Search - Sergey Prokofiev, Zoltan Kodaly, Antonin Dvorak :: Lucia Popp (Orfeo d'Or)

Exquisite recital of classical songs based on folk music

Barbara Miller | Bellevue, WA United States | 06/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have treasured this CD for years. It presents Lucia Popp's recital at the 1981 Salzberg Festival, accompanied by Geoffrey Parsons. The program balances exoticism with accessibility: we hear Russian, Hungarian, Czech and German art songs by late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century classical composers in their original languages, but because they are settings of folk songs or poetry, I found them easy to relate to even in the days when I was much more comfortable with Schubert or Mozart than with Mahler or Prokofiev. The last five pieces on the CD are encores, and Popp's performance of Rusalka's "Song to the Moon" in her native Czech is an especially welcome bonus in this set. Popp is in exquisite form in all of this music: warm, controlled, expressive throughout. The rising phrase at the opening of Mahler's "Ich ging mit Lust" where she moves from the resonant chest voice of the first note to the confident, sustained piano high note at the end is just an example of this. But even without all the other fine performances, I personally think the CD is worth owning just for the final song on the regular program: Brahms's "In stiller Nacht". The CD notes (which regrettably do not include texts and translations of the songs--I would take off a star for that, except that I think the performance rates 5 stars on its own) point out the "personal courage and inner control" required to end a recital program with a simple lyrical piece like this. Nevertheless, she performs it with such style and feeling as to make it unforgettable and to richly deserve the tumultuous applause that follows."

Heavenly singing from a much missed soprano

Isabella Channel | 07/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"God, I miss Lucia Popp! She was a soprano with a unique gift for communicating with her audience. In this Salzburg recital, one can readily appreciate how she could infuse life into every song she sang. For this unforgetable evening she chose an inspired selection of folksongs by great composers, each and every one a gem. The 3 opera arias are exquisite."