Between Friends

1	Les Pęcheurs de perles, o
2	Maometto II, opera: In qu
3	L'elisir d'amore, opera:
4	Don Carlo, opera: Č lui!
5	La forza del destino, ope
6	La bohčme, opera: In un c
7	Il barbiere di Siviglia (
8	Don Carlo, opera: Č dessa
Between Friends
1.	Les Pęcheurs de perles, opera in 3 acts: Au fond du temple saint 5:48
	Composed by Georges Bizet
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej
2.	Maometto II, opera: In questi estremi istanti 6:36
	Composed by Gioachino Rossini
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Vesselina Kasarova, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Barbara Lavarian and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej
3.	L'elisir d'amore, opera: Ardir! Ha forse il cielo mandato ... Voglio dire, 8:48
	Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Leo Nucci, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej
4.	Don Carlo, opera: Č lui! desso! l'Infante... Dio, che nell'alma info 6:35
	Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej
5.	La forza del destino, opera: Solenne in quest'ora 3:43
	Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej
6.	La bohčme, opera: In un coupé? ... O Mimě, tu piů non torni 4:12
	Composed by Giacomo Puccini
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej
7.	Il barbičre di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: All'idea di quel metallo 9:10
	Composed by Gioachino Rossini
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Manuel Lanza, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej
8.	Don Carlo, opera: Č dessa! ... ma lassů ci vedremo 11:14
	Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
	Performed by Roberto Frontali, Miriam Gauci, Miriam Gauci, Vassily Gerello, Vesselina Kasarova, Ramón Vargas, Ramón Vargas, Davide Baronchelli, Davide Baronchelli, Emidio Guidotti, Emidio Guidotti, Manuel Lanza, Alberto Rota, Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan and Barbara Lavarian
	Conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej

Barnes & Noble

Opera is often portrayed as a solitary pursuit: the star singer standing alone onstage, arms outstretched, pouring his or her heart out to an enraptured audience. In truth, while arias often steal the limelight, the heart of opera is in its ensembles. After all, only in opera is it possible for two, three, four, or more characters to "speak" effectively all at the same time. On Between Friends, Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas proves the point with a choice selection of duets and trios from works by Bizet, Donizetti, Puccini, Rossini, and Verdi. Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de perles is not as well known as his Carmen, but the luscious "Au fond du temple saint" is one of the most celebrated duets in all opera. "Dio, che nell'alma infondere amor" from Verdi's Don Carlo is also not so famous, though it's in a similar vein to the Bizet selection and is just as affecting. And while Puccini's La Bohème is a blockbuster operatic hit, one rarely hears Rodolfo and Marcello's Act IV duet by itself, though it's among the opera's most delectably bittersweet numbers. Vargas's lineup also includes a brief but heavy-hitting duet from Verdi's La forza del destino, an elegant trio from Rossini's rarely heard Maometto II, as well as comic duets from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. The disc closes with the passionate duet from the end of Don Carlo, wisely presented in the context of the opera's finale, bringing in three other voices for a suitably dramatic conclusion. Vargas's colleagues are not-big name singers, with the exception of the fast-rising Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova, but they all have healthy young voices that blend together quite beautifully. Warmly recommended. Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

At first glance, Between Friends looks like a crossover album -- Ramón Vargas' attempt at the "Tenor and Friends" formula made successful by Luciano Pavarotti. But it is actually a straightforward collection of operatic duets and ensembles, all of which revolve around or celebrate the concept of friendship. This theme allows for the inclusion of some well-worn favorites, like "Au fond du temple saint" from "The Pearl Fishers" and "O Mimi, tu piů non torni" from "La bohčme," but also some less frequently excerpted numbers, like the Nemorino/Dulcamara duet from Act I of "L'elisir d'amore," and "All'idea di quell metallo" from "The Barber of Seville." In the end, it is an enjoyable album that seems fresher than most because it departs from the usual excerpt fare of arias and love duets. Vargas shows admirable stylistic versatility by skipping happily from Rossini to Verdi to Puccini and back again, all the while maintaining an appealing youthfulness of sound. The fact that he has sung most (if not all) of this repertoire on-stage lends additional credibility to his performances. Among his seven collaborators on the album, Leo Nucci, Vesselina Kasarova, and Vassily Gerello stand out as especially good. The sound is generally good, though at times the vocal balances -- both between voices and orchestra and between the voices individually -- sound unnaturally adjusted. Vjekoslav Sutej and the Orchestra Sinfonia di Milano Giuseppe Verdi do a nice job of balancing the demands of the relatively intimate recording space with the need to maintain the dramatic sweep and dynamic range of the music. Allen Schrott