Juliane Banse - Bella Mia Fiamma: Concert Arias of Mozart (1999)

Juliane Banse made her international reputation in the light lyric Mozart roles, including a delightful Zerlina at Glyndebourne. She recently added the distraught Elettra (Idomeneo) to her armoury, and, we can guess, now has Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito) in her sights. She reinforces her Mozartian credentials with this disc of concert arias, originally issued in a limited edition in Switzerland in 1999. Her distinctive, vibrant timbre, with an intriguing mezzo richness in the middle register, is not, perhaps, conventionally beautiful. And for those whose ideal in Mozart is, say, the pellucid-toned Gundula Janowitz, her high notes may seem uncomfortably tart. Banse is, though, a discerning artist, with a graceful, subtle feeling for a Mozartian line, fluent coloratura and plenty of fire in a piece like the magnificent scena Ah, lo previdi – arguably Mozart’s first truly great vocal work.

In the first part of Alma grande Banse downplays the over-the-top absurdity in Madama Donna Laura’s tirade; she is tender and touching in Vado, ma dove? (her legato beautifully even); she savours the Fiordiligi-like virtuosity of the aria a compliant Mozart composed to replace Susanna’s ‘Deh vieni’; and she gives an intensely felt, richly coloured performance of Bella mia fiamma, flawlessly negotiating the wide leaps and tortuous chromaticisms. If Silke Avenhaus is a slightly prosaic partner in that glorious love duet for piano and soprano Ch’io mi scordi di te – compare András Schiff with Bartoli (Decca, 12/91) – the orchestral playing is consistently alert and polished, with the solo oboe matching the soprano’s eloquence in Ah, lo previdi.