Anna Netrebko & Elina Garanča - Bellini - I Capuleti e i Montecchi2CD - DDD - Italian 76'10, 51'26
Deutsche Grammophon, release 2009
Performer: Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanča, Tiziano Bracci, Joseph Calleja, Robert Gleadow, Heinz Ferlesch
Orchestra: Wiener Symphoniker
Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Yes, the two ladies, Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanča, can together portray an operatic pair of lovers; and yes: it was audibly confirmed that the women have earned their privileged position in the CD market . . . Netrebko moves back and forth between dainty shyness and dark melancholy in coloratura passages she then displays the velvety splendour of her soprano . . . Garanča's approach is equally flexible as she moves between lyricism and drama with absolute mastery and great intensity . . . Standing ovation. --Der Standard (Vienna), April 2008
I Capuleti e i Montecchi is one of the loveliest and most moving of bel canto operas, though not among the more frequently performed. When Anna Netrebko and El na Garan a sang Giulietta and Romeo in Vienna last year at the performances documented in this recording, critics were enthusiastic. They found that Giulietta suited Anna Netrebko especially well, and she could show to full advantage her rounded tone and creamy timbre in every register. The German opera magazine Das Opernglas wrote: She concentrates on shaping individual phrases seemingly without effort and with unerring security, never sacrificing tonal beauty and flexibility. Anna clearly loves singing the role as much as Bellini did composing it: There s a lot of piangere cantando [weeping while singing] in Giulietta s beautiful melodies , she says. Her music is so sad in this opera, even tragic, not at all like Gounod s Je veux vivre Juliette.
El na Garan a s velvety timbre with its hint of noble metal made the character of the young Romeo Montecchi come vividly to life. The Opernglas reviewer wrote: Her interpretation of the role is exemplary and has such elegance. And, indeed, the Latvian mezzo has a particular affinity with this trouser role: At the moment that I go into the theatre and put the costume on, I become Romeo. Every woman has a masculine side and every man a feminine side, and it s fun to test that part of myself onstage, to try to imagine how a young man might react in this situation. He s a young guy, so there are the hormones and the pride. There are basically two different aspects to the character: his love of Giulietta is very naïve, very enthusiastic, bright and sunny, but when he and Tebaldo are suddenly going against each other, there s also great courage and energy. It s a fantastic role. --Amazon
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