Cecilia Bartoli - The Art of Cecilia Bartoli (2002)

Soprano Cecilia Bartoli garnered international acclaim with her first recording fourteen years ago and has continued to build on that success. This CD is a sampler of her recorded work over those years, supplemented by two new duets with Luciano Pavarotti. Ranging from the languid sorrow of Handel's Lascia ch'io pianga to the good cheer of Verdi's Libiamo ne' lieti calici, these operatic duets and arias are a wonderful cross-section of Bartoli's career to date, demonstrating her remarkable range of emotional expression.
Bartoli is a master of technique, as shown in her astounding performance of Vivaldi's frenetic show-stopper Anch'il mar par che sommerga. She also has a glorious timbral command, darkening her tone color to superb effect in that same composer's Gelido in ogni vena. This is one of the highlights of the disc, as Bartoli adds an eerie breathy quality to her voice, singing at the softest possible dynamic level, exactly matching the effect of the text "I feel my blood like ice coursing through every vein./The shade of my lifeless son afflicts me with terror."
Although the majority of pieces are from Bartoli's favored Baroque and Classical period, she also dips into the Romantic era, including works by the Italians Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Giuseppe Verdi, although the inclusion of these last two works seems to be at least partially for the marketing strength of Pavarotti's name. Most of the music will be unfamiliar to all but the most devout of operatic connoisseurs, but the "greatest hits" format should draw a wider audience. Only the Verdi and Mozart pieces are likely to be well-known. Certainly the limpid beauty of Bartoli's voice, the artistry of her interpretation, and her unsurpassed technical skill makes this disc worth owning.