Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber, Hermann Goetz :: Opera Arias

Glorious Popp

11/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lucia Popp covered a lot of territory in this recording from the early eighties. Her Mozart is well-known, of course, but other composers like Dvorak and Massenet are also represented. I've heard stronger, more voluptuous voices, but Popp's singing still impresses me with its naturalness and sentience. There's a recognizable character in her voice that imprints itself on everything she sings. It's not unlike hearing the voice of an old friend. Warm, lyrical, and above all, tender."

Was there someone who sang "Rusalka" more beautifully?

06/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't think so. The Arts label is to be commended for keeping Popp's recordings available at such a reasonable price. Besides the wonderful offerings of Mozart and Verdi here, the album's price is returned tenfold by the gorgeous rendition of "O Silver Moon" from Dvorak's Rusalka."

Exemplary singing!

opernnarr | Carrboro, NC USA | 05/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lucia Popp recorded this recital in the early 1980s, when she was beginning to adapt her voice away from coloratura roles into the lyric repertoire. This record is a complete success vocally and artistically. The voice is silvery and pure, yet with a pleasing astringency to it. She handles the coloratura passages with aplomb but is even more impressive in the middle voice, where she is beautifully communicative, caressing each word with the value and weight it deserves. And she does this idiomatically in four languages! The Mozart, Verdi, and Weber arias are standouts, but the two Czech arias are even more special. Popp was a native speaker of Slovak, closely related to Czech, so her pronunciation is deliciously idiomatic. At mid-price this should be in every opera collection!"