Lemalu knows how to charm us rotten

Jonathan Lemalu's concert tour with the NZSO last year was the equivalent of an America's Cup parade for the music community.

We'd seen the young bass-baritone conquering the opera-houses worldwide and read guarded critics spin superlatives for roles as wide-ranging as Martinu's Creon and Mozart's Leporello. This month, Lemalu's Met debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni has been hailed as a triumph of casting.

On disc there has been his debut recital CD, along with appearances on Hyperion's Schumann Lieder series and the Barbican Peter Grimes. His latest CD, Opera Arias, resonantly recorded in Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre, is a welcome reminder of last September's concerts, once again accompanied by the NZSO under James Judd.

What a personality this genial Samoan has, charming us rotten in the opening Catalogue Aria from Don Giovanni, and flaunting his versatility in a set of arias from Figaro, playing Bartolo, Figaro and the Count. Each has his individuality, although Lemalu seems to relish most of all the Count's fury in the recitative Hai gia vinta la causa.

Lemalu is a bit of a joker, although the mistuned panpipes he used last year for Papageno's Der Vogelfanger bin ich ja have been replaced for this. Still, he hasn't relinquished a few Kiwi vowels for his final laugh in Gounod's Vous qui faites lendormie.

If Gounod could have benefited from a mite more finesse from both singer and orchestra his other devilish turn in Boito's Son lo spirito roared in grand melodramatic style, with whiplash whistles. The other high-powered moment is the Dutchman's Monologue from Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander. Lemalu, not quite so riveting as he was in the flesh last year, shows a remarkably mature grasp of one of Wagner's most fascinating characters. The singer's buffa in two Rossini arias promised great things for Falstaff's Honour Aria from Verdi's final opera - and Lemalu delivers the piece with all the light and darkness it needs.

This CD is an extraordinary achievement for a New Zealander. We should be proud that he is appearing on EMI Classics, and doubly proud that the NZSO will be taking an international bow beside him.

* Jonathan Lemalu, Opera Arias (EMI 57605)