Janis Zabers- De' miei bollenti spiriti

Janis Zabers (1935-1973)

I have been very fond of Latvian tenor Janis Zabers ever since my first voice teacher brought him to my attention a few years ago. The possessor of a beautifully honed lyric instrument that acquired some spinto properties as the voice darkened in his early 30s, Zabers' career was unfortunately destined to be a short one- he was cut down in his prime by a brain tumor, aged 37.

Zabers was born in Meirani and had his early vocal training at the Latvian National Conservatory in Riga, making his debut at the city's Opera in 1960, as Narraboth. He was, along with such singers as Noreika and Magomaev, one of few Soviet artists granted permission to study in the West, staying in Milan between 1962-64 and working under the direction of Giorgio Favaretto and Giovanni Barra. As with the other abovementioned singers, these studies were certainly fruitful; Zabers' recordings in Italian show a keen grasp of style, and diction far superior to that of most of his Soviet peers.

Along with fellow tenors Anzhaparidze, Atlantov, Noreika, etc., all of whom rose to prominence in the 1960's, Zabers represented a departure from the tradition of "tenori bianchi" that had (with a few exceptions) dominated operatic singing in Russia for decades. Smirnoff, Kozlovsky, Lemeshev, and Vinogradov were perhaps the best-known exponents of the latter category, but Zabers' temperament was more akin to that of Georgi Nelepp, the previous generation's most popular spinto. And while the latter's voice was probably a good deal larger, it was also rather monochrome. The metal core in Zabers's voice, on the other hand, was always tempered by a significant timbral sweetness and abundance of overtones. In this recording, he is accompanied by the Latvian Opera Theater Orchestra, led by Rihards Glazups.

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