Cecilia Bartoli - Maria
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Music CD Cover
Composer: Maria MaribranComposer: Vincenzo Bellini
Composer: Jacques Fromental Halevy
Composer: Giovanni Pacini
Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
Composer: Manuel Garcia
Conductor: Adam Fischer
Orchestra: Orchestra 'La Scintilla'
Performer: Cecilia Bartoli
Performer: Luca Pisaroni
Edition: Music CD
Format: Limited Edition
CD Release Date: 2006-10-10
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
- Se Un Mio Desir
- Ira Del Ciel
- Cari Giorni
- Infelice
- Yo Que Soy Contrabandista
- Ah! Non Credea Mirarti
- Ah! Non
- Air A La Tirolienne Avec Variations
- E Non Lo Vedo
- Rataplan
- Dopo Tante E Tante Pene
- O Rendetemi La Speme
- Vien, Diletto
- Come Dolce A Me Favelli
- Scorrete, O Lagrime
- Prendi, Per Me Sei Libero
- Casta Diva
Free Music Notes for Cecilia Bartoli - Maria
Free Music Review: I DON'T GET IT
Hit: 3 Stars
We should all be glad that Cecilia Bartoli has such clout in the world of classical music, because without it, we wouldn't have such interesting recordings as this one or her earlier Salieri album. Here she explores repertoire associated with the legendary 19th-century singer Maria Malibran (terms such as soprano and mezzo-soprano weren't as rigorously applied then as they are now; scholars surmise that she was basically a mezzo with a freakishly high extension that enabled her to tackle many of what today are considered soprano roles.) I suppose the implication is that Ms. Bartoli is today's equivalent of Malibran, but I think not.
I've never understood the Bartoli phenomenon. Lord knows enough knowledgeable people are in awe of her talent--I remember one vocal authority, after hearing one of her first recitals, declared her to be "a perfect singer." I never heard her live (maybe that's the only way to appreciate her gifts), but I remember the first time I heard one of her recordings on the radio. Not knowing who was singing, I was curious as to just who it was who had such a strange-sounding voice and technique. I was shocked to learn that it was this supposedly "perfect" singer.
For starters, her voice, to my ear, is not beautiful or sensuous. It often exhibits a guttural, almost shrill tone that makes her sound old and which I find grating. She's an attractive woman, but when she sings (as is painfully obvious in her video performances), she grimaces and contorts her mouth in a most unattractive and distracting manner. I also find her emotional range to be limited. She seems to have two modes: a soft, admittedly beautiful, legato that seems to indicate quiet introspection; and a breathy declamation that connotes agitated distress. In the Mad Scene from "I Puritani," for example, I hear no sadness in what must be the most heart-breaking set piece Bellini ever composed. And her coloratura!--It sounds like a cross between gargling and hiccoughs. Unfortunately, for the repertoire she most frequently performs, coloratura facility is a requirement. (I was once at a book signing for Dame Joan Sutherland, who was asked her opinion of Bartoli. She tried to be tactful, but said, "I must say her coloratura production sounds very strange. It will be interesting to see how long she's around." Well, Bartoli is obviously still around, but she also still has that strangely cackling coloratura sound.) One wonders why no teacher or coach ever told her not to aspirate each note so strongly. I suppose we should be grateful that when she essays the legendary aria "Casta Diva" from Bellini's "Norma," she does not include the cabaletta--which is, after all, half the aria.
Bartoli does offer a generous selection of obscure and rarely heard selections. It is no surprise that the disc includes eight "world premiere" recordings--as phenomenal as Malibran was, virtually no major operatic role was composed specifically for her by any composer held in esteem today; the closest she came was when Bellini made a special mezzo arrangement of "La Sonnambula" for her, an arrangement she never got to sing (although Frederica von Stade did perform it several decades back). As for the bulky book that is bound with the disc, it has shamelessly been designed to look like a perfume ad from Vanity Fair; I'm surprised she isn't sporting her Rolex watch on the cover. For a thorough grounding in the facts of Malibran's life, one would do better to dig up a copy of Howard Bushnell's "Maria Malibran: A Biography of the Singer" (now unfortunately out of print, but available in libraries).
Quite a few years ago, near the beginning of her career, Marilyn Horne recorded a remarkable two-LP set called "Souvenir of a Golden Era," in which she paid tribute to Malibran and her sister, the almost equally famous mezzo Pauline Viardot. None of that recording's repertoire overlaps with Bartoli's disc (although it includes "Bel raggio" from "Semiramide," which Bartoli recorded on her "Rossini Heroines" disc), but I frankly don't find Bartoli's instrument to be in the same league as Horne's. Too bad Decca has never released the earlier recording complete on CD. I think that would give us a better notion of what Malibran might have sounded like.
Cecilia Bartoli - Maria Poster
Cecilia Bartoli revisits the early Romantic era of Rossini, Bellini and their contemporaries and views the Bel canto glory days through the eyes of Maria Malibran: Romantic icon, Bel Canto muse, and the most extraordinary opera star of her time. Maria features 8 world premiere recordings including the prayer `Se il mio desir...Cedi al duol' from the long lost opera Irene by Pacini, and the aria `E non lo vedo...Son regina' by Maria's father, the famous Rossini tenor Manuel Garcia. Bartoli also presents the London version of Mendelssohn's `Infelice' for voice, violin solo and orchestra, where she duets with Maxim Vengerov. The album also includes popular favorites, such as Bellini's `Casta Diva' from Norma. Maria features an incredible variety of music. Mellifluous Bel canto delights are contrasted with regional flavors from around the world: from Spanish flamenco to Tyrolienne yodeling. The album exhibits Cecilia Bartoli singing in four languages: Italian, Spanish, French and English. She is joined by the period practice Orchestra La Scintilla, led by Hungarian conductor Adam Fischer.Cecilia Bartoli revisits the early Romantic era of Rossini, Bellini and their contemporaries, and views the Bel canto glory days through the eyes of Maria Malibran : Romantic icon, Bel canto muse, and the most extraordinary opera star of her time. Cecilia Bartoli has unearthed many forgotten opera jewels. The album features several world premiere recordings including the prayer 'Se il mio desir Cedi al duol' from the long lost opera Irene by Pacini and the aria 'E non lo vedo Son regina' by Maria's father, the famous Rossini tenor Manuel Garcia. Bartoli also presents the London version of Mendelssohn's 'Infelice' for voice, violin solo and orchestra, where she duets with Maxim Vengerov. The programme also includes popular favourites , such as Bellini's 'Casta diva' from Norma. Maria features an incredible variety of music. Mellifluous Bel canto delights are contrasted with regional flavours from around the world: from Spanish flamenco to Tyrolienne yodelling. The album exhibits Cecilia Bartoli singing in four languages: Italian, Spanish, French and English.
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