01 Donizetti: Tombe degli avi miei… Fra poco a me ricovero (Lucia di Lammermoor)
02 Gounod: L' amour, l'amour ... Ah! lève-toi, soleil (Roméo et Juliette)
03 Verdi: L' Emir auprès de lui m'appelle ... Je veux encore entendre (Jérusalem)
04 Verdi: Di tu se fedele (Un ballo in maschera)
05 Bazin: Je pense à vous (Maître Pathelin)
06 Maillart: Ne parle pas, Rose, je t'en supplie (Les Dragons de Villars)
07 Gounod: Salut demeure chaste et pure (Faust)
08 Donizetti: Una furtiva lagrima (L'elisir d'amore)
09 Massenet: Un autre est son époux (Werther)
10 Massenet: Pourquoi me réveiller, ô souffle le printemps? (Werther)
11 Mascagni: Apri la tua finestra (Iris)
12 Leoncavallo: Non parlate così (La Bohème)
13 Puccini: Che gelida manina (La Bohème)
14 Massenet: Je suis seul! (Manon)
15 Offenbach: O Dieu! de quelle ivresse embrases-tu mon âme?(Les contes d'Hoffmann)
16 Verdi: La donna è mobile (Rigoletto)

Piotr Beczala - tenor
Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Ion Marin - conductor

Piotr Beczala has established himself as one of the most outstanding young lyric tenors. Born in Southern Poland, he studied with Pavel Lisitsian and Sena Jurinac. After his first engagement at the Landestheater in Linz (Austria) he became a permanent member of the Zurich Opera and remains closely associated with this company.

He made his Covent Garden debut as the Italian tenor in Rosenkavalier and followed with an acclaimed Faust in 2004 and 2006. He returned as Lensky in Eugene Onegin this April with another Rosenkavalier at the Festival Hall, again with Zurich Opera.

He made a sensational role debut, in January of this year, as Riccardo in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera with the Berlin State Opera, where he was enthusiastically celebrated by both audience and press.The last two years has seen a series of successful firsts including Alfredo, in La Traviata, with the Bavarian State Opera, Berlin's Deutsche Oper and also in Tokyo; the Duke in Rigoletto at La Scala and as his debut with the Metropolitan Opera; and Lensky in Eugene Onegin with the San Francisco Opera, where he returned as Tamino last year. In Frankfurt and in Munich he has been acclaimed for his portrayal of Werther, as was his Don Ottavio at Zurich Opera and the Salzburg Festival. In 2007 he added Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia to his repertoire: singing this role he will return to the New York Met in autumn 2008.

His wide concert repertoire ranges from Mozart, Cherubini and Haydn's sacred music, via Rossini's Stabat Mater and Petite Messe Solennelle to Mahler's Das Lied. He has appeared on many recordings and DVDs but this is his first recital disc with excerpts from French and Italian operas, many of which he has already sung on stage. ---prestomusic.com

Znakomity śpiewak, o którym coraz częściej piszą, że jest następcą Jussi Bjórlinga albo Luciano Pavarottiego, umacnia konsekwentnie swoją pozycję czołowego tenora lirycznego na świecie.

Jego specjalnością jest liryczny repertuar romantyczny w operach Donizettiego, Verdiego, Gounoda, Masseneta oraz kompozytorów słowiańskich - Dworzaka i Czajkowskiego. Liczy on w tej chwili 34 partie.

Ma 42 lata, pochodzi z Czechowic-Dziedzic, ukończył Akademię Muzyczną w Katowicach w klasie prof. Jana Ballarina. Debiutował jako Tamino w studenckim przedstawieniu "Czarodziejskiego fletu" Mozarta.

Krytycy zgodnym chórem podkreślają wspaniałe brzmienie jego głosu o wyjątkowej świeżości i bogatej barwie. Artysta zachwyca nie tylko techniczną doskonałością, naturalnością frazowania i wspaniałym legato - co przy śpiewaniu belcantowych partii ma kapitalne znacznie - ale również ogromną wrażliwością i muzykalnością oraz swobodą prowadzenia głosu w każdym rejestrze. Jego kreację w "Wertherze" Masseneta uznano za najlepszą rolę sezonu w monachijskiej Staatsoper. Zachwycił jako Riccardo w "Balu maskowym" Verdiego w berlińskiej Staatsoper. "Od czasu Pavarottiego nie było tak znakomitego wykonawcy tej roli" - napisał jeden z niemieckich krytyków. Świetne recenzje zyskał za pierwszą solową płytę "Salut!", a "Traviata" z jego udziałem nagrana w Monachium otrzymała nominację do nagrody Grammy. Równie entuzjastycznie był przyjmowany w 2008 roku na Festiwalu w Salzburgu, gdzie śpiewał partię Księcia w "Rusałce" Dworzaka. Chwalono polskiego śpiewaka, ale inscenizację już nie. Międzynarodowa publiczność tego festiwalu miała już okazję podziwiania jego kunsztu w partii Śpiewaka w "Kawalerze srebrnej róży" (2004) oraz Don Ottavia w "Don Giovannim" w głośnej inscenizacji Martina Kuseja (2006). Jednak pierwszą partią, jaką tutaj zaśpiewał, był Tamino, wykonywany w zastępstwie chorego Michaela Schada.

Wiosną 2008 roku ukazała się płyta Piotra Beczały "Salut" wydana przez firmę Orfeo. Zapis recitalu operowego zebrał świetne recenzje w wielu krajach. ---encyklopediateatru.pl

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Alexander BORODIN (1833-1887)
1. Prince Igor : Medlenno den’ ugasal... Akh! Gde ty [6.03]
Feliks NOWOWIEJSKI (1877-1946)
2. The Baltic Legend: Czy ty mnie nie kochasz [2.50]
Pyotr Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
3. Eugene Onegin: Kak shchastliv… [4.22]
4. Eugene Onegin: Ya lyublyu vas, Kuda, kuda [6.52]
Wladyslaw ŻELEŃSKI (1837-1921)
5. Janek: Gdy ślub weźmiesz z twoim Stachem [3.33]
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908)
6. Sadko: Ne zh’yest’ almazov [3.40]
Stanisław MONIUSZKO (1819-1872)
7. Flis (The Raftsman) Płyną tratwy po Wiśle [4.27]
Pyotr Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
8. Iolanta: Net! Chary lask krasy myatezhnoy [3.57]
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
9. Aleko: Vzglyani pod otdalyonnim Sodom [1.43]
Stanisław MONIUSZKO (1819-1872)
10. Straszny Dwór (The Haunted Manor) Cisza dokoła [7.55]
Bedřich SMETANA (1824-1884)
11. The Bartered Bride: Až uzříš, komus koupil nevěstu ... Jak možná věřit [3.22]
Anton ARENSKY (1861-1906)
12. Raphael: Strast’yu i negoyu serdtse trepeshchet [2.36]
Stanisław MONIUSZKO (1819-1872)
13. Halka: Szumia Jodly na gor Szczecin [6.10]
Pyotr Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
14. The Queen of Spades: Chto nasha zhizn’? Igra! [1.59]
Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
15. Rusalka: Ustante v lovu … Vidino divná, přesladká [7.23]
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908)
16. May Night: Kak tikho ... Spi moya krasavitsa [7.17]
+
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908)
17. Sadko: Ne zh’yest’ almazov (symphonic version) [3.59]

Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Lukasz Borowicz (Conductor)

rec. 2009, Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio, Warsaw

After recently reviewing Piotr Beczala’s stunning album ‘The French Collection’ on Deutsche Grammophon I felt MusicWeb International should have a review of the Polish tenor’s 2010 release ‘Slavic Opera Arias’ on Orfeo. This is a valuable collection of seventeen arias from ten composers in Russian, Czech and Polish, a mix of both well known and rare repertoire.

For those who haven’t come across Piotr Beczala he is a Polish tenor who has been singing on the opera stage since 1997. His career took off internationally in 2004 leading to a burgeoning repertoire of bel canto and Romantic opera roles. In 2014 he won a prestigious ECHO Klassik award for ‘Singer of the Year’. Notable successes have included sell-out performances as the Prince in Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Salzburg Festival and as Lenski in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan, New York. Stéphane Lissner the general manager and artistic director at La Scala described Beczala as “one of the few great tenors of our time”.

There isn’t a dud track on this Orfeo release which includes music by Moniuszko, Nowowiejski and Żeleński who by and large are hardly known outside their native Poland. Not surprisingly it’s the more famous arias that take the plaudits here especially Lensky’s Kuda, kuda for its unforgettable melodies from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin based on Pushkin’s verse novel. Here in Lensky’s tragic pre-duel aria with Onegin, Beczala displays his special ability of revealing his despair with a weep in his voice. Arensky’s memorable Strast’yu i negoyu serdtse trepeshchet from Raphael based on the Renaissance artist is notable for Beczala’s quite wonderful vocal control. A work that deserves to be far better known is Rimsky-Korsakov’s Kak tikho ... Spi moya krasavitsa from the alluring May Night based on the tale by Nikolai Gogol - a splendid example of Beczala’s exquisitely firm vocal line.

Throughout this compelling collection we experience Beczała’s remarkably wide expressive range. I also relish his fluid and attractive tone which is not given to an over-brightness that can soon become wearisome. Under the assured baton of Łukasz Borowicz the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra provide first class support that is warmly sympathetic. The listening experience is however considerably lessened by the absence of sung texts and translations. Orfeo has excelled in providing clear and well balanced sonics.

Tenor Piotr Beczala is a wonderful talent who goes from strength to strength. Opera lovers will surely savour this collection. ---Michael Cookson, musicweb-international.com

Nie przypuszczałem, że płyta-składanka arii operowych tak bardzo mnie wciągnie, każe do siebie wracać. Jeszcze kilka lat temu tego typu nagrania odrzucały mnie swoją szczątkowością, fragmentarycznością, skokiem w jeden styl, w drugi (i trzeci), popisem i galanterią. Od jakiegoś czasu zaczęło się to zmieniać. Może przez wzgląd na większą znajomość operowego repertuaru, może przez nieprzepartą ochotę smakowania samego głosu, jego koloru i temperatury. Nie mówiąc o orkiestrze.

„Slavic Opera Arias”. Piotr Beczała (tenor), Łukasz Borowicz (dyr.), Polska Orkiestra Radiowa, Orfeo 2010. Płycie „Slavic Opera Arias” Piotra Beczały (i Polskiej Orkiestry Radiowej pod batutą Łukasza Borowicza) charakter nadaje już sam wybór repertuaru. Arie słowiańskie, opera słowiańska – idiom określający krąg geograficzny i estetyczny, klimat językowy i brzmieniowy, kolor i styl. A więc śpiewność, melancholia (czy nostalgia), czułość, miłość, smutek, bohaterskość. Temu nagraniu sprzyja też niewątpliwie fakt, że wykonawcy czują się w tej „słowiańskiej” przestrzeni jak w domu. Jakże inaczej!

Zaczyna się od arii Vladimira z drugiego aktu opery „Kniaź Igor” Borodina. Dalej między innymi dwa razy Lenski z „Oniegina” Czajkowskiego, finałowa aria Hermana z „Damy pikowej”, Młody Cygan z „Aleko” Rachmaninowa, Książe z „Rusałki” Dvořáka, i dużo, bardzo dużo polskiej muzyki („Cisza dokoła” Stefana ze „Strasznego dworu”, „Szumią jodły…” Jontka z „Halki, „Płyną tratwy po Wiśle” Franka z „Flisa” Moniuszki, „Czy ty mnie kochasz?” Domana z „Legendy Bałtyku” Nowowiejskiego, „Gdy ślub weźmiesz…” z „Janka” Żeleńskiego).

Właśnie ilość polskiej muzyki jest warta podkreślenia, bo przecież o najwyższej (albo jednej z najwyższych) pozycji Beczały w świecie operowym już się nie dyskutuje, więc teraz tą płytą w najlepszy z możliwych sposobów promuje rodzimą, „słowiańską” twórczość.

Piotr Beczała zresztą w każdej arii czuje się jak ryba w wodzie. Jest namiętny (Książe u Dvořáka), zakochany (Lenski), pełen tęsknoty (Stefan), marzenia (Jontek), dzikiej radości (Herman). Jego głos brzmi ciepło, soczyście, intensywnie, szlachetnie, barwnie, czysto. Pięknie po prostu.

I ma doskonałego partnera, bo Polska Orkiestra Radiowa gra każdą z tych arii tak, jakby nigdy nie wychodziła z opery. Jakby jej żywiołem była scena. A na pewno tak jest w przypadku Łukasza Borowicza. To, że Piotr Beczała nagrywa płytę z tym właśnie dyrygentem, już o czymś świadczy. Reszta jest w muzyce. Choćby w arii Księcia z „Rusałki”. Po tym nagraniu ta muzyka już nigdy nie będzie taka sama. Zwłaszcza finał, uderzenia orkiestry jak trzęsienie ziemi. Jak pragnienie miłości.

I jeszcze jedno. Tym, którzy co jakiś czas zarzucają sieci swoich decyzji na likwidację Polskiej Orkiestry Radiowej, niech zwiędną uszy. A co mają zrobić nauczyciele Piotra Beczały, którzy nie poznali się na jego wielkim głosie? Tacet. ---Tomasz Cyz, dwutygodnik.com

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01. Lehár: Das Land des Lächelns-Sung In English - Act 2-You Are My Heart’s Delight
02. Sieczynski: Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume-Arranged By Paul Bateman
03. Lehár: The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) - Act 2-Lippen schweigen
04. Kálmán: Gräfin Mariza-Operetta In 3 Acts - Act 1-Komm Zigany
05. Lehár: Paganini - Act 2-Girls Were Made To Love And Kiss
06. Kálmán: Gräfin Mariza-Operetta In 3 Acts - Act 1-Wenn es Abend wird-Grüß mir mein Wien
07. Tauber: Der Singende Traum-Arranged By Paul Bateman-Du bist die Welt für mich
08. Stolz: Das Lied ist aus
09. Lehár: Giuditta - Act 1-Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert
10. Stolz: O mia bella Napoli
11. Stolz: Ob blond, ob braun, ich liebe alle Frau’n
12. Ralph: Ich küsse Ihre Hand Madam-Arranged By Paul Bateman
13. Romberg: The Student Prince-Arranged By Paul Bateman-Overhead The Moon Is Beaming
14. Stolz: Ich liebe Dich
15. C. Böhm: Still wie die Nacht, Op.326, No.27-Arranged By Paul Bateman
16. Lehár: Das Land des Lächelns - Act 2-Dein ist mein ganzes Herz
17. Stolz: Brunetki, blondynki

Personnel:
Piotr Beczala, Tenor
Anna Netrebko, soprano
Daniela Fally, vocals
Avi Avital, mandoline
Berlin Comedian Harmonists
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Lukasz Borowicz, conductor

It is mostly operetta enthusiasts who remember the name of the monocle-wearing Austrian tenor Richard Tauber today, and that's why this release by Polish tenor Piotr Beczala is welcome. Tauber was an enormously popular figure in many countries, singing in many languages, from the 1910s through the end of his life, unhappily exiled from his native Austria due to Jewish ancestry, after World War II. It's not clear whether Tauber's languages included Polish, but the program here involves German, English, and Italian. Beczala's German is excellent; his English is slightly accented, but probably less so than Tauber's own, and there are no distractions to impede the enjoyment of Tauber's biggest hit, You Are My Heart's Delight, from Franz Lehár's The Land of Smiles. That and a few other similar numbers set the pattern for operetta and later film musical composers who tried to tailor their big numbers to Tauber's strengths. The composers here range from the well known (Lehár) to the moderately known (Emmerich Kálmán) to the all-but-forgotten (Rudolf Sieczynski and several of the film film composers), but all the music seems of a piece, and in a style consistent enough to be familiar. That style straddled the divide between operetta and popular song; it is extravagantly romantic, almost strangely so from a modern perspective, filled with the rhythms of the waltz and other popular dances, but exploding often enough into the upper tenor register to give the singer some star quality. Beczala, something of a connoisseur's tenor up to this point, handles the high Bs nicely, and there is just a sense of fun about the whole thing that puts across something of what Tauber must have been like. You get an aural whiff of Tauber himself in track 7, Du bist die Welt für mich (You are the world to me), which he also composed; this could have had an odd necro-duet feel, but it is tastefully handled, with the Tauber excerpt, recorded in 1934, coming in at the end as a sort of memory. An enjoyable major-label debut for operetta lovers. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review

Pop singers have sometimes used technology to perform duets with the voice of an iconic performer from the past, but the practice is generally untried in classical-music recording. Yet here, in the halfway house of operetta, tenor Piotr Beczala actually sings one song along with the voice of Richard Tauber (1891–1948). It's hard to see the point — a tribute to Tauber? to Beczala? — of this exercise in chutzpah. It invites comparisons that don't favor the younger artist.

Oddly, though, he holds up well — not by winning any competition with Tauber but by making it irrelevant. Beczala brings strengths of his own to the late tenor's repertoire and shows confidence in it. While he also has technical liabilities, they seem to become less troubling as the program proceeds.

In the first selections, including the title song, a smooth, hearty manner can't quite compensate for tightness in Beczala's top register and a prominent bleat — actually more of a break in the transition to head tone — that mars some phrases. Beczala's accent in both English and German presents something of a barrier to Viennese style.

To get other bad news out of the way, there's a setback in the third selection, where Beczala is joined by a rather distant Anna Netrebko in "Lippen schweigen," the signature waltz from Die Lustige Witwe. From this abbreviated, halting effort — in which the soprano sounds unsteady and the two voices not well in sync — you would not suspect that this is the pivotal romantic-seduction number from the work and a perennial crowd-pleaser.

Thereafter, it's easy to be won over by Beczala's flexible legato, especially at softer volume in his attractive middle range, and by a palpable sincerity with the words. A high point is reached with Emmerich Kálmán's "Wenn es Abend wird," from Gräfin Mariza, in which the tenor's timbre waxes and wanes gracefully and lingers gently on key nostalgic phrases of yet another salute to the city on the Danube.

By the time Beczala reaches the next number — the "duet" with a 1934 Tauber recording of the singer's own composition "Du bist die Welt für mich" — this listener had warmed enough to Beczala to find the tenors' pairing astonishingly acceptable. Not all of the faithful will agree, no doubt, but in this case the younger tenor adopts a pleasant, non-confrontational style, engineering is expert, and the combination has a certain charm. Wisely, the brief experiment is not repeated.

The final half of the program finds Beczala's upper range in firmer shape, in such familiar heart-on-sleeve numbers as Lehár's "Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert," Romberg's "Overhead the Moon Is Beaming," from The Student Prince, which gets a broad, urgent delivery, and, with more insinuating, pointed tone, Erwin's "Ich küsse Ihre Hand Madam." After some less distinguished material by Robert Stolz and a change of pace with a lied by one Carl Bohm, Beczala seems almost to gain heft as well as assurance in his finale, Lehár's "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz," the catchy Tauberlied from Das Land des Lächelns.

Lukasz Borowicz conducts with taste and plenty of rubato, leaving sentimentality to the voice and some of the busy, slick arrangements, several of which are by Paul Bateman. Duncan Riddell's violin solos and the voices of the Berlin Comedian Harmonists lend atmosphere. ---David J. Baker, operanews.com

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1. Rigoletto: Ella Mi Fu Rapita... Parmi Veder Le Lagrime
2. Les Vêpres Siciliennes: C’est Guy De Montfort… Ô Jour De Peine
3. Il Trovatore: Soli Or Siamo... Condotta Ell'era In Ceppi
4. Il Trovatore: Non Son Tuo Figlio... Mal Reggendo All'aspro Assalto... Inoltra Il Piè
5. Il Trovatore: Ah Sì, Ben Mio
6. I Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata: La Mia Letizia Infondere
7. Aida: Se Quel Guerrier Io Fossi... Celeste Aida
8. La Traviata: Lunge Da Lei... De' Miei Bollenti Spiriti... O Mio Rimorso
9. Macbeth: O Figli, O Figli Miei! ... Ah, La Paterno Mano
10. Messa Da Requiem: Ingemisco
11. Un Ballo In Maschera: Forse La Soglia Attinse... Ma Se M’è Forza
12. Don Carlo: E Lui! Desso, L'infante! ... Dio Che Nell'alma Infondere

Piotr Beczała (Tenor)
Ewa Podleś (Contralto)
Mariusz Kwiecien (Baritone)
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Łukasz Borowicz (Conductor)

Poland has always been a fount of great vocal talent, from the de Reszkes, Sembrich and Didur on through to Jan Kiepura, Teresa Zylis-Gara, Stefania Toczyska and many more. Three of the country's finest contemporary singers are assembled here on one disc. A Verdi collection spotlighting Piotr Beczala, it allows for guest apperances from baritone Mariusz Kwiecien and contralto Ewa Podleś. One comes away thinking we may be in the midst of a new golden age of Polish singing.

Beczala's lyric tenor graces twelve arias and duets here, with some thrilling results. He is not likely to sing all of these roles onstage in his lifetime — Radamès is a particularly iffy prospect — but the recording studio allows for such indulgences. Beczala is a singer of real intelligence and charm, with a clarion voice that records well. Those looking for sweet, honeyed timbre will be disappointed, but he can stand and deliver a muscular sound with clarity and drive. Most of the time that works, but there are drawbacks: he can also tend to launch too many phrases with a sob in the voice, and he succumbs to the temptation to belt out his final "Celeste Aida" phrase, rather than float it as Verdi specified.

These are relatively small quibbles about a singer who is otherwise first-rate. The moments at which Beczala pulls back and sings softly are few, but they are memorable, particularly a beautiful decrescendoed transition into "Parmi veder le lagrime" during the Duke's Act II scena in Rigoletto. He also displays some lovely piano phrasing in the "Ingemisco tamquam reus," from the Requiem, that almost puts one in mind of the way Björling sang these passages.

Beczala seems to really enjoy words; his diction and phrasing give wonderful added weight to the recit intro to Alfredo's "De' miei bollenti spiriti," from La Traviata. With Henri's Act IV aria from Les Vêpres Siciliennes, he is able to show off his ease in French and his ability to open and broaden his voice as he ascends. (That does not mean that the sound up there is always easy on the ear; at times it seems detached from the rest of his voice.) In Macduff's aria and in Riccardo's Act III scene from Un Ballo in Maschera, he demonstrates a fine sense of legato.

The tracks in which Beczala can strike sparks off his colleagues are among the best on the CD. The Azucena–Manrico campfire scene, from Trovatore — which includes Azucena's entire "Condotta ell'era in ceppi" — is white hot, with Podleś sounding possessed and Beczala matching her phrase for anguished phrase. Kwiecien joins him for the Act II scene and duet from Don Carlo, and their virile voices blend beautifully. --- Eric Myers, operanews.com

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