Search - Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov :: Olga Borodina & Dmitri Hvorostovsky: Arias/Duets

Two great voices make a great match

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 06/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A marvelous mix of solo arias and duets, these two fabulous voices blend beautifully, and have here chosen an interesting selection to delight our ears.Rossini: Dmitri's glorious voice, and musical sensibilities, manage to bring a freshness even to the perhaps too familiar "Largo al Factotum"...compared with his '92 recording of this, his Italian here is even crisper, and voice even more honey-golden. Olga sings the part of Rosina (as it was originally written) in her wonderful warm mezzo,doing the famous "Una Voce Poco Fa" to perfection.Donizetti: Sumptuously melodic and wonderfully sung, Olga's "O Mio Fernando" is exquisite. Rimsky-Korsakov: Though his operas are little known, these selections from "The Tsar's Bride" may make you want to hear more, and if you don't already have them, get all the available Dmitri CDs !Saving the best for last, Saint-Saens' "J'ai Gravi la Montagne" from "Samson et Dalila" is sensational. Their voices really shine in this gorgeous duet...it's a spectacular piece.The English Chamber Orchestra led by Patrick Summers does an excellent job here (especially in the Saint-Saens) and the little "libretto" is in the original sung language (the Russian in cyrillic) and with an English translation.As a huge Dmitri fan, and an admirer of Olga Borodina, I find this well-rounded CD of arias/duets make for some very satifying listening."

Oh, the wonderful chemistry here!

Alejandra Vernon | 06/05/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A delightful concept album indeed. Borodina and Hvorostovsky are indeed more than competent equals. If the recordings of the 'Tsar's Bride' music are any indication, they should fill up opera houses and become better known in a very few years. Hooray for the young Russians!"

Sensational Duet

Alejandra Vernon | 04/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Borodina & Hvorostovsky team created at most dream like sound here. I'd like to hear more of great duet like this but not much chance, no wonder this CD has been a hit since it's release. We are really hungry for good Bell Canto operas. Why there isn't much available? I had a pleasure of attending concert opera performance of La Favorita at the Carnegie Hall in March. Mr. Hvorostovsky sung King Alfonso and he was absolutely wonderful. I thought he was 100 times better than I imagined. If Donizetti could hear, he would be very happy. Complete recording of Tsar's bride is available and I really appreciate if they release complete version of Barbiere and Favorita by these sensational current artists together."