Filianoti, Antonenko, and Grigolo at the Metropolitan Opera
Tenor Treats and Tricks
By: Susan Hall - Oct 29, 2010
Boris Gudonov, Metropolitan Opera, Octobe 18; Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Metropolitan Opera, October 19; La Boheme, Metropolitan Opera, October 23. Giuseppe Filianoti photograph, Marty Schulme, Metropolitan Opera
We’ve been treated to three tenor voices at the Metropolitan Opera this fall, including one much hyped debut. Two of the tenors provide great listening pleasure with voices that range across tenor possibilities. The third has appeared on the Today show, is handsome as handsome can be, and charming. Enough said.
Giuseppe Filianoti performed Nemorino at the Lyric Opera of Chicago earlier this year. Filianoti had had a break from singing due to surgery, and was told that he might never sing again, but he was determined, and at the Lyric, was clearly back in magnificent form. His voice, as expressive as ever, has grown in size and power. An attractive man with a glorious voice, consummate acting ability, and a wonderful comedic touch, I found it difficult to think of him in the role of Hoffmann in “Les Contes.”
I was wrong. Filianoti is perfect in this very difficult Hoffmann role. Generous to his many loves, applauding them on stage is part of the role, he sings his heart out for four hours. He belts out his high A’s and B’s, and portrays the poet as the complex character E.T.A. Hoffmann orginailly conceived.
Filianoti shapes every phrase perfectly, takes every advantage to display the arc of his role, from drunken dreams, to angry hysteria. He may spend more time singing from the head than we are accustomed to in non-helden tenors, but his edge keeps you pleasurably on the edge of your seat.
In Boris, Aleksandrs Antonenko undertakes the multiple roles of pretenders to the throne and legitimate heir. His voice, like Filianoti’s, is large and resonant. He too has acting ability and Riccardo Muti will bring him to New York with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, next spring, in Otello.
Under Maestro Muti, at Salzburg, most listeners were thrilled with his Otello, although he was criticized by the minority as lacking vocal subtlety and for being underpowered. We will be able to judge for ourselves at Carnegie.
As pretender/heir in Boris, Antonenko was large and passionate throughout. His declaration of love for Marina was singularly lovely. Prodded by Marina to forget his mooning and become the man she would love, Tsar of Russia, he extended his voice with exciting drama. A powerful and fearless young tenor, we look forward to hearing him as he undertakes challenging roles in Verdi and Wagner in the future.
Often referred to as ‘the tenor the world has waited for”, Antonenko’s natural vocal size, and his comfortable delivery, reminds us of mezzo, Stephanie Blythe, and sopranos, Christine Brewer and Sondra Radvanovsky, who share his inborn confidence and ability to fill any hall with gorgeous sound. He has a clarion voice.
Vittorio Grigolo, the Met’s hot new Rodolfo in La Boheme, claims to have started his career at thirteen, as a shepherd, on stage with Luciano Pavarotti. The shepherd is usually sung offstage and we were unable to confirm Grigolo’s exact location. His handlers call him ‘Il Pavarottino.’ William Mason also sang this role. He is the current General Director of the Lyric Opera in Chicago. The Shepherd role launched him into administration.
Grigolo appeared with Robin Roberts on ‘Good Morning America.’ He held her hand and serenaded her with “Una Furtiva Lagrima,” a signature aria of Filianoti’s. Roberts mooned as Grigolo failed to hit a note straight on. (see YouTube).
Grigolo is handsome indeed, and has a wonderful smile. He is not, however, in the same league as Giuseppe Filianoti and Aleksandrs Antonenko. Most singers choose between singing with the notes, and breath mixed, or with the notes on top of the breath. Without discussing Grigolo’s oddly truncated breaths, breaths into odd syllables, the much-too-vigorous attack on consonants, and the vowels which evaporate before they are emitted, I recall James Levine’s remark about the Met Orchestra. “These musicians have heard so many beautiful sung lines that they sing with their instruments.” In the case of Mr. Grigolo, he could well listen to the Met Orchestra to get a feeling for the sung line.
If the Met can keep packing in 3,000 people a pop to hear him, any comments on his abilities will be moot. On Saturday night, the audience was not wild for this tenor. Word may get out.
Surely Filianoti and Antonenko should get at least the attention Mr. Grigolo does. We have two treats guaranteed for delivery. Batting .667 is not bad.
Filianoti returns in Rigoletto early in 2011. www.Metopera.org
Antonenko in Otello at Carnegie with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. www.Carnegie.org
Grigolo in La Traviata in Berlin, Rigoletto in Zurich. www.Vittoriogrigolo.com