Cecilia Bartoli - Sospiri (2010)

This compilation of selections from a number of Cecilia Bartoli's recitals from between 1994 and 2009, plus several newly released tracks, is unified by the theme of sighs, "sospiri." The music expresses a variety of moods, including sighs of resignation, relaxation, grief, ecstasy, and romantic pleasure. The first of the two CDs is devoted to secular music, much of it operatic, and the second to sacred pieces. The album should offer few surprises to anyone who has a preconceived opinion of Bartoli's vocalism. Fans of her exuberant personality and dramatic temperament will find just what they would expect, as will detractors who are put off by what they feel to be her excessive flamboyance. In any case, whatever one's opinion of the outcome, there's no denying that Bartoli throws herself into all her projects with absolute abandon. She is so deeply invested in wringing the emotional truth out of a piece that she is not afraid to let her voice stray from the principles of bel canto singing that require that tonal beauty be maintained at all times. An example is her handling of the extraordinary, anguished 10-minute scene from Geminiano Giacomelli's Merope, which exploits her remarkable range, nuanced expressiveness, technical command, and soaring, floating tone, and in which she at points practically howls with animalistic rage. Her "Casta Diva" is sung nearly entirely sotto voce, almost whispered, a controversial choice that departs from usual interpretations, but that she convincingly puts across as valid. Her performance of "Una voca poco fa" is rather disingenuously billed as "first time on CD," promising an entirely new version of Rossini's popular aria, but in fact it is the usual piece, only very freely ornamented. Other performances are less radically original, including "Ombra mai fu," "Voi che sapete," and most of the sacred selections, but Bartoli brings her trademark depth of feeling to them.

Performer:
CD1:
Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone (8)
Juan Diego Flórez, tenor (9)
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor (14)
Maxim Vengerov (10)
International Chamber Soloists (13)
Il Giardino Armonico/Giovanni Antonini (1, 2, 4-6)
Le Musivien du Louvre - Grenoble/Marc Minkowski (3)
Wiener Philharmoniker/Claudio Abbado (7)
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Myung-Whun Chung (8)
Orchestra La Scintilla/Alessandro De Marchi (9)
Orchestra La Scintilla/Adam Fischer (10-13)
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi/Riccardo Chailly (14)
CD2:
Mary Cotton Savini oboe d’amore (1)
Cinzia Maurizio harp (4, 6)
Luigi Piovano cello (5, 6)
Daniele Rossi organ (5-7)
Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (2)
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Myung-Whun Chung (1, 2, 4, 5, 7)
Wiener Philharmoniker/ Myung-Whun Chung (3)

Track List:
CD1:
01. Handel - Serse: Ombra mai fù
02. Giacomelli - Merope: Sposa, non mi conosci
03. Handel - Il Trionfo del Tiempo e del Disinganno: Lascia la spina cogli la rosa
04. Vivaldi - Il Farnace: Gelido in ogni vena
05. Caldara - La Morte d'Abel figura di quella del nostro Redentore: Quel buon pastor son io
06. Vinci - Medo: Cervo in bosco
07. Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro: Voi che sapete
08. Mozart - Don Giovanni: Là ci darem la mano
09. Bellini - La Sonnambula: Ah! non credea mirarti
10. Mendelssohn - Infelice: Ah ritorna, età dell'oro
11. Persiani - Ines di Castro: Cari giorni a me sereni
12. Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia: Una voce poco fa
13. Bellini - Norma: Casta Diva
14. Mascagni - L'amico Fritz: Tutto tace
CD2:
01. Bach - Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
02. Mozart - Vesperae solennes de confessore in C, K.339: Laudate Dominum omnes gentes
03. Rossini - Stabat Mater: Fac ut portem Christi mortem
04. Gounod - Ave Maria (arr. from Bach's Prelude No.1 BWV 846)
05. Duruflé - Requiem: Pie Jesu
06. Franck - Panis Angelicus
07. Fauré - Requiem: Pie Jesu