Jose Carerras on Stage!! Sings as Sly, a poet at the mercy of destiny "Sly," an opera given a new life by Carreras An encounter with a lesser-known opera

In the world of opera, there are just as many less-known masterpieces as popular titles known to everyone. Certain pieces fall into oblivion because of lack of performance opportunities due to the specific situation of the times. Others may be too flamboyant, too difficult to sing or may have other reasons to be put on a shelf. Nevertheless, first class conductors, singers and stage directors, through their dedicated efforts, can dig out these forgotten pieces and make them shine in our times.

"Sly" is one of those operas freshly brought under the sun recently. Thanks to Jose Carreras, the opera has increased show opportunities in recent years as if it were given a new life. The opera in return has opened a new territory for Carreras, an artist full of challenger spirit, who always seeks new repertoires.

Carreras refers to Sly as "a drunkard but a sensitive, deep human being. He awakens various emotions within people around him and gives them courage. Although he is a loser in life, he is bestowed with precious human dignity."

The curtain rises, but it takes quite a while until we see Sly on stage. Once he gets on stage, however, Sly stays there and keeps singing till the very end, with almost no break. Carreras' melancholic beautiful voice remains there for the audience to relish to their heart's content.

Every major character in the opera is a distinctive stage presence and requires high singing and acting skills. This production will be ideally cast, including indispensable character actor Sherrill Milnes (Westmoreland), Elizabete Matos (Dolly) and William Parcher (John Plake).

Conductor David Gimenez is young but has many experiences worldwide, having earned total confidence from may great singers, like Carreras, Montserrat Caballe, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu. Let's anticipate his tight, excess-free musical presentation.

Stage director Marta Domingo puts lots of visually-appealing elements on stage, including gorgeous sets and costumers, and makes this opera a quality entertainment.

Kozo Asari (music critic) on Sly CD:

"Carreras has been passionately playing this role for the past few years, making the opera a success in Zurich, Barcelona and Washington. Among many great singers of today, he is probably the most suitable to the role."

Copyright © 2001 Piacere