COMPOSERS: Gluck-Berlioz,Gounod,Hahn,Massenet & Chabrier,Meyerbeer,Mozart,Offenbach,Thomas
LABELS: Erato
ALBUM TITLE: Oh, Boy!
WORKS: Arias by Gluck-Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Mozart, Offenbach, Thomas, Hahn, Gounod, Massenet & Chabrier
PERFORMER: Marianne Crebassa (mezzo-soprano); Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg/Marc Minkowski
CATALOGUE NO: 9029592762
In little more than a decade Marianne Crebassa has established herself in the first rank of a new generation of mezzo-sopranos. A former Paris Opera young artist, she sings at Salzburg and Berlin as well as in Paris, and has already made her American debut in Chicago.
And boy – can she wear the trousers well! Her Cherubino in ‘Voi che sapete’ trembles with anxious desire. Only the stoniest hearted woman could resist this ‘Non so più’, Crebassa by turns eager and breathless; and what daring there is in the slow section of the aria with the legato spun so finely that you fear that it will snap.
Elsewhere in this debut solo disc Crebassa excels in a pair of sparkling arias from Lucia Silla. But there are other treats from other composers whose men are women – and surprises too, just as there should be in the best recitals. The Prince from Massenet’s Cendrillon is never less than vocally charming, and the ‘Ballade à la lune’ from Offenbach’s Fantasio is tinged with heartfelt melancholy. As you would expect, Marc Minkowski with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg are gallant supporters, but it’s the boy that we should be mad about.
Christopher Cook