James Valenti - Salut! Demeure Chaste e Pure

[gert0174]

A new geat tenor! This is the first I have heard of him. Beautiful, beautiful voice. Power. Character and authority! We're going to hear more of him!!!!

[thehix]

That high C sounds like reinforced falsetto....WTF?

[Pawelp]

Actually his high C, and the beautifully tender piano notes concluding the aria are musically more interesting and beautiful than Björling's in my opinion. There, I said it.

[Pawelp]

Beautiful.

[TheTema27]

Aperto, aperto, aperto!

[fashionablesixties]

James is young and does have a beautiful voice so there's plenty of room for improvement. He has a beautiful French accent and he did not shout. I enjoyed listening to him singing this aria.

[Loganberrymusic]

James has a beautiful timbre, good French pronunciation and overall musicality. Though I would say that he needs to work on connecting his voice - right as he gets to the high C we hear what sounds not quite like a crack but like a registral break. I enjoyed listening though.

[abracadabranque]

Très cohérent,bon accent à peu de détails près,musical; l'aigu n'est pas très conforme mais acceptable esthétiquement.

[h0bgawblin]

Bjorling was wonderful, but he's dead. While that's a loss for every ear in the world. We must support those who have the talent or potential to carry the flag, lest this wonderful art form be lost or reduced in it's ability to produce such fine singers.

[hans1941Dez]

James,Bravo!!!

[reallovespassion]

Why must people try to constantly bury new talent under the old performers? I think James has a beautiful voice, so what if he could stand improvement! I love him now and if he gets better he will only improve.

[clintoginaire]

@reallovespassion

Good point, only he hasn't gotten better in terms of technique. As an artist? Yes, but that's it. If someone with less beauty in their voice & raw ability to scream high C's used a technique like that for the all the notes above the staff, they wouldn't have a career in opera.

Also, the young are compared with the greats because the greats, at the same age, were meeting the standard that existed at that time. Today, the young get careers before they are singing quite "right."

[reallovespassion]

@clintoginaire Yeah, it's true.

[birsutube]

He has an amazing istrument but his distinct lack of technical sophistication scares me. His singing makes me cringe in places. I can't listen to a morsel of it without dreading the near future of the voice. And unlike some cases where in similar situations one is able to find an unaftected charm, here it's simply unpleasant. Sad what the modern world will do to commercialise things as quickly and ruthlessly as possible. His physical beauty will be his artistic destruction in this case.

[jrtrmish]

There is STILL no tenor who can sing this the way Bjorling did.

[Lovelytenor1]

Beautiful job. Unlike Jonas K, who has lost his top, here we have a masculine voice w/clarity up & down the scale. Sings w/musical taste. Still needs some breath work.

[phatphace]

There is a very large timbre change on the high C here, possibly a register break... i am very curious whether it is a covered sound or a reinforced falsetto...

[phat10er]

@phatphace

He just tired to bring too much up. He top has evened out quite a bit. I believe this was recorded at the Met final concert.

[sirenadellopera]

Well, this is a beautiful voice, housed in a beautiful man...brings Corelli to mind. I am sure I am not the first to make the comparison. I think that the breath needs work. That's the key here. That work would bring out a truly impressive voice.

[verdammtertag]

@sirenadellopera James is a light lyric. There is no corelli here with the exception of the package the voice is housed in

[Pollione88]

@verdammtertag I hope that you are joking, if not, urgently get your ears checked please!

[clintoginaire]

@verdammtertag

He is not a light lyric. There is nothing light about his voice, in timbre or production.

[cogitoergoboh]

ahahahahahahahahaha

[marlyharris]

Well, this greatly gifted tenor made his Met debut Monday night as Alfredo with a conductor (Leonard Slatkin) who did not know the score. I was so nervous reading the review but Valenti gave a fine performance. As to johndlabella's comments regarding Valenti's singing technique, I agree. I was startled by some harshness in his tone production recently. Let's hope it's a temporary glitch.

[jayeffsb49]

I believe in this fine young talent. I´ve heard him live twice, and I agree that his technique is not yet quite solid. At times his voice commands the theater--it just pops out there and makes you sit up straight--while at other times he is drowned out by other singers and the orchestra. It does not seem intentional. But it is a beautiful sound, his high notes can be utterly thrilling, he looks and acts well, if a tad self-conscious. His Met Debut in a few weeks will be a sure success!

[johndlabella]

Look at the difference in the face between his performance (as a student) of the Duke in Rigoletto, and these later performances. The jaw is too open at times now, and the facial muscles are pulled back, causing increasing effort in the tone productiion. Keeping the facial musciles up and forward and not opening the jaw SO much could restoring what was a magnificent freedom to its ideal state. Mr. Valeniti, forgive fhe unasked for technical advice. One hour of testing these ideas can't hurt!

[maxmarce]

Muy bueno

[thuds52]

Nicely done James...Nicely done.

[billthaxton]

Great technique but it seems to slip away at times.

[forallyouknow]

What beauty.