MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Opera Arias

"No matter what demands Mozart throws at his heroines, Piau is equal to the task... springing thrillingly into action in some scintillating semiquavers, virtuoso runs and trills that demand real flexibility across the full range of the voice. It always sounds as though she has range, and power, to spare...It feels so easy and natural you'll probably find yourself grinning from ear to ear in delight." BBC Music

Even those who have heard--and greatly admired--the singing of Sandrine Piau in any one (or more) of the recordings in which she sings relatively small roles (Mitridate on Decca, Castor & Pollux on HM), will be startled by the ravishing, insightful, virtuosic singing on this CD. The voice is small and light but perfectly focused, and it's absolutely even from top (often, repeated high Ds) to bottom--although of course the inherent glow is from the middle up. The fact that the sound is small stops any hint of brassiness or too much shine, and because she focuses so thoroughly on the text and exclaims important, dramatic phrases with a natural emphasis, she avoids the sameness that high coloraturas can be so guilty of, especially on disc. Her breath control is stupendous (in Giunia's "Ah se il crudel periglio" from Lucio Silla she effortlessly launches one wildly embellished half-minute run after another), the tone absolutely centered.

Aside from the wildly embroidered pieces here from Silla and Mitridate, we get a taste of Pamina, and while a fuller voice is (almost) needed for "Ach, ich fuhls", the manner in which Piau handles dynamics offers us enough variety for the aria to be effective. The same can be said for Konstanze's "Ach ich liebte" and "Traurigkeit", the second of which is sung as movingly as we're probably ever going to hear it despite the sound being a half-size too small. The accompaniments are impeccable and "historically correct", the recorded sound honest, clear, and natural. Mozart is exquisitely served.

10/10

--Robert Levine classicstoday.com