Customer Reviews

Matthias Goerne - Arias

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Many baritones record Papegano's first aria ("Die Vogelfanger bin ich, ja"), Don Giovanni's serenade, and Wolfram's Evening Star Song. But when was the last time you saw Count Almaviva's aria ("Vedro, mentr'io sospiro") from LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Wolfram's "Blick, ich umher," or the murder scene from WOZZECK excerpted on a recital disc? Matthias Goerne's "Arias" CD includes all of these items and more, all sung with beauty, feeling, and musicality by one of the most intelligent and charismatic male singers of today. Goerne is joined in three duets ("Bei Mannern" from DIE ZAUBERFLOTE, "Crudel, perche finora" from FIGARO, and the WOZZECK scene) by soprano Dorothea Roschmann, whose sound isn't quite to my taste (it's a bit lacking in warmth) but who is as musical and as sensitive as her partner. The conductor, Manfred Honeck, is also an ideal match both for Goerne and for the music. Matthias Goerne's "Arias" is an indispensable disc for admirers of German music, the baritone voice, or Goerne himself -- or for those who would just like to hear an interestingly programmed aria recital.

Matthias Goerne's picture on the cover of this CD implies an edgy, even angst-ridden interpreter, but the singing one finds inside is good average baritone work. I hear no musical revelations here, and although Goerne's voice is instantly recognizable by its warm, honeyed tone, his characterization is rather faceless and his dramatic approach too limp. He lacks edge and anger when singing the Count in Figaro, only to turn around and lack humor as Papageno from the Magic Flute. The best items are lyric, legato numbers like the aria from Korngold's Die tote Stadt. But strangest of all are the excerpts from Wozzeck, which Goerne sings straight, attempting not the slightest hint of Sprechstimme. It's not as though Berg made that optional.

If you think Hermann Prey or Theo Adam is a great baritone, I guess you'll think Goerne is one, too. Compared to a similar baritone recital on Sony with Bo Skovhus, I'd give the edge to Skovhus. Thomas Hampson, Thomas Quasthoff, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky have nothing to fear; maybe even Nathan Gunn has nothing to fear. All in all, I expected more from a singer whose reputation is flying high.