Verdi Heroines
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Music CD Cover
Performer: Shana DownesComposer: Giuseppe Verdi
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Performer: Laura Polverelli
Performer: Tizana Tramonti
Orchestra: Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra Milan
Performer: Angela Gheorghiu
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2000-06-13
Music Label: Decca Import
Soundtracks:
- Merc?, Dilette Amiche
- Tu che le vanit? conoscesti... Francia, nobile suol
- Gualtier Mald?!... Caro nome
- Qui Radam?s verr?!... O patria mia
- Ch? pi? t'arresti?... Tacea la notte placida.... Di tale amor
- Morr?, ma prima in grazia
- Come in quest'ora bruna
- Pace, pace, mio Dio!
- Era pi? calmo?... "Piangea cantando..." ...Ave Maria
Free Music Notes for Verdi Heroines
Free Music Review: AWFUL!
Hit: 1 Stars
As an opera singer, I have been a judge for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. I saw Angela's Traviata and thought it was extremely good then. I find myself enjoying her lighter roles because her voice is more free and on the breath. It has a much nicer spinning quality from top to bottom. However, when I listened to her VERDI CD I was extremely disappointed. I felt like I was back at the Met Auditions telling young sopranos not to go down the dark and heavy road. I hate what Angela is doing to her voice. In covering the voice to make it darker and heavier, she compromises the breath giving what we would call a "hooty" tone. It effects her vibrato and sounds very artificial. Her lower chest notes, I have not doubt, could not be heard unless she had a mic. The voice lies too far back to give a brilliant sound that Verdi had intended. The voice is too "covered" and unnaturally dark. If someone reading this is in question, may I remind you to listen to the voices of decades ago that were true naturally dramatic voices. When Angela uses her true voice which is lighter, it actually becomes bigger and more vibrant. But you will hear it less and less. I think this recording is a prime example of a young singer wanting too much too soon. I heard Zinka Milanov warn young singers against the seduction of the heavier roles. Angela should have listened. An interview I read regarding Angela and Roberto portrayed them as believing they do not need teachers or coaches and that humility is not their strong suit. It shows in this recording. I have several of Angela's and Roberto's recordings, each will be donated to the society for over-rated over-inflated singers.
Verdi Heroines Poster
Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu is at a significant crossroads for a singer: past the heady days of her sudden, youthful stardom in the mid-1990s initiated by her legendary Covent Garden La Traviata, but still forging a mature identity, both vocally and interpretively. The results of this in-betweenness can be frustrating, as Gheorghiu at this point clearly doesn't seem light enough for Gilda's "Caro nome" in Rigoletto (the weakest cut on this recital), but still needs to develop the heavier sound and heft needed for such Verdi heroines as Aida. That said, Gheorghiu's attempt to position herself at the head of the new generation of Verdi sopranos has a lot going for it--most important, the mesmerizing quality of her uniquely dusky timbre and the conviction of her vocal acting (it's even able to come across on CD). Just listen to how she can encode unhappiness in her phrasing--a prerequisite for a Verdi heroine--as Aida, or transient but intensely sought peace as Leonora, or, in the longest sc?na here, as an appealingly multilayered Desdemona (quite possibly the recital's best cut). There's also the exciting polarity of Gheorghiu's leaps from chest voice to a high perch (at the end of the lengthy Don Carlo sc?na) to signify the traversal of as many emotions, though she practically throws away what should be a killer moment with her disappointing attack on the high pianissimo at the end of "Morro, Ma Prima in Grazia.". The chemistry between Gheorghiu and conductor Riccardo Chailly that was so remarkable on their Boh?me is even more powerful here, and Chailly's ear for detail enables the arias to unfold against a canvas of vibrant colors; the symphonic dimension he gives to the orchestral prologues (especially in the Don Carlo and Otello scenes) adds depth and perspective. --Thomas MayAlternative Rock Music CDs
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