In my search for the ultimate “Non Piu Andrai” I stumbled across Ildebrando d’Arcangelo. He’s not new to be as such, but recent enough.
Rather than finding the ultimate Figaro, I believe I’ve found the ultimate “Votre toast” from “Carmen”. This is a song that goes all the way down – then all the way up. Finding a bass-baritone who can do both well isn’t something you do every day.
Part of his rep includes various roles in “Don Giovanni”, “Marriage of Figaro”, “La Bohéme”, “Cosi fan tutte”, “Barber of Seville”, “Carmen” and “Il Trovatore”, and he’s performed at the Met in NY, ROH in Covent Garden, Opéra Nationale in Paris, Staatsoper in Vienna and so forth. I’m not a particularly huge fan of either Bizet or “Carmen”, but if he showed up doing it, I’d go in a flash.
Listen for yourself: (notice the horse on the stage – very well trained, probably wearing earplugs and thinking “what the…!?”)
Ildebrando d’Arcangelo – Votre toast (Carmen)
