Mozart: Chi sà, chi sà qual sia, K582

“Lott is bright and lyrical (Exsultate), and tender ('Lungi da te'). She can be a bit colourless, but Glover's orchestra gives brilliantly nuanced support.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 ****

“Exsultate, jubilate, fine as recorded sound, crisp in the playing, deliciously clear and clean in the singing, sets off with all the promise of a bright spring morning. The middle movement, "Tu virginum corona", is exceptionally beautiful in adding to its accustomed serenity a more rarely heard sense of compassion, bringing out the references to the grief that calls for consolation. Then with the "Allelujah" the sun is out again, the rhythms dance, the voice shines and rejoices in those difficult semiquavers and the final high C. … A lovely performance of "Ruhe sanft" … the marvellous Mitridate [is] crowned by a quiet high D almost as miraculous as the greater wonder of its composition by the 13-year-old boy.” Gramophone Magazine

“What a stimulating assemblage of arias, and in intelligent, standard-setting performances...Unexpected insights arrives at every turn...Reiss makes [Salieri and Cimarosa] feel like worthy companions, always looking to find their specific character and never falling into soubrette cuteness...My favourite moment is how wonderstruck her Susanna sounds while absorbing the beauties of the night in the Act 4 Figaro aria.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2011

“Reiss has an agile, bell-bright, fluty timbre that's well suited to the soubrette and coloratura repertoire here. She's best in the showy numbers - the glittering roulades of the Mozart concert aria 'Ah se in ciel' and Salieri's 'Tremo bell'idol mio' are bright and fresh. She also displays a lovely line in the short, sweet 'Quando la rosa'” Classic FM Magazine, December 2011 ***

“Reiss is a properly pert Despina (Cosi) and an affecting Susanna...Her attention to detail in the recitative is scrupulous...Reiss's diamond bright coloratura is a mighty weapon...All told, this is a beguiling combination of top-drawer musicianship and fresh ideas about opera in Enlightenment Vienna.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 *****

“Elina Garanca is a Latvian mezzo who is equally happy as a Dorabella or a Fiordiligi. The Camerata Salzburg is her accompanist; and that superb Mozartian Louis Langrée makes a diva of every woodwind soloist within that band.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2006 ****

“Elina Garanca's voice is warm and ample, its quality enriched in the lower register but still full-bodied, pure and resonant on the top B flats.
Her legato and fluency are alike well schooled, her intervals exceptionally clean and her feeling for light-and-shade at any rate aware that it exists. Room for developments lies principally in this area: she is not inexpressive but there is more to be made of the emotions and the part words play in their communication.
The selection of arias, concert and operatic, makes for a satisfying programme. Much is on the grand scale: injured women cry out against malign fate and determine to confront it. This includes, we note, both the mezzo and soprano leads in Così fan tutte: essentially sung in the same voice (she does not audibly 'turn soprano' for 'Come scoglio') and, one might well conclude, by the same character. The lighter, more intimate tone used in Ch'io mi scordi di te is welcome, and welcome too are some lesser known concert arias, most of all Ah, non lasciarmi, which has a melody almost as lovely as the now-famous 'Ruhe sanft' from Zaide. The longest is the profoundly set Misero me!, where the intricacies of the implied dramatic situation form something of a barrier, but where the sustained powers of the music and the singer impress deeply.
Thinking of comparisons, she is richer and warmer than Teresa Berganza, less imaginative and personally involved than Cecilia Bartoli, but also free of mannerisms. With lively accompaniment by the Salzburg Camerata, this is an exceptionally successful debut recital.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Elina Garanča is a mezzo-soprano from Latvia… Her voice is warm and ample, its quality enriched in the lower register but still full-bodied, pure and resonant on the top B flats. Her legato and fluency are alike well schooled, her intervals exceptionally clean... Thinking of comparisons, I would say she is richer and warmer than Berganza, less imaginative and personally involved in Bartoli, but also free of mannerisms. With lively accompaniment by the Salzburg Camerata, this is an exceptionally successful debut recital.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2006

“Banse is…. a discerning artist, with a graceful, subtle feeling for a Mozartian line, fluent coloratura and plenty of fire in a piece like the magnificent scena Ah, lo previdi - arguably Mozart's first truly great vocal work. …the orchestral playing is consistently alert and polished, with the solo oboe matching the soprano's eloquence in Ah, lo previdi.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2005