The role of Hoffmann is taken by American tenor Eric Cutler, who shows off a robust
baritonal timbre in his Act I song about the dwarf Kleinzach, "Il etait une fois a la cour d'Eisenach." Macedonian soprano Ana Durlovski, who made a splash a couple of years ago as a stunning Queen of the Night in Julie Taymor's Metropolitan Opera production of The Magic Flute, appears as Olympia, and she does not disappoint in her sparkling "Les oiseaux dans la channille," with a pure and clean coloratura throughout her amazing range.
Articulation, particularly in bass forays, was amazingly clear, with the Ax left thumb elsewhere singing a wonderful
baritonal line.
The delectable Yulia Van Doren sang with sweet, simple eloquence as Galatea, opposite Thomas Cooley as a sturdy, stylish Acis and the spirited, expressive Douglas Williams as Polyphemus, perhaps a tad too handsome and too
baritonal for this lascivious giant.
In addition he has a wonderfully resourceful
baritonal register, quite a rarity in one so young, which he deploys with great richness of effect.
Christoph Pregardien's warm,
baritonal tenor is put to exquisite use in these 24 Schubert songs, including "Erlkonig," "Der Doppelganger," "Nacht und Traume" and--my personal favorite--"Der Wanderer an den Mond."
Bocelli's voice has an attractive immediacy, more resonantly
baritonal than his illustrious predecessor, the galactic Luciano Pavarotti, his equal in middle-range ardour, and with the capability to release high notes of crowd-pleasing quality (as in 'La Donna e mobile').
And indeed his account was one of great inner tension and desperation, vocal colouring emerging now ardent, now darkly
baritonal, and finally pallid as the lovelorn, bitter miller finds eventual rest in the omnipresent stream.
"I've been singing youthful, more
baritonal roles for most of my life, but I can't count on them now."
One glimpsed a nobility in Pike's delivery, a heroism defiant to the end;
baritonal timbres brought crushed sorrow, and intenser tones conveyed inner mental despair.
But despite his
baritonal roots, and occasional doubts over the years that he's a "true" tenor, he's no baritone, and the center of his voice and the center of Verdi's writing just don't match.
His voice has developed a pleasing tinge of
baritonal gravity whilst retaining a youthfully pliant top, all delivered with discreet control and easy charm.
"At the same time, my voice has become darker and more
baritonal, so we decided the time was right for me to pursue Wagner.