Baritone
Roman Trekel's strong background in opera serves him well in his depiction of the moody poet in Schumann's Dichterliebe. His warmly lyrical and rhapsodic delivery can quickly shift to anguished melancholy or to ironic diffidence, reflecting the spectrum of moods through which Schumann's mercurial Poet passes in the course of the 30-minute cycle. The unified picture that
Trekel leaves us with is of a man driven beyond rationality by abandoning himself to romantic daydreams.
Trekel's voice is ideally suited to the cycle -- he has a rich, dark lower register and a ringing top, and because of his rock-solid technique his tone is pure and even throughout his broad range. (Both Pelléas and baritone roles such as Papageno are in his repertoire.)
Trekel brings the same sense of high drama to five songs with texts by Heinrich Heine, including a very rousing version of "Die Beiden Grenadiere," and to the nine songs in the Op. 24 Liederkreis cycle;
Trekel's way of caressing the phrases of "Schöne Weige Meine Leiden" is particularly moving. He is very ably accompanied by pianist Oliver Pohl, who draws as much drama and nuance from the piano part as
Trekel does from the vocal lines. The sound is warm and intimate, and the balance between voice and piano is excellent.