With Deutsche Grammophon's 2019 compilation Mozartissimo, Rolando Villazón emerges from behind the characters he has portrayed on the operatic stage in selections that offer a more personal portrait of the singer and his relationship with Mozart, his second such collection since 2014's Mozart: Concert Arias. Villazón has portrayed Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, Tito in La clemenza di Tito, and one of his favorite roles, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte -- all distinct personas that require creativity and versatility to distinguish them. While Villazón has invested much as a Mozart tenor, appearing in numerous productions since his recovery from vocal surgery in 2009, and in recordings of the operas for DG, here the selections are less involved with characterization or dramatic action than with a more purely musical offering, emphasizing Villazón's vocal tone and technique. Accompanied on most tracks by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, with whom Villazón has recorded Mozart's major operas for DG, and by Antonio Pappano in a handful of concert arias taken from the 2014 release, Villazón is given a well-rounded presentation that a single role by itself couldn't accomplish, and shows nearly a decade of his commitment to Mozart, more than any other composer in his portfolio.
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