The thrilling voice of one of today's most exciting young opera stars is heard in a brilliant new light in the romantic ballads and popular songs of his homeland including Granada, Júrame and La Flor de Canela. Juan Diego stars with Anna Netrebko in a new production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the New York Metropolitan Opera, March 31st-April 28th. On May l3, he opens in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri at the Washington National Opera in Washington D.C.
Flórez brings a connoisseur’s discernment to this program of Latin American songs. He draws parallels between the elaborate musical language of opera’s bel canto and the stylistic niceties of ranchero music—for example, that dreamy swoon in “Ella” on the words “de pena muero” (“I’ll die of grief”). “That’s the quality of Mexican singing. There is something virtuosic about it. When you slide down, it can give a sense of tiredness. In other songs, it gives a sense of being proud. You can also hold notes for a very long time—like in Chucho Monge’s ‘México lindo y querido’ (‘Fair and beloved Mexico’).”
The lush orchestral arrangements of these works – some by Juan Diego Flórez himself – are performed by the Fort Worth Symphony under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya. For Juan Diego Flórez the songs on this album are much more than a light-hearted detour for a great opera star. In his view they have enriched and, to a great extent, molded his art. This recital of Spanish and Latin American songs is a kind of musical homecoming.
Flórez grew up with this music. His father, Ruben Flórez had a fine career in Peru as an interpreter of popular songs. Following the elder Flórez’s footsteps, the young Juan Diego eventually started to sing in his local bar where he was expected to know songs not just from Peru, but also from Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico and all over Latin America including songs heard on this disc.
“I would sing a bolero that I learned from one of my father’s cassettes or that I heard my mother sing, or Peruvian music. You were expected to offer something from Mexico, something from Venezuela—from all over Latin America.” Smiling, he adds, “Of course, you’d better not mess up the words!”
By the time he was fourteen, he was singing, playing guitar and composing his own songs (it was not until he was seventeen that he began his study of classical music and opera).
"In fact I began my career making pop music. I wanted to learn how to make music, play piano, and sing better, and that took me to the conservatory. When I entered the conservatory I realized how much I liked classical music. I would say I was conquered by the lyric song.
“In opera, you have to be in control of the melody, of your voice. But if you can really let it flow, phrase it and shade it like a bolero, a tango… Latin American singers, they all have something of this. You can call it class, you can call it taste—it comes from our music, from Latin American music.”
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JUAN DIEGO FLÓREZ
Sentimiento Latino
TRACKLIST
1.Alma Llanera
Pedro Elias Gutèirrez
2. Ella
Jose Alfredo Jimenez
3. La Flor de la Canela
'Chabuca Granda' (Isabel Grada y Larca) arr Juan Diego Flórez
4. El Dia que me quieras
Carlos Gardel
5. Granada
Agustin Lara
6. La Jarra de Oro
Anon arr. Juan Diego Flórez
7. Princesita
Jose Sancho Padilla
8. Júrame
Maria Grever
9. Estrellita
Manuel Maria Ponce
10. Fina Estampa
'Chabuca Granda' (Isabel Grada y Larca) arr. Juan Diego Flórez
11. En mi Viejo san Juan
Noel Estrada
12. Siboney
Ernesto Lecuona
13. Aquellos ojos verdes
Nilo Menendez
14. Bello Durmiente
'Chabuca Granda' (Isabel Grada y Larca) arr. Juan Diego Flórez
15. México Lindo y Querido
Chuco Monge
Artists
JUAN DIEGO FLÓREZ
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
MIGUEL HARTH BEDOYA
Critical Acclaim for Juan Diego Flórez
“This extravagantly gifted tenor from Lima, Peru, seems to have it all: voice, looks, style, personality, musical refinement, and an appealing stage presence.”
New York Times
“Merely beyond belief…both the artistry and the personal charisma to conquer millions.”
The Wall Street Journal.
“Juan Diego Flórez, a Peruvian tenor, a very promising young singer, is proving that the Rossini tenor, a distinctively brilliant and heady style of singing, can have broader appeal beyond the cognoscenti who favor the bravura style.”
Washington Post
“Flórez looks and sounds as young as romantic tenors are supposed to be but rarely are.”
New York Daily News
“The Peruvian tenor Juan Diego is one of the world s most exciting singers.”
Times (London)
“Juan Diego Flórez can already be counted among the world s finest singers.”
The Gramophone
“The next legendary tenor”
WNYC Soundcheck
“Juan Diego Flórez is currently unrivalled in the early Romantic lyric tenor repertoire.”
BarnesandNoble.com
“Juan Diego Flórez brings charm, finesse and good old- fashioned razzle- dazzle to a program of tenor favorites.”
Opera News
“A sensational light lyric tenor, amazing vocal virtuosity and a charismatic stage presence.”
Chicago Tribune