Barbara Bonney - Barbara Bonney Sings Mozart (1998)

American soprano Barbara Bonney has emerged as one of the most engaging interpreters of Mozart's heroines on the stage today. Indeed, the selections offered here--culled from various full-length recordings over the 1990s--are about more than beautiful singing: Bonney's portrayals of four Mozart heroines are rich in vivid characterization and emotional nuance and are models in their own way of "vocal acting." Bonney makes a particularly appealing Susanna with her natural, unforced sound and remarkably poetic phrasing (the Figaro selections include the two new arias Mozart later interpolated for a favorite singer, which are rarely heard in stagings of the opera). Gorgeously floated pianissimos and a deliciously lilting legato give her Zerlina a knowing, sexually charged charm, while her Pamina is both vulnerable and radiant. And, unlike the dime-a-dozen Mozart excerpt albums, this one provides not only arias but duets (with Hakan Hagegard's characterful Count and Don Giovanni and Bryn Terfel's Masetto, among others) and a few ensemble scenes. Most of the selections are conducted with grace by period-instrument maven Arnold Östman; two selections from La clemenza di Tito under Christopher Hogwood will tempt the listener to take a closer look at these artists' complete recording of a neglected Mozart masterpiece. --Thomas May