Angela Gheorghiu - Verdi Heroines (2000)

This CD clearly gives a taste of things to come. Gheorghiu made her name as a Verdi singer and it is surely as such that she will find her niche in the future. Although her Mimi, Liu and Adina are well known and loved, it is her Violetta that really stands out as a special performance and is rightly captured on a full recording. The selection here features most of the big numbers from Verdi's other operas and most of them suit her voice's dark, velvety smoothness and characteristic brilliance above the stave very well indeed. Heavy Verdi requires a robust sound but unlike many of the spinto voices that venture into this repertoire, Gheorghiu seems incapable of sounding shrill even when stretched to the limit. Although sometimes she is pushed sharp under pressure, more often she makes a thrillingly pure sound. She also has - and, let us pray - is not in danger of losing - a genuine and beautiful pianissimo which makes her Aida a real treat.
Interestingly, the recital begins with the Bolero from I Vespri Siciliani for which she has the requisite coloratura brilliance (though this may not be a part she ever essays on stage - which is no great loss). She sounds a mite mature for Gilda and the voice is bottom heavy, but her Trovatore Leonora and Boccanegra Amelia are spot on. It surely cannot be long before she makes these roles her own on the stage. Aida is clearly waiting in the wings somewhere down the line, as is Forza (stunning breath control in the final phrase!), even Amelia in Ballo in Maschera. Perhaps the part to which she is best suited is Desdemona - her rendition of the Act 4 scena may not have the angelic radiance of a Te Kanawa or a Price, but the sense of sorrow she captures is very powerful indeed.
Accompaniments are superb throughout - Chailly conducts up a storm, and the recording is of high quality though there may be a little too much echo for some tastes. Nonetheless, this is highly recommendable and my only hope is that Gheorghiu doesn't force her husband to join her in repertory that lies comfortably within her dramatic range but beyond his own, rather lighter, fach.