songs for waiting....

I got over the sight of his awful stripped shirt which looks more like pyjamas than a shirt. I imagined he was a bit crazy about keeping it on, perhaps as a lucky charm, singers are well known to be superstitious! Then I noticed there was no background to this picture, no romantic landscape to match the selection of French romantic opera arias; I listened to it all and got under the charm, found my precious stone out of a fairly good amount of opera tubes, this aria, short and so poetic is: Je suis l'oiseau que le frisson d'hiver - Massenet (Grisélidis)
Je suis l'oiseau que le frisson
d'hiver chasse de la ramée.
Adieu, adieu, la caresse embaumée
du nid caché dans le buisson!
Mais qui la dernière chanson
Astres, astres, cachez votre flambeau,
Gardez votre face voilée;
Car ma jeunesse désolée
et le printemps sont au tombeau..
Puisqu'à mes yeux rien n'est plus beau
Depuis qu'elle s'en est allée!Vole aux pieds de la bien-aimée!

It is really a sweet piece not often heard, the poetry of that short melody is charming.
It shows in two minutes or so all the strenght and softness of his voice with his striking colours and powerful breath. I did read that his French was poor on this CD and the text was necessary.
I have no problem following the poemt. It is the shortest aria of this CD, and for me it's the sweetest. It is possible to hum it afterwards and that I really like doing!
When I wrote about Mireille which ended my opera season at Marseilles Opera house I did not find a link with Rolando singing it on youtube.
With Planytv, I found this aria: Act 5. Air de Vincent. Mon cœur est plein d'un noir souci! ... Anges du paradis' which suits Rolando's voice, showing all the colours of his voice in this almost unique really striking tenor aria of the entire opera which occurs nearly at the end of the opera. In fact it is the weak point of the opera for me, only the last two acts are dramatically coherent whereas the poem is under tense emotions all the way through. Vincent here expresses deep anxiety for Mireille who has fled to the Saintes Marie de la mer under scorching sun, and then questions in soft tones the angels to protect her frrom all the dangers awaiting her in this hostile Crau. The celestial accents of Rolando's voice in this prayer make me feel he would be a fine and moving Vincent in this Gounod opera 'Mireille'.
This opus is going to open the Opera de Paris season at Bastille. I will not go and see it again as I have just seen it in Marseilles on the 150th anniversary of the long poem Mireio'written inProvençal by Frédéric Mistral. May be a role for Rolando? He has the voice and the looks of Vincent who is not a Northener in this story!
This CD 'Arias' is a real treasure,released in 2005 his album was nominated for the 2006 Grammy Award for "Best Classical Vocal Performance." This album received the 2005 Gramophone magazine award for "Best of Category (Recital)." Rolando Villazon follows-up his excellent debut album with a recital disc devoted to the music of French composers Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet.

ARIAS
Gounod - Massenet

Ah ! Tout est bien fini... O souverain - Massenet (Le Cid)
Enfin Manon nous voilà seuls ensemble... - Massenet (Manon)
Oui, ce qu'elle m'ordonne.... - Massenet (Werther)
L'amour, l'amour... - Gounod (Roméo et Juliette)
Source délicieuse - Gounod (Polyeucte)
Faiblesse de la race humaine - Gounod (La Reine de Saba)
Voix qui me remplissez d'une ineffable ivresse - Massenet (Le Roi de Lahore)
Je suis l'oiseau que le frisson d'hiver - Massenet (Grisélidis)
Traduire ! Ah ! Bien souvent mon rêve s'envole... - Massenet (Werther)
Anges du paradis - Gounod (Mireille)
C'est là... Salut, tombeau sombre et silencieux - Gounod (Roméo et Juliette)
Salut, demeure chaste et pure - Gounod (Faust)
Je suis seule ! Seul enfin... - Massenet (Manon)
Je vais la voir ! - Massenet (Roma)
Ah ! Parais ! Parais, astre de mon ciel - Massenet (Le Mage)

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Evelino Pido

Virgin Classics 7243 5 45719 2 3
Durée : 67'18
Enregistré au Studio 103,
Maison de Radio France, Paris, du 8 au 15 mars 2004

Soon after this discovery I had the joy of seeing Rolando on stage in Nice opera house in Werther (Jan 13th 06) and that is how I became a little bit crazy too, or may be I have always been... That is a memorable Werther because here he is really singing while acting or the other way round! In a way which is difficult to put in words. You have to be there!