Bartoli, Cecilia

Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)/ Bartoli, G. Quilico, Kuebler, Feller, R. Lloyd; Ferro/Schwetzingen Festival

Rossini was 24 years old when in 1816 he wrote his seventeenth opera and most renowned "buffa", The Barber of Seville, in barely three weeks. The accompanying recording is from the 1988 Schwetzinger Festspiele. The production by Michael Hampe, director of the Cologne Opera at that time, is distinguished by humorous direction of movement which never degenerated into slapstick. It aimed for a high tempo and abandoned the alienation effect to allow for an increasing exuberance in performance by the protagonists. Ezio Frigerios's stage settings are equally as appealing to the eye as Mauro Pagano's costumes, whose design consciously strengthens the comic impact of the characters. Resounding from the orchestra pit is an exceptionally defined, coherent and graceful performance of Rossini's composition. Gabriele Ferro appreciates how to effect subtle differentiations and in so doing strikes an ideal balance between the orchestra and the stage. The choir ensemble is first class, led by an irresistible Cecilia Bartoli.

Rossini - La Cenerentola

Cecilia Bartoli - Live in Italy

Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne: Arias & Duets [HD DVD]

No second names are needed in the title to tell music lovers who is singing in this gala recital. The original, audio-only Cecilia & Bryn: Duets, issued in 1999, had opera-lovers around the world echoing one Amazon.com customer's remark: "After listening to this album, all I could say was 'I want more.'" Here it is: a live performance with the same conductor, an even better orchestra, and a video dimension that brings out the singers' considerable acting skills. There is some duplication of the CD's contents: "La ci darem," "Dunque io son," and the "Pa-pa-pa-papagena" duet from The Magic Flute, as well as the opening numbers of The Marriage of Figaro. But the video cameras, the singers' gestures, and their facial expressions make the duplication worthwhile.

Cecilia Bartoli is most at home in mezzo-soprano material, where her tone is particularly rich and natural, her style exactly what the music requires. But she also slips easily into the soprano roles of Zerlina, Papagena, and Susanna. She takes a tantalizing step into promising, relatively unfamiliar territory with an aria from Haydn's L'anima del filosofo. Bryn Terfel shows a significant comic flair in the "catalog aria" from Don Giovanni and a heroic dimension in an aria from Judas Maccabeus--in either style, displaying a voice that is pure gold.

Still, vocal material is relatively scanty in this 90-minute production compared to the CD. Two overtures are included and are well played, but are not likely to appease fans who will continue to call for more singing. --Joe McLellan

From Opus Atre DVD, the celebrated Cecilia Bartoli joins Bryn Terfel for a reciatl of arias and duets recorded at the beautifully refurbished Glyndebourne Opera House. Brought to you on HD DVD.

Mozart - Don Giovanni / Gilfry, Polgar, Bartoli, Rey, Nikiteanu, Salminen, Widmer, Harnoncourt, Zurich Opera

Maria

Paisiello - Nina / Bartoli, Kaufmann, Polgar, Galstian, Veccia, Fischer, Zurich Opera

The eponymous heroine of Paisiello's Nina had a far-reaching influence on the operatic taste of the Romantic era. The mad heroines of Bellini and Donizetti are her direct descendants. Driven out of her wits by the supposed death of her lover, Lindoro, the role of Nina offers a wealth of opportunity for histrionic and vocal fireworks. In this live recording from the Zurich Opera of a revival of Cesare Lievi's highly successful 1998 production, Cecilia Bartoli triumphs as Nina. Opera Magazine wrote, "Her sudden changes of emotional gear are constantly surprising… The colour-range of her voice is truly stupendous, while the sound itself reflects a sun-backed mellowness, as if fuelled by solar energy… Her Nina is a tour de force, which leaves one in a state of stupefaction…. While Adam Fischer mined the score for all its perfumed period flavour".

Mozart - Requiem

Rossini - Il Turco in Italia / Bartoli, Raimondi, Macias, Rumetz, Schmid, Welser-Most, Zurich Opera

Mozart - Cosi Fan Tutte / Harnoncourt, Bartoli, Nikiteanu, Zurich Opera

Mozart's third and final opera with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, the hugely ambitious dramatic comedy Così fan Tutte (roughly translated as "They're All Like That"), is brought passionately to life in a first-class production conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and featuring one of the great starring roles for Cecilia Bartoli. Filmed live at the Zurich Opera House in February 2000 on a set that visualizes the subtitle "The School for Lovers," the plot revolves around two army officers arguing about the fidelity of their brides, then setting out to test their chastity. Despite the often playful humor, this not only is psychologically telling music-making, but reveals Mozart exploring the structure of opera, discarding convention to mix large ensemble sections with arias for as many different combinations of singers as possible. With Liliana Nikiteanu attractively contrasted with Bartoli, and thoroughly convincing performances by Roberto Sacca (Ferrando) and Oliver Widmer (Guglielmo), this Così has a freshness and flow that, coupled with the timeless romantic themes, feels very contemporary. --Gary S. Dalkin

Cast list:

Cecilia Bartoli: Fiordiligi
Liliana Nikiteanu: Dorabella
Agnes Baltsa: Despina
Roberto Saccà: Ferrando
Oliver Widmer: Guglielmo
Carlos Chausson: Don Alfonso

In 18th century Naples, Don Alfonso wagers that the two girls, Fiordiligi and Dorabella, are no more trustworthy in matters of love than any other women. The girls sing of their love, before Don Alfonso tells them that their lovers are to be called away to the war. Despina, bribed by Don Alfonso, urges the girls to find other lovers, but they declare their constancy. Guglielmo and Ferrando return, disguised as Albanians, but the girls remain firm. They agree to Despina's suggestion of harmless flirtation, each unwittingly choosing the other's partner. The success of the two Albanians, in spite of Fiordiligi's more prolonged resistance, leads to a wedding. The men now appear as themselves and pretend shock and horror at what is afoot, before revealing their plot. All ends happily, as Don Alfonso urges the power of reason in these circumstances. This production by the Zurich Opera House had it premiere in Febuary 2000. The renowned soprano Cecilia Bartoli made her debut here as Fiordiligi, after having sung the two other Cosi roles, Despina and Dorabella, previously.