Nadine Sierra and Freddie De Tommaso Close Ciclo Aura 2026 at Teatro Colón

Tenor Freddie De Tommaso made his South American debut on 13 February's closing night is not quite the story here — the story is that he and soprano Nadine Sierra closed Ciclo Aura's 2026 season at Buenos Aires' Teatro Colón with a "Gala Lírica" that ran on sheer vocal power.

The British-Italian tenor had never sung in Argentina or anywhere on the continent before this evening. Buenos Aires audiences already knew the American soprano from staged opera productions and chamber recitals; the gala format was new territory for De Tommaso, and he met it head-on.

What did the orchestra actually get to play?

Very little. The Ciclo Aura Orchestra under guest conductor Constantine Orbelian provided what the OperaWire review calls a "functional musical foundation," confined to the overture from Norma, the intermezzi from Cavalleria Rusticana and Manon Lescaut, and the prelude to Carmen. The reviewer found these interventions "exceedingly brief and ultimately uninspired," which pushed the ensemble into a background role on a night designed for vocal spectacle.

De Tommaso's debut: Italian drama, French limits

He opened with an "overwhelming" "Recondita armonia" from Tosca, showing a broad middle register and a penetrating squillo (the ringing, carrying quality of an operatic voice). The Flower Song from Carmen exposed the limits: breath control was impeccable, but the aria revealed "a glaring absence of pianissimo" and the nuances French repertoire demands.

The Italian dramatic repertoire was his home turf. His "Nessun dorma" from Turandot came "with complete vocal capacity and zero strain." The highlight was Manrico's "Ah! sì, ben mio" plus the cabaletta (fast concluding section of an aria) "Di quella pira" from Il Trovatore, where a steady appoggio (breath support technique) and a dark, almost baritonal hue contrasted with blazing high notes. "Mamma, quel vino è generoso" from Cavalleria Rusticana confirmed his grip on verismo (the gritty late-19th-century Italian opera style).

Sierra: volume over vulnerability

Her "Un bel dì, vedremo" from Madama Butterfly was "vocally opulent but interpretatively superficial" — torrential volume and immaculate legato (smooth connection between notes), but little of Cio-Cio San's fragility. She found firmer footing in bravura repertoire: a "pristine" "Tu puniscimi, o Signore" from Luisa Miller, "Amour, ranime mon courage" from Roméo et Juliette (a signature role), and a sparkling "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" from La Rondine.

What works as a duo

The Act I sequence from La Bohème — a genuine scene rather than an isolated aria — let the audience imagine a full production with both singers, though it "at times prioritized volume over poetry." The Andrea Chénier duet "Vicino a te s'acqueta," which needs a massive wall of sound, suited them perfectly.

The encores ran generous: a heavy-handed "Lippen schweigen" from The Merry Widow, then Sierra's dazzling "Sempre libera" — a "masterclass in brilliant coloratura" (florid, agile vocal ornamentation) — De Tommaso's "E lucevan le stelle," her "O mio babbino caro," and a triumphant reprise of "O soave fanciulla."

What does this change for the Colón's season?

The review's verdict: a "major vocal event of the Teatro Colón's 2026 season." Purists can fault the missing dynamic shading and the flat orchestra, but the decibel level and stage presence of both singers delivered, in the reviewer's words, "a visceral thrill that will remain in the public's memory." For a gala conceived as a greatest-hits catalog, that is the whole mechanism: the voices flood the hall, and the rest is scaffolding.