Customer Reviews

Cecilia Bartoli - A Portrait

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I consider Ms bartoli to be one of the best mezzo- sopranos,if not the best,at the present moment.She has perfect technique and a warmth of voice that you feel only an Italian can have(and nothing better than having an Italian singing in Italian also).This CD is a compilation of the best pieces in her discography so far.It is a CD to fall in love with.

Cecilia Bartoli has a wonderfully rich, textured mezzo voice. This CD shows her skills to good effect. Some illustrative cuts. . . .

"Voi che sapete" from Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" is richly sung. She displays a lush mezzo voice. This aria is smoothly sung; a very nice version. Her sumptuous voice interprets this piece nicely. A very satisfying version.

From "Don Giovanni," we have "Batti batti, o bel Masetto." Her rich voice does justice to this piece. There is also a nice characterization in play. Poignantly sung.

Rossini's "Belta Crudele" is smoothly sung; her rich voice does well by this piece. An effecting version. She notes of Rossini that he is "a composer to whom I feel particularly close, and in whose coloratura writing I have found a new and different expressive mode."

She takes a crack at Rossini's "Bel raggio lusinghier," normally sung by sopranos. And this does not disappoint. This work, sung by a mezzo, provides an interesting interpretation. She demonstrates agility in her technique; she shows good ornamentation. There is even a decent trill in this work, something that some current coloratura sopranos would long to equal, from my listening.

The final cut on the CD is from Rossini's "La Cenerentola," "Nacqui all'affano. . .Non piu mesta." Very well done. Her coloratura technique is rock solid. A trill during this cut would fill many sopranos with envy. She clearly shows a good coloratura sensibility. This is great stuff!

This is a good introduction to the range of skills possessed by Bartoli. A nice CD indeed.

Cecelia Bartoli releases yet another fanastic CD, 'A Portrait'. This CD shows off her ability to sing with warmth and brilliance in a variety of beautiful music written for both soprano and mezz-sopranos. If you enojoy listening to this singer, 'A Portrait' is an asset to your CD collection.

"A Portrait" is a collage of recordings from Ms. Bartoli's career. The highlight for me (from the many enjoyable numbers) is her "Bel raggio lusinghier" from "Semiramide." I highly recommend this fine CD.

Having obtained and nearly worn out the DVD "Cecilia Bartoli - Live in Italy", I find this audio a most appropriate complement. Cecilia not only throws her voice through vocal gymnastics but maintains and incredible accuracy combined with extremely expressive tonality. (And that is particularly obvious in the DVD.)The items on this CD are some well known and other lesser known concert pieces by W.A.Mozart.

Just buy this now.I never listen to opera until a month ago and to find not in my opinion just a great operatic singer as she is.But Cecilia is a great recording artist.I have in one month purchsed 15 of her CD's each is a well thought out collection of many never recorded works .Thats what an artist does and Cecilia does time and time again.She has helped me appreciate music I once thought of as just a plain waste of time.Now I can't listen enought to her recording.She in my opinion has entered the realm as a recording artist as the Beatles she take a new turn with every projects and opens your ears to new sounds.Who knew.

The greatness in art lies in its flexibility and Bartoli exemplifies this greatness in everything she sings! Bartoli reveals different things at different times. In the world of opera Bartoli stands at the summit of achievement, her work is so perfect, so inspired and heartfelt, so gloriously engaging that it is almost impossible to do it violence. She is, of course, frequently staged and as a result has been at the mercy of numerous operatic fads. Yet Bartoli has faced such slings and arrows bravely. Bartoli's effusive Susanna forced audiences to consider the opera with her at its center. Her chemistry as Susanna is explosive. Bartoli's roles and characterizations must never be minimized. Thanks to her unusual exuberance, Bartoli is reveling in opera's virtues and it is a never-ending project.
Mozart and da Ponte were nothing if not operatic sorcerers, and, in the end, it is the composer's touching strains and the librettist's wise seriocomic text that overwhelm us again and again!
(reference:foundation for cultural review)

Author: Raymond Vacchino M.Mus.(MT) A.Mus. L.R.S.M. Licentiate (hon.)

Cecilia Bartoli is nearly unparalleled in her talent. The great mezzo-soprano is widely and rightly regarded as the great operatic voice of this generation, and this record will do nothing to change that opinion.

We hear Mozart, Schubert, Rossini, and more, sung with the voice of a angel on one hand, and with power and majesty on the other. She interprets with skill and finesse, and her knowledge of the music helps to inform her performances.

For anyone who's been wanting an introduction to opera, or to Cecilia Bartoli, buying this CD is a great way to start.

'Cecilia Bartoli, A Portrait' featuring the very same mezzo-soprano, Cecilia Bartoli is, after reviewing about a half dozen of her other albums, the best introduction to her art. It is not my favorite. Oddly enough, this is her album of French songs, which I prefer to her many collections of Italian pieces. But, this collection, at a very nice 76 minutes and change does a very good job of selecting operatic pieces with good choral and orchesteral backings.

I am not an experienced music or voice critic, but to my ear, compared to the likes of Anne Sophie Von Otter and Renee Fleming, Mme. Bartoli is a pleasantly different take on the operatic genre. She is not quite as powerful as Maria Callas, but then, who is?

"A Portrait" is a collage of recordings from Ms. Bartoli's career. The highlight for me (from the many enjoyable numbers) is her "Bel raggio lusinghier" from "Semiramide." I highly recommend this fine CD.