Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva was only 20 when she made this recording of scenes and arias from Rossini operas, but she was already a veteran, having recorded Bach's Mass in B minor for Naïve when she was 18. Lezhneva has the solid lower register and timbral fullness that ideally equips her for the Rossini roles that can be taken by either mezzo-soprano or soprano. She is entirely at ease as Cenerentola, a role designated as contralto. She's exceptional in each of these scenes for a number of reasons. She has a ...
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Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva was only 20 when she made this recording of scenes and arias from Rossini operas, but she was already a veteran, having recorded Bach's Mass in B minor for Naïve when she was 18. Lezhneva has the solid lower register and timbral fullness that ideally equips her for the Rossini roles that can be taken by either mezzo-soprano or soprano. She is entirely at ease as Cenerentola, a role designated as contralto. She's exceptional in each of these scenes for a number of reasons. She has a preternaturally solid technique; there are few singers of any age or level of experience who could toss off Rossini's coloratura roulades with such apparent ease. Her execution of the devilishly demanding music is miraculously smooth and even, without a hint of effort, as if it were the simplest and most spontaneous thing in the world. Her tone throughout her wide range is gorgeous; warm, velvety, creamy, luxurious, shimmering are adjectives that hardly begin to describe it. She is especially...
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