“Il personaggio di Murena è centrale nella sperimentazione donizettiana di questo titolo. Vocalmente spetta a Nicola Alaimo di dare forza drammatica al personaggio del senatore nel suo percorso dalla colpa al pentimento, attraverso l’angoscia e il tormento. Il baritono italiano si dedica con estrema generosità nel rendere credibile il ruolo, con un’intensità espressiva e un dispiego di mezzi vocali veramente notevoli per un’esecuzione in forma di concerto. L’emissione è morbida, il canto musicale, la dizione curata, il volume ottimo. Già nell’aria del primo atto (“Per lui..nel mentre..avea..”), Alaimo appare oppresso dal rimorso e nel delirio del secondo atto (“Entra nel circo”) appare veramente allucinato, sottolineando con enfasi le frasi declamate e sfociando poi in una cabaletta dove crea un efficace climax drammatico con delle agilità che rendono in musica il vorticoso tormento dell’anima. Al termine il pubblico è esploso in un vero e proprio boato. L’espressione inglese “bring the roof down” (far crollare il tetto) descrive benissimo questa reazione.”
(Pietro Dall'Aglio, Connessi all'Opera)
“In many ways this was Alaimo’s evening. His mellow baritone has warmth and weight, as well as nuance and agility. His representation of both Murena’s authority and his wretchedness was utterly convincing. The phrasing was fluent, and the sheer beauty of his tone was a joy to sink into, like a comfort blanket. His duet with Shagimuratova, with its poignant Moderato cabaletta was heart-touching.”
(Claire Seymour, Opera Today)
“Absolutely dominating the stage as Murena was baritone Nicola Alaimo, who delivered one of the finest concert performances I have seen. He has a strong muscular voice, rock solid at the bottom, but incisive and even at the top with impeccably pointed diction and an elegance of phrasing that gave his performance an almost tragic nobility. From his early moments, “Per lui”, he announced all of these qualities, but his mad scene, “Entra del Circo!” was a tour de force. ”
(Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack)
“Nicola Alaimo really grasped the opportunities given by the role of Murena, from the first moments of his opening aria it was clear that Alaimo was giving us a wonderfully dramatic account of Murena's descent from anxiety into madness. There was a great physicality to Alaimo's performance, and when he was performing the drama was riveting, however, he never pushed the envelope of the music beyond what Donizetti wrote, he was always stylish and a pleasure to listen to. The trio that concluded Act One, saw Shagimuratova, Romanovsky and Alaimo on great form and this was anything but conventional as the three characters explored their own demons, but it was in Shagimuratova's Act Two duet with Alaimo that the core of the opera came out and both artists were on peak dramatic form here.”
(Robert Hugill, Planethugill)