On October 10, at Middle Temple Hall and as part of the 55th anniversary season of Opera Rara (the celebrated opera company specializing in the performance and recording of forgotten works belonging to the operatic repertoire of the 19th and early 20th centuries), we attended the salon concert by the excellent young Argentinean baritone Germán Alcántara. He was joined by the outstanding and experienced pianist Anna Tilbrook.  The evening was curated and introduced by eminent musicologist Roger Parker.

The program comprised songs by bel canto master Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) and by Argentinean composers Juan Pedro Esnaola (1808-1878), Julián Aguirre (1868-1924), Carlos López Buchardo (1881-1948), Celia Torrá (1889-1962), Alberto Williams (1862-1952) and Ana Carrique (1886-1978). Each Donizetti song was followed by a song belonging to one of the above-named Argentinean composers.

Alcántara, who certainly belongs to the most accomplished opera singers of his generation, possesses a natural voice of particular character, full, warm and rich in nuances. His breath control and technical skills are equally impressive.

The quality, however, that perhaps stands out in his art more than any other, is the exquisite expressiveness of his singing and the generous way in which he approaches both the works he performs and his audience.

The baritone delivered deeply felt performances. He meticulously illuminated Donizetti’s quasi-operatic writing, as well as the emotional character of the works by the gifted Argentinean composers he chose to present. He was delightful throughout, singing with taste and undiminished enthusiasm, always supported by Tilbrook’s refined and sensitive pianism.

At the end of the recital, he surprised his audience by inviting onstage for an encore, the distinguished young Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetsina. Both offered an inspiring rendition of the song Pueblito mi pueblo by Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000).

Definitely looking forward to his forthcoming appearances and recordings.

Programme: 

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Odi d’un uom che muore

Juan Pedro Esnaola (1808-1878)
El desamor
*UK premiere

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Mentre del caro lido

Julián Aguirre (1868-1924)
Caminito

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Un baiser pour espoir

Carlos López Buchardo (1881-1948)
Les roses de Nöel
*UK premiere
Canción de Ausencia
*UK premiere

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Ov’è la voce magica

Celia Torrá (1889-1962)
Milonga del destino
*UK premiere

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Si tu m’as fait à ton image

Carlos López Buchardo (1881-1948)
Lassitude
*UK premiere

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Il pescatore “Batte il bronzo, il ciel s’imbruna”

Alberto Williams (1862-1952)
Milonga calabacera

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Il crociato “Colle piume sul cimiero”

Julián Aguirre (1868-1924)
La lune
*UK premiere

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Luna e Stelle della notte

Ana Carrique (1886-1979)
A patay huele la luna