Customer Reviews

Cecilia Bartoli: Maria (Hardcover Edition)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The album itself is incredible, beautiful music, beautiful singing, the soul of bel canto. Now the special edition book...it's a treasure, you need to get it, for 20 something bucks is HUGE bargain, and the book is gigantic, full of pictures, stories about the music and composers and La Malibran herself. Cecilia shows us her personal collection of Malibran memorabilia and is of great musical interest.
If you are a music lover, a Cecilia Bartoli fan, a bel canto student or fan or you simply appreciate beautiful things, you NEED this special edition.
Also the DVD is very good showing the recording process and personal stories of how the project happened.

Despite the hype that has accompanied the appearance of this album, there is enough beauty in it to break your heart. Cecilia Bartoli's voice has never been more utterly gorgeous than in these attempts to re-create the work of early nineteenth century diva Maria Malibran. Bartoli's range, control, and power are stunning - and need to be. Which is my favorite track? Probably the one to which I am listening! But there are certainly particular revelations. The album would be worthwhile if only for Mendelssohn's "Infelice." "It is unbelievable," says Bartoli on the accompanying DVD, "that this piece was not performed for a hundred and eighty years." Unbelievable, indeed! The piece is beautiful. Some tracks are fun, notably Malibran's own "Rataplan" - which does not alter the fact that it is also both charming, and very difficult to sing well. Pacini's "Dopo tante e tante pene," composed for Rossini's "Tancredi," shows off Malibran's (and Bartoli's) wide vocal range, as does Halévy's "Come dolce a me favelli," which at one point soars from low B flat to high A" (on Bartoli's part, as it seems, effortlessly). Manuel Garcia's popular "Yo que soy contrabandista" serves to remind us (and especially on the DVD) that Bartoli thought seriously about being a Flamenco dancer before she chose to be a singer. It seems clear that Malibran (and Giuditta Pasta) were what we should now regard as mezzo-sopranos, in the light of which, Bartoli is willing to challenge the modern assumption that associates a number of Bellini's roles more or less exclusively with sopranos. So the CD culminates in a rendering of Bellini's "Casta diva" that is a formidable and moving statement of Bartoli's assertion that many of the piece's difficulties can be more easily solved by a mezzo-soprano - and especially, of course, when it is performed, as here, at something close to the concert pitch that will have been envisaged by the composer.
There are, I confess, elements in the DVD that I could have done without, notably the slightly hokey shots of Bartoli singing (or pretending to sing) while wandering about in an empty theatre. But the DVD does also give us some, as it appears, genuine glimpses of the creative process. Elements in Bartoli's own character - her sense of fun, her enthusiasm, her delight in and generosity towards her fellow musicians - bubble through these glimpses, as do also the creativity and commitment of others, among them Christopher Raeburn, Adam Fischer, and the Orchestra La Scintilla. Of course La Bartoli has an ego - nobody could achieve what she achieves without it - but it is remarkable, in watching her work, to observe the extent to which, as far as she is concerned, the enterprise is so obviously about the music and Maria Malibran, and NOT about Bartoli. Overall, I have no hesitation in awarding five stars for everything and everyone involved in this splendid album.

I had never heard about Maria Malibran as the Romantic era is not of my taste. However, knowing of Cecilia Bartoli's magnificent voice as well as her keen academic researches, I bought this set as soon as I could. It delivered far more for me than I expected. Not only the performances were astounding, eight world premieres included, but the DVD was informative and the book excellent- Now, I know about Malibran, who she was and something about a fantastic era in the history of music. No music lover should be left without one. You can buy the CD alone, but you will miss the DVD, which shows Bartoli's deep interest in Malibran, her times and voice capabilities, as well as her interest in the history of music and the role of women in it. As they used to say in the old stereo magazines: it is highly recommended.

Cecilia Bartoli's 20th recording for Decca - a stunning album with a devastatingly beautiful book and a bonus DVD.
Even if you do not also consider Ms Bartoli to own a very beautiful voice, this is nonetheless a great singer. The tracks in this album demonstrate that Ms Bartoli's artistry has once again soared to new heights when recreating those arias used to be the repertoire of the legendary mezzo Maria Garcia. Listen to her exquisite coloraturas, hitherto noisy and forced at places, but now placed under complete dynamic control in this recording. An artist who is never tired in improving herself. Cecilia's singing is, as has always been, very affecting. The gift of musicianship to this singer is ample, and her interpretative capabilities seems uncontainably abundant.
A great album to own, and this deluxe set is definitely preferred to the ordinary package, if you can afford it.

Cecilia Bartoli is one of the greatest voices in recorded history. This is another spectacular achievement in a legendary career. The music, as always, is gorgeous and heaven sent. And the amazing DVD which shows the making of the album and Bartoli's look into Maria Malibran's life and career is a joy to watch. It provides a fascinating look into the recording process and the life of diva that history has neglected. Also showcased is Bartoli's lively and sweet personality. I highly recommend getting the deluxe version with the 204 page book. It's filled with beautiful pictures of Bartoli, her collection of Maria Malibran artificats, the lyrics, and a lengthy biography of Maria Malibran. It's a gorgeous treasure that every fan of opera should have in their collection.

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, however, 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. Fortunately Decca has finally released Horne's recording complete on CD. I think it gives us a better notion of what Malibran might have sounded like.

I read all the reviews. They are very positive with the exception of one for reasons I found strange. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion provided that certain facts are taken into consideration. I listened to this CD, and it deserves 5 stars since 6 are not available. It shows the glory of the most fragile and unique instrument of all: the human voice! Without going specificly over each track of singing, I'll tell you why I was overwhelmed.
Human voice is a 2-string instrument with two resonators: the chest and the head. If you look at the voice box (larynx) the 2 vocal cords (strings) have the appearance of 2 tissue folds, opposing each other, with nothing special, and they almost look alike on every individual. If you stop and think, you'll lose your mind, considering that those 2 plain folds are able to produce singing sounds of Caruso, Gigli, Bjorling, Callas, Sutherland and all the greats and not so greats. The physiology of vocal performance is beyond comprehension. When a soprano or a mezzo hits a high C- with trills and ornamentations, etc., the vocal cords can vibrate from a 1000 up to 3000 times per second! Instumentalists have something to hold, touch and rely on- bows, keys, valves, strings, etc. Vocalists have nothing to hold on, except God-given connections between the brain and the vocal cords. One reviewer commented about Bartoli's contortions during live performances. What about instrumentalists? There's a famous violinist and a pianist whose facial contortions are atrocious but nobody compplains as long as their performances are outstanding. Bartoli posesses a unique instrument. Playing it, though, may not be alaways perfect, but it is still rare and unique, and it will be a long time before someone like Bartoli comes along. Her ferocious agility, color and 3-octave tessitura are gifts to reckon with. BTW, the special edition CD is no longer available- sold out- according to amazon.com. In my lifetime, I found another singer- not classical- that possessed a forever voice: Peruvian Yma Sumac. If she were classically trained, she could have been a coloratura for the ages to come.

Constantine A. Papas
El Paso, Texas

I watched the DVD with my long-time voice teacher. In addition to her awesome vocal talent, Cecilia never ceases to impress us by her musicianship, enthusiasm and ability to discuss her projects. I withheld the 5th star because I thought there would be more to the DVD, but what was there was simply wonderful. The book is overwhelming--beautifully packaged and presented. The audio CD is, of course, superbly done. It's nice to hear "new" old material done for a change!

The product arrived in excellent condition as promised and when indicated.
I would order through this company again without hesitation.

The book is egotistical and current photos of Ms. Bartoli were superimposed on the original artifacts of Ms. Malibran. This person is obsessed with this other singer. If this was supposed to be funny, it should have been reviewed that way.