Singing opera requires a large number of talents, one of which is the ability to change character and emotion rather quickly, sometimes by changing the color of one's voice. This album by
Zoran Todorovich shows a number of different sides to this tenor, some of which are more successful than others. In the initial works on the album, one hears a tenor that is strong and full, dark, lirico-spinto in character: he is quite the power tenor. However, this can tend to get in the way of the music; that is, there is much power, but not a lot of shaping of the lines, not enough speaking of them. "Se quel…Celeste Aida," "O figli…Ah, la paterna mano," and "La mia letizia infondere" all fall into this category. He has excellent technique, but it tends to run rather like a stream of sound. These arias are darker in character, and perhaps not as well suited to his voice, nor as engaging for the listener. However, the set from Otello reveals a completely different side to the artist. One hears a beautiful, sweet, expressive voice that is sensitive. Throughout the
Verdi set, even when
Todorovich's voice is dark, one undoubtedly feels his sense of joy and confidence in singing. The best pieces on the album, however, are the ones by
Puccini. His Pinkerton is extremely expressive, as is his Des Grieux. There is a wonderful heartfelt richness with echoes of
Pavarotti in "Donna non vidi mai," and incredible passion in "Ah, Manon" that move the listener. Certainly, the Italian language suits
Todorovich very well. At times, he can tend to push for power, such as in "Hai ben ragione," and his high notes can become spread and slightly lacking in vibrato. When this does not happen, one hears a wonderfully tender tenor, such as in the Lohengrin arias. Though his German is not as strong as his Italian, these pieces sound very sweet and tender in his voice. The question of repertoire is often an ongoing one for many artists, and sometimes the answers are not black and white. Some of
Todorovich's choices do not demonstrate his best abilities, but others most certainly do.