Maria Cecilia Bartoli

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CD

  • Release Date: 10/16/2007
  • Sales Rank: 43,267
  • Label: DECCA
  • UPC: 028947590774

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About this Artist

Editorial Reviews

A tribute album with a difference, Maria venerates the greatest singer you've never heard. Maria Malibran was the world's first true opera diva: A Spanish mezzo-soprano born in Paris in 1808 to a prominent musical family, she rose to become a concert-hall sensation and muse to Rossini and Bellini, only to die at 28 in a riding accident. Her fame lingers today (a theatre in Venice, for instance, still bears her name), but she seems to have no greater contemporary fan than Cecilia Bartoli. The Italian mezzo has kept her own admirers satisfied in recent years with albums devoted to Vivaldi, Gluck, and Salieri, as well as a delicious showcase of Roman music composed under the watchful eye of Vatican censors. And true to form, Bartoli's Maria is no less vibrantly performed, original in concept, or meticulously researched. Even the most devoted classical listener will be intrigued by the program's many curiosities, such as Mendelssohn's concert scene "Infelice," featuring a languidly expressive violin solo from Maxim Vengerov, or Malibran's own "Rataplan," a march-time duet for Bartoli and snare drum. Other arias written for Malibran are similarly revealing -- from Giovanni Pacini's dramatic album opener to Lauro Rossi's charming "Scorrete, O Lagrime" -- while operatic chestnuts from Bellini's La Sonnambula, I Puritani, and Norma (the famous "Casta diva" as an album-closing treat) draw typically impassioned singing from Bartoli. Adam Fischer and the period-instrument Orchestra La Scintilla deliver first-rate accompaniment, and Bartoli herself once again displays the unbounded musical curiosity and expressive élan that stamps the best of her work. EJ Johnson, Barnes & Noble



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January 04, 2008: 1___ Maria Malibran was a great singer of the Bel Canto period who lived only 28 years "1808-1836". Using this singer's career as a point of departure, Bartoli explores the music of the early 19th Century. It is an effort that is of a piece with her devotion to bringing other obscure work to our attention. From Bellini's lush, often poignant, melodies to special pieces, such as J. N. Hummel's "Air à la tirolienne avec variations," written for Malibran and premiered by her, the music ranges ever so widely. Another entertainment is "Rataplan," a song by Maria Malibran, herself, who proves that she had potential as a composer. Add pieces by Malibran's father, Manuel Garcia, Mendelssohn, Rossini and others and you have a CD that will abundantly reward the listener. 2___ Many have quibbled about Bartoli's range, her lack of legato, her aspirated coloratura, etc. What is undeniable is the uniqueness of her voice. Listen to her sing and you cannot be fooled--you are hearing Cecilia Bartoli. She projects a distinctive vocal color. Other singers have this quality--Dame Janet Baker comes to mind. Her voice, like Bartoli's, is distinctive and identifiable. To this we must add Bartoli's personality. Her enthusiasm comes across in recordings, but is evident when you watch her sing. 3___ This is a fine work that turns Bartoli's interest in a great singer from the past into an opportunity to make more art. This is one of Cecilia Bartoli's most entertaining recordings. The delightful book that forms the case is one more element to recommend this CD. There is even a touch of humor in the treatment that plays with the notion of "diva" in the earlier age and in our own.