Hugo Wolf's songs are some of the most beautiful and sophisticated chamber music ever written. Nothing is predictable in his writing and the range of emotions and atmospheres described is very wide. It means that it requires everything from the performers. I think that Irwin Gage is entirely up to the task - his playing has a rich tonal palette and the piano is nicely recorded - the sound rich yet intimate. Arleen Augér is one of the most refined interpreters of her generation - her musical imagination and good taste are beyond reproach - and she's using all her resources (including fluent German) in these performances. And this is where problems begin - quite often one notices that she is in the limit of what she can offer vocally. Sometimes the tone can be a bit too open, unstable or shrill. In the most intimate songs, such as Im Frühling, one doesn't notices at all and only her floating tones, ease and beautiful phrasing appear, but in songs like Wo find ich Trost? the above mentioned problems appear in a slightly disturbing way. I feel uncomfortable not being 100% positive about this disc, since it contains performances from an utterly lovely singer, but comparison is problematic. I cannot be counted as a Schwarzkopf-ian, but the fact is that Dame Elisabeth really is the most satisfying performer in comparison. The tone is more velvety and richer and she surpasses Augér in creativity and wit (even if not in sensitivity). For instance, in Die Bekehrte, the more sensuous atmosphere is provided by Schwarzkopf, while things run on a more "innocent" level with Augér. However, I cannot think of another Wolf recital so well chosen as this one. You'll hardly find another collection of the Mörike and Goethe Lieder as complete as this one - and, one cannot say it enough - sensitively sung and played.

Hugo Wolf's songs are some of the most beautiful and sophisticated chamber music ever written. Nothing is predictable in his writing and the range of emotions and atmospheres described is very wide. It means that it requires everything from the performers. I think that Irwin Gage is entirely up to the task - his playing has a rich tonal palette and the piano is nicely recorded - the sound rich yet intimate. Arleen Augér is one of the most refined interpreters of her generation - her musical imagination and good taste are beyond reproach - and she's using all her resources (including fluent German) in these performances. And this is where problems begin - quite often one notices that she is in the limit of what she can offer vocally. Sometimes the tone can be a bit too open, instable or shrill. In the most intimate songs, such as Im Frühling, one doesn't notices at all and only her floating tones, ease and beautiful phrasing appear, but in songs like Neue Liebe the above mentioned problems appear in a slightly disturbing way. I feel uncomfortable not being 100% positive about this disc, since it contains performances from an utterly lovely singer, but comparison is problematic. I cannot be counted as a Schwarzkopf-ian, but the fact is that Dame Elisabeth really is the most satisfying performer in comparison. The tone is more velvety and richer and she surpasses Augér in creativity and wit (even if not in sensitivity). For instance, in Die Bekehrte, the more sensuous atmosphere is provided by Schwarzkopf, while things run on a more "innocent" level with Augér. However, I cannot think of another Wolf recital so well chosen as this one. You'll hardly find another collection of the Mörike and Goethe Lieder as complete as this one - and, one cannot say it enough - sensitively sung and played.

Gundula Janowitz is one of the most special singers to have appeared on recording studios - her voice has an etheral quality that is expressive by its own nature and her performances in opera, oratorio and concert hall deserve highest praises. When it comes to Lieder, demands on singers' artistry and expression are intensified. Many fans of Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau may find this disc disappointing - "it is only a beautiful voice". In fact, this is a disc that gains from repeated listenings. Once Christa Ludwig said that the art of Lieder singing is a most subtle art - the art of creating an atmosphere of spontaneity and naturality so that emotions can flow easily and, if the listener doesn't get the impression that he himself can sing it - then it was a bad performance. And that naturality is exactly what Gundula Janowitz achieves here: everything sounds like beautiful singable music that comes from the heart and goes to the heart. Of course, individually, those songs have been sung with quite more distinctively. For example the Wiegenlied D498 doesn't have this "just for my baby" atmosphere Sarah Walker creates in her Hyperion recital, An die Sonne has only the silvery atmosphere of the moonlight, but not the intense yearning Margaret Price brings to it (again on Hyperion) and I thought that, in Im Frühling, Cheryl Studer, with the same pianist, finds the bittersweet atmosphere that lacks here. However, on the whole, the sums of the parts is greater than the individual songs. On repeated listenings, one notice that Janowitz' care not to disturb the purely musical expressive elements of these songs is not devoid of vocal inflections and tone colouring - only they are of the subtlest nature. The performance of Du bist die Ruh on this disc has the most extactic and sensuous reading by Janowitz and Berthas Lied in der Nacht has a richness of description that, nevertheless, never disturb her purest stream of heavenly tone. I have to confess that the idea that each time this disc seems more interesting and beautiful to my ears is a prove that it is a superior recording that should be in every collector of Lieder performance discs. The recording, however, lacks some naturality and not all the harmonics of the piano are faithfully recorded. It is unnecessary to praise Irwin Gage - his partnership with singers have always been a model and so it is here.

It wasn't long ago that I discovered the Malgoire recordings of the Da Ponte/Mozart operas. Those recordings have a beguiliging intimacy, theatricality and a certain rough-edged quality that please me very much, since it feels like you were listening to a very believable "original" Mozart atmosphere (different from certain "pasteurized" studio-bound international cast recordings offered as the real thing). There certainly are problems, though. As I said, I like the rough-edged quality of the playing, with noticeable individual string sounds from the members of the small orchestra (something that gives character to the performance IMO) and focus on woodwind - this can be disturbing to those used to more rounded orchestral sound. Also, the tempi sometimes are irregular. Generally, it has a nice pace, neither fastest nor slowest - it is very comfortable and sounds right, except when sometimes one feels that it could be livelier and that it is not so because the conductor is adjusting for deficiencies of soloists and orchestra. However, what probably discourages most people is the casting. The team works really better in Don Giovanni, where Véronique Gens' Donna Elvira is a major performance. Here, Malgoire's Donna Anna, Danielle Borst, is the Countess Almaviva. Although this role is more suited to her light lyric voice, I think that Anna found her in slightly better voice. That said, her undemonstrative Countess is incredibly engaging. The voice is creamy and pleasing, her Porgi, Amor is an example of Mozartian singing and she is incredibly expressive in ensemble and recitative. Only Dove Sono offers problems - the stretta founds her a bit nervous and it spoils a bit the fun. I think that Sophie Marin-Degor is probably the most successful soloist here and that's all for the better, since there is no doubt that Susanna is the main role in this opera. The voice is very very pleasing, shimmering, warm and spontaneous, and she has all the necessary charisma. If she could offer true pianissimo in Deh vieni, non tardar, she would enter my list of the best Susannas. Laura Polverelli's Cherubino is another positive element of this performance, a rich mezzo voice that takes to light singing, and she doesn't miss one comma of the text to make sense. Again, if she could try some mezza voce, her Cherubino would be a complete success. Claudine le Coz has a charming voice and offers acceptable if unsensational coloratura as Marzellina. I have the best words for Patrick Donnely's Bartolo - he sings his aria so well, so entertainingly and within the limits of good taste that I felt inclined to listen to it twice in the first time. From now on, the nice words won't appear. In my opinion, the casting of Huub Claessens in the bass roles in this series is enough to compromise it. The voice is juiceless and uninteresting to unacceptable levels. However, the strongest disappointment was Nicolas Rivenq's Count. He was such a nice Don Giovanni, but tested by the most sophisticated writing for the count, he failed. The high notes are too high for him, he doesn't have impressive low ones and flexibility is not a word that comes to my mind. That said, both baritones blend wonderfully in the main quality of this set - theatricality. The performance has a fascinating sense of stage. All members of the cast know how to inflect their singing in a meaningful and witty way and recitatives are simply delightful. I have to say that, in its unpretentious way, this is a performance that brings more of Beaumarchais than any other - although I wouldn't recommend it to be the only one in your collection.

Anne Sofie Von Otter's vocalism is simply one of the most sophisticated these days and, in this disc, she sings music of a very sophisticated nature. The Mallarmé songs are, in its own right, some of the most creative and exquisite in the French repertoire and here Von Otter produces sounds of instrumental and yet most expressive nature. The Chanson Perpetuelle is also sung in the most expressive and wide tonal range and the Swedish mezzo's French couldn't be more idiomatic. It is no wonder that her Mélisande in the Paris Opera was considered to be a complete success. She offers highly virtuosistic and sensitive performances in the Hindu songs and the Fauré are all delicious. My only doubt is about the inclusion of Poulenc's Rhapsodie Nègre in this recital. It has nothing to do with the rest of the pieces and it is an uninspiring piece, especially today when épater la bourgeoisie is something nobody cares about anymore. It is a minor problem in such a nice disc, but I regret that she didn't record here more Fauré and why not some Debussy? Forsberg is the usual nicest pianist and the rest of the team offer great ensemble performances. Wonderfully recorded sound by DG.

Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux is one of the most beautiful operas in the bel canto repertoire. It has a dramatic forward movement, an interesting libretto and richness of melodic invention and characterization. Although there is an interesting performance with Charles Mackerras, with Beverly Sills, the newer performance has two qualities that outclass the previous recording. The first is Edita Gruberova in the leading role. To speak the truth, neither Sills nor Gruberova are exactly the kind of voice Donizetti meant to the role, which was supposed to be a soprano drammatico d’agilità. However, Gruberova’s voice is far more substantial than Sills and she displays less a sophisticated and stylist piece of singing rather than prima donna show off. Gruberova will always remain a controversial singing - she has her Viennese vocal production and some mannerisms. Objectively, one could say she sounds too young for Elisabetta and I think this increases dramatic interest. If Elisabetta is so obviously repelent, Devereux would be simply a gigolo and I think that was not Donizetti’s and his libretist’s idea. Observations apart, she is in excellent voice and displays some weight and dramatic thrust unknown to those who are used to her older recordings. Her skill with recitatives and command of dramatic situations in also impressive and her closing scene is simply a tour de force - her display of declamation, coloratura and dynamic variety is simply something that must be heard to be believed. The second source of interest here is Haider’s excellent conducting with nice response from the orchestra, expertly recorded by Nightingale’s engineers. The tenor here is also very interesting. I have never heard Don Bernardini before and he has a most pleasing tenor and, most of the time, avoids ...tricks. He is not an outstandingly creative artist, but it is a relieve to find a naturally produced voice in the tenor Fach in this repertoire. Now we come to the problematic points. Delores Ziegler is an artist I have always admired because of her good taste and technical skill, but here she sounds overparted as Sara. The voice lacks focus, the high notes sound difficult and she can be awkward with her divisions. In my opinion, if this part is not cast with a nicest mezzo, the opera simply doesn’t make much sense. Ettore Kim, playing her husband, is another drawback. The voice also lacks focus and is not exactly pleasing. Those liabilities make it difficult to give this recording 5 starts, but it definitely deserves solid 4 stars, for the outstanding performance of Gruberova, the pleasing tenor of Bernardini, the beautiful conducting of Haider and excellent recorded sound by Nightingale - a most interesting recording label, which has been dedicating to some operas major labels reject and promoting nicest new singers too. I take profit of the occasion to recommend the video of Teatro San Carlo, Naples, which, beyond being a most beautiful production, has an interesting dramatic coloratura for Elisabetta, a most appealing (including visually) mezzo and also a pleasing tenor in Giuseppe Sabbatini.

The Hyperion Schubert Edition has plenty of extraordinary discs, but Sarah Walker's is a hidden treasure. Her voice is warm, beautiful, expressive and she is such a gifted interpreter that each song has an atmosphere of its own. She makes wonders of strophic songs and each stanza has completely different inflections and vocal colouring. She also givis vivid and exciting performances of the ballads and her Erlkönig is one of the most impressive - the voice of the boy is eerily real. Johnson is - as usual - a nicest accompanist

If you like Strauss or if you'd like to investigate his lyric repertoire, this is the disc to get. Not only the conducting is excellent, but also the Staatskapelle Dresden produces the most beautiful sounds - and the recording quality is natural and pleasant. Della Casa and Rothenberger show all their versatility and insight (not to mention vocal beauty - in the Rosenkavalier, Rothenberger sings both Octavian in Act I and Sophie in Act II and Della Casa sings the Marschallin in Act I and Octavian in Act II. Della Casa is in her mature form and really makes sense of the text. Rothenberger is simply amazing, she's both ardent and impetuous as Octavian and the very portrait of sweetness as Sophie.

If you want to listen to an "authentic" Viennese Rosenkavalier, this is the one. Erich Kleiber sets the model of how this piece should be conducted and the Vienna Philharmonic transparent sound is everything this music calls for. The recording is mono, but natural and very clear. The cast couldn't be more natural in this repertoire. Although Maria Reining is accused of being past her best days (in her best days, she was unbeatable!), she is still the most aristocratic Marschallin. She avoids sentimentality and goes for a witty, sophisticated and nonchalant performance. Her creamy soprano is still the instrument Strauss himself was so fond of. Sena Jurinac's Octavian is a classical impersonation. Her voice is silvery as the rose she is going to deliver to Sophie, but still retains an inimitable warmth. Everything she does exhales musicianship and she proves here why she was a favourite at the Vienna State Opera. Ludwig Weber's dark bass fulfills everything Strauss asked him to do in a natural Viennese accent. Only Hilde Güden is a bit heavy handed about her Sophie, but she doesn't spoil the fun and there is still Anton Dermota's Italian Tenor!

Among Mozart vocal works, Il Re Pastore is considered to be an inferior work or even a boring piece. If this is your opinion, you should listen to this recording. Harnoncourt conducts his orchestra with such energy and understanding of Mozartian style, that the piece turns to be a source of constand delight from beginning to end. The cast is very interesting, even if some voices could be more perfect. Eva Mei is an adept Elisa, with great coloratura and high pianissimi; Inga Nielsen is a powerful Tamiri; Ann Murray is in flexible voice and in sensitive mood in the title role; Roberto Saccà is a capable singer, but his voice lacks nobility; Markus Schäfer does everything well, but could have a more beautiful voice.