Great Baritone Arias (2011)

performed by Peter Mattei (baritone), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Lawrence Renes (conductor)
composed by Benjamin Britten, Charles Gounod, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Wagner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Swedish baritone Peter Mattei has been active on the international opera scene since the mid-'90s, but he hasn't made it into the ranks of superstar baritones who proliferated during about the same period. If this album of a wide variety of arias has the effect of bringing him to the attention of a broader spectrum of the opera-loving public, it will have served a valuable service. The album incontrovertibly demonstrates that Mattei is an artist of the first rank not only because the quality of his vocal equipment but ... Read More

Swedish baritone Peter Mattei has been active on the international opera scene since the mid-'90s, but he hasn't made it into the ranks of superstar baritones who proliferated during about the same period. If this album of a wide variety of arias has the effect of bringing him to the attention of a broader spectrum of the opera-loving public, it will have served a valuable service. The album incontrovertibly demonstrates that Mattei is an artist of the first rank not only because the quality of his vocal equipment but because of the depth and breadth of his musicianship revealed in repertoire ranging from Mozart to Britten. Arias from Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro figure prominently on the album and from the first notes of "Finch'han dal vino," Mattei establishes himself as a natural Mozart singer: confident, lyrical, agile, and fluent in the subtleties of characterization. Then the two arias from Tannhäuser (not only the requisite "O, du mein holder Abendstern," but "Blick'ich umher in diesem... Read Less