Dec 5, 2007

L’ARLESIANA (Federico)

(Opera Orchestra of New York)

“Audience members applauded and stomped their feet, shouting ‘Bis!’ and Giuseppe Filianoti complied with an encore. Remember his name: He’s going to be a major tenor.

Slender, with bushy hair and expressive eyes, Filianoti connects with fans in a direct, emotional way. In the unstaged concert performance with the Opera Orchestra of New York, his movements were limited mainly to resting arms on music stands. But when he stands slightly hunched, hand out, palm up and slightly curled, he emotes anguish.

His voice easily soared over the orchestra, pinging at the top in a manner that’s rare for tenors these days. He hasn’t been hyped, making a low-key Metropolitan Opera debut in October 2005 as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and returned last May for Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore. Filianoti’s rendition of Federico’s lament, ‘E la solita storia,’ was moving, with beautiful arched lines that retained their color when pushed — after ninety seconds of applause, he repeated the aria, then was applauded for another minute.”

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press, February 22, 2007