Search - Simone Kermes :: Lava: Opera Arias from 18th Century Napoli

What a disc !

Etrisi | 11/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Only by chance I discovered that outstanding CD by German soprano Simone Kermes (sometimes also called the "Leipzig Bartoli"). Kermes tackles a formidable coloratura cavalcade claiming nine world premiere recordings, ranging from rage arias such as Hasse's "Perche se tanti" to Popora's seductive "Morte amara". Extreme demands for range, colour and expression are accomplished in dazzling style. Former Bartoli advisor Claudio Osele employs light instrumental accompaniment with his excellent performing group "Le Musiche nove" - up to eight players - for this Vesuvian outpouring. For me Osele seems to have winkled out music of superior quality to Bartoli's selection "Sacrificium" that features music of the same period and many composers who can be heard also on Kermes' CD. A must buy !



"Listen" magazine writes in it's spring issue 2010:

Precisely why Simone Kermes is not better known in the United States is a mystery: she is probably the most intersting singer of music-before-1850 in the world. She seems incapable of doing anything by rote - each run, trill, bit of phrasing, attack on a high note and plunge into chest voice is decided by the aria and text she is singing. As a result she can come on a bit strong, but being incapable of blandness is a great gift and could almost be enough. The fact that she is also an incredicly accomplished singer with a sound that can enchant as well as terrify is what makes her truly great.

Nine of the twelve arias on this release are world premiere recordings and most are gems. She launches into the first - a rage aria by Pergolesi, sounding both crazy and like a Baroque violinist attacking a bow; a similar style is used in an aria from Vinci's Artaserse in which she uses a breathless, almost spoken approach to the text. It is hard to believe the same singer can enchant with an exquisite legato and long, gentle lines in Leonardo Leo's Il Demetrio. And for an entirely different experience, in a scene from Hasse's Viriate, she adds a cadenza near the close that runs from high E natural to the A two-and-a-half octaves below. Sometimes she uses vibrato, sometimes a pure white tone. Long-breathed phrases and notes held pianissimo are as beautiful as they are unexpected. She is a singer of extremes and not fort he staid, don't-surprise-me opera lover.

R.I."

More premiere sounds...!

KJS | Australia | 01/18/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For its selection of 18th century `dramma per musica', this CD rates 5 stars. Of the 12 arias, 9 are world premiere recordings, composed by Pergolesi, Porpora, Vinci, Leo, and Hasse between 1722 and 1743. They are a much needed addition to the `all too few' discs containing examples of their operatic music; as of late, Cecilia Bartoli's "Sacrificium" with 11 world premiere recordings, Karina Gauvin's "Porpora Arias" with 6 premieres from its 14 arias, and Vivica Genaux's "Arias--Handel and Hasse," which includes arias from Hasse's opera "Arminio," and the cantata "La Scusa". There are also examples of their music--alongside other fellow contemporaries--on albums such as Jaroussky's "Carestini, the story of a Castrato" and Genaux's "Arias for Farinelli", both of which I would highly recommend. Unfortunately, despite the current interest in and the wealth of Handel and Vivaldi operas being recorded, many opera works by Graun, Broschi, Leo, Vinci, Albinoni, Giacomelli to name a few, and Porpora and Hasse in particular, are yet to be premiered on recordings. Yes, there are cantatas, sacred works, and instrumental works to be found, but I can only think of Porpora's "Orlando", his oratorio "Il Gedeone," and Hasse's "Cleofide" and the late intermezzo "Piramo e Tisbe" being available (on Amazon). In this sense, compilations such as Simone Kerme's "Lava" are great tasters of the operas that--if all their scores are extant, and after full research and reconstruction--might finally come our way.



The arias on this CD were originally sung by the castrati Carestini, Salimbeni and `Caffarelli' (both taught by Porpora), plus prominent but lesser known castrati Mariano Nicolini detto `Marianino' and Angelo Monticelli, and prima donna Giovanna Astrua. Some singers are not attributed. Kermes does a fine job, but I would (humbly) give her singing 4 stars instead of 5. I'm no baroque specialist and don't have time to wax lyrical about the subtleties of voice and performance, but her albums "Arias for Cuzzoni" and "Amor Profano: Vivaldi Arias" see her, I feel, in stronger form. There are times her soprano singing seems too light and thin, and though her trademark top register is a pleasure to hear, her lower register does not, largely, have the depth and 'edge' required. This is more apparent on some arias than others... I was kept wanting more, to be touched more deeply. There are mezzo sopranos like Vivica Genaux or Jennifer Larmore amongst others, contraltos like Marie-Nicole Lemieux, or even a good countertenor that I would love to hear singing this repertoire. Personal taste aside, I agree with the previous reviewer that it's a worthwhile album to own.



Last time I went to youtube there were lots of official (Sony/harmonia mundi) videos of "Lava", so if you're after a taste of the music, and of Kermes sound, check it out."