A voice of drama, not flirtation

Anna Netrebko: Opera Arias

Anna Netrebko, soprano. Wiener Philharmoniker. Gianandrea Noseda, conductor.

(Deutsche Grammophon)

***

Netrebko’s strengths come out in the tragic roles of betrayed, abandoned or forgiven operatic heroines. Here she reprises Lucia’s anguish in a powerful account of the fountain scene that, however, only suggests the dramatic intensity she showed in the role recently for Los Angeles Opera. Her dark-toned, creamy soprano -- poised and somehow above it all -- is appropriate for Ilia and Donna Anna in Mozart’s “Idomeneo” and “Don Giovanni,” respectively, for Bellini’s Amina (“La Sonnambula”) and Dvorak’s Rusalka. But it’s too weighty for the sparkling, flirtatious ladies she assays -- Musetta, Manon, Teresa (Berlioz’s “Benvenuto Cellini”) -- and for the innocent Marguerite of Gounod’s “Faust.” Noseda guides the orchestra expertly and with feeling.

-- Chris Pasles

Some high points with Tavener

Tavener: Ikon of Eros

Jorja Fleezanis, violin. Minnesota Orchestra and Chorale. Paul Goodwin, conductor.

(Reference Recordings)

*** 1/2

The John Tavener Collection

Choir of Temple Church. Holst Singers. English Chamber Orchestra. Stephen Layton, conductor. (Decca)

***

Besotted by beauty and carried away by the rituals of Greek Orthodoxy, the popular British composer John Tavener can be downright infuriating when he lingers on dreary, sappy phrases. But when he is good, he is amazing, and those phrases blaze with celestial intensity. “Ikon of Eros” is very good. The chorus spends an hour stuck on a couple of Greek words -- especially misty-eyed is the seductive theme for “Eros” -- and Sanskrit purple prose. Fleezanis soars on angels’ wings. Indian rhythms occasionally lift everyone into a cosmic dance. The fabulous recorded sound captures a cathedral’s ambience like aural incense. But an NPR interview with Tavener included on the CD is a waste of good disc space -- he sounds drunk. The Decca collection, meanwhile, is given such tacky packaging that it appears to be a selection of Tavener hits from earlier discs. It begins with the “Song for Athene,” which was performed at Princess Diana’s funeral, and includes an excerpt from another popular Tavener work, “The Protecting Veil,” for cello and orchestra. In fact, these pieces were recorded last summer at Temple Church in London by the same forces that presented Tavener’s bold all-night vigil there in June, and the disc has a three-minute excerpt from the eight-hour score. There is lots else -- Christmas music and “Elizabeth Full of Grace,” a tedious memorial to the Queen Mother. The performances are outstanding.

-- Mark Swed

A question of production values

Rossini/Donizetti: Bel Canto Arias

Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano. Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. John Nelson, conductor. (Virgin Classics)

** 1/2

This mezzo-soprano, who sang a disappointing, vocally splintered Orfeo in Gluck’s reform opera recently for L.A. Opera, seems a victim of engineering vagaries. In Angelina’s aria from Rossini’s “La Cenerentola,” she sounds recorded at quite a distance from the orchestra and camouflaged by a heavy echoing aura. Her presence is more forward in the first of two arias from Rossini’s “L’italiana in Algeri,” then back again for the second. And so it goes, especially with the infernal echo. Even so, the faults and virtues of Genaux’s stage performance are evident here too: a vibrant, unsteady vibrato and some plainly unattractive sounds, but also dazzling coloratura, taken at an impressive clip. Nelson conducts with lovely grace alternating with vigor and bounce, and occasionally overpowers the singer.

-- C.P.