Sony’s big editorial poster for the end of 2022 is more of a stage record than a string of duos (like pearl divers…). The selected works are Bohemian, La Gioconda, The Sicilian Vespers, Don Carlos, The Forza of Destiny and otello. In 2021, it was time for a vocal battle between two tenors, Michael Spyres and Lawrence Brownlee (Warner). Here, it is about dramatic symbiosis between a tenor (Jonas Kaufmann) and a baritone (Ludovic Tézier). And we are spoiled. Even for the “kaufmannosceptics” that we have become, this recital is a happy oasis between adulterated Christmas records and disappointing recitals by the star tenor. It’s because the agreement between Kaufmann and Tézier is exceptional in terms of vocal intelligence, singing, management of phrasing and nuances. There is therefore, for Kaufmann, no need to prove or to force, and this starting point makes us find the singer that we had appreciated so much. Alchemy, therefore, in a very beautiful CD from which we had high hopes and which keeps its promises.
To see in video