'If the voice can be compared to a wild horse that you have to learn to tame, then I bless the day when fate brought me into the care of a singer who has managed to merge horse and human in a strong and manner centaur ', writes Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón in the textbook of his album Gitano. The centaur is none other than Plácido Domingo, who conducted Villazón's program of zarzuela arias.
The zarzuela is a Spanish form of operetta that originated in the seventeenth century, but only came to full bloom at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The romanza sung in the zarzuela combine the passion of the opera with the charm of the operetta and the freshness of the national anthem. Outside of Spain, the zarzuela is little known in Europe, but perhaps that will now change, because the genre is passionately defended on this album. A bonus DVD contains footage from the recording sessions. (CP)more
