Cecilia Bartoli: Antonio Vivaldi

Listening to

A sparkling album with Cecilia Bartoli performing ten carefully selected opera arias of the great Italian baroque composer which are intrinsically beautiful as they are varied and diverse. This is a studio recording in an exemplary collaboration with Jean-Christophe Spinosi and his brilliant French Ensemble Matheus.On listening to Cecilia Bartoli we witness a gratifying combination of impressive talent and meticulous preparation. We marvel with the quality and range of her voice, her technical skill, and the musicality, intelligence, and emotional intensity of her interpretation. The meticulously selected repertory is impressive in its range, varying from the romantic,nostalgic and melancholic to the exuberant, passionate and energetic. A gem of an album.

Beautiful in every way. A real classic.

Half of the arias are very hard to stomach as Cecilia flies off the handle in hysterical outbursts. If you ever wanted to hear the sound of a woman on the verge of nervous breakdown, this is your chance.

Cecilia Bartoli finds more arias that have long been neglected and she gives them a new lease on life through her interpretation. She still is a great singer - my favourite, so I shouldn't go on.

This second volume of Vivaldi arias has become as much as a treasured disc as the first one. Miss Bartoli never disappoints either live or in recordings - BRAVA !

I liked it all. Cecilia Bartoli's distinctive soprano voice and her love of ornamentation suits Vivaldi's music to perfection. Wonderful!

Beautiful voice. Always a winner

Il cd è di di grande soddisfazione, perché la Bartoli è semplicemente superlativa.

Tout est parfait!

Cecilia Bartoli continues to astonish and delight the listeners with this new collection of Vivaldi opera arias, a companion to the important Vivaldi Album that was released twenty years ago and was instrumental for both Bartoli and her status as singer and musicologist as well as for a rediscovery of Vivaldi's work. Dare I say that I like this new CD more than the previous one (and that's saying a lot)? First of all, it's impressive to experience that Ms. Bartoli's voice has not lost its brilliance and beauty. Even more, she has managed to regulate to aspirates that used to be part of her staggering coloratura. This album is short and sweet, with arias that express a variety of emotions, all virtuosic, as the slow arias also require long lines and agility (and the singer also adds brilliant and tasteful ornamentation.) And with the superb support of Jean-Christophe Spinosi and the Ensemble Matheus the music is enhanced, showing the expressive devices used by Vivaldi to express the mood of the text of each arias. Every number is a joy, with particular highlights the aria Sol da te, mio dolce amore with its splendid flute solo, Quell' augelin che canta with Bartoli bird like trills and stacatti up to high C. And the final number, Sei mai senti spirarti sul volto from Catone in Utica is a contemplative, loving conclusion, with a lovely lyric combined with the mezza voce of the soloist and a conductor and ensemble in communion with the singer and her endless florid figures in mezza voce. Another triumph for the genius of Cecilia Bartoli and her mission to bring to our world neglected musical masterpieces, making the old new and relevant.

No conocía la obra de Cecilia Bartoli hasta que, llevado por la curiosidad de escuchar nuevos enfoques de Vivaldi (uno de mis compositores favoritos), topé con este álbum. El mismo es un lujo, desde el principio hasta el final. Se presenta en formato libro-CD, muy en la línea de anteriores lanzamientos de Bartoli con el sello Decca, y se percibe que se ha cuidado tanto el sonido como la selección musical y hasta el orden de los temas, alternando los más rítmicos con los más pausados, los más largos (que llegan a sobrepasar los 9 minutos, sin que esto implique que se hagan pesados) con los más cortos. Un par de ellos ("Se lento ancora il fulmine" y "Combatta un gentil cor") podrían haber sido radiados como singles en cualquier emisora comercial, y triunfarían. Mi favorito aquí, sin embargo, es "Sovente il sole", un tema que te conmoverá, y el cual ya justifica por sí mismo la adquisición del álbum. Si tengo que elegir entre éste y "The Vivaldi Album" (mítico para público y crítica), todavía pondría éste por encima.

Cecilia Bartoli, 20 ans après un album Vivaldi qui mettait en lumière l'oeuvre lyrique de ce compositeur, et après une série d'albums thématiques nous faisant découvrir les œuvres de compositeurs en premiers enregistrements mondiaux, nous reviens avec un récital Vivaldi.Chacun de ses albums reste pour tout les amoureux de musique baroque un événement attendu, et ce dernier album nous comble au delà de nos espérances.Si les airs de bravoures sont toujours aussi époustouflants, "se lento ancora il fulmine" d'Agippo qui ouvre ce récital est grandiose, elle nous offre une série d'arias plus introspectifs, "sol da te mio dolce amore" d'orlando, "vedro con mio diletto" d'il giustino, ou encore ""sovente il sole" d'andromeda liberata, avec ces passages de chant pianissimo rempli d'une grande intensité dramatique qui provoque une émotion profonde,qui sont de véritables merveilles que l'on a l'impression de découvrir pour la première fois.Ce récital nous démontre une fois de plus que Bartoli règne en souveraine sur ce répertoire.Elle est superbement accompagnée par l'ensemble Matheus et Jean christophe Spinosi, qui prend le violon sur" quell'augellin che canta" de La Silva, et qui signa également le tres beau "Vivaldi Heroes " de Jarrousky.A noter également un excellente prise de son, naturelle et équilibrée.Un album à ne pas manquer.