"CASTA DIVA".(Review)

RECITAL

Angela Gheorghiu

[] "CASTA DIVA" Arias by Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini. London Symphony Orchestra, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Pido. Texts and translations. EMI 57163

When singers first stood in front of the horn, it was primarily to record their signature songs and arias and to document material with which they were identified by the public. They had four minutes to get it right, so naturally they sang the pieces they knew best. But along with technological advances came risks and subterfuge: stunt singers supplying high notes for others, sight-readers laying down tracks bit by bit, and famous conductors persuading performers to present unsuitable repertoire, to be fiddled with later in post-production. As a result, nowadays it is nearly impossible to tell anything about singers from their discs alone. We can admire a high D, while at the same time wondering how many takes were needed to achieve it. We can hear an ultra-long phrase taken in one breath and not be impressed at all, knowing that few singers would bother wasting studio time attempting a feat that can be simulated with electronic ease. We can question if all the artists were even in the same room at the same time.

The present studio setting also allows dabbling in roles unpolished on any stage. This leaves the listener no point of reference, one unsettling aspect of Angela Gheorghiu's first solo CD from EMI. But another aspect even more startling is that she sings this material -- nineteenth-century lyric-coloratura arias, among the most technically demanding and vocally revealing in the literature -- quite convincingly. Considering that Maria Callas is still one of EMI's best-selling artists (and that Norma was her greatest role), calling the disc "Casta Diva" is a pretty good way to get our attention. Keeping it is another matter, but Gheorghiu has enough technical and dramatic skill, along with personal charisma, to invest nearly every piece with ravishingly beautiful tone, secure ...