{"product_id":"verdi-arias-4","title":"Verdi: Arias","description":"\u003cb\u003eWords fail me in reviewing this disc. My critical brain is helpless before this voice, which sweeps all before it and leaves nothing to nitpick. And yes, her performances of “Ecco l’orrido campo” from Un ballo in maschera and “Pace, pace mio Dio” from La forza del destino have fire in them. You simply will not believe the largesse of her high range until you’ve heard it. Steber? Crespin? Leontyne Price in her youthful prime? Yes, she reminds you of all of these. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ctitle\u003e3413590.az_VERDI_Il_Tacea_D.html\u003c\/title\u003e  \u003cmeta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eVERDI \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eIl trovatore: \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eTacea la notte; D’amor sull’ali rosée. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eUn ballo in maschera:\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003e Ecco l’orrido campo … Ma dall’arido stelo divulsa. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eIl corsaro: \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003eNon so le tetre immagini. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eLa forza del destino: \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003ePace, pace mio Dio; La vergine degl’Angeli\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eErnani:\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003e Ernani, involami\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eAida:\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003e O patria mia. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eI vespri siciliani:\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12i\"\u003e Arrigo! Ah, parli a un cor; Mercé, diletti amici \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e(Bolero) \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Sondra Radvanovsky (sop); Constantin Orbelian, cond; Philharmonia of Russia; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eMoscow Academy of Vocal Arts \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e DELOS 3404 (61:46 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eText and Translation) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThere are two things that will immediately strike the listener to this, the first solo recital by American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky. The first, and more unfortunate, will be, “Oh cripes, here we go again … another one of those albums recorded in goopy echo.” But the second will be, “OH MY GOD! WHAT A VOICE!!!!!!” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eI’ve been listening to Radvanovsky on Met broadcasts for the past several seasons, and my lone caveat has always been that she only gives generalized interpretations. But I need to also say this: The Met microphones do \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003enot\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e do justice to her voice. Over the air, it sounds bright, well focused, yet somehow two-dimensional. On this recording, she sounds like a combination of Eleanor Steber and Régine Crespin, which knowledgeable friends have told me is how she sounds in person. This may just possibly be the greatest American Verdi soprano since Rosa Ponselle. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eWords fail me in reviewing this disc. My critical brain is helpless before this voice, which sweeps all before it and leaves nothing to nitpick. And yes, her performances of “Ecco l’orrido campo” from \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eUn ballo in maschera\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and “Pace, pace mio Dio” from \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLa forza del destino\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e have fire in them. You simply will not believe the largesse of her high range until you’ve heard it. Steber? Crespin? Leontyne Price in her youthful prime? Yes, she reminds you of all of these. Her interpretation of the little-known aria from \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eIl Corsaro\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e is entirely different from that of Montserrat Caballé on the complete recording of the opera: big in voice, emotion, and scope of phrasing. She makes a truly tragic piece of it and not just a vocal exercise. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eAn extra star or two must also go to Constantine Orbelian, who brings this recital to life as assuredly as Paul Daniel did on the recent Bryn Terfel recital reviewed elsewhere in this issue. This guy can conduct, folks, make no mistake about that. His highlight on this disc is the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eBallo\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e scene, but all of it is on a very high order. And wonder of wonders … we get the complete original version of “Ernani, involami,” choral section and all! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eOne final, humorous note. On the front cover we see Radvanovsky dolled up and giving the ubiquitous Sexy Pose. On the back cover, she’s got a big, goofy, wide-mouthed grin and giving two thumbs up. I’m not sure if this is because (a) she got to ditch the strapless gown and put her jeans back on, (b) she finally wrapped up the album, or (c) this was taken right after she kneed her would-be mugger last year in his naughty bits. Either way, it’s funny and it shows the real Radvanovsky. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Lynn René Bayley \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Delos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49703528530200,"sku":"013491340425","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1639401.jpg?v=1747169762","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/verdi-arias-4","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}