Mozart: Opera & Concert Arias

Elīna Garanča专辑介绍：Elīna Garanča is a relatively new entrant in the mezzo-soprano sweepstakes, but it is already apparent that her career is on a fast upward trajectory. (She has already recorded Adalgisa opposite Edita Gruberova, a set that is, alas, all but unlistenable except for her contribution.) The young mezzo, from Riga, Latvia (the country of origin of the great Hermann Jadlowker), is uncommonly pretty, possessing what appear to be the deepest blue eyes imaginable. But that Garanča is not just another pretty face is indicated by this Mozart recital, in which she not only sings Dorabella’s mezzo range “Smanie implacabili,” but also Fiordiligi’s brutally difficult soprano aria, “Come scoglio!” Ms. Garanča brings off this perfecta to perfection, negotiating all the fearsome runs and trills with aplomb. In an age of ubiquitous cookie-cutter vocalizing and generic, dull interpretations, Elīna Garanča delights and surprises the listener by utilizing her rich, plummy tones with an unusually wide dynamic range (a hundred years ago singers like Ernestine Schumann-Heink and Louise Homer routinely sang this way). Soft, delicately held high notes, whispered passages, feathery trills, and, when needed, powerful dramatic emphasis are all arrows in her quiver to be used in this sublime music as she deems fit. A student of Virginia Zeani, Ms. Garanča has learned her vocal art very well. FANFARE: James Camner