Credits:

Michael Spyres

Description:

Michael Spires is a singer with both a tenor and baritone voice. Following his internationally acclaimed previous album "Baritenor", this is a collection of rare arias, mainly Baroque works, using a wide range of vocal qualities and expressions including baritone, high tenor, etc.! Tenor Michael Spires was born in Missouri, USA in 1980, and received high acclaim for his performance of the title role in "Rossini; Opera 'Otello'" at the Rossini Festival in Germany in 2008. He has since received particular acclaim and international recognition for his performance in Berlioz's "Faust's Eternal Punishment," and again in 2016 with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in a critically acclaimed performance of "Faust's Eternal Punishment." Berlioz series under the direction of John Nelson, "Faust's Eternal Punishment," "The Trojans," and "Requiem," released on Erato; his Rossini album with Lawrence Brownlee, released in 2020, not only showcased his brilliant high notes, but also his simultaneously robust bass range can be heard. Originally a baritone for the first ten years of his career, he later switched to tenor. As a career, he has sung four operas as a baritone and about 80 as a tenor. His previous album, "Baritenor," a collection of operatic arias with a wide range from tenor to baritone, won him international acclaim for his technique and expressiveness.Operas from the Baroque to Mozart's time were usually composed not in the modern register, but in the range of the singers they were intended for. Singers who transcended their normal range and had their own unique singing style appeared on the scene and became very popular, captivating the audience with their arias. Tenors were pushed aside by these singers, especially the castrato, and they sought to improve their voices while fighting against them. The works on this album were written for the tenors of the time, who were renowned for their superb technique, and they challenge the absolute limits of the human voice, using the range of Spires' specialty, from low baritone to high tenor. These are the result of his unique and extraordinary training, something that ordinary singers would never do because it would crush their throats. In addition, he discussed the works with Francesco Corti and sang in world premiere recordings and premiere versions, resulting in an album that brings out the best in a variety of fascinating ways. Warner Music Japan

Tracklisting:

1.Persee~Cessons de redouter
2.Persee~Passacaille
3.Tamerlano~E il soffrirete, d'onestade, oh Numi? ... Empio, per farti guerra
4.Artabano, re de part~Cada pur sul capo audace
5.Catone in Utica~Si sgomenti alle sue pene
6.Germanico in Germania~Nocchier, che mai non vide l'orror della tempesta
7.Achille in Csiro~Fra l'ombre un lampo solo
8.Alessandro nell'Indie~Vil trofeo d'un'alma imbelle
9.Siroe, re di Persi~Se il mio paterno amore
10.Arminio~Solcar pensa un mar sicuro
11.Nais~Cessez de ravager la terre
12.Antigono~Tu m'involasti un regno
13.Orphee et Eurydice~J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
14.Mitridate, re di Ponto~Se di lauri
15.Roland~En butte aux fureurs de l'orage