
"A recital by the Spanish tenor, Jose Carreras, triumphantly concluded the artistic programme of Bologna 2000. The 'grand occasion' audience crowded into the Teatro Communale to hear one of the most prestigious and artistically valid tenor voices of the last quarter century. Carreras, appeared in radiant form (all the more remarkable if one thinks about his long fight against a terrible disease from he emerged the victor). Although he performed a 'light' programme, he displayed all his qualities as a refined vocalist. The range of colours in his timbre, both in the 'piani' and in the dramatic sections, still has the incisive and fascinating quality of the past. Stupendous were his 'legato' and the clarity of his diction in all the languages he sang in. [...] Carreras performed famous songs by Bellini and two lesser known but seductively beautiful pieces by Puccini. He unleashed a veritable ovation with the powerful drama of 'Menti l'avviso' (which is pervaded throughout by melodic influences from La Boheme). Also to be singled out was the collaboration of Lorenzo Bavaj on the piano. Carreras has established with him a rapport of great refinement. In the second part, the ensemble led by Giorgio Zagnoni [...] accompanied Carreras who sang 'Serenata' by Toselli, 'Elegie' by Massenet and some famous Neapolitan songs (Tosti, Rendine and Cardillo) bestowing on these the dignity of great art songs. [...] The duet from Lehar's The Merry Widow was a triumph. Two encores of an extraordinary elegance: another Neapolitan song and 'Musica Proibita' sung as a duet and alternation of voices with the soprano."
Translations and commentary (c) Jean Peccei
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Jose Carreras, Lorenzo Bavaj, Cinzia Rizzone, Giorgio Zagnoni
This page was last edited on: February 18, 2003
