Shaun Dixon at the Town Hall Concert Chamber

By HEATH LEES

Whatever else Shaun Dixon may have learned from his year with Pavarotti, he has certainly soaked up a natural feeling for the mainstream Italian tenor repertoire.

Here an impassioned vibrato, there a suddenly soft moment, everywhere an uninhibited, emotional verismo that half-gasps its way through beautifully turned words and sets the audience cheering when it revs up to a big finish.

Wednesday night's programme was something of an uninterrupted marathon for the tenor, supported only by Rosemary Barnes in brilliant form at the piano, and with a challenging line-up of songs and showpieces that would have made any seasoned singer gulp.

But Dixon's voice held up well, producing a number of melting moments that carried you heavenwards as he matched a caressing loveliness of sound with what was obviously a deeply felt emotion.

On the other hand his vocal range is restricted. He doesn't like going very low, yet tends to thin out above top A. All his middle-range, D-major-type songs were powerful and open-voiced, but other keys gave trouble.

More unsettling was that the German items continued to seem very Italian, with the single exception of Richard Strauss' Zueignung, where the wide vibrato was harnessed into a large and exultant ending.

Otherwise, Dixon's voice is that of a lyric tenor, and his gifts are for style and colour rather than tone and projection. Think of him as a Kiwi John McCormack and you're getting warm.

The bel canto Italian material was tops, with a few undiscovered treasures by Tosti and Cilea adding interest to a recital full of favourites the audience adored.