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Salvatore Licitra makes auspicious Montreal debut
By Joseph So June 9, 2004 |  |
“Is this the tenor of tomorrow – the long awaited successor
to Pavarotti and Domingo?” asked the New York Times in May 2002, when Sicilian tenor Salvatore Licitra replaced an indisposed Luciano Pavarotti at the
Metropolitan Opera. Judging by the way Signor Licitra
sang at the l’Opera de Montreal
Benefit Concert on Sunday, the answer is an emphatic and unqualified – Si!
Licitra opened with the fiendishly
difficult ‘Celeste Aida’. Launching into the recitative, it was immediately apparent
to the large Gala audience they were in the presence of a very fine, perhaps
even great voice. The sound is a gleaming lirico-spinto, freely produced,
remarkably even from top to bottom and capable of many colors, from honeyed piano to thrilling fortissimo. The timbre is beautiful, with the sunny quality of
Pavarotti, the burnished tone of Domingo, and the visceral impact of Carreras. The
long breath line is impressive, coupled with sufficient volume easily filling the
cavernous Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier – an important
consideration given the size of modern-day opera houses. At the risk of
stereotyping, one has come to expect a certain stylistic excess when it comes
to Italian tenors. But Licitra was unfailingly musical,
with just the right amount of ‘heart-on-sleeve’ emotionalism but never crossing
over to vulgarity. And he had the
courage and the security of technique to end the aria with a high B-flat morendo, the
likes of which one has to go back to the prime of the great Carlo Bergonzi, who just happens to be Licitra’s
teacher and mentor. On this afternoon,
the student did the teacher proud.
Also on the program were seven other opera arias, from Rigoletto, Macbeth, Un ballo in maschera, Tosca, Turandot, Carmen, and Andrea Chénier, all dispatched with a
winning mix of first-class vocalism, style and grace. The audience greeted each number with
generous applause – only in ‘La fleur que tu m’avais jetée’
from Carmen was the response somewhat
muted, perhaps due to his less than perfect command of the French language. But
with the wonderfully executed diminuendo
that capped the aria, it would be unfair to quibble.
Throughout the concert, Licitra
demonstrated an ingratiating stage persona, positively oozing charm, bantering
with the audience through funny gestures, and appearing genuinely touched by
the enthusiastic reception. He was ably assisted by the sympathetic conducting
of Eugene Kohn, who led the l’Orchestre Métropolitain with a sure hand in the arias, but less successfully
in some of the orchestral selections. Repeated standing ovations led to three
encores – the Neapolitan song ‘Catari, catari’, and ‘Parigi, o cara’ from La Traviata,
with soprano Marie-Josée Lord a rich-toned but
fluttery Violetta. The last of the encores was another
Neapolitan gem – ‘Non ti scordar
di me’ (Do not forget me). I think it is safe to say
the Montreal audience will not soon
forget Signor Licitra.
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