Search - Francesco Cilea, Pietro Mascagni, Franco Alfano :: Puccini, Giordano, Leoncavallo, Cilea - Verismo / Soviero

Interesting repertoire

M. Tietjen | Syracuse, NY, USA | 02/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bravo to Diana Soviero for helping us to understand that there is more to verismo than just Puccini and "Cavalleria Rusticana." Very decent performances of these arias are enough to give this album four stars, but the repertoire is so unusual that this album definitely deserves five. Of course, there are the standards--"Un bel di," for example, or "Senza mamma," or "Io son l'umile ancella." But there are also "Un di (ero piccina)" from the neglected opera "Iris," the aria from LEONCAVALLO's Bohème, and even some completely unheard of gems such as "O mia cuna fiorita" or even "Dio pietoso" by Alfano (gasp! He DID accomplish something besides completing "Turandot")."

Soprano Soviero scores a hit despite minor difficulties...

Bob Smith | Port Crane, NY USA | 10/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Diana Soviero has always been a favorite soprano of mine so I was delighted to discover her VERISMO album. What she presents are selections common and some not so common from the Verismo school. A true 'actress-singer', Soviero's gifts for interpretation are most impressive. While she sings these challenging selections with great detail, the voice isn't always as responsive to the singers demands, resulting in an occasional 'edge' to her upper register and an unruly wide vibrato.Overall, the soprano meets her tasks head on, delivering a shocking and at times, thrilling delivery with her warm and luscious soprano. Mascagni's overlooked opera, IRIS, gives us a heart rendering aria in 'Un Di.' Soviero's climactic phrase is most exciting and her tone, lovely. Cilea's 'Io son l'umile ancella' from ADRIANA LECOUVREUR opens the disc with the soprano spinning out a lushness of sound from the haunting pianissimo's to the ascending climax. Rarely can a soprano so successfully negotiate this control, from piano to forte and vice versa. Soviero maintains this quality, giving each selection even more pathos and innate beauty. Leoncavallo's ZAZA is lovingly plyed out in the aria, 'Dir che ci sono al mondo.' Soviero's delicacy of phrasing and warm lower register (rare in her comtemporaries) makes this aria a particular jewel. That we could see Soviero perform this opera live or at least give us a complete recording would be a dream.Listen to her emotional 'Solo, perduto, abbandonata' from Puccini's MANON LESCAUT. Her impeccable dramatic abilities are well displayed, especially when she sings the desperate 'tutto finito', breaking off vocally while dipping into that marvelous chest register for heightened effect. Of course, we have the two arias from Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY. Needless to say, Soviero owns this role and her gift of evoking emotion in her listener are captured within these pieces.The other selections are deftly carried out with the conviction of a true singer/actress and Soviero is in a class by herself here. While there may be vocal limitations at times, Soviero's grasp for the dramatic needs totally negate any real concerns for a vocal/tonal deficiency. Like Callas, this is an artist with something to say and Soviero succeeds on every level. Diana Soviero is a first rate singer and how lucky for her listeners, that she has given us these selections from the rich and moving verismo movement."