Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Sir Charles Mackerras :: Renée Fleming - Visions of Love ~ Mozart Arias / Mackerras

A pleasure

Mirella Aldaba | Chicago,IL | 07/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Her "turtledovish",creamy, slightly gruffy voice is perfect in Mozart. All are very lovey/dovey romantic songs. I Love the repetive nature of vocal lines in Mozart's music. It's very different from later Italian composers. This music is more charming and sometimes meant to be a little comical. Thay all have a certain rhythm pattern, typical of Mozart. After a while you start to pick up on it and get the gist of the style. Then you can hear an unknown piece and single it out as Mozart. She does an incredible effort at maintaining that creamy richness, roundness, and that beauty of tone that is so necessary in Mozart ,when she is singing at high tessitura or when she is singing in pure head voice or "in the mask". I think Mozart vocal music is the most difficult to do, but also the most fun."

Ah, I feel it...

06/03/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In my opinion, there are certain arias that Renée Fleming sings better than anyone else (not all on this disc). Those would be "Ave Maria" from Otello (her "Signatures" album), "The trees on the mountains" from Susannah ("I want Magic!"), "Mìsíèku na nebi hlubokém (O silver moon)" from Rusalka, and (get this--) "Ach, ich fühl's" from Die Zauberflöte. I don't know why Pamina isn't one of her signature roles like Desdemona or the Marschallin. She has the perfect tone for this aria -- sad and sympathetic, with fullness to get the point across thoroughly. And thank you Mackerras for not taking us through that nautiously slow common tempo that make you want to fall asleep. I've listened to this aria over and over again and I can't get sick of it. It's the perfect aria for any heart-breaking situation and Renée fulfills Mozart's wishes. Another highlight from this CD is the one from Zaide, "Ruhe sanft." Quite beautiful and again, tempo really moved it along nicely. I just wished she could have recorded these years later when her high notes bloomed more. Perhaps she'll record them again. Beautiful, Renée."

Rare and well-known Mozart

M. Bish | 06/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Renee Fleming's Mozart CD is a collection of beautiful arias, gorgeously sung. Rare Mozart gems are presented along with more popular arias from FIGARO, DON GIOVANNI, DIE ENTFUHRUNG, and DIE ZAUBERFLOTE -- a wise programming choice on Fleming's part, since EVERYONE sings the popular arias. Fleming's lush yet agile tone is perfect for the long lines of "L'amero, saro costante" from IL RE PASTORE and the similar "Geme la torturelle" from LA FINTA GIARDINIERA. She has the coloratura flexibility for "Ach, ich leibte" from DIE ENTUHURUNG and the amazing "Lievi son," an aria Mozart wrote when he was only sixteen years old! It is also interesting to hear Fleming give an outstanding performance of Donna Elvira's "Mi Tradi," since her more usual role in DON GIOVANNI is Donna Anna. But my favorite track is the first one, "Deh vieni, non tardar" from FIGARO; I believe this is one of the very finest pieces of singing Fleming has ever recorded."