Word: mezzos
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...Anne Sofie von Otter Schubert: Lieder (Deutsche Grammophon) The cool radiance of Von Otter's mezzo-soprano voice lights up this cannily chosen, passionately sung program of 18 Schubert songs, stylishly accompanied by pianist Bengt Forsberg. Some are obscure, some ultrafamiliar, but either way they are irresistible; even the age-old Ave Maria sounds brand...
...soloists--Ellen Hargis, soprano, Laurie Monahan, mezzo soprano, William Hite, Frank Kelley and Arthur Rishi, tenors, and Paul Guttry and David Ripley, bass--were superb as well. Hargis was particularly impressive; she is a specialist in pre-Baroque music, and it shows. She captured the Renaissance style perfectly, demonstrating complete control over her voice so that there was no excessive vibrato, yet no shrill tone. Also greatly enjoyable was the tenor dialogue in the Audi coelum (IX), in which Hite sang his responses to Kelley from the balcony...
...musical interludes through the evening included a mini-opera titled "Lament Del Cockroach" in which Nobel laureates starred as insects and tried to woo two mezzo sopranos acting as cockroaches...
...instructions and a host of interpretative intangibles from the guy who's waving a baton at them. If Kaplan at Salzburg did not bring to mind a slick stick like Riccardo Muti or Valery Gergiev, his intense, attentive manner in front of the Philharmonia, the Vienna State Opera Chorus, mezzo-soprano Doris Soffel and soprano Rosa Mannion bespoke a firm grasp. Mahler's heaven-storming climaxes shook the Grossesfestspielhaus to its granite foundations, and anyone who did not feel a chill at the tremendous peroration must either have been dead or Austrian...
...Mezzo-soprano Hunt stands out in her lead role as Xerxes, the love-starved king, from the opera's very opening moments, when Xerxes professes his love for a tree. Hunt is ably backed up by her supporting cast, which includes noteworthy performances by Waters and Daniels...