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Gaston Rivero, Uruguay, Concert 3
An Italianate tenor arrives with an advantage in Cardiff. There has always been a soft spot in the Welsh psyche for tenors in general and Italianate ones in particular. All my uncles were tenors in male voice choirs who always argued the merits of Caruso versus Gigli (Gigli always won). |
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So when a handsome tenor from Uruguay arrives on the platform, the audience breathes a collective sigh of relief and sits back to hear his attempt at the operatic equivalent of tightrope-walking.
And Gaston Rivero is not just handsome but also a little taller than Carlo Rizzi. He has an easy charm and focuses on someone in the audience to whom he sings. Whoever was in Stalls Left who got all that attention during the Gounod must have been very attractive. Share it around Gaston!
His repertoire was 'safe' in a very unsafe way. No surprises with Verdi, Gounod and Cilea certainly but these pieces are well-known and recorded by Domingo and Pavarotti, among others. How would Gaston fare? Well very well actually. Not a heavy voice but flexible and secure. His were standard gestures too but perhaps there is little you can do with this repertoire. There are 'stand and deliver' pieces and that's what Gaston did. At the end of his final piece and the inevitable long-held note, he slumped down - obviously drained having given his all. Luckily, two seconds later - he had recovered sufficiently to be blowing kisses to the audience. A true Italianate tenor! |
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