Max Emanuel Cencic
5099969457401
5099969457456 Digital
Virgin Classics
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About the album
Having made a powerful impression in the title role in Faramondo, countertenor Max Emmanuel Cencic presents a recital of Handel arias, the follow-up to his brilliant Rossini album.
He combines stupendous technical virtuosity with warmth of feeling and dramatic temperament … his flexibility is splendid, his palette of colours abundant.” Neue Zürcher Zeitung
“Each year the timbre of the countertenor Max Emmanuel Cencic gains in depth, presence and substance. His technique is, as ever, remarkable and it enables him to take on the apparently crazy challenge of singing heroic arias by Rossini … The tenor brings a personal touch, a specific texture which underlines the impression of wounded dignity, extreme sensitivity, magnificently wrapped in silky-soft velvet … Beyond the precision of his vocalism, he shows the superior fibre and stature needed for these dramatic roles, revealing a new maturity and balance, a shimmering timbre and exceptional musical instincts … The ardent defender of a different vocal aesthetic, this male mezzo soprano could hold some surprises for us in the years to come.”
This was the response of Classique News to Max Emmanuel Cencic’s first recital for Virgin Classics, released in 2007 and since awarded the Orphée d'Or by the Académie du Disque Lyrique. The German website KlassikInfo judged that: “It would not be possible to sing Malcolm’s arias from La donna del lago with more beauty and erotic charge, from the dark velvety depths to the brilliant top notes … a wonderful CD to combat a bad mood on a rainy Sunday afternoons …”, while the Rossini expert Richard Osborne, writing in Gramophone observed that: “The singing of Viennese countertenor Max Emmanuel Cencic is distinguished by good rhythm, crisp divisions and clear, expressive word use. The range these roles require sits comfortably on his voice. The G below the stave is rounded and full, the two octaves beyond are clear and bright … Cencic's musicianship is generally impeccable: a tribute to the values instilled in him during his time in the Vienna Boys' Choir which he left in 1992, nine years before his decision to ‘re-create’ himself as a countertenor.”
After that foray into the early Romantic era -- heroic arias written for female mezzo sopranos to perform in male disguise – Cencic returns to core countertenor repertoire with this programme of Handel. It comprises arias taken from a variety of operas and other vocal works and includes two of the composer’s operatic ‘greatest hits’, the dynamic ‘Dopo notte’ from Ariodante and the poignant ‘Cara speme’ from Giulio Cesare. When Cencic performed the role of Sesto in Giulio Cesare on stage in Toulouse in 2006, ResMusica described him as a “true phenomenon”.
Handel retains a prominent position in Cencic’s performance schedule. Among operas by the composer that he has performed are Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano, Fernando, Serse, Ottone and Faramondo – his complete Virgin Classics recording of this work was designated a Diapason ‘Découverte’ in March 2009, also being selected for Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice in July 2009. The Daily Telegraph wrote of the recording that: “The cast is notable for the flamboyant contributions of the impressive young countertenors Max Emanuel Cencic (in the title role) and Philippe Jaroussky. Strongly recommended to diehard Handel fans.”
In Autumn 2009 Cencic sings Faramondo in Paris and Joacim in Handel’s Susanna with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in France, the UK, Romania, Austria and Germany. He will also tour this programme of Handel arias to a number of cities in France and to Berlin, Potsdam, Vienna and San Sebastian.
