Recordings of arias by Haydn are scarce compared to, say, those by Mozart, and so this release is almost self-recommending; luckily, it's also very good....

Recordings of arias by Haydn are scarce compared to, say, those by Mozart, and so this release is almost self-recommending; luckily, it's also very good. The arias are wonderfully scored, with mostly prominent winds, and throughout this CD Alessandro de Marchi leads the NDR Radio Philharmonie in large-scaled but brisk and animated performances. And Slovakian soprano Simona Saturova, a name new to me, is another in the increasing breed of agile, expressive sopranos with more heft to their voices than the canaries of yore.

She begins with Genio's aria from Orfeo ed Euridice, a showpiece of such stunning garishness that it's a tough act to follow; Sutherland appropriated it when she sang the role in the 1950s and it's easy to see why. Endless roulades and plenty of very high notes, all well-placed, combined with fine diction, particularly in the warmer, slower, brief middle section of the aria, make this opener one to recall. Euridice's first aria opens sweetly and gently--an expression of grief--and Saturova exhibits a fine ability to sing softly. She soon unleashes runs and divisions that challenge the singer; if truth be told the one or two low notes are just glanced at. Euridice's death aria is handsomely phrased, the long lines musically sculpted and the life-extinguishing breaths very effective.

With Armida's Act 1 recit we hear the uncertainty of the character at first; the aria bursts forth with more certainty, with more pressure on the voice and more conviction, and the finale is another fiorature-filled show-stopper, although top tones can turn hard--this becomes unappealing after a while and is the case in many of the arias.

The most frequently recorded of all Haydn's arias for soprano, Metastasio's emotional roller-coaster Scena di Berenice, is a fine centerpiece. The nervous opening gives way to greater conviction and agitation, which in turn grows into a slow, lovely cavatina (with harpsichord and winds prominent), and Saturova captures each change handsomely. Of course it ends in mania, and again she is up to the challenge.

And so the CD goes. Flaminia's aria from Il mondo della luna features great bassoon and horn obbligatos. The archangel's aria from Il Ritorno di Tobia is more generic but nice and showy, and both arias from Orlando paladino are marvelous (the first is lovely and slow until the final 90 seconds).

I don't recommend listening to this CD all at once or at high volume--Saturova's voice is not quite mellow enough to focus on at full throttle for so long. There are too many notes and the tessitura of the arias is too high for an hour's worth of sitting still. But don't be dissuaded; this is a marvelous collection, valuable for both repertoire and performances.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com