Customer Reviews

Vesselina Kasarova - A Portrait

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Although Kasarova still has a bit to learn about singing, she is clearly on her way to becoming a great interpreter of the mezzo-soprano repertoire. There were a few pieces that I certainly do not long to hear repeated, but for the most part, the album is enjoyable.

My favourite selections were the coloratura pieces. "Una voce poco fa" has been sung to DEATH already, but Kasarova adds something new to it, especially in the lower register. It's nice to hear this piece performed by a true mezzo. The "Voi che sapete" was also very nicely done (it fell wonderfully in her passagio), although "Batti, batti" was not memorable (it felt somewhat monotonous---maybe because Kasarova was beginning to tire with the high tessitura). I especially enjoyed her rendition of O mio Fernando---I would like to hear her sing "Stride la Vampa" (Trovatore) in the future.

The only piece that really didn't thrill me was the Orfeo "Che faro." This piece was written for a good rich contralto, and Kasarova's tone simply wasn't appropriate to carry this aria affectively (she really sounds like she's straining the low notes, which can't really be disguised because they occur so many times).

I listen to Kasarova whenever I'm bored with Larmore or Bartoli. She has a certain husky tendency in her voice that is extremely desirable but not present in the voices of these other two divas. This is a wonderful album to introduce you to her unique voice!

When this CD was first released, I happened to hear the track with "Una voce poco fa" played on a classical-music radio station. For over 50 years I had been a devoted "fan" of instrumental classical music, but, in just 3 minutes, Kasarova's performance expanded and altered my mind and heart. When I attempted to purchase an audio tape of her singing, I discovered none was for sale anywhere. My solution? Buy the CD--and THEN buy a CD player. Five or six years later, I own over 1800 CDs, about 2/3 of them operatic music. My preferences are now mainly for bel canto singers who are mezzos or contraltos. Rossini, Handel, and Bellini are my favorite composers. Why? Chiefly because of my chance encounter with Ms. Kasarova's wonderfully flexible, rich, warm voice. She caused me to get season tickets to the Met for the past four years (where I was finally able to hear/see her in THE BARBER OF SEVILLE--the best of the four performances I've attended). For purposes of easy comparison, I have "imported" tracks from this CD onto my computer's hard drive along with those of several dozen other mezzos singing the same arias. After many hours of back-to-back listening, in almost all cases I greatly prefer the versions of Kasarova. This CD is an excellent "starter" purchase for any beginners who wish to explore what opera has to offer. For "experienced" listeners, it is a must-have!

This was my introduction to Vesselina Kasarova CD. I first saw her in a clip of Il Barbiere di Siviglia (singing Una voce poco fa) on Classic Arts Showcase program one night and was amazed at how beautifully she sings the coloratura piece while doing complicated acting manuevers on stage.

The really great thing about Kasarova is how she communicates the essence of each aria with her voice. She doesn't sing 'Konzertzant'. Her instrument, for some reason, doesn't sound as big on recording as it does live (where it is quite plenty big, very lusterous and agile), and she uses many vocal colors to bring out the different character of her roles (a lot of time in the same aria to show the change of emotion). It is unconventional, but it works really well in the story telling.

Her coloratura is amazing. It is fast and fluidly effortless sounding... and she sings all the notes!! A true Rossinian mezzo with great extension at the top. She also incorporates the ornaments into the music so well it gives the piece a character rather than standing out at odd with the music. Kasarova is so subtle in her interpretations that each time I replay an aria I catch some nuances I missed before.

Her 'Che faro senza Euridice' may sound 'simple' on the first try, but it is quite understatedly wistful and gives the picture of a devastatingly drained Orfeo who has lost all hope. It gets better the more closely you listen to it. Her 'Voi che sapete' is of a Cherubino who is young and enthusiastically in love.

She uses wider vibrato in her bel canto pieces which fit the music well. Her Rosina has a split personality demarcated at 'ma', a note that turns an perky love-struck young thing into a potentially vengeful witch in such dramatic way that I can visualize her eyes narrowing and her fangs growing just by hearing it. Her renditions of 'o mio Fernando' and 'Se Romeo t'uccise un figlio' are unforgetable. Kasarova gives you all she has and it is wonderful.

Vesselina Kasarova has been one of the most sublime and radiant mezzos in years. Divine majesty, fascinating timber, wide range tonality, warm tune, engaging expressiveness spiced with high musical sensitivity are some of her virtues that undeniably have led her to that coveted status in the musical stages.

This album was the debut on RCA label and presents a marvelous of renowned and well known selections. Special kudos for her memorable Rossini and radiant Mozart.

Friedrich Haider remarks too with his precise attacks and notable accompaniment.

Acquire without hesitation this radiant and inspired album that surely will reward you every time you return for it.

I find this collection interesting, but not necessarily to the singers advantage. She sings what she sings well, but there is an "overblown" quality from time to time. Sona la tromba (the first selection) has a rough edge to it. I like this singer very much in other things I have her in. This is a good CD, but I think it would have served her more to choose some other selections. Her Verdi is excellent, but we are not treated to it. Her Orfeo lacks that really rich lower register that would make it tell. Still, a great buy and a great collection.

This album presents an extraordinary singer. Vesselina Kasarova is arguably the most formidable mezzo/contralto of our times, singing a wide ranged repertoire that this recording attempts to showcase. Her radiant voice possesses unique qualities and to me it sounds so much more beautiful and better colored than that of Marylin Horne; yet Kasarova commands the same agility and force. She seems to be without bounds on the volume she can produce in any direction - from subtle pianissimos to the grandest fortissimo. The first aria on this album gives a good example of her total voice control; I could compare her in that with Cecilia Bartoli or Simone Kermes, other unsurpassed virtuosi singers.

She is dazzling in this disk, but what an impression she makes live! I had been to two live operas with Vesselina Kasarova - the first time in Munich in 2007, where she sang Ruggiero alongside Anja Harteros in Handel's Alcina; both were tremendous, and then I knew that I was lucky to admire the art of a unique genius.

Second time was this June 2011 in Berlin, where Kasarova sang Delilah in Saint-Saëns opera. She brought the house down, being absolutely sensational - just like four years ago in Bavaria's capital, although the whole Deutsche Oper production of "Samson and Delilah" was exceedingly bizarre, staging the action in 1871 Paris Commune time. Production-wise, it was another example of the modern queer creativity, juxtaposing and distorting the essence of both historic events - if Paris Commune's foremost idea was a separation of church and state, then Samson's rebellion was the symbol of unity of god and state. But even such inexplicable weirdness could do no damage to the divine art of Kasarova.

Alas, I did not make any recording on these performances to deploy at YouTube... In upcoming September 2011 Kasarova will be singing Alcina in Wiener Staatsoper - and it will be exciting to see her in this soprano-mezzo role; I so anticipate to hear her Alcina, a role that had been sung by all great singers, from Sutherland, Arleen Auger to Renee Fleming and Joyce Di Donato. However, Kasarova always brings something new and fiery to any of her heroines or heroes - the trouser roles are also her specialties, as this disk, my own experience and her repertoire indicates.

Kasarova coloratura is always crystal clear and breathtakingly precise; her timbre is exceedingly rich, opulent in her low register and silver-toned and radiant in the top one. She sings with a ravishing allure, and her stage personality colors itself from a temperamental, passionate and tough woman to the light-minded naughty youth as Cherubino; she excels as Handel's heroes of various valor, from proud Rinaldo to cowardly Ruggiero; she is phenomenal in Rossini, both as Tancredi and as Rosina. Kasarova is as formidable as Ewa Podles, but she is considerably younger and probably because of that exceptionally energetic - her presence on the European scene is conspicuous, with the best opera houses competing for this singer. It is so exciting to watch the development of her operatic career and take a chance occasionally to see such a great artist perform live.

This CD is highly recommended.