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A Review of Juan Diego Florez: Amsterdam Concert 2002

The Tuesday night marked by Juan Diego’s performance in Amsterdam became more exciting than that I had anticipated. I watched the account through the YouTube channel and, at first, thought the lengthy opera enthusiasts might be frustrated with these gala nights because of more time spent in programming music between arias and duets. However, I discovered this was not the case with this performance; performers displayed beauty due to the techniques they employed. The vocalist’s agility brought to the stage brilliant nonstop arias that had incredible effects on the audience. Most of all, he sang with accuracy, phrasing every word with refinement in a manner I rarely had heard before in other repertoires. The performance was carefully designed to display all performers’ talents working together to produce the most significant effect. Thousands of fans attended the concert and were excited even before the pianist, Vincenzo Scalera (Sergeredkin). I observed the park was filled as audiences climbed on raised platforms to catch a better view of the stage. Scalera was welcomed with a song while entering the stage as the crowd applauded him. I noticed arias being introduced between performances of various overtures by the performers.

I listened to the composition of the performance and noticed rousing tunes of the sinfonia during the program’s start. Scalera must have warmed up before the show because he started with a high-pitched tad that was loud on a duet from the original performance by Juan Diego. As Scalera quickly adjusted under his baton, the orchestra performers supplemented his performance enjoyed by the fans throughout the evening. Scalera’s performance was just superb because of his confidence as he gazed at the audience with an experience, looking as though he was singing to himself. I enjoyed his nit-picking voice that weighted little against the joy he brought to people listening to him. He made a silky soprano, accompanied with high notes and rich bass, creating a solo performance resembling canto music (Sergeredkin). Scalera demonstrates comedy acts, which performers and I loved the most because of his admirable legato. He began with a reassuring melodic style as a welcoming invitation to the audience. However, this was different in the middle of the performance, where his lines seemed to fade a little. I notice Juan Diego’s piece had rapid divisions, but they held no problems to Scalera. He phrased every line with elegance and conveyed the improvisation of words. I thought this was the hallmark of his singing because he displayed a real dramatic skill.

The portion of the performance I enjoyed the most was the interaction between the audiences and the performers. I suspected most people attended the concert to hear Scalera’s voice because he had the public around him the moment he started singing. It was tempting to the audiences to fall under his charms because his most endearing moment was the risk he took at the concert. I noticed at the beginning he unveiled slight intonation problems, but assumed the cause might be stage fright. Nonetheless, the stage could not resist his beautiful aplomb, even though the start section was a little thriving. I thought the original Juan Diego piece was designed to portray the main character in the start section. This quality was unmatched with Scalera’s attitude because it did not fit his temperament. Since the song was mainly in the French language, his vocals’ lack of consonants was the most evident. I believe Scalera’s performance was brilliant.

Works Cited

Sergeredkin. “Juan Diego Florez – Amsterdam Prinsengracht Concert (2002) – V

Scalera.avi.” YouTube, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8p1z4s7ki4. Accessed 8 April 2021.