by Miquel Pérez García

2011; € 30,00
ISBN 978-84-938341-0-4
314pp, Hardcover
Témenos Edicions; Barcelona

This luxurious hardcover coffee table book is a must -have for every tenor fan or lover of great singers in the past in general. Vocal collectors need no introduction to whom Hipólito Lázaro was.(click here for a website on the tenor) Together with Miguel Fleta the greatest tenor to have come out of the Iberian peninsular before WWII.

The author (Barcelona 1970) stands for serious and in-depth research and is a great authority on the tenor.

But why would one buy a book in Catalan? It’s simple : thanks to all kinds of translation tools it is easy to read all of it. Not always practical, but still there are many redeeming factors which make the book indispensable for the vocal buff.

Number one is the thorough career chronology including  casts for the operas he appeared in. All the concerts he sang often including details of the repertoire.

Another asset are the numerous (and extremely rare) photographs of the tenor in the narrative but also a treasure trove  of 71 pages with photographs devoted also to his career but including several memorabilia.

Of course there’s a full detailed commercial 78 R.P.M discography (11 pages), a survey of live performances and a listing of all  LP and CD re-editions.

The forward is written by no one else than Montserrat Caballé

There are still a few copies available, grab the book while you can it will give you many hours of pleasure.

Rudi van den Bulck, December 2024

PS the author is currently finishing a Magnum Opus on Conchita Supervia, yes in English. We’ll keep you informed