Ahead of his appearances in Rossini's La Donna del Lago at Covent Garden next month, Juan Diego Flórez has been displaying his vocal prowess at a rather fine Barbican residency. He takes masterclasses this weekend. First of all, however, came two big concerts: Juan Diego Flórez and Friends, pitched somewhere between a party and a gala; and a slightly more formal recital with pianist Vincenzo Scalera.
"Friends," in this instance, meant mezzo Joyce DiDonato, a pair of newcomers – baritone Marco Caria and soprano Julia Novikova – together with the LSO and conductor Guillermo García Calvo. Flórez refused to hog the limelight, and the evening belonged to DiDonato, on stupendous form in excerpts from Rossini's Cenerentola and Bellini's I Capuleti ed i Montecchi. Novikova gave us an overly knowing waltz song from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette; Caria was an unusually dangerous Belcore in scenes from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore. Flórez sang Una Furtiva Lagrima from the same work, incorporating an elaborate cadenza that didn't ideally suit it.
Meyerbeer featured in both programmes: a chunk of Il Crociato in Egitto in the "Friends" concert, and Raoul's romance from Les Huguenots in the recital. Both were done with ringing fluency, though I wonder whether he could sustain either opera complete. The recital also included some appealing Handel – Jupiter's arias from Semele – and songs by Donaudy and Tosti, sung with that heart-on-sleeve-charm that is always so seductive. The high point, though, was an aria from Verdi's rarely performed Jérusalem, ravishing in its finesse and grace. The encores – including his regular showstopper Ah! Mes Amis from Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment and Ah! Lève Toi, Soleil, also from Roméo et Juliette – thrilled late into the evening.
