Bel Canto Arias; Vivica Genaux

Vivica Genaux (Artist), Gioachino Rossini (Artist), Gaetano Donizetti (Artist), John Nelson (Artist), Ensemble Orchestral de Paris (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 16, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B0000BWTK1
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,061 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, of course, November 6, 2003

By	Rosomax (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

On the heels of Genaux's splendid "Arias for Farinelli" album, comes this much anticipated and carefully crafted selection of bel canto arias. While her voice is absolutely spectacular for alto repertoire, it's amazingly capable of "shifting gears" into lyric mezzo soprano clef. You're bound to notice this right away. The approach is simple and elegant, blissfully free of any mannerisms or fussiness. The same can be for characterizations. This is early bel canto, so there's no need for "Lucia"'s passions. A listener can simply revel in the beauty of the music without a single moment of distraction. And the album ends with one of the most delightful renditions of too-well-known "Una voce poco fa" on record. This Alaskan native is quickly becoming the leading mezzo of today. Don't miss.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure pleasure...., May 18, 2006

By	Nancy Eckert (Bellefontaine, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have her Farinelli CD, as well. I also saw her on A&E some time ago. My only criticism was her excessive chin movements but, then, I don't get all bent out of shape over Bartoli's grimaces -- and the voice is the thing, after all.

As for Fach, a singer doesn't need to enjoy merely one, although many are restricted to such. What I like about Genaux, aside from the absolutely beautiful tone, is that she is NOT mannered. She has just the right take on every one of these arias. Spare me from the singers who just MUST emote all over the place when simplicity and class are sufficient.

I've had this CD since for some time and decided to see what others thought of it -- I'm always interested in other opinions.

Nancy Eckert

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'd like to be more generous..., March 15, 2009

By	Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

... but to my ears, Vivica Genaux is not a vocal star of the first magnitude, as her enthusiastic fans seem to feel, and although she has some of the gifts to be a star of second magnitude brightness, there are serious flaws in her technical spectrum. An earlier critical reviewer expressed the opinion that she should stick to the Baroque repertoire, since her voice wasn't 'big' enough for Rossini. I confess that I was thinking exactly the opposite, after hearing her "Arias for Farinelli," that she ought to seek a niche in the 19th C repertoire. Now it seems that she really does fall in the crack between. Her vibrato is too unacceptably constant for baroque, and her presence is too small for romantic. It doesn't help her case that I've heard all the arias on this Bel Canto CD sung by the greatest sopranos of the 20th C. Going head-to-head with von Stade on a selection from La Cenerentola is clearly a tactical blunder.