Male soprano Samuel Mariño was back in town for another concert with Tafelmusik; this time at Koerner Hall.  There were three concerts and I caught the last one on Sunday afternoon.  The repertoire consisted of opera recitatives and arias from the 18th century interspersed with related instrumental numbers.

Mariño has an interesting and unusual voice.  It’s not at all like a counter tenor nor is it like a female soprano, though perhaps it’s a bit closer to the latter.  Maybe it’s what castrati sounded like but that’s always going to be speculation.  Let’s look at a few examples of what he sang and see what it tells us.  The most obviously “female” aria was “Dove sono” from The Marriage of Figaro.  This is usually sung by a mature soprano with quite an opulent, though not full on dramatic, voice.  Mariño sings accurately, powerfully and with feeling but the richness isn’t there.  He’s only 32 though who knows how the voice might develop.

To my ear he sounded more appropriate in “Che farò senza Euridice”, which was written for castrato of course, where a certain simplicity of delivery was very appealing.  The same was true of his first encore; “Voi che sapete” (sung with cute canine companion).  Then there were the “emotion arias” from opera seria.;  He has absolutely killer coloratura.  It’s pinpoint accurate in terms of both pitch and rhythm.  He attacks each note with clarity and no slurring, even in the most complex passages.  I do think though he overacts a bit vocally.  I think he could let the music do more of the emoting!  He also demonstrates considerable power and a voice that has no weak spots.  He’s very even through his whole range.  Bottom line, it’s an interesting and unique voice and I’m curious to see how it develops.

Tafelmusik were excellent both in accompaniment to Mariño and in the various short instrumental pieces that served to give the singer a break!  I really do like hearing them in Koerner Hall.  The acoustic is much more detailed than the rather mushy Trinity St. Paul’s and not only can one hear the individual instruments better but it’s much more obvious that they are period instruments.  Right from the first bars opening of the opening overture it just shouted gut strings!

All in all, an enjoyable and generous spirited programme.  I’m sure Samuel Mariño will be back.

Photo credit: Dahlia Katz