Juan Diego Flórez Leaves Salzburg Festival Audience Happy

The Salzburg Festival had already begun winding down when Juan Diego Flórez took the stage at the Großes Festspielhaus. The main festival report had gone out, the Jedermann stage had been dismantled, and the atmosphere had shifted from spectacle to something quieter. Flórez, however, remained a clear audience favorite.

Together with pianist Vincenzo Scalera, the Peruvian tenor presented “Canto lirico,” a varied programme that moved from Mozart to Mexico. The first half ranged across less frequently heard Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini and Boieldieu. Flórez produced several formidable high notes and received sustained applause, although the succession of entrances and exits made it difficult to build a continuous dramatic arc.

After the interval, the performance gathered greater density. Flórez sang Soriano’s “Suena, guitarrico mio,” a moment the review describes as bringing broad happiness to the hall. Two excerpts from José Serrano’s zarzuelas followed, then French repertoire from Massenet’s “Werther” and Gounod’s “Roméo.” The tenor delivered the pieces with power, flexibility and the required heights.

The official programme ended with Verdi’s cavatina for Oronte from “I Lombardi alla prima crociata.” The encores added a more personal finish. Flórez accompanied himself on guitar for four songs, including “Cucurrucucú paloma,” then dispatched nine high Cs as Donizetti’s Tonio before closing with “Una furtiva lagrima.”