Album

This album's title, Amoureuses, refers to operatic characters who are motivated by some aspect of love, from its purest romantic form to its more warped distortion. The characters come from works by three of the greatest composers of the Classical era, Mozart, Haydn, and Gluck. French soprano Patricia Petibon has a voice of piercing purity, sparkling silvery lightness, and dazzling agility. Her range is unusually wide, so that she can easily handle roles for both high coloratura and lyric soprano, serenely floating or darting madly about high above the staff or plunging with full strength to the depths of the soprano register. The range of arias shows not only her musical scope, including both the warmly lyric and the most outrageously demanding coloratura, but a thoughtfulness and emotional honesty that demonstrate real dramatic breadth, to the extent that she's willing to sound less than absolutely lovely when the drama demands it. The arias range from Susanna's Deh vieni, non tardar and Barbarina's L'ho perduta to the Queen of the Night's Der Hölle Rache, but the bulk of the album is made up of repertoire that's far more obscure, and it's in some of these less familiar arias that Petibon makes the strongest impression. Mozart is represented by his insertion aria, Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!, and arias from Lucio Silla and Zaide, Gluck by arias from two operas, and Haydn by arias from five. Salamelica, Semprugna cara, from Haydn's Lo Speziale is a marvel of comic eccentricity, and Eurydice's death scene from his L'anima del filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Euridice showcases the singer's gift for lyrically sustaining long lines. The passion that erupts in the aria from Zaide, and in the Gluck scene from Armide that ends the album, is nothing short of astonishing. Daniel Harding leads Concerto Köln in a refined and spirited accompaniment that is keenly geared to matching Petibon's interpretations. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is clear and clean, with good balance.

© Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide

CD 1
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer Il Mondo della Luna, Hob.XXVIII:7 (opera)...Act 1 Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
1	14.Aria: Ragion nell'alma siede	5:00			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Vorrei spiegarvi, o Dio, for soprano and orchestra, K.418 Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
2	Vorrei spiegarvi, o Dio, for soprano and orchestra, K.418	6:38			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K.620 (Singspiel)...Act 2 Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
3	6a.Queen of the Night's Aria: Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen	3:09			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K.492 (opera buffa)...Act 4 Work 4:58 Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
4	1.Cavatina: L'ho perduta, me meschina	2:00			$0.99
5	10.Aria: Deh vieni, non tardar, o gioia bella	2:58			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Lucio Silla, K.135 (dramma per musica) Work 12:49 Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
6	Act 2. Accompagnato and Aria. Vanne. T'affretta - Ah! se il crudel periglio	9:54			$1.49
7	Act 3. Aria. Fra i pensier più funesti di morte	2:55			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer Lo Speziale, Hob.XXVIII:3 ('Der Apotheker'; opera) Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
8	Act 3. Aria. Salamelica, Semprugna cara	1:44			$0.49
Christoph Willibald von Gluck Composer Armide, Wq.45 (opera in 5 acts) Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
9	Act 2. Aria. Venez, secondez mes désirs	2:31			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer Armida, Hob.XXVIII:12 (opera)...Act 2 Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
10	25.Aria: Odio, furor, dispetto	2:04			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer L'anima del Filosofo, Hob.XXVIII:13 ('Orfeo ed Euridice'; opera)...Act 2 Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
11	24.Aria: Del mio core il voto estremo	3:41			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer L'isola Disabitata, Hob.XXVIII:9 ('The Desert Island'; opera)...Act 1 Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
12	9.Aria: Fra un dolce deliro	4:25			$0.99
Christoph Willibald von Gluck Composer Iphigénie en Tauride, opera in 4 acts, Wq. 46...Act 4 Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
13	1.Scene 1: Non, cet affreux devoir je ne puis le remplir	3:45			$0.99
Christoph Willibald von Gluck Composer Armide, Wq.45 (opera in 5 acts) Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
14	Act 3. Aria. Ah! Si la liberté me doit être ravie	4:10			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Zaide (Das Serail), K.344 (Singspiel) Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
15	Act 2. Aria. Tiger! Wetze nur die Klauen	5:15			$0.99
Christoph Willibald von Gluck Composer Armide, Wq.45 (opera in 5 acts) Work Patricia Petibon Soprano, Daniel Harding Conductor, Concerto Köln Ensemble
16	Act 5. Aria. Le perfide Renauc me fuit / Recitative and Postlude. Quand le barbare était en ma puissance	6:52			$0.99