Customer Reviews

Cecilia Bartoli - Live in Italy

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have loved her low and warm voice ever since the first time I listened to her, the Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. With respect and tenderness she treats the composers, whose works she performs while adding her own dimension. She transports me with her art. It is as if we become one person, and I experience her joy of music. Together we share a glimpse of eternity.

On this album which was recorded live at the Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza, Italy in 1998 Cecilia Bartoli offers her listeners a varied programme comprised of several composers: Caccini, Haendel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Viardot, Schubert, Montsalvatge and Bizet. She's accompanied in Caccini, Haendel and Vivaldi by the Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca (Baroque string ensemble) and for the other pieces by Jean-Yves Thibaudet on piano. The accompanying booklet contains the lyrics, translations and further information.

Ms. Bartoli certainly has expanded her musical horizons here in several ways. On this disc she sings in Italian, French and Spanish. I loved her intense and heartfelt rendition of Caccini's and Haendel's arias. The passionate acrobatics of Vivaldi. And the Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca gave her a fine support. She made a warm and lovely Cherubino in Mozart's famous 'Voi che sapete'. I also loved her sparkling interpretations of Viardot's 'Havanaise', Rossini's 'Mi lagnero tacendo' or his 'Canzonetta spagnuola'. But Montsalvatge's 'Canto negro' made me feel definitely uncomfortable and Ms. Bartoli herself didn't connect with it. Although I liked her rendition of Bizet's 'Seguedille, I still missed something there. Jean-Yves Thibaudet lends her an excellent, attentive and expressive support.

Although I would have preferred some more Baroque pieces at this concert, this live album is a keeper for me. Everytime the bundle of pure joy that is Cecilia Bartoli has the power to move me deeply!

In brief, I found I was thrilled with the overall performance. Being a singer myself, and one who does sing this type of music, I did see some weaknesses that are starting to creep in -- a strange breathiness of tone in the piano notes, and a developing weakness in the middle range ( stretching too much for the beautiful, but unneeded top E flat in "Riedi al sogio" ). However, I did enjoy the intellegence behind the interpretations. The only numbers that really disappointed were: "Canto negro" and "the Seguedille" from Carmen. The first was simply an ugly piece which Bartoli's voice couldn't correct, and the second was simply unimpressive. As wonderful as she may be on stage, a Carmen she is not, at least not yet. However, for me, I will accept a few "bad notes" if the musical truth comes through and I am moved. I was moved! No performance and no performer are perfect, but when they move the innermost reaches of the soul, well, they have succeeded. Bartoli moves me, and thrills me. Is this her best album, perhaps not, but it is live and assumed "unedited." It gives a flare not always found in studio albums. And in closing, not all of the glory can go to her alone. Her accompanists ( the orchestra and particular the pianist, Jean-Yves Thibaudet ) deserve great appreciation. Poor accompaniment can kill even the greatest artist's creations, great accompaniments give an undesputed seal of finesse to a dedicated artist's performance. I whole heartedly recommend it, even if only for the evident joy radiated by the performers.

Although I rarely follow singers, even I am totally disarmed by Cecilia's magic spell of charm that criticism fails me. You will see that most of my reviews of music are about modern or Renaissance music, so for me to go out and lavish praise on her is really something totally out of the ordinary. Then again her singing is out of the ordinary in that it has an instantly recognisable warmth and captivating personality that makes her the outstanding singer of the current generation for me.

I have been impressed by Cecilia's tendency to avoid the well worn paths of 19th century Italian operas in favour of championing neglected earlier music whether that be Vivaldi, Haydn, or Salieri. She has always talked about how the centre of gravity of Western music seems to be shifting backwards in time, and in her case this means away from the Austro-German tradition to the time when the Italians dominated music. After all the musical elite of even Wagner's time could be still be heard muttering 'but he just isn't as good as those Italian...' at premiers of works such as Tannhäuser and it took a lot of convincing before the the idea of German opera became accepted. This shift backward in time here is exemplified by way the recital begins with the music of Caccini, the father of opera.

Here on this recording I particularly love the spontaneity of the live music making. Her ability to capture the declamatory nature of much older music such as with Caccini, Vivaldi and Handel suite live recording perfectly. Her manner of conveying the meaning of the words especially when singing in Italian is simply unrivalled in this situation. This is the sort of thing that all too often gets lost in studio recordings so it is a blessing that this is a live recording, where Cecilia seems to just glow. The spontaneity, the sheer magic of the moment - it is all a sheer delight from start to finish. At moments her voice seems so etheral, the hushed and rapt awe of the music making so breathtaking, that it simply beggers belief that the human voice can be so beautiful an instrument. This is what great music making should be all about.

As far as the recording itself goes I have never noticed any disturbing audience noises anywhere even on my system which tends to makes the slightest of rustling blatantly obvious. The recording engineers do an excellent job of capturing the ambience of the acoustic of the Teatro Olimpico in Vincenzo despite the presence of the audience.

A stunning recording and an absolute favourite to relax to or just to be inspired by.

"Her natural command of messa di voce phrasing, willingness to shade the voice away to the quietest pianissimo and acute sensitivity to the words of Caccini's love songs proved irresistible, attracting a generous mix of applause and foot stamping."

Such was the appreciation from the audience that the director had to request that the audience not stamp their feet as they would set off the alarm system.

There are hardly words to describe Cecilia Bartoli's remarkable vocal qualities, emotional range and warmth. When I listen to this CD, I am calmed completely. There is an element of comfort in her style. Maybe one could explain it as a lullaby for the soul.

She has the ability to support the longest of phrases on the back of a single breath all while varying the tone color and dynamic level. Singing seems as effortless as breathing as she becomes emotion all while capturing the drama and mood.

In this live performance from the Teatro Olympico in Vincenza, Italy, she performs each piece as if she is intimately entwined with the notes. How can music be this sensual and this comforting all at once? It just is. She can express a wide range of emotions, from profound despair to extreme joy.

The Teatro Olimpico is the worlds' oldest surviving covered theatre. It has fine acoustics, a sky-blue ceiling and marble. Cecilia Bartoli wanted to perform in one of the great treasures of Italy's cultural heritage and this led to this live performance with concert pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet who seems to sense every emotion in Cecilia's voice. It is a sublime combination of talent which is further enhanced by violins, viola, cello, violone, archlute and harpsichord.

Tu ch'hai le penne, Amore - A song to love asking love to fly to where the heart lies and to promise that his heart and soul were ever hers.

Amarilli - Delicate and beautiful expression of true love.

Al fonte, al prato - You can feel spring approaching and this song has a certain energy Cecilia embraces as she sings away troubles and sadness to allow in merriment.

Lascia la spina - Melancholy. "Old age will creep up on you when your heart does not expect it."

Agitata da due venti - Cecilia's voice takes flight in this song about waves raging in a stormy sea. She almost becomes the force of the ocean as her voice surges and dives and wow.

Oiseaux, si tous les ans, K307 - She embodies a haunting vulnerability and the freshness of spring/summer. This song ends far too quickly.

La pastorella, D528 - Calm beauty to reflect a shepherdess in a meadow. Innocent love.

Havanaise - It seems like she has a completely different voice in this song as she reaches
to new ranges in depth. Charmed by a song? Perhaps.

Hai luli! - A seductive treatment of a song asking "where can my love be?"

"What's the point of living without a lover?"

Zaide - High energy and fast paced. A song about an orphan.

Malinconia, ninfa gentile - Gorgeous and poetic song.

Ma rendi pur contento - She really captures longing and an almost delicate purity.

La conocchia - Light and breezy.

Me voglio fa 'na casa - A song about the desire to build a house surrounded by the sea. Fantasy and happiness.

Mi langero tacendo - Poignant moment.

"I shall not complain of my bitter fate;
but, my beloved, do not hope for me not to love you."

Mi lagnero tacendo ll resentimento - the sorrow continues. The lover is said to be cruel.

Mi lagnero tacendo Sorzico - more complaints of cruelty and sorrow. She seems to capture frustration so exquisitely and is that stomping I hear? ;)

L'Orpheline du Tyrol - The Tyrolean orphan girl. Jean-Yves Thibaudet really takes the stage at first and Cecilia follows almost timidly. A song of tragedy, hunger and suffering.

Riedi al soglio from Rossini's opera Zelmira left seasoned connoisseurs dazzled. After the aria's final cadence, they broke from their awe-struck silence to add to the shouts of "encore."

Voi che sapete - Light and yet still dramatic. Desire, torment, ice. All explored fully by her voice. You can hear "torment" when she sings "martir" even if you could not see the words or follow along. Her voice really "flutters" when she sings "palpito e tremo." It is just amazing.

Canzonetta spagnuola - A muse comes to torment a painter.

Caro mio ben - A lover grows faint without love. Solitary melodies and you can almost feel the chill in the room or the feeling of despair the lover feels.

Canto negro - Is there anything she can't sing? This piece might seem completely out of place, but by now everyone is completely drunk with emotion from this performance.

Seguidille - Pleasure comes when two people are together. Definitely so when Cecilia Bartoli and Jean-Yves Thibaudet perform together. This song is almost a metaphor of the entire intoxicating experience. I just love how the audience goes absolutely wild after this song.

And too soon, it is over. I look forward to one day viewing the performance on DVD. It will be so much easier to understand the words now that I've literally studied this performance. Knowing the words definitely adds to the subtle emotions and more expressive moments.

~The Rebecca Review

I have completely fallen in love with this album! It illustrates quite candidly that Bartoli might be one of the greatest artists (or has the POTENTIAL to be one of the greats) of our time.

This performace shows her growing agility and expanding repertoire. True, she does do Mozart and Rossini well, but I found the real jewels in this album were her arie antiche selections and the technically demanding Vivaldi. The "Canto Negro" was disturbing on the first listen, but more from the nature of the piece rather than Bartoli's rendering of it. The only piece that was somewhat peculiar, but still very beautiful, was the Carmen Seguedille. It was very seductive and Carmen-ish, but very different from all of the Carmens I've heard. Some might find it inappropriate, as it is not really in-line with the Carmen we all know and love, which I attribute to her lack of dramatic acting skills. She's wonderful in comedy. Her December Met performance of Susannah in M of Figaro was excellent; comical and well sung, but I have yet to see her handle a dramatic/tragic role. Only time will tell!

Bartoli is definitely on her way, and this album shows her increasing boldness in venturing into new material. Although her pianissimo singing kind of leaves something to be desired (very breathy) and her lower range is admittedly dark and moderately swallowed, she does not seem to be suffering from these notoriously dangerous flaws. I was particularily impressed by her range. In the past she has stuck fairly close to traditional mezzo pieces, not venturing high up the staff, but this album is an exception. It is one if my favourite CDs currently because of the varied paces of the chosen pieces, and Cecilia's mastery of them (although I very often do not have it at home to listen to because all my friends are constantly borrowing it).

Her accompaninest, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, is quite exceptional as well and does a great job of making her positive qualities shine through. I think everyone will find something delightful in this CD!

I listen to this when I write, or when I just wish to be at peace. Cecilia Bartoli has a voice, a real voice, that transcends just singing.

In 1992/93 a friend and I chanced on a tiny advertisement in the LA Times for a recital by a young mezzo named Bartoli. We went to the recital on a whim...this young girl played with us, as a youngster would. She was full of energy and attacked every piece with gusto. We were spent.

I have to admit that I had (and pretty much still do) an extremely limited knowledge of the opera world. I don't know my aria from a whole in the ground. But I can discern a voice from heaven and that voice belongs to Cecilia Bartoli.

Her live recording from Italy displays a woman in full bloom. Where in 1992 she was playful, in 1998 she is seductive.

She performs each piece as a prelude to a sensual encounter (using the word sex here is truly dirty and denegrates her abilities).

She lulls you in with beauty (Caro mio ben), tickles you with Mozart, playfully knocks you around a bit with Vivaldi, stuns you with a bit of Carmen and takes you to heaven with Rossini (Canzonetta spagnuola).

To return to 1992...her Canzonetta (then) was a playful romp...again, full of energy and joy...in 1998 she slows it down...she seduces you...wraps you around her finger...taking you, the listener, on an almost spiritual journey.

Acompanying Ms. Bartoli is a Baroque string ensemble, Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca, for the first part of the recording. Her voice with their string expertise is wonderful. Sweet and joyful. The seduction begins.

The rest of the recording Cecilia is accompanied on piano by Jean-Yves Thibauder. The two are one. The seduction complete.

This is a wonderful recording...exciting (you can hear her slap her bossom at certain points, or stomp her feet on the wood flooring of the Teatro Olimpico) and fresh. Get this for the novice or the seasoned veteran of opera...

'Live in Italy' by mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, accompanied by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is, for those of us who do not know Italian and are not avid opera fans, a simply delightful essay in the beauty of the human voice. I am really happy this is not the first Bartoli album I have bought, as others, such as her recordings of French and Italian love songs have more substance to offer (if you don't know the operas from which these pieces are taken) but this recording, with its live ambiance, is a great pleasure all by itself, a very nice change from the somewhat frostier Fraulain Von Otter from the northern climes.

No matter what you think of Cecilia Bartoli, she is 2nd to none as a recitalist. Whether singing Baroque or Bel Canto, this CD will bring tears to your eyes. This is an amazing CD

Before I start nitpicking, I just want to say that this program is incredible in its demands for a "chameleon" voice: the pieces are so varied that it seems close to impossible that one singer could do them all successfully.

And, indeed, I don't know of any other singer alive today who could even try. I am sorry to say that, while Bartoli's performances on this disc are all memorable, I think that in some cases she goes too far: many of the arie antiche seem very fussy and overdone in comparison to Bartoli's beautiful "If you love me" CD; some of the Rossini seems to have lost something over time, especially the "Canzonetta spagnuola", which is taken at an UNBELIEVABLY slow tempo at the beginning, not at all like the appropriate-sounding tempo on her Rossini recital disc. The French pieces, too, seem a little inferior to the performances they receive on the "Chant d'amour" disc. The Montsalvatge "Canto negro" offended me: not because of any PC considerations, but because I can't find anything enjoyable about the really uncomfortable noises the singer was making, or about the lyrics.

The "Seguedille" from "Carmen" fell short of my expectations, too; it was dry-toned and not really seductive-sounding.

Now for the good parts: aside from the dry tone I mentioned, and a few desperate-sounding high notes, Bartoli is on good vocal form. Her technique is about as brilliant as it was ten years ago, as "Agitata da due venti" and "Riedi al soglio" so impressively prove. The breath control is still a thing of wonder. The accompaniment, whether by Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca or Thibaudet, is always thoughtful and apt, although in the Bizet, Mozart, and Rossini opera arias, one cannot help but miss the full orchestra.

After all that, I will say that I am an ardent fan of Bartoli, and that although I liked her older performances better than those on this disc, I still think that she is one of the most impressive singers of her generation--few if any others can match her expressive ability.