Cecilia Bartoli - A Portrait torrent

Cecilia Bartoli has a wonderfully rich, textured mezzo voice. This CD shows her skills to good effect. Some illustrative cuts. . . .

"Voi che sapete" from Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" is richly sung. She displays a lush mezzo voice. This aria is smoothly sung; a very nice version. Her sumptuous voice interprets this piece nicely. A very satisfying version.

From "Don Giovanni," we have "Batti batti, o bel Masetto." Her rich voice does justice to this piece. There is also a nice characterization in play. Poignantly sung.

Rossini's "Belta Crudele" is smoothly sung; her rich voice does well by this piece. An effecting version. She notes of Rossini that he is "a composer to whom I feel particularly close, and in whose coloratura writing I have found a new and different expressive mode."

She takes a crack at Rossini's "Bel raggio lusinghier," normally sung by sopranos. And this does not disappoint. This work, sung by a mezzo, provides an interesting interpretation. She demonstrates agility in her technique; she shows good ornamentation. There is even a decent trill in this work, something that some current coloratura sopranos would long to equal, from my listening.

The final cut on the CD is from Rossini's "La Cenerentola," "Nacqui all'affano. . .Non piu mesta." Very well done. Her coloratura technique is rock solid. A trill during this cut would fill many sopranos with envy. She clearly shows a good coloratura sensibility. This is great stuff!

This is a good introduction to the range of skills possessed by Bartoli. A nice CD indeed.