Marcelo Álvarez

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Marcelo Álvarez after a performance at the Metropolitan Opera , September 2005

Marcelo Álvarez (born February 27, 1962 in Córdoba , Argentina ) is an Argentine opera singer ( tenor ).

Life

As a child, Álvarez attended a music school (Niños Cantores) in Córdoba, where he also sang in the boys' choir. Later, however, he decided to study economics and worked in a furniture factory until he was 30. It was not until 1992 that he began training as an opera singer in Buenos Aires - with the great support of his wife Patricia . Three years of intensive study followed. After his efforts to gain a foothold in the Teatro Colón failed, Marcelo Álvarez decided to sell his entire property in Argentina in 1995 and - following the advice of Giuseppe Di Stefano - to go to Italy. Today he lives with his wife and son in Tortona near Milan .

Career

Shortly after his arrival in Italy in 1995, Marcelo Álvarez won an international singing competition in Pavia, which was followed by his first engagements. His first appearance as Elvino in La sonnambula by Bellini at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 1995 was a great success, drawing the attention of critics and important opera houses to him. In 1998 the singer made his debut a. a. with Linda di Chamounix at La Scala in Milan and with La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Vienna State Opera.

Since his debut, Marcelo Álvarez has been one of the leading tenors in the world and has performed at all major opera houses (MET, La Scala, Covent Garden, Opera de Bastille, Vienna State Opera , Zurich Opera House , Bavarian State Opera). Some experts see him as a successor to the great Alfredo Kraus in the lyrical repertoire . However, the recent development of his voice has allowed him to play additional roles from the Spinto subject with great success.

In 2001 and 2002 Marcelo Álvarez was awarded the Echo Klassik as singer of the year, in 2003 the readers of the Italian magazine "l'Opera" voted him the best tenor of the year.

Voice and repertoire

Marcelo Álvarez has a velvety, yet robust, masculine timbre. He has a sophisticated singing technique, great musicality, fine phrasing and is able to sing the most delicate piani. Álvarez's interpretations of Duca (Rigoletto) , des Grieux (Manon) , Werther, Manrico (Il trovatore) and Riccardo (Un ballo in maschera) are praised as masterful by many critics. His roles in Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo), I puritani (Arturo), Les contes d'Hoffmann (Hoffmann), Roméo et Juliette (Romeo), Faust (Faust), La Bohème (Rodolfo), L'elisir are also particularly famous d´amore (Nemorino), Lucrezia Borgia (Gennaro) and many others. He has recently received critical acclaim for his debuts as Riccardo (Un Ballo in Maschera), April 2005 in London, Manrico (Il Trovatore), April 2006 in Parma and Cavaradossi (Tosca), June 2006 in London. In April 2007 Marcelo Álvarez made his debut with great success as Don José (Carmen) in Toulouse.

Marcelo Alvarez was an exclusive artist at Sony for around 10 years. Given the singer's importance and successes, his discography at Sony is surprisingly scarce.

Discography

Albums

  • Marcelo Álvarez - Bel canto (Sony 1998)
  • Berlin Gala - with Freni, Schäfer, Keenlyside (Polygram Records 1999, live from December 31, 1998)
  • Marcelo Álvarez sings Gardel - Argentine Tangos (Sony 2000)
  • Marcelo Álvarez - French Arias (Sony 2001)
  • Duetto - with Salvatore Licitra (Sony 2003)
  • Manon - with R. Fleming (Sony 2003, live from Paris 2003)
  • Marcelo Álvarez - The Tenor's Passion (Sony 2004)
  • Lucia di Lammermoor - with M. Devia (La Voce Inc. 2005, live from Tokyo 2004)
  • Festive Opera Gala (RCA 2005, live from November 5, 2005, Berlin)
  • The Verdi Tenor (Decca / Universal 2010)

Concert recordings on DVD

  • Love & Desire - with Freni, Schäfer, Keenlyside (TDK 2002, live from December 31, 1998, Berlin)
  • Verdi Gala - with other well-known artists (TDK 2002, live from March 11, 2001, Parma)
  • Rigoletto - with P.Gavanelli, Ch. Schäfer (BBC Opus Arte 2002, live from London 2001)
  • Duetto - with Salvatore Licitra (Sony 2003, live concert June 12, 2003, Rome)
  • Manon - with R. Flemming (TDK 2003, live from Paris 2001)
  • La Boheme - with Ch. Gallardo-Domas (TDK 2004, live from Milan 2003)
  • Lucia di Lammermoor - with S. Bonfadelli (TDK 2004, live from Genoa 2003)
  • Rigoletto Story - with R. Servile, I. Mula (Roadhouse 2005, live from August 2, 2002 from Siena)
  • Lucia di Lammermoor - with M. Devia, R. Bruson (La Voce Inc. 2005, live from Tokyo 2004)
  • Mariella Devia & Marcelo Álvarez - Recital (La Voce Inc. 2005, live from Tokyo 2004)
  • Werther - with Elīna Garanča (TDK 2005, live from Vienna 2005)
  • 12th Festive Opera Gala (United Motion 2005, live from November 5, 2005, Berlin)
  • Rigoletto - with C. Alvarez, I. Mula (TDK 2006, live from Barcelona 2004)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Álvarez, Marcelo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Argentine opera singer (tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH February 27, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Cordoba , Argentina