Thursday, May 5, 2011

Rossini: Arias - review

Lezhneva/Sinfonia Varsoviana/Minkowski
(Na�ve)

Julia Lezhneva's performances in Liverpool and London last year caused a considerable stir, provoking comments to the effect that the then 20-year-old soprano was destined to become "the great diva of the future". This Rossini recital, with Marc Minkowski and the Sinfonia Varsoviana, is her first solo disc, and despite great admiration of her work so far, I confess to doubts about it. Her sense of line is unquestionably superb, as is her technique: there are trills and staccatos here, the likes of which we hear all too rarely. Yet the recording captures an edge in her tone, which I don't remember live, and I'm also not sure she should be singing three of the six big numbers that form her programme. The final rondo from Cenerentola needs a mezzo, while her clear, bell-like voice suggests girlishness in both Mathilde's aria from Guillaume Tell and Desdemona's Willow Song from Otello, where something more mature and sensual is required. Semiramide's Bel Raggio Lusinghier is spectacular enough to be persuasive, though it's only in the extracts from La Donna del Lago and L'Assedio di Corinto that sound, sense and drama are perfectly fused.

Rating: 3/5


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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/may/05/rossini-arias-julia-lezhneva-review

Cheryl Cole Simon Cowell David Beckham David Guetta

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