Auditorio Nacional de Música 2020 Review: Javier Camarena in Recital

Mexican Tenor Overcomes Illness To Deliver Fantastic & Diverse Repertory

By Mauricio Villa
(Credit: Javier del Real)

Famed Mexican tenor Javier Camarena ended a solo tour through Spain with a recital at the Auditorio Nacional de Música on Feb. 7, 2020.

Accompanied by pianist Angel Rodriguez, the structure of the program was originally a presentation of future repertoire for the tenor, with a first part dedicated to French repertoire and the second half to Italian opera compositions.

However, things didn’t quite go accordingly to plan. As soon as he stepped onstage to raucous applause from the audience, Camarena announced that he was suffering from a cold, and although his vocal cords were in top form, he was not feeling well.

“Salut!  Demeure chaste et pure” from “Faust” opened this concert. This piece is very difficult to sing, not only for the high C at the end, but for the wonderful but uncomfortable melody, which Gounod wrote alongside a violin Obbligato. Very few tenors would have chosen this piece for the first aria of a concert.

Camarena started the recitative with immaculate French diction, faultless legato line and a strong dark G that rang freely through the auditorium. His voice grew darker and stronger and his central register began to take on a purely lyrical quality. He made use of his astounding diminuendo to end most phrases of the beautiful central melody of the aria on soaring pianissimo. With every single line his singing searched for different colors and attention to dynamics. He sang the central part of the aria forte, with ardor and determination, his A flat and A natural filling the whole auditorium and ring in your ears. He went back to the main melody with sweetness and depth, going back to the use of his mezza-voce and emitting a strong long brilliant top high C on“où se devine la presence,” finishing the aria in “et divine!” To this point, there were no signs of vocal difficulty.

He continued with Lalo’s “Vainement, ma bien-aimée,” a rare French aria. The vocal line in this aria is very central, mostly written inside the stave, the difficulties lies on the stylish French lines, on creating the right lamenting love atmosphere, something with which Camarena succeeded. But it has two pianissimo ascensions to A natural where we could hear his vocal discomfort. He walked off stage for a few moments before returning to continue the program.

Growing Uncomfortable

He followed with Donizetti’s “Seul sur la terre,” a piece written for the French tenor Duprez, who was famous for his extraordinary high register and resonant high C. Camarena immersed himself into the the sad melancholic atmosphere of the aria. He took some moments to concentrate besides the piano before beginning, even giving a sign to some members of the audience to keep quiet during the aria as they were breaking his concentration. His interpretation was remarkable, and the three high Cs and single C sharp had thunderous authority. His interpretation was impeccable, but you could notice that he was growing more and more uncomfortable vocally. The structure of the symphonic venue did not help much as you had audience surrounded completely the stage, and he was trying the whole time to sing to every section of the audience, singing to the sides or backwards.

He ended the first part with one of his signature aria from “La fille du regiment.” Once again, he took some time to leave the grief and sadness from his previous interpretation behind, and to shift to a cheerful gay attitude. He delivered the first section of the aria “Ah mes amis” with security, avoiding  an interpolated high B flat in “Je vais marcher sous vos drapeaux (something he usually does).” However, while the voice sounded impeccable, he swallowed constantly, cleaning his throat and coughing subtly between singing lines.

The second section “Pour mon âme” began without further trouble and the first four Cs secure. However, all of a sudden while transitioning into the repetition, he stopped the pianist. He cleared his throat with determination, leaving the audience in suspense; complete silence enveloped the venue. No one was breathing. After an eternal long minute, he gave a sign to the pianist, and he continued where he left off going straight to the fifth and sixth high C which sounded brilliant and potent. The audience went wild in applause whit this aria, and Camarena had to bow profusely before leaving the stage for a short 15-minute break.

When the concert continued, he made an announcement, saying that his voice felt much worse than he thought and that he would not be able to continue with the published program, due to its extreme difficulty and his delicate vocal health.

He received complete understanding from the audience, who applauded and shouted phrases of support. It was clear that the audience were devoted fans who had gone to the concert to appreciate the tenor’s art despite of what he was singing.

 

Changing Things Up

So, the tenor left aside the Italian operatic repertoire to offer popular Mexican songs which had an affordable central tessitura that did not risk his voice production. He sang  “Contigo en la distancia,” “Amor de mis amores,” “Cielo rojo,” “Sabor a mí,” and “Júrame.” He sang with great intensity, giving his all to each song. He seemed more comfortable singing from different angles, even asking permission to the audience in front of him to turn around and sing to the audience facing his back.

The second part seemed like a reunion of friends with the audience entranced by the popular songs. He gave a great display of vocal exhibition on his never-ending falsetto high notes, following the true Mariachi style, particularly in“Cielo Rojo.”

Taking into consideration his vocal state, he only offered a single encore – “No puede ser” from “La Tabernera del Puerto” the most famous Zarzuela romanza. It was a big succes. His voice was clean, powerful, ardent and the forte, high A naturals filled the hall amply.

Javier Camarena, despite of his health, gave unforgettable performance and making up for the absence of Italian repertoire by filling every song with deep emotion and determination. Afterall,  the art of singing is not just pure vocal fireworks and technique but about connecting with the audience; something that this talented tenor mastered beautifully.

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