Search - Gioachino Rossini, Maria Bayo, Rinaldo Alessandrini :: Rossini: Opera Arias and Overtures with Maria Bayo and Rinaldo Alessandrini

Mario Bayo has won a strong following through her singing of Baroque rarities. Here, she turns to Rossini arias, on which her small, bright soprano generates lots of agility and allure but insufficient color and depth. There's the welcome inclusion of relative rarities, such as the aria from Rossini's first success, the one-act L'inganno felice, and an aria the composer added for a revival of Barber of Seville. Of course, that opera's popular "Una voce poco fa" is here, too, done with brio if not with the coloratura fireworks others bring to it. A special treat is the contribution of Rinaldo Alessandrini's Concerto Italiano. In addition to characterful accompaniments, they play two overtures with wonderful zest, see-through transparency, and tonal polish. Beefed up to 33 players, this crack period-instrument band imbues every phrase with life, and the sound of their wind section is ravishing. To hear the way the ensemble rips into the Overture to La scala di sieta is alone worth the price of purchase. --Dan Davis