Reviews

Solo recital: L'aureo serto: Arias of Nicola Porpora

"Sergio Foresti parvient-il à s’inscrire dans la lignée de ces brillants prédécesseurs? En matière de virtuosité et d’agilité naturelle de la voix, il fait merveille." [Does Sergio Foresti manage to step in the footsteps of his brilliant predecessors? On the matters of virtuosity and natural agility of the voice, he works wonders].
Forumopera, November 2022

"Les execucions instrumentals, eloqüents, flexibles i d’una notable varietat dinàmica, van des de l’estil dramàtic fins al còmic. Foresti, amb una bellesa tímbrica de greus brillants i lluminosos, està predestinat a recollir el llegat del mestre napolità, i hi afegeix una nova dimensió amb la seva veu, que es fon màgicament amb la sonoritat instrumental de l’Abchordis Ensemble.
Resulta difícil passar per alt el caràcter expressiu de les àries i el perfeccionisme de les partitures, d’una innegable capacitat, i de l’experiència del director del conjunt italià, Andrea Buccarella, que, amb la seva mentalitat oberta, aborda el poder evocatiu dels sentiments i la llibertat vocal d’aquestes meravelloses àries."
[The instrumental performances, eloquent, flexible, and of remarkable dynamic variety, range from the dramatic to the comic. Foresti, with a beautiful timbre of brilliant and luminous lows, is predestined to pick up the legacy of the Neapolitan master, and adds a new dimension to it with his voice, which magically blends with the instrumental sonority of the Abchordis Ensemble.
It is difficult to overlook the expressive character of the arias and the perfectionism of the scores, of undeniable ability, and the experience of the director of the Italian ensemble, Andrea Buccarella, who, with his open-mindedness, approaches the evocative power of the feelings and vocal freedom of these wonderful arias.]
Sonograma magazine (Marçal Borotau), October 2022

Solo recital: Benedetto Marcello: Amanti. Cantatas for bass

Solo recital: Cieco Amor: Opera arias written for Giuseppe Maria Boschi (1675-1744)

"Hoera! De eindeloze stroom barokke opera aria's voor sopraan, mezzosopraan en mannelijke alt, warmee de muzieklefhebber met regelmaat wordt bestookt, krijgt hier competitie van een bariton... Foresti heeft een prachtstem met een sympathieke uitstraling, varieert zijn fiorituren met smaak en is gezegend met een formidabele techniek. De cd munt uit door briljant orkestspel, uitgebreide toelichtingen en een weldadige opname. Bravo Boschi!" [Hurray! The endless stream of baroque arias for soprano, mezzo-soprano and male alto, that the music lover regularly encounters, receives competition of a baritone... Foresti has a beautiful voice with a sympathetic appearance, varies his fioriture with taste, and is blessed with a formidable technique. The cd excels in brilliant orchestral playing, elaborate explanations, and a beneficent recording. Bravo Boschi!]
Luister, 21 May 2021

"... met zijn theatrale vertolking treft Foresti de juiste toon. Ziedend en snikkend, verleidelijk en stoer: er zitten veel mannen in deze zanger en ze mogen allemaal even naar buiten. Abchordis Ensemble begeleidt attent en licht de contrapuntische kwaliteiten van de muziek uit zonder de solist in de schaduw te dringen." [...with his theatrical interpretation Foresti strikes the right tone. Furious and sobbing, seductive and sturdy: there are many men in this singer and all of them are brought forward. Anchordis Ensemble accompanies attentively and highlights the contrapointal qualities of the muziek without pushing the soloist in the shadow.]
De Standaard, 17 March 2021

"Magnifiek!" [Maginificent!]
Stretto, 22 March 2021

"He certainly has a fine voice: even, steady tonal emission, ringing top notes, and impressive flexibility. His trill will startle people who are only used to women singing flawless trills... It becomes very clear after only a few tracks that Foresti can do just about anything he wants to with his voice... He sings it extremely well and there aren't a lot of singers who can handle the vocal challenges and the dramatic ones as well. In addition, his diction and projection of the different characters is very sharp and detailed. The Abchordis Ensemble conducted by Andrea Buccarella offers colorful, forceful support. It's clear that all enjoyed creating this together."
American Record Guide, September/October 2021

"Foresti brzmi energetycz[1]nie, żywiołowo. Głos ma pewny i wyrazisty. W jego barwie miesza się siła i delikatność. Potraf stworzyć unikatowe, często kontrastujące ze sobą interpretacje. Chwilami jest poruszający, to znów nobliwy, a za chwilę dosadny. Jego głos ma bogatą paletę ekspresyjną, a interpretacje są emocjonalne i zarazem świetnie przemyślane. To przykład barokowej wirtuozerii na najwyższym poziomie." [Foresti sounds energetic, lively. His voice is firm and clear. Its color is mixed with strength and delicacy. He creates unique and often contrasting interpretations. At times it is moving, then again noble, and then it is blunt. His voice has a rich expressive palette and his interpretations are emotional and well thought out at the same time. This is an example of baroque virtuosity at the highest level.]
Presto Portal Poland, July 2021

"Todo ello se ilustra convincentemente por Sergio Foresti en este disco con quince arias... Todo un tour de force para Foresti, que, bien acompañado por el Abchordis Ensemble, se enfrenta a ellas con su reconocida técnica y una notable madurez, sacando a la luz su experiencia teatral y ofreciendo toda la amplia variedad de matices necesaria en este exigente repertorio. Magnífico Foresti. Magnífico disco." [This all is shown convincingly by Sergio Foresti on this disc with 15 arias... This is a tour de force for Foresti, who, well accompanied by Abchordis Ensemble, confronts them with his renowned technique and remarkable maturity, bringing to light his theatrical experience and offering all the wide variety of nuances necessary in this demanding repertoire. Magnificent Foresti. Magnificent album.]
Scherzo, July/August 2021

"Foresti’s open and supple singing roars with impressive élan in Argante’s ‘Sibilar gli angui d’Aletto’ (Handel’s Rinaldo), its braying trumpets and serpent-like violin lines judged perfectly. The emperor Constantine’s guilt-racked ‘Vostre imagini’ (Heinichen’s Flavio Crispo) features Foresti’s lyrical anguish in tandem with sorrowful violins... Demetrio’s valorous ‘Rimbomba la tromba’ (Antonio Bononcini’s La presa di Tebe) pits Foresti’s virtuoso wide leaps and coloratura against a pair of stratospheric trumpets. The slow lament ‘Cieco amor’ (Giovanni Bononcini’s Etearco) features rich string harmonies and long spinning melodic vocal lines... Cosroe’s remorse at having ordered the execution of his innocent son in ‘Gelido in ogni vena’ (Handel’s Siroe) is performed by Foresti and gently contrapuntal strings with beguiling sincerity."
Gramophone, July 2021

"Sergio Foresti is a persuasive proxy for Giuseppe Maria Boschi (1698-1744), a bold actor and powerful, agile vocalist... Foresti strides majestically across his register, dispatching ringing top notes; in passages of coloratura he's as reckless as a racing driver. His vigour is matched by the band... They create brilliant effects collectively... Beyond muscle and bustle, Foresti delivers introspection. ...Here Foresti is sovereign, expanding through even the most punishing of long phrases. Foresti's performance is always intense."
BBC Music Magazine Classical Music, 10 June 2021

Solo recital: Brutus - Cantatas for Bass by Antonio Caldara (1670-1736)

"Sergio Foresti declaims the poetry with marvellous clarity and rhetorical sensibility, and he sings the wide-leaping part with technical finesse; there is [in the cantata 'Bruto a' Romani'] a compelling juxtaposition of open-throated roar and articulate intimacy in an invocation to Astraea (goddess of justice) that seems as much an elegy for Lucretia as it is a call to overthrow the decadent monarchy."
"...the skills of his interpreters, with emotionally aware accompaniments played with expressive variety and sensitivity by cellist Agnieszka Oszanca, theorbist Gabriele Palomba and harpsichordist Andrea Friggi."
Gramophone Magazine, January 2019

"Ecco un cd intelligente, meditato oltre che ben eseguito. Quando lo si ascolta si entra in un mondo di inedite delizie..."
"... Sergio Foresti, stilisticamente irreprensibile. Puntuale e sicuro nelle fioriture, come nei trilli, esibiti anche quando intona, su sfere d'azione vocali piuttosto acute. Foresti se la cava con onore nel sostenere tessiture davvero perigliose, mostrandosi espressivamente attento e ispirato. La dizione è chiara e nitida, il registro grave timbrato, la capacità di legare i suoni ammirevole ad onta di una marginale ruvvidezza timbrica. Insomma un cantante che sa cosa significa essere un virtuoso."
[This is an intelligent cd, well thought through and moreover well executed. When one listens one enters in a world of previously unpublished delicacies... ...Sergio Foresti is stylistically impeccable. Punctual and secure in the fast coloratura, such as in the trills, displayed also when he sings in the rather high zones of the voice. Foresti delivers the really risky vocal ranges with honor, showing himself to be attentive to the expression and to be inspired. The diction is clear and precise, the low register is resonant, the capacity to sing legato admirable, albeit with a slight roughness in the timbre. All in all a singer who understands what it means to be a virtuoso.]
L'Opera, March 2019

Rossini: La Gazzetta - as Don Pomponio - Salzburger Landestheater, Austria, 2019

"...ein großartiger, spielfreudiger Sänger-Cast, allen voran der maltesische Tenor Nico Darmanin als stark kurzsichtiger Liebhaber und Sergio Foresti als neureicher Kontaktanzeigen-Inserent." [...a great, enthusiastic singer cast, before all the Maltese tenor Nico Darmaninas the strongly short-sighted lover, and Sergio Foresti as the parvenu lonely hearts column advertiser.]
Bayerischer Rundfunk, January 2019

"Zentraler Erzkomödiant ist der Pomponio von Sergio Foresti, geschickt im wortreichen und dialektal gefärbten Parlando und klangpompös im ariosen Stimmeinsatz." [Central arch comedian is the Don Pomponio of Sergio Foresti, skillful in the wordy and dialect colored parlando, and pompous in sound in the ariose vocal parts.]
DrehPunktKultur, January 2019

← Click for theatrical trailer of 'La Gazzetta' (Rossini)

Photo by Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Production: Salzburger Landestheater - La Gazzetta

Rossini: L'inganno felice - as Batone - Settimane musicali del Teatro Olimpico - Vicenza, Italy, 2018

"Standout of the night. Playing the role with true buffo spirit, Foresti produced an excellent performance... He has an expressive and flexible voice, which was particularly in evidence during the recitatives, which he delivered with a great deal of skill and swagger. His duet with Tarabotto, “Va taluno mormorando,” in which they engage in a superficial light-hearted vocal combat, was the highlight of the evening. The exchanges were fresh, light, and full of energy, and beautifully captured the hidden meanings within their words."
Operawire, June 2018

"...un approccio felice per stile e carattere, vocalmente preciso ed elegante." [a happy approach for style and character, vocally precise and elegant.]
Bellininews, June 2018

"Di gran classe il titubante Batone di Sergio Foresti, che viene a capo con onore alle insidie dell’Aria Una voce m’ha colpito, scritta appositamente da Rossini per il celebre basso Filippo Galli." [Of great class was the insecure Batone of Sergio Foresti, who delivered with honor the difficulties of the aria Una voce m'ha colpito, written especially by Rossini for the famous bass Filippo Galli.]
Son lunatico, bilioso, June 2018
Photos by Alessandro dalla Pozza
Production: Settimane musicali - L'inganno felice

Rossini: Il Turco in Italia - as Don Geronio - Salzburger Landestheater, Austria, 2016

"Mit lyrischem Bariton besticht Sergio Foresti als aufrichtig leidender Don Geronio." [With his lyrical baritone, Sergio Foresti fascinates as a sincerely suffering Don Geronio.]
DrehPunktKultur, April 2016

"Sergio Foresti als gehörnter Ehemann gibt den Parade-Buffo und kann sich besonderes in den Flotten Arien beweisen." [Sergio Foresti as the cheated husband gives the character humor and proves himself especially in the fast arias.]
APA, April 2016

"Don Geronio hat in Sergio Foresti einen bewerten Rollenvertreter, untadelig gesungen mit gut geführten Bariton." [Don Geronio finds in Sergio Foresti a worthy role-interpreter, impeccably sung with a well-managed baritone.]
Reichenhaller Tagblatt, April 2016

← Click image for theatrical trailer of 'Il Turco in Italia' (Rossini)

Photo by Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Production: Salzburger Landestheater – Il Turco in Italia

Haydn: Il mondo della luna - as Bonafede - Salzburger Landestheater, Austria, 2015

"Darin mach Sergio Forest mit Mascherl und Strickweste und ordentlichem Bass als Bonafede gute Figur als komi-tragisch düpierter Raumfahrer" [In bowtie and knitwear, with his tidy bass, Sergio Foresti strikes a good figure as Bonafede as a comitragic duped space traveller]
Salzburger Nachrichten, September 2015

"...das Solistenensemble liefert neben der gesanglichen vor allem eine beachtliche schauspielerische Leistung ab. Allen voran Sergio Foresti als alter Bonafede, der als liebenswert-naiver Vater über den Mond stolpert und auch stimmlich mit großer Ausdrucksstärke überzeugt." [...apart from the singing, the soloist ensemble delivers a noteworthy acting performance. Above all Sergio Foresti as the elderly Bonafede, who as a lovable-naive father stumbles over the moon, and who convinces also vocally with great expressiveness]
APA, September 2015

"Sergio Foresti hängt stimmlich keineswegs den komischen Alten raus, er gestaltet seine Rolle mit viel Charme und sehr differenziert auch im lyrischen." [Sergio Foresti does not sing as a caricature of a funny older man. He portrays his role with lots of charm and i very differentiated in the lyrical.]
DrehPunktKultur, September 2015

← Click for theatrical trailer of 'Il mondo della luna' (Haydn)

Photos by Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Production: Salzburger Landestheater - Il mondo della luna