Cecilia Bartoli: The Salieri Album

Cecilia Bartoli: The Salieri Album
- BARTOLI CECILIA
- MUSICA CLASICA
- INTERNATIONAL
- MUSIC
Antonio Salieri is, unfortunately, best known as Mozart's great Viennese rival. Some of his work has appeared on recordings, and he was clearly an interesting composer of well-crafted, entertaining music. But now that a singer with the stature and prodigious gifts of Cecilia Bartoli has undertaken an entire CD of his opera arias, he may just become a quasi-household name. Here he proves himself a composer who wrote for virtuosos; Bartoli is nothing if not a vituoso. And, indeed, this CD opens with an impressive bang: An aria from La secchia rapita features a wild vocal line complete with wild coloratura, huge leaps, a range from low G to high D flat (Bartoli flirts more and more with the soprano range while using her chest register even more forcefully!), and vast dynamic changes accompanied by a full orchestra augmented with grand, martial trumpets. Other arias--one from Palmira, Regina di Persia, for example--are more introspective and are spun out with a graceful, seamless legato and seemingly endless pianissimo. Everything one loves about Bartoli is here: the intensity, absolute fluidity in execution, breath control, glorious trill, the ability to whisper or holler, and an identification with the character she's portraying which makes the situation credible and involving for the listener. At the same time, we can't overlook a tendency to overstatement and exaggeration and a breathiness to some of the delivery which can be an annoying mannerism. But where else can one get such excitement and commitment coupled with an irresistible charm in a singer so clearly at her peak? Most/all of the arias and operas here are virtually unknown; this CD whets our appetites for more Salieri. The accompaniments are as superbly thought-out and played as one would hope for--the wacky pizzicato strings and solo wind and brass lines in an aria from La Cifra, for instance, will delight. Bartoli fans and fans of great singing should not wait another moment before ordering this. --Robert Levine
Country USA
Brand Decca
Manufacturer Decca
Binding Audio CD
ItemPartNumber 028947510024
Model 1992746
ReleaseDate 2003-09-30
UnitCount 1
UPCs 028947510024
EANs 0028947510024

Country	USA
Brand	Decca
Manufacturer	Decca
Binding	Audio CD
ItemPartNumber	028947510024
Model	1992746
ReleaseDate	2003-09-30
UnitCount	1
UPCs	028947510024
EANs	0028947510024

Cecilia Bartoli: The Salieri Album

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