“Barcelona” is Here

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“Barcelona” is a cover of the 1987 collaboration between Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury and renowned opera star Montserrat Caballé from modern opera talent Angela Hench and Gregory Markel, onetime lead singer for progressive rock band Altered State. Hench is a graduate of the famed Longy School of Music at Bard College and has studied with respected opera teachers there and elsewhere. She’s also performed internationally and comes into the project with a low-profile perhaps, but critical respect in abundance.

It will only blossom further with this release. Their single take on this venerable crossover collaboration between a legendary rock singer and his operatic counterpart generates many of the same sparks because they are comparable talents. They have a different and exclusive grain with their voices, however, that differentiates what they are capable of from their legendary predecessors.

The differences in native languages are enough along to change the flavor of this performance. It is clear, however, that whatever differences exist between the two performances, Hench focuses on remaining faithful to the original spirit of the song. It is exultant, passions wrought on the grandest scale, but never succumbing to bombast. The project’s executive producer Dick Williams has helped shepherd a remarkable project to fruition, but the entire team behind this song deserves credit, especially those responsible for the song’s video.

Directors Amy Stuvland Parks and Robert Stuvland deftly handle the technical and visual requirements of the clip. Their efforts give the song additional promotional firepower in a competitive marketplace and Hench’s goals demand it. The Detroit-based opera talent hopes to increase the public profile of this misunderstood musical art and, perhaps, expose many more to its unique riches.

She needs all the help she can find and gets it. Markel’s talents aren’t alone, of course, in helping her reach her goal, but they are essential. It is ultimately maturity, however, that distinguishes their work here above all else. They have the good sense to treat “Barcelona” with the respect it deserves while remaining ever sensitive to their deep reservoir of life remaining in this song.  It’s a pleasure hearing this vocal tandem explore its depths.

They do so with joy that the video makes no attempt to disguise. It isn’t over-cooked, however, and you can watch their interactions depicted onscreen with the same joy that they convey. This is another important way where Hench is breaking down whatever cultural barriers separate opera from a wider audience. Hench doesn’t make it seem or sound like some remote thing through both the way she presents herself on screen, warm and inviting, as well as the vocal and material chosen.

What an unexpected surprise this song is. 2022 brings us many things and one of them is a glittering and stunning rendition of a nearly forgotten yet spectacular collaboration between one of the foremost opera singers of all time and her then equally renowned counterpart in rock music. The star firepower isn’t nearly the same here, without a doubt, but it’s every bit the musical equal of its predecessor. Hench and Markel have brought “Barcelona” to spectacular life for a 2022 audience. 

Trace Whittaker