Paul Potts is an amateur tenor (opera-style) from England who won the latest round of "Britain's Got Talent." I don't know where Dad heard about that, but hear about it he did and he found a video clip of the winning song ("Nessun Dorma") to show Mom. It's a very endearing performance; the singer is very much an "everyman;" in fact at the time he entered the competition, he was a cell-phone salesman, and seemed to be a rather shy person to boot. I thought the TV performance was quite decent, but the CD passes it at a gallop. Somehow he managed to include nearly all of the standards I would have wished for on a tenor album:
- Nessun Dorma (of course!)
- Nella Fantasia
- Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye)
But my favorites were unexpected; a gentle little Spanish piece called "Amapola"; another which was new to me called "Cavatina" which is in English and has very wistful lyrics set over a background of classical guitar, and "A Mi Manera" which is, as a matter of fact, "My Way" in Spanish translation. The latter was a good song, but I think I got the biggest kick out of it because it is very obvious that Mr. Potts is singing Castilian Spanish (where they say "th" for some instances of the sound "s") which one doesn't hear often in these parts. I know nothing about operatic singing, but I do know what I like to hear as far as expression and phrasing are concerned and Mr. Potts certainly has that. He very rarely uses his full range in either pitch or volume; the resulting tenderness of the softer pieces ("Cavatina," especially) is exceptionally lovely; the sort of singing you hold your breath to listen to.
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