{"id":11658,"date":"2013-04-17T13:33:20","date_gmt":"2013-04-17T18:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=11658"},"modified":"2013-04-17T13:33:20","modified_gmt":"2013-04-17T18:33:20","slug":"album-review-spectacular-rossini-arias-from-polish-soprano-aleksandra-kurzak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/04\/17\/album-review-spectacular-rossini-arias-from-polish-soprano-aleksandra-kurzak\/","title":{"rendered":"Album review: Spectacular Rossini arias from Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Piotr<\/a>
(Piotr Skrzypek photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s a bel canto sort of day in Toronto, with tonight’s opening of\u00a0 Lucia di Lammermoor at the Four Seasons Centre. It’s a great excuse to mention Bel Raggio<\/em>, a new Decca album of soprano arias from the operas of Gioachino Rossini, fabulously sung by Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak.<\/p>\n

\"belraggio\"<\/a>Kurzak has a flourishing international career — she is stepping out as Marie in Donizetti’s La Fille du r\u00e9giment<\/em> at the Vienna State Opera at the end of the month — but for her second release for Decca she patriotically returned home to record with Sinfonia Varsovia and the Warsaw Chamber Choir, all conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi.<\/p>\n

There is even a bit of Polish content in the music — in an aria from Rossini’s Sigismondo<\/em>, a reportedly unstageable affair from 1814 about the King of Poland.<\/p>\n

The album is a mix of well-known and obscure excerpts from nine operas, including “Dunque io son…” from The Barber of Seville<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Kurzak is brethtaking, tossing spectacular cascades in the air like a Las Vegas fountain. She does it with seeming ease. But far more satisfying is how she can shade her limitless coloratura with a wide range of emotion — the mark of a true pro.<\/p>\n

That she gets fine support from the orchestra, chorus and, above all, Morandi, makes this a treat from start to finish.<\/p>\n

The CD booklet includes all the texts and translations.<\/p>\n

You can find out a lot more about the album here<\/a>. Despite the fact that Decca’s site says that the international release date is in June, the album is available now.<\/p>\n

Here is the sequence from Act I of Semiramide that opens the album:<\/p>\n