Enchantment [Enhanced]

Johann Christoph Bach (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Georges Bizet (Composer), Benjamin Britten (Composer), Francesco Bartolomeo Conti (Composer), Antonin Dvorak (Composer), Christoph Willibald Gluck (Composer), Charles Gounod (Composer), George Frederick Handel (Composer), Magdalena Kožená (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Magdalena Kožená
• Composer: Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georges Bizet, Benjamin Britten, Francesco Bartolomeo Conti, et al.
• Audio CD (May 9, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000F5WNUA
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,340 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Cinq Mars, opera: Nuit resplendissante

2. Carmen, opera: Les tringles des sistres tintaient

3. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Voi che sapete che cosa č amor

4. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Che sento?

5. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Se pietŕ di me non senti

6. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Piangerň la sorte mia

7. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Da tempeste il legno infranto

8. Dardanus, tragédie en musique: L'Amour, le seul Amour

9. Dardanus, tragédie en musique: Air. Allez, jeune guerrier

10. Languet anima mea, cantata for voice, 2 oboes & strings: O vulnera, vita coelestis

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Ach, daß ich Wassers genug hätte, vocal concerto

2. Cantata No. 208, 'Was mir behagt,' (Hunt Cantata), BWV 208 (BC G1, G3): Schafe können sicher weiden

3. Cantata No. 30, 'Freue dich, erlöste Schar,' BWV 30 (BC A178): Kommt, ihr angefochtnen Sünder

4. Dixit Dominus, hymn for soloists, chorus & orchestra in G minor, HWV 232: De torrente

5. L'Olimpiade, opera, EvaM 10:C12: Che non mi disse un dě!

6. Paride ed Elena, opera in 5 acts, Wq. 39: Quegli occhi belli

7. La Clemenza di Tito, opera, K. 621: Deh, per questo istante solo

8. Cléopâtre, opera in 4 acts: J'ai versé le poison

9. Il tramonto (The Sunset), for voice & string quartet/string orchestra, P. 101

10. Satires (5), for soprano & piano, Op. 109: Potomki

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Kozena Spotlighted Beautifully on This Generous Two-Disc Compilation, May 20, 2006

By 

Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Enchantment (Audio CD)

What a treat to have this Whitman's Sampler of the often magnificent vocal work of Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena. At over two hours, this personally selected two-disc compilation reflects the wide variety of material she has covered in her nearly decade-long recording career. What continues to impress me about her voice is how lightly shaded her tone can be for a mezzo and how her range moves fluidly from hushed whisper to throbbing fortissimo. Throughout the span of this collection, Kozena complements her considerable vocal gifts with an ability to inhabit the drama of the arias whether inhabiting a specific role or setting a particular mood. It's masterful work for such a relatively young singer.

Her rich Baroque repertoire is highlighted here. The Handel selections, though familiar, are superb. She makes an impressively volatile Cleopatra in Marc Minkowski's 2002 production of "Giulio Cesare", and the focus on this disc is the grand final sequence - "Se pieta di me non senti", "Piangero la sorte mia" and "Da tempeste il legno infranto". She complements this sequence with another impressive Minkowski collaboration, a 2001 performance of Handel's cantata, "Tra la fiamme", where she trills in fulsome Italianate style, as well as a sonorous duet with soprano Annick Massis on the penultimate "De torrente" from a 2000 performance of "Dixit Dominus".

Mozart is also well represented with two pieces performed with plaintive emotion and sharp articulation - Cherubino's Act II arietta, "Voi che sapete che cosa e amor", from "Le nozze di Figaro" and a more recent turn in the travesty role of Sesto on "Deh, per questo istant solo" from his last opera, "La clemenza di Tito". Kozena showcases her impeccable German diction on four majestic J.S. Bach selections, most notably "Vergnuegte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust" (taken from her luminous "Lamento" disc released last year) showcasing her dramatic acumen and luminous tone. I was particularly enraptured by the opening lament on disc two, J.C. Bach's "Ach, dass ich Wassers g'nug hatte", which puts voice to a sinner's guilt.

The rest of the collection showcases her versatility in other genres with an exploration into late 19th-early 20th century French arias on Gounod's haunting "Nuit respendissante" and Massenet's intoxicating "J'ai verse le poison" from his late-period opera, "Cleopatre". Another high point is her enchanting performance of Respighi's fifteen-minute "Il Tramonto". Not surprisingly, Kozena provides a generous sampling of works from Czech composers performed in her native tongue - Myslevecek's "Che non mi disse", Dvorak's "Dobru noc, ma mila" and "Zalo dievca" and Janacek's melancholy "Seven Moravian Folksongs" - all done with intense feeling. I was fortunate to be able to see her memorable portrayal of Varvara in Janacek's "Kat'a Kabanova" at the Met last year.

Some of the selections truthfully do not show off her talents as well, for example, Britten's gratefully brief "The Highland Balou" in which she applies a rather erratic Scottish brogue, and a breathless turn as Carmen on Bizet's "Les tringles des sistres tintaient", a fiery performance but one done to death by a number of sopranos and mezzos through the years. Regardless, these are minor missteps for this wondrous singer. As a bonus, there is also a video clip of Kozena performing J.S. Bach's "Kommt, ihr angefochtnen Sunder". As one of the first of Deutsche Grammophon's Portrait of the Artist series, this is a terrific compilation of the work from a lovely talent still blooming.