Following the spiritually flavored Sacred Arias,
Andrea Bocelli presents an album of the music of
Giuseppe Verdi, covering arias from several operas, leaning heavily on Il Trovatore, La Triviata, and Rigoletto. Supported by the
Israel Philharmonic under the direction of
Zubin Mehta,
Bocelli reprises his role as the crossover-friendly opera tenor, offering his interpretations with capability and grace and warmly embracing the songs with his familiar voice. Opera purists may find
Verdi a little off-putting; for example, the album opener, "Di Quella Pira" from Il Trovatore (which serves as the rousing finale to the opera's third act), sounds out of place as the opening track, and Mehta's conducting is adequate but lacks passion. However, the album is not without its charms, and the ballads represented here ("La Donna e Mobile" and "Possente Amor" in particular) are wonderfully suited to his notoriously light tenor. Fans of
Bocelli's previous albums should be happy with
Verdi, and will hopefully be awakened to the works of one of opera's great composers. ~ Zac Johnson