Alvarez is the new tenor on the block. Already feted at La Scala, Covent Garden and the Vienna State Opera among other houses, he explains just why in arias from various roles he has sung in those theatres. His voice has a typically Spanish timbre analogous to that of the young Carreras, dark-grained and plaintive, the ideal instrument for his chosen parts in Bellini, mid-period Verdi and above all Donizetti. As Nemorino, Marcello, Edgardo, Fernando and especially Carlo (the part – in Linda di Chamounix – in which he made his debut at La Scala), he evinces the line, the shaping of phrase and the intelligent accentuation of the text essential for a tenor in the ottocento repertory. The way he shapes Carlo’s gentle aria “Se tanto in ira agli uomini” and Fernando’s “Spirto gentil” is so fine and sensitive that he need fear few comparisons from singers of the past except that the highest notes are not always as easily produced as they might be, and ideally one would like more shading of tone in Nemorino’s much-recorded piece.
He again shows his artistry by giving us the opening scene from I Puritani complete, singing the lovely cantilena, “A una fonte”, in an ingratiating manner that can match that of, say, Kraus in the complete set under Muti (EMI, 4/89 – nla), the phrasing and breath control exemplary. As for Verdi, Alvarez gives us a generous tranche of the Duke of Mantua’s role right at the start, an ebullient, elegant rake this, never vulgar or macho. Alfredo’s expression of eternal love for his Violetta and the subsequent cabaletta have the spontaneous, youthful ardour that is the exact opposite of routine: with the words very forward the model here is surely Pavarotti, though I would guess Alvarez’s voice is a size smaller. Rizzi and his Welsh forces provide well-honed support and the recording gives this more-than-promising tenor real presence. Are we witnessing the emergence of a new Three – Alagna, Alvarez and Cura? Time will tell.'