Customer Reviews

The Mozart Album

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

 

 

In the theatre Danielle de Niese captivates with her enchanting personality and acting skills, the problem is that these qualities are absent in the singing alone. Her voice is pleasant, but it is not an extraordinary voice, or at least the kind of voice that will justify a Mozart recital like this. I'm afraid de Niese will be more popular in the theatre than in the studio, there have been many singers with such a fate, Raina Kabaivanska comes to mind, singers who can be electrifying live, but whose voices don't record well.
It is a pity that DECCA is overlooking the truly extraordinary Mozart sopranos of our time like Luba Orgonasova, she recorded a glorious Donna Anna for Gardiner and probably the finest Konstanze of all also for Gardiner in Archiv. It is she who has the kind of voice that records well, and she is an artist of a calibre whose work should be preserved for posterity. The people of A & R should wake up.

Some years ago a man I know who supervises a large kitchen was offered some blueberries by a local vendor. After sampling a few of the berries, he pushed them away. "Two weeks" he said. The berries were still hard and the flavor was undeveloped. The restaurant owner bought them anyway, so customers were served fresh local blueberries that weren't any damn good.

This is not a developed voice, it's a marketed product. I hope that things work out and she begins to understand and interpret the music she sings and is given the room to do so by the folks who run the music business. That I'd like to hear.

For more penetrating critique see the less than five star reviews of her Handel recording. This recording is more of the same.

First of all, let me say that I have great respect for those who sing opera well. The time, energy and commitment it takes to build an international career are daunting, to say the least. Those who choose a career in opera, and actually pull it off, are to be commended and encouraged.

Danielle de Niese sings opera well, at times better than that, and Mozart is a good fit for her voice. That being the case, however, doesn't quite justify this pretentiously titled collection. I can think of half a dozen singers (including Bartoli, Battle, Fleming & Dessay) who have put a more personal stamp on this repertoire, and whose albums I'm more likely to return to when I need a Mozart fix. Perhaps if de Niese and her producers had selected more obscure works, this album would feel less like an obligation towards fulfilling a recording contract. (deNiese might do well to take her lead from Kate Royal, who scored beautifully of late by putting together an exquisite album of mostly obscure, rarely heard arias.)

In short, unless you're a diehard de Niese fan -- has she been around long enough to even have diehard fans? -- none of The Mozart Album is essential listening. It does nothing to grab, excite or defy one's expectations.

Je ne vais pas me faire de nouveaux amis, surtout aux USA : je ne souhaite pas me montrer désagréable mais Danielle n'a pas le profil d'une diva internationale en dépit du ram dam que se force à faire sa maison de disque pour nous faire parvenir à y croire.

Son Mozart est aussi affligeant que son Haendel, pourtant dirigé (par contrat) par le patient William Christie et ses Arts Florissants qui, les pauvres, n'en demandaient pas autant.

Danielle serait plus à sa place dans une paroisse du middle ouest... Son chant est trop lent, pâteux et roucoulant comme une diva d'opérette. Ce pauvre Mozart ne méritait pas d'être aussi puni.

I am not a technical reviewer.I don't know many musical terms for what Ms.De Niese has done on this album. I only
know that what I hear is an album of ravishing beauty.From start to finish,a masterwork.The orchestra under Sir Charles is the perfect accompaniment to Danielle's lovely voice.I won't single out arias because they are all done magnificently.Mozart as it was meant to be sung!Wolfgang would be very proud indeed! A must for everyone's collection!