Juan Diego Florez: Mozart

Juan Diego Florez: Mozart. Juan Diego Florez, tenor; Orchestra La Scintilla; Riccardo Minaşi, conductor. (Sony B073R6K4H4; 51:52)

"Fuor del mar" (Idomeneo)-, "Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" (Die Zauberflöte)-, "Si spande al sole in faccia" (II re pastore)-, "II mio tesoro intanto," "Dalla sua pace" (Don Giovanni); "Del piů sublime soglio," "Se all'impero, amici Dei" (La clemenza di Tito): "Un'aura amorosa" (Cos! fan tutte): "Ich baue ganz auf deine Stärke" (Die Entführung aus dem Serail); "Misero! 0 sogno ... Aura che intorno spiri."

For the last twenty-two years, Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez has been one of the world's most successful and admired artists in the high stakes arena of bel canto opera. Every major house in the world has been the site of a Florez triumph in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini; it is difficult to think of another singer who has performed at such a consistently superlative level. As he enters middle age, Florez has slowly tilted his repertoire toward meatier roles such as the Duke of Mantua, Romeo, Hoffmann, and Werther, and his success in such ventures has been commendable. Bel canto still figures prominently in his schedule, although even in that repertoire he has begun to focus on roles that are less about stratospheric pyrotechnics and require weightier virtuosity.

Florez fans are apt to assume that his Mozart album will be a somewhat tepid affair compared to the spectacular bel canto collections that have come before it....