The Art of the Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano

The Art of the Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano

by Dolora ZajickDolora Zajick

Overview

With this solo aria disc -- her first, despite numerous appearances on complete recorded operas -- the American mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick makes a strong claim for diva status. The years of waiting have paid off: Any listener can relax and enjoy this 69-minute ride through Zajick's impressively varied offering of dramatic arias. It's no surprise that she is at her best in Verdi -- her Amneris in Aida and Azucena in Il Trovatore are justly celebrated -- but she also makes distinctive impressions in Tchaikovsky's Joan of Arc (sung, unusually for a non-Russian, in the original language, not the "French version"), Mussorgsky's Khovanschina, and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.. The effort at encyclopedic repertoire is laudable, but it must be admitted that the singer is less impressive in bel canto works such as Rossini's Semiramide: The rapid runs and attacks don't give her voice enough room to sound and breathe. And Zajick's strongest asset, her sheer, muscular vocal size -- she has the kind of voice that can rattle any opera house, however huge -- can't be conveyed by a recording, even if you bump up your stereo's volume. In two soprano arias from Verdi's Macbeth, however, you'll hear Zajick's voice swell and command the composer's big vocal lines with authority, and she easily manages the gleaming top notes that so many other Verdianas anguish over. This album should be savored for Zajick's commanding work in the repertoire of this crucial composer and also for her surprising fluency in Gluck's Alceste -- a work from a corner of opera Zajick will hopefully explore further in future albums.

Product Details

Release Date: 07/25/2000
Label: Telarc
UPC: 0089408055720
catalogNumber: 80557
Rank: 131229

Tracks

  1. Maid of Orléans, The (Jeanne d'Arc), opera in 4 acts: Prastite vy, xalmy
  2. Khovanshchina, opera in 5 acts, edited by Rimsky-Korsakov: Sily patainyye
  3. Adriana Lecouvreur, opera: Acerba voluttà
  4. Semiramide, opera: Ah! Quel giorno ognor rammento
  5. Cavalleria rusticana, opera in 1 act: Voi lo sapete
  6. Samson et Dalila, opera in 3 acts, Op. 47: Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix
  7. Don Carlo, opera: O don fatale
  8. Il Trovatore, opera: Condotta ell'era in ceppi
  9. Alceste (French version), opera, in 3 acts, Wq. 44: Divinités du Styx
  10. Orphée et Eurydice (French version), opera in 3 acts, Wq. 41: J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
  11. Macbeth, opera: La luce langue
  12. Macbeth, opera: Una macchia è qui tuttora

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