Search - Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi :: Oralia Dominguez, Mezzo-Soprano - Arias

Pretty good but not amazing

R. Mark | 02/23/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"One of the most amazing recordings I own is the live AIDA performance from Mexico City with Maria Callas, Mario Del Monaco and Oralia Dominguez as Amneris. She is absolutely amazing on that recording so I was excited when this CD came out. Unfortunately, this recital CD is good but not great. Maybe because it is recorded in a studio one gets a clearer idea of what Oralia Dominguez's voice was like faults and all. It's a wild voice that was probably best appreciated live in the house where, like on the AIDA recording with Callas, she tears the place apart. The Carmen arias are actually the best thing on the CD, the other arias are pretty good but never amazing. One is left with the impression that she must have been born with a very good instrument that for whatever reason never achieved it's full potential. All in all still interesting but not amazing."

Great Discovery!

Andrew Beyzman | Brooklyn, NY United States | 05/24/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit that even though I'm quite an Italian opera buff, I haven't heard of Oralia Dominguez. I've read a review of this album in an opera magazine and decided to buy it. I have to say that I'm very impressed with her voice! It is velvety and deep, with nice tessitura; occasionally (as in "Il Trovatore" excerpt) she sounds almost like a contralto. It actually reminds me of Fiorenza Cossotto - one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of all time.

Overall I feel that dramatic selections on this CD are better. My favorite is "Oh mio Fernando" from "La Favorita" - a true Donizetti masterpiece that has never been fully appreciated and is grossly underperformed (perhaps because it is so difficult to cast properly!). " Condotta ell'era in ceppi" from "Il Trovatore" shows her range and very fine lower register. She handles Verdi's "O Don Fatale" very well indeed!

"Lacrymosa" from one of my all-time favorite compositions - Verdi's Requiem - seems to suffer from poor acoustic balance, which is a shame, since it has an amazing energy.

I think that anyone who likes low voices should consider this CD. It certainly illustrates the voice of the Golden Age of opera that, in today's world of cookie-cutter singers, no longer exists."

A Voice to Remember

The Night Owl out on the Town | Los Angeles, CA United States | 04/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While not totally disputing anything said by the other two reviewers, I have to say if someone with a voice like this came along right now, there would be a lot more attention given. Wild? Maybe in Mexico City in that thrilling 1951 Aida where everyone seems to be giving 150%, but here I'd say just exciting and passionate. She makes you sit up and listen. There is nothing routine about the vocal contributions here. She may well have been the Lyuba Welitsch of mezzos, but what's wrong with that?

Some of the accompaniments are trifle cautious and careful, but the singing itself is worth hearing. I'd happily have paid to see this singer live. Don Carlo and Bizet stand out, but I'd say this is a great voice at the start of what might have been a great career. You have to wonder if she came along too soon. I'm sorry the US didn't see much of her. They should have."