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Anu Komsi, Finland’s ‘coloratura assoluta’, here presents a wide-ranging programme, from mad scenes and rage arias from 18th- and 19th-century operas, to Alyabyev’s ever-soaring Nightingale and the silvery tinkling of Lakmé’s Bell Song.
Komsi also performs later examples of coloratura, including Glière’s glittering Concerto for coloratura and orchestra, and La Machine de l’être by the composer John Zorn – a work which she premiered in New York City in 2011.
The disc closes with a thoroughly idiomatic performance of Sibelius’ Luonnotar, with its text from the Finnish national epos Kalevala.
Throughout the programme, Anu Komsi is supported by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo.
Reinhold Gliere: Coloratura Soprano Concerto, Op. 82
I. Andante
II. Allegro
Ambroise Thomas: Hamlet
Hamlet, Act V: A vos jeux, mes amis
Leo Delibes: Lakme
Lakme, Act II: Ou va la jeune indoue, "Bell Song"
Alexander Alexandrovich Alyabiev: Solovei (The Nightingale) (arr. E. Koskimies for voice and orchestra)
Solovei (The Nightingale) (arr. E. Koskimies for voice and orchestra)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute), K. 620
Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute), K. 620, Act II: Aria: Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen
John Zorn: La Machine de l'etre
I. teteme
II. le revele
III. entremeles
Jean Sibelius: Luonnotar, Op. 70
Luonnotar, Op. 70
March 2013
***
“Anu Komsi's cosmopolitan experience and technical expertise show in the breadth and quality of her programme. And Sakari Oramo makes much of her accompaniments.”
January 2013
“Are coloratura soprano showcases ever supposed to be this provocative?...Placing Gliere and Zorn on the same disc is a brilliant stroke of programming. Komsi is at her inventive best in creating subtexts to the wordless vocal lines, suggesting a sunny lifetime of experience in Gliere...[Her] artistry comes together fully in Sibelius's Luonnotar”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
I. Andante
