Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni. (Recital).(The Heroines of Pietro Mascagni)(Sound Recording Review)

[] "THE HEROINES OF PIETRO MASCAGNI" Arias by Mascagni. Orchestre National de Montpellier, Diemecke. No texts or translations. Naive AT 34111 (Harmonia Mundi, dist.)

Here is a comprehensive portrait of the Mascagni soprano, with excerpts from nearly every opera except Cavalleria Rusticana--from works that bombed, such as Le Maschere, or were trashed by the critics, as was Parisina, to the popular, successful L'Amico Fritz. In addition, the set includes a lengthy solo cantata A Giacomo Leopardi, composed in 1898 to celebrate the centenary of that poet's birth.

Few singers would be able to sustain a listener's interest in this material for two discs, but Denia Mazzola-Gavazzeni surely is one. Completely at home in the verismo idiom, she boasts all the vocal necessities as well: dark but pointed voice, with great thrust, especially from the passaggio on up, lustrous vibrato and a full, expressive lower register.

In addition, she is technically astute, opting for a brighter, somewhat thinner tone in order to negotiate the cruel tessitura of "Perche dovrei tremare" from Nerone and, in general, avoiding the temptation to bring chest voice too high, even when it means sacrificing volume and power in the lower-middle range. The soprano captures the big, rangy vocalism of "Fa chei pensier" from I ...