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OperaNotes Review
February 24, 2004
By Charlene Frank
Cecilia Bartoli
Salieri Arias
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Magnificent. I was thinking of just writing that one word - nothing
more. Simply Magnificent. But I write, and maybe if I were a writer
with the same stature Cecilia has as a singer, I could write just that one word
and nothing more, but I'm not, so... When I watch
her sing I can't help but think that someday Cecilia Bartoli will
conduct. I know that all singers feel their music, and in order to be in
her league they must feel it all the way through their bodies, but with her you
can see each note pulsate though the muscles in her face and neck, you can see
it move through her lips as she sings, and through her arms and the way she
moves her fingers as she sings. She becomes the music. I think she
will conduct someday. Although that would be great to see, it would be
incredibly frustrating to see her on the stage and not to hear her
sing.
Nobody does coloratura like Cecilia Bartoli. And watching her do it is
truly a full sensory experience, as thrilling for the eyes as it is for the
ears. Salieri's music is an excellent medium to allow Cecilia to fill your
senses. I don't know if Salieri's music is
of the same level as the other masters of his time, or if Ms. Barotoli
could sing "How much is that doggie in the window" and it would
sound like a masterpiece. But it was an unforgettable night at Carnegie
Hall. She was in perfect voice, her smile made everyone feel like
they knew her personally, and that she was happy for their attention. During the concert I was sure I was going to write about "Vi sono sponsa e amante"
and how remarkable it was. As I listened, amazed, to her singing and how
she used her body to give us this incredible sound, I knew we were getting her
best right up front. Then came "Se
spiegar potessi appieno" . How could any human being do
that? But then she turned into each instrument of the orchestra in "E vo
da buon marito...Non vo gia vi suonino" . Then she sang
Hayden. Just as each performance seems better than the last, because it is
the performance you are seeing now, each aria last night seemed better than the
last because that was the aria she was singing at that second. She's at
the top of her game; a mezzo without equal. The Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment accompanied her beautifully. They move together like old
friends. On the stage, in front of the stage and on the sides.
Everyone had a great time, everyone had a smile. She was, simply magnificent.
Grazie Cecilia.