Customer Reviews

Cecilia Bartoli - Mozart Arias

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At a time when most mezzo-sopranos are doing local repertory and hoping for auditions, Cecilia Bartoli, not yet 25, recorded this album. This is a work which would proudly be referred to as the crowning achievement of many an illustrious career but, in this case, was simply a portent of things to come from the vocalist who may be the best Mozart soprano of our lifetimes. To hear Cecilia sing PUPILE AMATE alone justifies any expense. Her duets with Edita Gruberova are especially entrancing and make me wish I had been able to attend their performance live. Make no mistake, this is as fine a performance as anyone of us is likely to hear...even with Bartoli's other great works out there. Erato's MOZART ARIAS is a MUST!

One of the finest singers of our times and yet sensitive to new stylistic trends in opera, Ms. Bartoli has created a repertory of exemplary works for more than a decade(Her "Rossini Heroines" is one of my favorites). It makes one wonder whether the talents she exhibits in singing Mozart's arias were expressly crafted to suit her. Her voice brings with itself incalculable depths of emotions and naturalness coupled with sincerity in rendition (Lucio Silla K135). Having performed under Riccardo Muti (La Scala) and Nikolaus (Le nozze di Figaro) this particular work does magnificent justice to her capabilities as a mezzo-soprano. After all, she can identify herself fully to the role she is playing. No wonder she is one of the distinguished Mozartians ....and everyone agrees to that.

This is some absolutely beautiful music by Mozart, sung wonderfully by Cecilia Bartoli. I especially love the two arias that have the obbligato for basset clarinet or basset-horn from the opera "La clemenza di Tito" K621. Mozart had already written the great Clarinet Quintet K581 for Anton Stadler, who had invented the bassett clarinet, with an extended lower range and warmer tone than the conventional clarinet. These are played very nicely by Peter Schmidl on this CD. But the highlight of this disc is the taxing Concert aria K505, with the added delight of an obbligato piano part, played with feeling by Andras Schiff. It is the best of both worlds: combining Mozart's exquisite piano writing, with orchestra, and his penning of heavenly vocal lines. Cecilia Bartoli delivers on all counts. This is an absolute MUST for all serious Mozart collectors.

cecilia bartoli has never made a bad record...cecilia bartoli has never hit a bad note...but when cecilia bartoli wraps her voice around mozart arias,the world becomes a whole lot clearer.in fact,she has 2 cds,both with the title "Mozart Arias",but this one on Erato is her most magnficent achievement. "Live In Italy" brilliantly shows the artist in her element,but on erato's "Mozart Arias",she makes the element her own.

The rich full voice of Cecilia Bartoli really shines in these selections. I suspect that her native language of Italian is a contributing factor to the totally natural sound of her lyrics and voice. Bartoli has a dramatic flair that emerges in her delivery that seems perfect for the selections. The recordings are consistently beautiful. Bartoli is a mezzo-soprano with incredible range. Her warm voice is so welcome.

I have owned this cd for ages, and it is still a favorite. Bartoli is undoubtably a great singer. If you want to hear great singing, you will not be disappointed. But, she is also a brilliant musician and interpreter if Mozart. Her "Soave sia il vento" alone is worth the purchase price.

On this cd you will hear a younger and somewhat lighter Bartoli. It was originally released back in 1996. She has a clear and light but still full Bartoli sound I prefer when listening to Mozart.

Undoubtedly Bartoli is one of the great singers of our age. I highly reommend this CD.

It is quite sad that this lovely cd of Mozart aris by mezzo-soprano Cecila Bartoli has been discontinued by its manufacturer. I will always look on this disc fondly, as it was my introduction to both Bartoli as an artist in general & to her glorious relationship with the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There is nothing but beauty in these gifted performances of arias from Mozart operas. Indeed, if "Voi che sapete," from the Marriage of Figaro (what a marvelous Cherubino she is,) had been the only piece on the disc, it still would have been worth every penny of the purchase price to me. Easily one of my favorite records of all-time.

This is intensely beautiful music-making, deeply felt and exhiliarating for the listener. The ensemble singing on this disc reminds me of the possibility of harmony in the world - inspires me. Barenboim and Bartoli get everyting right: tempi, emphasis, musical line. I only wish I had found it sooner.

This is short and sweet .It Mozart and Cecilia .Just buy it.I never listen to this music till one month ago and love it open your ears and enjoy.

'Mozart Arias' by mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli is uniformly as good as virtually all her other albums I have heard and reviewed. The problem is that this leaves me nothing on which to recommend this album over all the other Bartoli albums, except for the fact that it is MOZART, and that is certainly something.

So, from the point of view of the relatively naive listener to classical music, who happens to have listened to a lot of albums of this sort, I say, very nice, very nice, but not really great.