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According to this video's back cover, Finbar Wright "is being hailed as the leading Irish tenor on the world's stage." He establishes Irish credentials firmly with memorable performances of "Danny Boy" and "My Lagan Love," but his ambition clearly goes beyond that ethnic category. No other Irish tenor, and not many who are not Spanish, would open a program, as he does this 1991 concert from the Grand Opera House in Belfast, with Ferdinand Lara's "Granada." He sings it perfectly, with a mastery of Spanish style and language acquired during years of work and study in Spain. He is also adept in Italian, and in the dialect of Naples, which is like no other language. The title Opera Concert refers primarily to the love duet from Act I of La Bohème, for which he is joined by Regina Nathan (who also sings "Je veux vivre" from Romeo et Juliette). But it is hardly a complete description of a program that includes "So Deep Is the Night" (a Chopin melody with pop words) and Guy d'Hardelot's "Because," as well as several Neapolitan songs.
Hearing the Neapolitan numbers, which include "Come Back to Sorrento" and "La Mattinata," you begin to wonder whether Finbar Wright is deliberately seeking a one-on-one comparison with Luciano Pavarotti--and the suspicion deepens when he sings two Pavarotti specialties, "O Sole Mio" and "Nessun Dorma," as encores. He does not suffer by such a comparison. His vocal equipment is comparable in quality, though he sometimes pushes it slightly harder than he should, and he is considerably more versatile. --Joe McLellan
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