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Album Summary
Performer
Kristine Opolais (Soprano)
Notes & Reviews:
Uncut, Suor Angelica lasts just about an hour, and one often hearts it in the concert hall today. With its unrestrained melancholy and mystical ambience, a concert performance does not diminish the impact of the title heroine and her moving fate. Andris Nelsons explores the full breadth of Puccini's musical language in this one acter, and Kristine Opolais' uniquely shaded timbre and her clear sense of line make Angelica a woman of flesh and blood. Recorded at the Philharmonie Cologne in May and October of 2011.
Financial Times, August 2012
Nelsons draws sensitive responses from the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus but resists the temptation to "go soft" on the story, so that the performance unfolds with inexorable dramatic sweep. Even better, Opolais uses her considerable vocal powers to draw a psychological portrait of formidable insight.
Sunday Times, September 2012
Kristine Opolais (Mrs Andris Nelsons) may not have the vocal opulence of Renata Tebaldi or Mirella Freni, or the intensity of Renata Scotto, but her beautifully sung account of this heart-rending role demonstrates that her sensational Royal Opera debut as Butterfly was no fluke...Nelsons and the WDRSO relish Puccini's orchestration.
The Guardian, September 2012
Opolais's bright, intensely focused soprano, together with her husband Andris Nelsons's equally crisp handling of the orchestral writing, gives the score a much sharper definition than usual. Not everything in her singing is idiomatically Italianate, but there is nothing remotely mawkish or sugary sweet about the performance...Lioba Braun's haughty, formidable Principessa is the perfect foil to Opolais.
BBC Music Magazine, November 2012
Nelsons evokes atmosphere with energy and clean-cut textures. All told, the effect is slightly cool, but many will prefer it to overheated Italianate performances, especially with such a credibly young and affecting heroine.
American Record Guide, March / April 2013
Kristine Opalais is an attractive young Latvian soprano who is scheduled to make her Met debut this season (in La Rondine). She has the right type of voice for Angelica, fresh and bright, with a well-controlled top. She's a good vocal actress, and she has obviously taken pains with her Italian pronunciation. Lioba Braun's Principessa has a solid low register and is suitably strong and implacable; and Mojca Erdmann is a perky, vivacious Sister Genovieve. It's a good performance. Orfeo supplies libretto and translation - a pleasant surprise. Nelsons (who is Opalais's husband) is an effective conductor, and the sound is fine.
Recording information: Kölner Philharmonie.
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Works Details
Puccini, Giacomo : Suor Angelica - Performer: Kristine Opolais (Soprano)
- Conductor: Andris Nelsons
- Ensemble: WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra
- Notes: Kölner Philharmonie (05/12/2011-05/17/2011)
- Running Time: 44 min. 38 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Form: Opera/Operetta
- Written: 1918
Puccini, Giacomo : Preludio a orchestra - Conductor: Andris Nelsons
- Running Time: 7 min. 31 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Written: 1876
