At the relatively young age of 44—still considered youthful for an opera singer—Franco Fagioli is decidedly on top of the countertenor world.
Since winning the Neue Stimmen Competition in 2003, Fagioli has graced many concert stages and opera houses in Europe and South America—Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Bonn, Karlsruhe, Genoa—not to mention the venerable Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his home country.
How many countertenors can claim to have sung in, of all places, Bayreuth, that bastion of all things Wagnerian? No, Fagioli wasn’t trying out the Heldentenor repertoire! He gave a concert there in 2021 at the stunning 18th-century Margravial Opera House as part of the Bayreuth Baroque Festival. He has the distinction of being the first countertenor to receive a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His discography is impressive, with eight recital albums to his credit, including three with DG. There are also plenty of live performances preserved on video which one can watch on YouTube.
Franco Fagioli with Orchestre de l’Opera Royal de Versailles at Toronto Summer Music. Photo: Lucky Tang
For such an internationally acclaimed singer, Fagioli surprisingly had not sung in North America, to my knowledge, until this summer. He finally made his US debut at L’Alliance New York a few days ago, taking the same program to the Lanaudière Festival in Quebec on July 26, finally landing in Toronto on July 29.
Entitled Franco Fagioli: The Last Castrato, the evening was dedicated to Giovanni Battista Velluti (b. 1780), known as “the last castrato.” On the program were familiar pieces by Rossini, as well as less well known works by Bonfichi, Rode, Nicolini, Zingarelli and Mercadante. It was a mix of instrumental and vocal selections. I must say the period instruments sounded wonderful in acoustically friendly Koerner Hall.
Appearing with Fagioli was the Orchestre de l’Opera Royal de Versailles under the direction of Polish maestro Stefan Plewniak. It’s a chamber orchestra of nearly 30 musicians. Making a huge visual impression was Plewniak, a gaunt-looking man with wild shoulder length hair, wearing a one-piece, knee-length black outfit. His conducting style is physically very demonstrative and idiosyncratic, in a way that some might find distracting. Given the wonderful sounds he coaxed out of the musicians, I’m all for it!
Stefan Plewniak and Franco Fagioli with Orchestre de l’Opera Royal de Versailles at Toronto Summer Music. Photo: Lucky Tang
The concert kicked off not with instrumental playing, but with foot stomping by the musicians—talk about opening with a bang! The playing that followed was exceptional in virtuosity and energy level. Plewniak himself was the violin soloist in the Polonaise movement of Rode’s Concerto No. 1, and it was a resplendent display of bravura technique and surefire musicality. I found myself wondering if that was what Paganini would have sounded like…
This was my first in-person experience of Fagioli, and I must say he lived up to his reputation. He possesses a dark-hued countertenor of volume, beauty, and remarkable agility. His coloratura technique, especially his runs, are reminiscent of Cecilia Bartoli. So perhaps it’s not surprising that they have performed together. There are several wonderful video clips of them on YouTube, such as the duet from Steffani’s Stabat Mater.
The audience reaction was extremely enthusiastic, with showers of bravos, plus a few who stood up and cheered throughout the second half. At the end, the artists were given complete standing ovations. North American audiences are sometimes accused of giving standing ovations far too easily. Well, to my eyes and ears, the artists fully deserved it this evening! Fagioli and Plewniak were brought back repeatedly and given floral bouquets. They rewarded the audience with three wonderful encores, including an exquisitely sung “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Handel’s Rinaldo.
I dare say that everyone, including yours truly, went home happy.
Toronto Summer Music continues through August 2.
