Verdi Arias

Review "There is no cry heard more often these days than, "Where are all the Verdi sopranos?!?" Yes, there was a day when we had the likes of Aprile Millo, Eva Marton, Leontyne Price, Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Leonie Rysanek, Zinka Milanov and Antonietta Stella all singing in the same, say 25 or 30 years. While we do have a few adept Verdi sopranos, the one most promising for "Legendary" status is Sondra Radvanovsky, whose new album Verdi Arias all but seals her status as a leader in the crowd of Verdi specialists. As with all good singers, some very much dislike Ms. Radvanovsky's voice. Some say it is too earthy, some don't care for the upper register, and some manage to say the voice is too small. After hearing Ms. Radvanovsky live three times at the Met in recent seasons (Leonora, Lina, and Elvira), I can assure you her vocal presence is as clear and powerful as any soprano out there today, so let's put that canard to rest. But what really excites me about her singing is its uniqueness. I love when you hear a singer and know, after only a few bars, who that special timbre belongs to -- think of the list in the first paragraph. That is indeed the definition of "memorable," and Ms. Radvanovsky's voice is memorable to say the least. The earthy, smoky, almost husky middle and lower voice blossom into a powerful and shining upper register with a golden color over which she has wonderful control... One thing that drove me wild on this album is her Aida. While she has not performed the role in its entirety yet, the liner notes indicate that the announcement of a Radvanovsky Aida is coming soon, and when it is, I am getting a ticket. Her treatment of the recitative was nothing short of sublime, and the heart-rending conflict of the piece is drawn to its furthest extent without losing sincerity. And it is all summed up in one of the most beautiful pianissimo endings of "O patria mia" one will ever hear. In a perfect world you'd have it all, but I'm more than happy to take the small "imperfections" in Ms. Radvanovsky's voice. After all, that's what makes a singer great - not a generic sound or feeling, but to express our own individual statement and feeling, which Ms. Radvanovsky does with deft ability and a truly unique beauty." -Valmont -- Parterre Box: Jun 01, 2010 - http://parterre.com/2010/06/01/earthy-pleasures/ "This album proves why this GTA-based singer is considered to be one of the finest interpreters of the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. Radvanovsky's huge pipes radiate drama and passion. The singer also knows how to hold back, creating tension with soft touches, rather than hammer blows (my favourite aria on the album is "Arrigo! Ah, parli a un cor," from I vespri siciliani). Although conductor Constantine Orbelian and the Philharmonia of Russia could have been more sensitive accompanists, this CD is a real treat." -Patricia Petibon -- www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/recordings/article/810738--cd-reviews-dead-weather-and-two-fine-soprano Back in September at War Memorial Opera House, American soprano Radvanovsky floated and dazzled as the anguished Leonora in San Francisco Opera's production of Verdi's "Il Trovatore." In the final act, she sang the aria "D'amor sull'ali rosee": It was practically weightless, every suffering note perfectly perched or falling to a whisper. And such colors in her voice! It was awesome, as are the 10 arias on this disc, "D'amor" among them. -- Mercury News, Richard Scheinin Best Music Of The Year So Far: Classical - Few musical events are as exciting for me as hearing a terrific new singer for the very first time live. I heard Sondra Radvanovsky sing Verdi and Puccini arias in February, and was blown away. Now she has her first solo recital disc. If she keeps on singing at this level, we'll have a major new star on our hands. She opens her mouth and huge streams of sound soar out like giant bolts of multicolored cloth -- shimmering silver, azure blue. It's a huge voice, yet she knows how to harness all that power. Note the passage beginning two minutes into this awesome aria from Verdi's Il Trovatore. -- NPR.com, June 24, 2010, Tom Huizenga Sondra Radvanovsky has been a welcome presence on the Met stage and elsewhere for some fifteen years, and her work deserves permanent documentation. Her soprano is lustrous and vibrant, maintaining a spinning line over a long range, with a full-throated approach to top notes. The voice is nicely anchored to the support via the low range: she tends to tread carefully on stepwise descents, but on the present disc, the low A in Amelia's big scene from Un Ballo in Maschera is firm enough. So supple and evenly produced an instrument might seem ideally suited to bel canto, and indeed, her best singing here comes in the earlier arias most strongly influenced by that style. The singer renders "Tacea la notte" with a lovely, pure legato, sustaining music and text in long, arching phrases; she sails through a single verse of the cabalett
ASIN: B0039ZCHPY
VSKU: 4EKGRJ00CNQC_ns
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Sondra Radvanovsky
Binding: Audio CD
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