Alberto Cupido

Alberto Cupido, born 1952. I heard him on several occasions, and was never impressed; rather, I remember a Luisa Miller at the Vienna Staatsoper where he excelled by excessive pushing. But then, years later, in 2005, he sang the first Austrian performance ever of "La battaglia di Legnano", in a concert performance in the tiny provincial town of Ternitz, organized by the local private association "Amici del belcanto" (an admirable association responsible for some exciting and great operatic ventures) – and Cupido sang with so much joy, commitment and sincerity that he alone made that evening really special, and outdid many, many of his technically smoother but also blander contemporary tenor colleagues.

I wish to thank Robert Schlesinger for the recording and notes.