Search - Renée Fleming :: Verismo

Another fantastic album from Renee Fleming

Robert Petersen | Durban, South Africa | 09/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album was launched as part of Renee Fleming's South African tour with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in August 2009. Fleming has compiled familiar selections and some rarities in this new album. Some listeners might find that her voice not matching singers more familiar in the style of verismo, but on repeated listening, there is much to enjoy. The rare selections from Leoncavallo's La Boheme and Zandonai's Conchita are a particular highlight, alongside excerpts from Puccini's La Boheme, La Rondine and Turandot, where Fleming's heartfelt singing is most welcome. A disc which shows off Fleming's artistry yet again."

Another impressive recital album

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 09/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You will already know if you like Renée Fleming's voice and are a fan. If so, there are no real surprises here: she is singing repertoire ideally suited to her gifts - a little jazzy sliding and smoky shading does no harm at all in verismo - and all her vocal virtues are very much in evidence. The voice is still in its prime, and if the top notes are not exactly easy they are still very much there. The famous sumptuous tone gratefully plumps out these dramatic arias but Fleming also enlivens them by her concern to colour phrases and inject emotion rather than just make a beautiful noise. If, on the other hand, you are not a fan, please leave alone those of us who are and allow us to enjoy this disc; don't snap at out heels with bitchy comments and spiteful little no-votes, but return instead to those singers you like. This is an artist who has brought pleasure to millions over the last twenty years; lyric sopranos with her fullness and depth of tone are rare. She has been very careful how she has eased into a somewhat heavier Fach; I do not envisage her going much further along this route and expect that she will stop with certain of the middlingly heavy Puccini rôles, perhaps Elisabetta in "Don Carlo" and maybe even the "lightest" Wagner rôles such as Elsa in "Lohengrin".



This recital is a judicious mix of a few favorites and mostly slightly more recherché verismo arias and ensemble excerpts. I for one could have done without yet another artist giving us her version of "Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì" but it's central to the repertoire, I suppose. Otherwise, it's good to hear comparative rarities such as the arias from the lesser-known operas of Giordano, Cilea, Mascagni and Zandonai and perhaps Fleming's advocacy will help boost the chances of the odd revival which such music merits. The accompaniment provided by the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano directed by Marco Armiliato is rather anodyne and over-respectful of the great soprano; "unobtrusive" is perhaps the better word. I like the increasing tendency of late in recital discs to provied supporting singers such that excerpts from complete operas are not clumsily doctored, kippered or re-arranged; the ensemble pieces from "La Rondine" and Leoncavallo's "La Bohème" provide particular pleasure. Some might find the scene from the latter's "Zazà" a little saccharine, but a certain sentimentality is inherent in this genre; if you don't enjoy the pathos of Suor Angelica's lament over her lost baby boy and the plight of suffering ladies in general, you probably cannot stomach verismo opera in any case.



A guest appearance from Jonas Kaufmann in the last ensemble from "La Rondine" is a bonus. There is much great singing here; Fleming's fans need not hesitate."

Another "HIT" for Renée

Leo Della Rocca | Italy | 09/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here we have another successful CD by Renée Fleming, after the mostly unsuccessful Bel Canto CD she recorded years earlier. It is logical that this repertoire should suit her, for she has triumphed in many modern American operas. Yes, verismo refers to the period between around 1875 to 1900, and verismo operas include such well-known operas as Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana (perhaps the most famous of them all) and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, but the two genres are very similar since their plots deal with real life situations - even if not based on fact. Ms Fleming has had much experience and success singing modern American opera, e.g., Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire and Floyd's Susannah. Her voice, temperament and technique are very suited to this type of opera with its many nuances and emotional impluses. If you like Renée Fleming's voice and you would like to hear a fresh new look at the interpretation of some of verismo opera's famous arias, buy this CD. Ms Fleming can ideally express the subtler and sweeter or more sorrowful and introverted shades of verismo, such as in "Senza mamma". In fact, she has not included the heavier more dramatic arias because, as she herself has stated, those arias and roles do not suit her voice. It is also curious to note that the aria form, per se, was not typical of the verismo style, as it mostly interrupts the action and natural movement of the plot. In fact, Puccini is said to have been against inserting an aria in an opera, but did so to please the reigning prima donna or primo uomo of the time."