I have had the good fortune lately to become more acquainted with the singing of a brilliant young tenor, Charles Castronovo, who is showing all the signs of launching himself soon into star status worldwide.
Born in New York in 1975, and raised in Southern California, Castronovo began his singing career with the Los Angeles Opera and was soon singing debut roles in many opera centers worldwide, including New York, London, Berlin, and Vienna. Endowed with a robust lyric voice, centered exactly and comfortably in the tenor range—i.e., this is a real tenor!—his production is smooth and equal, up and down the scale and through all registers, which blend perfectly. Here he is singing a principal aria from Romero's Zarzuela La Taberna del Puerto, "No puede ser una vulgar sirena..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq4hfC3Mz84
This is a flawless technique, and the voice is absolutely consistently produced. I know that comparisons are odious, and I admire both Flórez and Villazón, but I will simply say that Castonovo's voice is more robust than that of Flórez, who is very much more of a tenore leggiero; and further, that Castronovo will never find himself in the kinds of vocal troubles that have plagued Rolando Villazón. His technique and natural endowments are exactly appropriate for the repertoire he is currently singing. There are enough examples out there of lyric tenors who over-reached and did major harm to their voices later in their careers, Ferruccio Tagliavini being one of the sadder cases. His may have been an ultimate lyric gift, in his youth, but being human he doubtless yearned for the acclaim that (unwisely, in my opinion) was lavished on dramatic tenors in the 50's and 60's.
Here is Castronovo, in Russia, singing one of the great lyric classics, "Una furtiva lagrima."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKGuicQf5W4&feature=related
A near perfect rendition! The ease with which he moves back and forth from piano to mezza forte is proof positive that the voice is easily and appropriately centered, and very much within its appropriate repertoire.
Finally, calling a bit more on an innate robustness in the voice, but without stepping outside his repertoire, here is Werther's lament "Pourquoi me reveiller...," sung at the same concert in Russia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpy2QZFyy9Q&feature=related
Beautiful, and stylistically perfect! To these vocal and stylistic endowments, one can also add the not-insignificant fact that Mr. Castronovo, as evidenced in these videos, is a most handsome man, and presents himself very well indeed. With this powerhouse combination of gifts, I think it perfectly reasonable to say that here is a tenor to watch!
i was thinking today about why i love your blog so much. one reason is that you often give voice [as it were] to sentiments i myself have long held, though of course ne'er so well espressed.
ReplyDeletethe other is that in some cases, as here, you alert me to things i knew NOTHING about. i have never heard the voice of charles castronovo until this hour. but WOW he's good. i will be hunting for a CD next! thank you yet again, sir edmund.
oh, and -- for convenience, here's the UNA FURTIVA LAGRIMA link, which may not be visible to everyone reading the main blog post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36wzP3FqFE0
Yes indeed. You are correct. He has all the tools and the looks for about any role. Let's wish him well for the future. He has bright prospects and, we hope, good training and handling.
ReplyDeleteCorax: Thank you so much and AHHHRGGGG! THANK YOU for catching the omission! I have since re-edited the article to include the Una Furtiva Lagrima site! I hope it doesn't keep sending out multiple copies to those receiving the blog by email! They'll think I've gone mad. And yes, Castronovo is brilliant. We'll be hearing much more from him, I'm quite certain.
ReplyDeleteJ.D: Thank you very much. Yes, a complete package, agreed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article, Sir Edmund. This singer was unknown to me, though he performed in Russia.
ReplyDeleteHe has a great voice and, judging from his style and intelligent singing, there is a hope that he will use his voice correctly.
n.a.
Thank you very much. Yes, I would say that there is a very good chance indeed that he will avoid the pitfalls common to many young lyric tenors who dream about doing Andrea Chenier, Otello, Aida and Die Walkure and end up with a ruined, husky voice. The horrible examples abound.
ReplyDeleteCastronovo sings very intelligently, and his repertoire, at least such as I have seen, is perfectly safe. I remember hearing a master class at Juilliard about 30 years ago, conducted by the well known voice teacher Daniel Ferro, and I remember him saying that if you are singing correctly, you should be able to turn around at the end of an opera, and sing it all over again. A high standard, admittedly, but an interesting observation in any case.
“I remember hearing a master class at Juilliard about 30 years ago, conducted by the well known voice teacher Daniel Ferro, and I remember him saying that if you are singing correctly, you should be able to turn around at the end of an opera, and sing it all over again. A high standard, admittedly, but an interesting observation in any case.”
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting , because I read different things about proper amount of work for an opera singer. For example, the Soviet conductor Kondrashin wrote, that singers of the past were trained for frequent performances; some prima donnas of the Bolshoi in the 1930s could perform 3-5 times a week. Later singers became “lazy” and their voices aged faster. On the other hand, there are many stories about Soviet singers, who wanted to earn some money, sang too many concerts and lost their voices very quickly .
n.a.
Yes, I suppose some kind of happy medium between the two extremes is what is necessary. The key issue is singing technique. Also, the perceived need to "make a lot of sound" is usually a mistake. First-time harpsichord kit builders will make the same mistake, putting much more plectrum pressure on the string than is necessary. That's a good way to break strings:) If you look at a great singer like Mark Reizen, who sang into extreme old age, it is apparent, especially in concert, that he is not pushing himself in any way. But the voice carries perfectly well. And we have spoken before about how well constructed the Bolshoi is, so that even modest sounds carry very well. The singers simply don't need to shout. I think the problem is usually that people try to take on roles that are too big for them.
ReplyDeleteVery impressive performance. He is excellent on stage as well. I love the photo for your article with Salzburg Cathedral in the background. I have been a soloist there for quite a few years now and I love singing in Salzburg the most
ReplyDeleteThis is a very impressive performance. he used the stage pretty well!
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed. He is a very impressive young man, with a first rate voice. The package is there--I wish him the very best of luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Mr. Orsini, for your astute observations, so well expressed! Oh, I do so wish that young singers could absorb those words of wisdom. It would save so much heartbreak and failure later in life. And I must say, modern audiences are somewhat to blame also. They sometimes instinctively applaud and shout for what is, in the last analysis, a screaming exhibition, with no regard to artistry or elegant, constrained performance. There are of course moments when dramatic outbursts are required, but they are properly contained within the frame of the composer's dramatic intentions, and never, ever, carried out at risk to the voice. Again, many thanks. I certainly appreciate your comments, which are a genuine contribution to the blog.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, my friend, thanks to YOU! I have learned a great deal from our discussions, and it is an opportunity for which I am deeply grateful. And I also agree with you 100% about post-verismo tendencies that have worked to the general detriment of great singing!
ReplyDeleteAnother singer I had not heard about!
ReplyDeleteA fine stage presence and a very fine voice. Lets hope he has good people helping him make smart decisions about what he sings, when and where.
So far he's doing pretty well. I spoke to him, after I wrote the article, and he is a very pleasant and cultured young man indeed. The kind of guy who you really hope makes it big. He certainly has the whole package. Excellent voice, very handsome, very musical. I wish him the best!
ReplyDeleteI surely hope he stays the way his at this time, with his voice naturally and does not push for a more dramatic sound, as his voice is a already a somewhat dark lyric spinto, most surely. I've heard some recordings some time ago where he sounded like he was pumping it up into being more dramatic in sound and where it sounded more like what Kaufmann has done and in my estimation JK has run into trouble sounding too Baritonal/Heavy. Since then when I noticed this less natural sound from Charles he has gone back too the fine singing and excellent sound he has. A rare tenor today among the young--- a true lyric spinto, on the way too being a full spinto! Good luck with a fine potential super star.
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