"The one who was above and beyond all praise was the protagonist, Richard Leech whom I had the fortune to hear when he was very young at the first Enrico Caruso Competition... He tied for the top place...  we're talking about 1979. Thirty years ago! The tenor has now acquired  exceptional interpretive maturity equaled only by a vocal strength that in this edition - virtually uncut- is put to a difficult test.  A test that was abundantly passed, thanks to a richly timbred voice, reaching to the skies in the upper register and amber colored by dark inflections, almost baritonal, in the middle and low voice where the role often lies.  I have pointed out in the past that the role was conceived for a baritone and then transposed, but - and this is no coincidence - it is also a role that a certain Placido Domingo held dear, and of which he has left a magnificent testimony. I say this because today a tenor with such traits is a rarity,  and I understand that Leech has been offered Lohengrin or other Heldentenor roles that he has wisely avoided. Finally, thanks to his long history with the role, which he dominates to perfection, from his French pronunciation, truly excellent, to his his clear identification with the role, one cannot over look his interprerative contribution as an actor: his Kleinzack ballad is indescribable...

A triumph, his, and a well deserved one at that.  One that I also contributed to by clapping my hands until my skin peeled!"