Advantages: Clear, charming and soulful voice Disadvantages: She is young, talented, pretty and intellegant and I'm jealous
.... Written in 1842, the chorus of exiles relates the Biblical story of the captivity of the Hebrews in Babylon in the 6th century B.C. Emotionally sincere and strong, Katherine voice shines out over the accompanying chorus. She also sings the aria, “O Sole Mio”, traditionally performed by a tenor. Arranged for soprano the aria takes on a whole new aspect: strange at first but very enjoyable.
Of course there are some traditional soprano arias included. Bizet’s fiery aria “Sequidilla” from Carmen is sung with passion and fun: pure seduction. “Song to the Moon” from Dvorak’s opera Rusalka is haunting. Katherine shows great technical qualities attaining perfect pitch throughout.
Included on the album are a number of pieces taken from soundtracks of popular films. Ennio Morricone composed “House of no Regrets” for the film Chai mai. Katherine...
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Advantages: A fine mixture of gothic, medieval and modern music and words. You will know some of the themes - it will repay study. This is a superb rendition. Disadvantages: None
...”.
“The girl without a lover does without any pleasure; she keeps the last watches of the night alone.”
There next comes the second most well known aria from the work “In trutina mentis dubia”. Many sopranos (Sarah Brightman, Charlotte Church, Barbra Streisand) have included this in their repertories. It is a song agonising over the choice between love and chastity.
“Opposite courses hang in the balance of my wavering mind. Wanton love and chastity. But I choose what I see and bend my neck to the yoke – to the sweet yoke I submit”
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi
The piece is rounded off with a triumphal full orchestral and chorus recapitulation of the wheel of Fortune motif. We hear at the end the desperate pleas “Fortune’s wheel turns: I am cut down and fall: another is raised to the heights: the king sits at its peak.”
THE PERFORMANCES
I...
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Advantages: Best of Borodin's compositions Disadvantages: Extracts only
...Prince Igor’s captivity. A faster horn based passage with a sinister percussion rhythm conveys the 'March' and 'Dance of the Plovtsian Maidens'. The overture builds to then return to the melancholic opening before reaching the climax with a drum roll and cymbal-clash.
Also included on the album (track 3) is Galizsky’s Aria from the opera. The character of Galizsky, Prince Igor’s brother-in-law, is an easy-going, self-indulgent character. These traits are depicted in the aria by his deep self-satisfied laugh which is punctuated by a plucked string dance rhythm and drum beats. The aria is sung by Bass singer, Nicholai Ghiaurov accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra.
The opera’s Polvtsian dances (track 5) are a combination of contrasting dance movements performed delightfully by the London Symphony Orchestra and chorus. Beginning...
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17.01.2005
16.10.2004
