Review by Javier Camarena – Tosti’s works

No operatic voice in the Mediterranean can ignore the songs and romances of Paolo Tosti. Often these miniatures are executed as if they were successful. Mexican Donizetti specialist Javier Camarena and his long-time piano partner Ángel Rodríguez dispel this crudeness and expose it as criminal nonsense. In Tosti's d'Annunzio settings Camarena begins the work with such subtle and delicate detail that from now on Tosti can be mentioned in the same breath as Henri Duparc and Hans Sommer. There is not a single sound here that has been irradiated for gross effect. Camarena captivates at the highest levels with its smooth mezzo forte. He never leaves the melodic lines and takes the words with precise precision. He refined Tosti's tone poems in English, French, and Italian into fleeting, sublime treasures.

Tosti: Quattro canzoni d'Amaranta, Mélodies, etc

Javier Camarena (tenor), Angel Rodriguez (piano)
Pentacles