"José Carbó reprises the role of Giorgio Germont, cementing his reputation as Australia’s leading Verdi lyric baritone...he delivers one of the finest renditions of the deceptively demanding Di Provenza il mar that I can recall. Dramatically too he captures the character’s essential gravitas while negotiating his complex psychological journey."
"The best singer was baritone José Carbó, whose refined performance of betrayed Ankarstrom was an object lesson in Verdi singing."
Renowned conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy breaches the divide to the master in this concert version of the Tchaikovsky opera last enjoyed by Sydney audiences in the 1979 Australian Opera production.
Based on the success of this production, Sydney Symphony should try their hand at opera more frequently.
“Rame Lahaj (...) radiates unbridled passion across the water.”
“As Alfredo Germont the Kosovar tenor Rame Lahaj perfectly conveyed the naiveté of a very young man who would fall heedlessly in love with a society woman, oblivious of the extent to which she lives off the generosity and sexual needs of wealthy benefactors. His duet with Alleaume towards the end of the opera, when they are trying to delude themselves into re-imagining a happy future in Paris (“Parigi, o cara“), was striking in the contrast of vocal color between them: Alleaume clearly conveyed the ravages of a mortal disease as Lahaj bloomed in oblivious full health.”