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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most ravishingly beautiful lyric soprano voices, May 15, 2004
This review is from: Victoria de Los Angeles: Opera Arias (Audio CD)
Victoria de los Ángeles possessed an incredibly beautiful lyric soprano voice. It was pearly and lustrous, with an instantly recognizable, womanly timbre. Her singing was never vulgar and never ugly. It was full of warmth and dignity. She also sang in superb Italian and French, and her German was not bad either. Her high notes on this CD, for the most part, are secure, yet a few betray signs of effort. This is an EMI compilation of de los Ángeles' studio recordings. It is a superb testament to her artistry and singing. She sings everything on this disc well; indeed, much of her singing is exquisite. Her "Ernani, Ernani, involami!" is well sung, with able agility and a nice trill. She invests the aria with meaning and the aria benefits from her superb sense of Spanish rhythm. The Willow Song from "Otello" shows de los Ángeles at her lyric best. She sings it exquisitely, floating truly ravishing pianissimos. Her "Ave Maria", needless to say, is very fine. She has the perfect voice for Mimì and she sings "Sì, mi chiamano Mimì" and "Donde lieta" very well. They are both sung with charm and a real sense of delicacy and warmth. The next item is "L'altra notte in fondo al mare". She imbues Margherita's plight with dignity and offers a very good trill. Her "Nacqui all'affanno...Non più mesta" is sung with good agility and the right sense of feeling. She gives "Voi lo sapete" a dignified, yet affecting, reading. "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana" is given a fine account. Her "Porgi amor" has a firm, seamless legato and is an example of the very finest Mozart singing. She has a rather small voice for singing "Dich, teure Halle", but does well by the aria, nonetheless. "Einsam in trüben Tagen" is given a superb account. Again, her voice is a bit small for the aria. She sings "Adieu, notre petite" very affectingly and her French is superb. She gives the Jewel Song a wonderful sense of delight and energy, but her trill is seriously lacking here. I guess the reason is because Gounod requires the soprano to sing and sustain two very exposed trills here. de los Ángeles can sing wonderful trills, but she is not good at sustaining them. The sound of all the selections on this CD is very good. I highly recommend this CD.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Voice from heaven, December 12, 2002
This review is from: Victoria de Los Angeles: Opera Arias (Audio CD)
Victoria de los Angeles was undoubtedly one of the finest artists of her time. On this CD her reportory ranges from Verdi and Puccini through Mozart and Manon and Gounod and even Wagner. She has brought her gently smiling and womanly portrayals of 15 different arias into our homes, to treasure and enjoy. Her rendition of "Ernani, involami" has to be the finest I have heard on disc, her approach of feminine vulnerability easily beats Sutherland's powerful, but boring, performance. The same is true of her three Desmedona extracts, more stunning than any on complete sets. With her "Si. Mi chiamano Mimi" and "Donde lieta usci" she proves she IS Mimi, the sweet and vulnerable sickness-ridden sweetie. Her "L'altra notte" from Mefistofele is fine, if not so dynamic as Freni's on her complete set. De los Angeles' "Non piu mesta" is inspired, hardly less so than that of Teresa Berganza, one of my personal favourite singers. "Voi lo sapete" is so emotion-packed, again with the womanly vulnerability she so superbly portrays. Her Wally aria is also good, if a shade below Tebaldi's, and though her "Porgi Amor" is lovely, it is no match for Schwarzkopf, Jurinac or Janowitz. To my mind, the most interesting features on this CD are her Tannhauser and Lohengrin extracts. This is a fresh view of both these arias, when we are so used to Varnay and Flagstad-type impressions. Both are sweetly sung, again with that voice type only de los Angeles can assume. Not better than the German school, but different. The last two items, from Manon and Faust would be what I identify as the best things on this CD, along with the Otello extracts, especially Marguerite's Jewel Song. All in all, a fantastic line-up of arias for a fantastic singer and a very worthy addition to any CD collection.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ethereal luminescence, December 27, 2000
This review is from: Victoria de Los Angeles: Opera Arias (Audio CD)
de los angeles has always been a unique artist. throughout her career she projected every role with subtle changes of tone and expressiveness. always true to the composer, it was no surprise that de falla dedicated an opera to her. puccini probably would have done the same had he been lucky to hear her.the cd samples her vast repertoire and one could only say she even sounded more beautiful in person.her voice always seemed to be coming from the sky,literally. this cd is a thankful document for those of us who love great musicmaking.
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