Momento Immobile Arias by Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini Venera Gimadieva (soprano), Natalia Brzezińska (mezzo-soprano), Alberto Sousa (tenor); The Hallé/Gianluca Marcianò Rubicon RCD1021 77:44 mins
From a character perspective, female protagonists in bel canto opera – a style that was popularised in the 19th century – had a rotten time of it. They were generally portrayed as passionate to the point of instability, desirable (to men) and unobtainable. There was no doubt in Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti et al’s minds: Eve was a soprano. The bel canto heroines, therefore, have some of the most expressive, acrobatic lines in the repertory – and it is those that Venera Gimadieva has selected for this ‘best of’ collection, recorded with The Hallé.
Gimadieva tackles the coloratura with dexterity, presenting characterful interpretations throughout. In ‘Regnava nel silenzio’ from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, the Russian soprano captures the precariousness of the eponymous heroine’s position, and foreshadows her upcoming break from reality. Mezzo-soprano Natalia Brzezińska features as the maid; returning later for ‘Assia a pièd’un salice’ (Otello, Rossini), along with tenor Alberto Sousa. Both serve to highlight Gimadieva’s vocal pyrotechnics, which are at their most exuberant in ‘Ah! Non credea … Ah! non giunge’ (La sonnambula, Bellini), where we imagine Gimadieva lost in a hallucinatory slumber. The Hallé, conducted by Gianluca Marcianò, are sympathetic collaborators throughout, upping the ante during an enjoyable ‘Willow Song’.
Claire Jackson