Exquisite as expected.
R.S. | 06/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This longely awaited album is simply extraordinary. Miss Mijanovic's voice is more virile than ever. One will undoubtedly find it hard to believe that a it's a female singing when she performs the famous "Ah ! Stigie Larve". Her dramatic involvement is just breathtaking : I expected her solo debut album to be excellent, but it's actually beyond what I could ever have imagined ! Marijana performs these arias in the most original fashion, making them all hers, and most importantly, she dares to take some risks, and it pays off ! She exhibits an amazingly fast and accurate coloratura in "Se Fiera Belva Ha Cinto", whereas the vocalises of the "Vile ! Se Mi Dai Vita" are intentionally slower to the benefit of the dramatic aria. In other words, this album demonstrate that Miss Mijanovic not only excels at singing in a more traditional way, but she also shines when deciding to impose her own touch on the arias. Like Hilary Summers (another great, yet less agile contralto), Marijana Mijanovic often uses her lower register in a baritonal way which makes her singing even more original and exciting. I'm truly hoping that the album will get the success it deserves and can't wait the upcoming David from Conti (directed by Alan Curtis) in which Miss Mijanovic had the lead. With her deliciously dark voice and her incredible talent as a dramatic vocal actress, we have probably here one of the best current Baroque Singers. Although her voice is neither as dark, nor as powerful as the unequalled Kathleen Ferrier's (probalby the best contralto ever), Marijana shows the same love for the music and dramatic abilities as the former. Let us hope that the young Serbian contralto will soon release a live DVD."
A bit of a disappointment, but still worthwhile
Chris Protopapas | New York | 02/13/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"First off, I love Marijana Mijanovic. After hearing her on many recordings of complete operas, including Minkowski's "Giulio Cesare", I had the good fortune of hearing her live at Zankel Hall in New York City, in a performance of Vivaldi's "Andromeda Liberata". Not only is she stunningly beautiful, but the quality of her voice is remarkable; it simply has to be heard to be believed. One critic rightly compared it to molten chocolate. This brings me to my first problem with this current recording; it totally fails to bring out the true quality of Ms. Mijanovic's voice. She sounds a bit like an "old-fashioned" mezzo-soprano here, not the sleek space-age version. The second problem is the choice of music for this CD itself. I'm not opposed to including orchestral interludes in recital programs, but here it is carried a little far, to the detriment of Ms. Mijanovic. Starting out, incomprehensibly so, with the minuet from Rodelinda, a poor choice to begin with, we are in turn treated to extended orchestral excerpts from "Radamisto" and "Siroe", leaving precious little time on the album for vocals. The arias from Giulio Cesare and Orlando are quite nicely done, the ones from Radamisto a bit less so, suffering from a mannered performance that I found surprising coming from Marijana Mijanovic.
The aria from "Siroe" is a welcome rarity. The quality of the orchestral playing is very high, especially in the beautiful passacaille from Radamisto. In all, still a worthwhile disc, but a bit a bit of a disappointment considering the high expectations."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1