Nessun Dorma: The Amazing Tenor

Chilean-by-way-of-Sweden opera tenor Tito Beltrán's recording of Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot (an aria that has gained surprising ubiquity outside of the opera world) was heard in the 2003 soccer film Bend It Like Beckham and his record label, Silva, takes advantage of that exposure by assembling this compilation drawn from his four albums. The Puccini work, Granada, and "Be My Love" (famous for Mario Lanza's rendition of it in the film The Toast of New Orleans) come from his 1998 disc A Tenor at the Movies; Rossini's "La Danza" and "Che Gelida Manina" from Puccini's La Bohème come from the 1995 collection Tito; "Maria, Mari" and "Amapola" are from 1996's Romantica; and the rest, fully half of the selections, are from Beltrán's seasonal album, Amazing Grace, released in 2001. The singer, who maintains a busy international schedule, tackles some of the basic texts of the opera repertoire for his voice, a kind of Tenor 101 with a few novelties thrown in. He is certainly capable, earning his career on technical facility alone, though he is still young enough to come across as more in love with the sound of his own voice than with the music he is singing. Still, the material is well performed and the compilation may appeal beyond the ranks of opera lovers alone.