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No match for tenor's ardent flairBy JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic© St. Petersburg Times published January 22, 2003 CLEARWATER -- Jose Carreras was in fine voice Tuesday night. The celebrated tenor sang a collection of Neapolitan street songs, Spanish ballads and other light classics at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Nobody is better in this sort of nostalgic repertoire than Carreras, who is more of a concert tenor these days than an opera singer. His latest opera was a production of Samson et Dalila in Barcelona in 2001, and his absence from the art that brought him fame is a pity, because his ability to dramatize a song is unparalleled. A highlight of the program was a set by Tosti, "the Schubert of the Abruzzi," whose ardent ballads were beautifully communicative. In songs like Segreto, Carreras' articulation had such aplomb that each syllable was heard with perfect clarity while the lyric was suffused with a rich warmth of emotion. Carreras brought his trademark elegance and charm to old favorites like Vieni sul mar, made famous by Enrico Caruso and Mario Lanza, and he displayed plenty of range in Tirindelli's Di te. He gave a wonderfully schmaltzy treatment to Tosti's Because of You, a torch song that sounded like something out of a '50s big-screen romance directed by Douglas Sirk. The program included fascinating pieces such as Alessandro Scarlatti's Gia il sole dal gange, which ended on a booming note at the bottom of Carreras' register. Gambardella's O Marenariello demonstrated that the 56-year-old tenor still has some powerful high notes in him, all the more effective for his expressive phrasing. Lorenzo Bavaj was the collegial pianist. There was one problem with the concert. At the ticket prices Carreras commands (as much as $150 Tuesday), information about his program should be well presented. But Ruth Eckerd Hall's program booklet did not even have a list of the songs and composers, a considerable drawback since many of the works would be unfamiliar to all but diehard devotees of vocal recitals. The tenor announced his selections from the stage. Needless to say, there were no texts and translations, which are indispensable in aiding a listener's comprehension and enjoyment. It's inexcusably sloppy not to provide the audience such basic information, if not in the program booklet, then in an insert. The same lapse marred a recital last season by violinist Itzhak Perlman, who also had to announce what he was playing from the stage. Tuesday's attendance was 1,106 for a program that was similar to the one Carreras gave a year ago at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, but that didn't bother his fans, some of whom called out requests in Spanish. He rounded out the concert with several encores, winding up with the ever-popular Granada.
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