Mar 5, 2012

MANON (Le Chevalier des Grieux)

(Opéra National de Paris)

“…there is no denying his was the star vocal presence of the night. Not for him the suave styling and crooning of say, Alfredo Kraus. Signor Filianoti can spin a tender line to be sure, but he is happiest when he can go for the jugular, and when he delivers the impetuous top notes he lands them right between your eyes. To his credit, his full-bodied approach complemented his leading lady quite well, and he was a generous and deferential colleague. But when firepower was required, Giuseppe provided salvo after salvo.”

James Sohre, OperaToday.com, March 5, 2012

“Her partner, Giuseppe Filianoti, was on the first night overwhelming in vocality, lyrical timbre and accuracy of intonation. His response to “Adieu, notre petite table” is telling the dream: “En fermant les yeux”. In this he was able to create, along with accompaniment of subdued string section playing in soft thirds, a beauty of sound, which is simply matchless. Nowhere does he ever push his voice. This very noble French singing he also shows when he meets Manon for the first time. By this he surpasses almost all contemporary singers, who unfortunately don’t show this restraint and push their voices in a Puccini-style.”

Dr. Olaf Zenner, OperaPoint.com, January 12, 2012