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French Bel Canto Arias - Rossini & Donizetti / Lisette Oropesa
PENTATONE

French Bel Canto Arias - Rossini & Donizetti / Lisette Oropesa

$21.99

Details

Composer
Gaetano Donizetti, Gioachino Rossini
Artist
Alexander, Fuchs, Frank, Födisch, Blumel
Format
SACD
Label
PENTATONE
Released
Oct 07, 2022
Catalog #
PTC5186955
UPC
827949095566

About

A New Yorker Notable Recording of 2022!

On her second solo album Lisette Oropesa has combined two of her greatest loves, the French language and Italian bel canto. This recording with the Dresdner Philharmonie under the baton of Corrado Rovaris showcases the variety of lesser-known and more popular works by Rossini and Donizetti, featuring arias that contain coloratura, lyricism, drama, heightened emotion, and even comedy. Star soprano Lisette Oropesa made her Pentatone debut with Ombra Compagna, Mozart Concert Arias in 2021, and sung the title heroine in a complete recording of Verdi’s La Traviata, also released on the label in 2022. The Dresdner Philharmonie was involved in that same recording, and has also participated in several other recordings released by Pentatone, such as Weber’s Der Freischütz (2019), Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Puccini’s Il Tabarro (both 2020) and Beethoven’s Fidelio (2021). Conductor Corrado Rovaris particularly excels in bel canto and verismo repertoire, and makes his Pentatone debut.

REVIEW:

Oropesa's very first notes here, from Le Siège de Corinthe, are warm and pleading, the tone round and full–and utterly beautiful. As the voice rises, it doesn’t lose texture. The coloratura is close to flawless, as is her pitch. The roulades and runs are so fierce in the Rossini selections that, let’s face it, a touch of hesitation is to be expected and it is just that–a touch.

This is very difficult music–just think of how few recital CDs have included these two scenes. The necessary legato, the sadness, the darkening of the tone, and the purposeful use of vibrato are rare indeed; there is a true musician in the house.

Mathilde’s aria from Guillaume Tell is sure-fire. She manages it beautifully, the start of each phrase knowing full well the direction in which it’s going, the breath control natural. “Salut à la France” is divine: carefree, joyous, full of perfect downward scales and staccatos, and capped with a fine E-flat.

More than anything else, you come away from this recital with the realization that Oropesa and, indeed, the Dresden Philharmonic and conductor Corrado Rovaris, have fashioned a warmhearted, stylistically impeccable look at French bel canto, frequently overlooked. There’s nothing hackneyed here, and no ear fatigue listening to a high solo voice for 65 minutes...what a fine disc!

-- ClassicsToday (Robert Levine)

Tracklist 15 tracks

  1. 1 Act II: Que vais-je devenir 04:14
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act II: Que vais-je devenir
    Duration
    04:14
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Chor der Staatsoperette Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  2. 2 Act II: Air: Du séjour de la lumière 08:02
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act II: Air: Du séjour de la lumière
    Duration
    08:02
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Chor der Staatsoperette Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  3. 3 Act III: L'heure fatale approche 02:46
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act III: L'heure fatale approche
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  4. 4 Act III: Juste ciel 03:34
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act III: Juste ciel
    Duration
    03:34
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Chor der Staatsoperette Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  5. 5 Act II: Recitative: Ils s'éloignent enfin 03:06
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act II: Recitative: Ils s'éloignent enfin
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  6. 6 Act II: Cavatina: Sombre forêt 05:05
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act II: Cavatina: Sombre forêt
    Duration
    05:05
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  7. 7 Act I: Air: En proie a la tristesse (Countess, Chorus, Count, Isolier) 05:16
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act I: Air: En proie a la tristesse (Countess, Chorus, Count, Isolier)
    Duration
    05:16
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Chor der Staatsoperette Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  8. 8 Act II: Céleste providence 04:27
    Track
    8
    Title
    Act II: Céleste providence
    Duration
    04:27
    Composer
    Gioachino Rossini
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa, Kristina Fuchs, Frank Blumel
    Ensemble
    Chor der Staatsoperette Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  9. 9 Act I Scene 5: Ô ma mère 01:00
    Track
    9
    Title
    Act I Scene 5: Ô ma mère
    Duration
    01:00
    Composer
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  10. 10 Act I Scene 5: Qu'ici ta main glacée, Bénisse ton enfant! 03:04
    Track
    10
    Title
    Act I Scene 5: Qu'ici ta main glacée, Bénisse ton enfant!
    Duration
    03:04
    Composer
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  11. 11 Act I Scene 6: Gilbert … - Scene 7: Ô fontaine 02:20
    Track
    11
    Title
    Act I Scene 6: Gilbert … - Scene 7: Ô fontaine
    Duration
    02:20
    Composer
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa, Juan Carlos Navarro
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  12. 12 Act I Scene 7: Que n'avons-nous des ailes? 06:45
    Track
    12
    Title
    Act I Scene 7: Que n'avons-nous des ailes?
    Duration
    06:45
    Composer
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  13. 13 Act I: Il faut partir 05:45
    Track
    13
    Title
    Act I: Il faut partir
    Duration
    05:45
    Composer
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa, Zhi Yi, Meinhardt Möbius, Alexander Födisch
    Ensemble
    Chor der Staatsoperette Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  14. 14 Act II: C'en est donc fait 06:03
    Track
    14
    Title
    Act II: C'en est donc fait
    Duration
    06:03
    Composer
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa, Ulf Prelle
    Ensemble
    Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris
  15. 15 Act III: Salut à la France 03:38
    Track
    15
    Title
    Act III: Salut à la France
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Performer
    Lisette Oropesa
    Ensemble
    Chor der Staatsoperette Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie
    Conductor
    Corrado Rovaris