Search - Rossini, Ramey, Ferro :: Samuel Ramey - Rossini Arias ~ Alle voci della gloria / Ferro

A must have for bass fans!

Aaron Wardell | Cincinnati, OH United States | 02/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's easy to see why some of the Rossini operas that are featured on this CD are seldom performed anymore because of the demands he puts on singers. Rossini wrote for great basses in his day, and he demanded the same technical mastery of coloratura and legato singing that is expected from modern day sopranos. Listen to any aria on this CD and you will understand. For example, the aria "La del ciel nell'arcano profundo" (from La Cenerentola) is obviously written for a virtuosic bass in mind: the range of the aria is over two octaves, from a low E flat to a high F. Listening to Ramey sing these technically bewildering arias is just incredible. When people think of Rossini, they don't think "bass" but they should. They should also think "Samuel Ramey." Any Rossini or Ramey fan needs to own this CD."

Superb singing from start to finish

Aaron Wardell | 10/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's interesting to hear Ramey in what is his "speciality", Rossini. It's not hard to see how he caused a sensation with his performance of Assur in Semiramide back in the early eighties that really put him on the opera map. In all the arias on this cd he displays some quite breathtaking technical mastery on undoubtedly some of the most difficult music ever written for the human voice. My only critcism is that there is very little variation in his singing and it can sound a bit monotonous. However, this is a small price to pay for singing of this technical calibre. Buy it!"