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Jennifer Larmore Sings Great Operatic AriasPhilharmonia Orchestra of London Orchestra, Jennifer Larmore Mezzo-Soprano
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The foundation created by British philanthropist Sir Peter Moores has contributed to a wide variety of projects, from scholarships for minority youth to the establishment of art galleries. Music lovers are particularly in his debt for his efforts to bring opera to a wider public, which include commissioning new works, staging obscure operas, subsidizing the recording of operatic rarities, and the production and recording of the standard repertoire in English translation. This last effort is particularly significant because it lays to rest the widely accepted truism that English is an inadequate language for bel canto singing. The recordings of dozens of complete operas translated from a half a dozen languages, as well as many recitals of arias in English, make it clear that in good translation, English is perfectly well suited to bel canto, and the advantages of hearing an opera in one's native language often more than compensates for what is lost.
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore makes a strong case for opera in English in this recital, and her performance of the arias and ensembles is fully persuasive. Her tone is remarkably even throughout her wide range, and she is as effective in soprano roles such as Donna Elvira and contralto roles such as Tancredi as in the traditional mezzo repertoire. Her warm characterizations are especially effective in the more poignant selections, such as Leonora's aria from La Favorita, "See, O Norma," (Mira, O Norma), and Eboli's "O hated gift," ("O don fatale"). She is less than fully convincing only in Juliet's "Waltz Song," where her intonation is uncharacteristically shaky in the heavily ornamented opening phrases. David Parry, leading the Philharmonia Orchestra, offers her secure and energetic accompaniment. Chandos' sound is mostly good—clean and deep—but in a few passages the orchestra overpowers the voice.
© Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide
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© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
