Soile Isokoski's 2002 album of orchestral songs by Richard Strauss marked her as a singer of compact vocal splendor and interpretive spark, and her growing international career in the 2000s indicated that those same qualities were as vivid in live performance as on recording. All of which makes the strange flatness of this Mozart aria collection puzzling. Isokoski has the vocal and musical chops to put a lively stamp on every one of these excerpts, but you'd never know it if this were your only exposure to her work. From a ...
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Soile Isokoski's 2002 album of orchestral songs by Richard Strauss marked her as a singer of compact vocal splendor and interpretive spark, and her growing international career in the 2000s indicated that those same qualities were as vivid in live performance as on recording. All of which makes the strange flatness of this Mozart aria collection puzzling. Isokoski has the vocal and musical chops to put a lively stamp on every one of these excerpts, but you'd never know it if this were your only exposure to her work. From a purely vocal standpoint, it's fine -- only the chesty low notes of Fiordiligi's "Come scoglio" seem to push her outside her comfortable envelope. But there is a lack of engagement with the texts and dramatic situations that robs most every selection of its vitality. Peter Schreier's tidy but low-key musical direction could use the occasional shot of Tabasco, but in most cases it's just a case of flat vocal delivery. The above-mentioned "Come scoglio" sounds friendly, even...
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Includes disc(s), case, booklet, and back artwork. May show slight wear. Disc(s) are professionally cleaned and may contain only light scratches that do not effect functionality.