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Artist: Piotr Beczala

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Piotr Beczala:

The French Collection

The kind of singing found in French operas written during the 18th century was based on a great theatrical tradition, namely, the tragedies of Corneille, Racine and Voltaire, with their declamatory type of verse-speaking. This meant that for French singers clarity of diction was more important than the quality of their tone, a quality that was to be one of the prerequisites of the bel canto school of singing of the later period. All of this changed with the founding of the Théâtre Italien in 1801. When Rossini took over the running of this last-named company in 1824, he found many good French singers. He was followed to Paris – then the center of the operatic universe – by Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. Their works were performed – and in some cases premiered – by outstanding French singers. It is with excerpts from the principal works of this tradition that the Polish tenor Piotr Beczala faces up to a challenge that is testing from both a technical and an interpretative point of view, demanding, as it does, a particular understanding of the French vocal idiom.

21 TOTAL
SYND: PRI/Classical 24
Direct: Music Choice
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