Roberto Alagna, Concert

C’est magnifique !

There is something inexplicable in a tenor voice which makes it different from all others, male or female: it plucks a particular string in our soul and makes some of us admire its beauty without envy, while plunging others into a wild romantic dream. This is particularly true of a radiantly warm timbre like Roberto Alagna’s, with its typical tinge of a guttural grain, the French grace of his phrasing and an Italian nonchalance when reaching out towards the High C. To this add clearness of diction, and an outgoing, charismatic personality. The sum is a very special kind of star, celebrated all over the world for four decades.

Roberto Alagna takes us on a lighthearted trip down memory lane and to his youth : born into a family of Sicilian immigrants, he first earned his money by singing in Paris cafés and cabarets a mix of golden oldies, couplets and popular songs made famous by Mario Lanza or Luis Mariano decades before. Mariano’s “C’est magnifique”, Belafonte’s “Angelina”, Sinatra’s “My Way”, Latin showstoppers like “Granada” and Neapolitan favourites such as “O sole mio” take us back to the times when tenors did not need to worry about borders between genres, and when wonderful music simply meant any kind of music that speaks directly to your heart.

Program and cast

Conductor | José Pick

Choirmaster | Stefano Visconti

Tenor | Roberto Alagna

Choir of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Golden Pick Orchestra