(Above: Rolando takes his triumphant curtain call last night during his recital at Gran Teatre del Liceu. Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Scroll down for three more!)
Our recently reappointed tenor crush, Rolando Villazón, is wasting no time wooing back his smitten fans after his blazing reappearance across the European opera stages. Cold killin' it last night in Barcelona, Villazón defeated his demons and successfully vanquished any concerns that he wasn't up to snuff for a renewed recital season. Homeboi represent. Recital rapture!
The Opera Chic blog is proud to present firsthand accounts str8 from the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's opera house on the event of Rolando Villazón's comeback recital yesterday evening, Sunday, January 13, 2008, where two Opera Chic readers, yvette and pepa guardiola, generously shared their impressions and *squeals* photographs from that very special night, which sounded like a treat for the Barcelona fans.
From pepa guardiola comes this awesome & thorough recap:
"Rolando came with plenty of energy and will, smiling and spreading his charm. The first act of the concert was devoted to Robert Schumann [Dichterliebe op. 48] -- which he sang all in a row with no interruptions!"
"He started out a bit nervous (he was swallowing a lot), but he went into a crescendo, and then his voice started to heal. I never thought the German language song cycles could sound so smooth! I’d say he feels very at ease with this repertoire, but the best was yet to come..."
"He came back after the interval for the popular songs: Francesco Paolo Tosti's Non m’ama più, Jules Massenet's Ouvre tes yeux bleus (incredible, and in a crescendo), and a bunch of Spanish popular songs [four songs by Fernando J. Obradors]."
"Then he felt a bit *coughy* and left the stage for a moment...he came back, and then left for 2 eternal minutes...and all of us start suffering! When he was definitely back, he touched his heart with his hand, and told the audience that he’d kinda preferred to have this inconvenience happen with us in Barcelona, for he felt he was at home!"
"There was a great applause, and from this moment till the end of the concert, he put his body and soul into his voice, almost as if it was the last concert and the last song he was to sing in his entire life, and he wanted us to be in paradise. He wanted to galvanize everyone's heart, blood, and bones...and then he smiled, and wanted to rectify."
"And then he said that on the contrary he WOULD have preferred this little disruption not to happen in front to Barcelona’s audience, because he loves Barcelona sooo much (you should have seen all the young and old women go crazy in the audience when he said that!) He’s a sweetie!"
"Then two bis: Muñequita Linda (a Mexican song); and then the final bomb (!un tiro mancino hehe¡), which was a special present for Barcelona’s people, a popular Catalan song called Rossó (which is the name of woman, and also a Maestro José Carreras favorite and a very dear song for us Catalans). When Rolando announced the song, the audience went wild, and I think there are still people on Las Ramblas clapping hands! Then after ten minutes of applause, Rolando ended up in tears, and the house was turned upside down. How generous voice and what a smart soul..."
And from reader yvette comes these lovely words:
"The recital was beyond words, so fine and moving! A beautiful Massenet, 'Ouvre tes yeux bleus', and to finish, a standing ovation for a special treat in Catalan called, 'Rossó (o Pel teu amor)" (pps: I've just checked in a book/record shop - the Catalan song is called Rossó and it was apparently recorded by José Carreras.)"
"Rolando's voice is so colorful and I was almost in tears when he started the Spanish part at the end. He had to stop at the end of the recital because he was too emotionally concerned, and said that in Barcelona, he felt, 'like at home,'".
Yvette also reported that during an after-recital autograph meet&greet session, wife Lucia was close to his side, and charmed the pants off the many adoring fans!
w00tles all around! w00t w00t! Let's hope somebody made some tite bootlegs in da :::files::
(Above: Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's opera house.)
(Above: Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's opera house and placard for Rolando's recital.)
(Above: Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Rolando post-performance signs a few autographs. He's da mang!)
VVVVV~~~~***UPDATE***~~~~~VVVVVV
Gtl torn t, aka Catalan Awesomeness, reviews Rolando In Barcelona. Where we learn that the "bittersweet" recital should have been broadcast on the radio but Rolando did not allow that, & that Rolando will alternate with Roberto Alagna in Carmen in July 2009 at Gran Teatre de Liceu.