By Pierre Ruhe
Tuesday, April 8 1997; Page B05
The Washington Post
Cecilia Bartoli's recitals always surprise. That's because there is never a hint
of routine in her performance. Her nuanced and fluent mezzo-soprano voice, though
small in size and volume, communicates directly. This holds true even in an oversize
arena like Constitution Hall, where she gave a recital Sunday presented by the Washington
Performing Arts Society.
Bartoli isn't a generalist singer, nor does she need to be. A narrow compass of composers,
including Mozart and Rossini, and Italian art songs have made her famous. Now she's
expanding her repertoire a bit, extending back into the baroque. Thus a motet, a
cantata and an aria by Vivaldi formed the program's first half. Vivaldi, despite
renown in our century for his instrumental works, considered himself principally
an opera composer, a specialist for the voice. Bartoli's involvement in his works
overwhelmed this listener, particularly in the aria "Agitata da due venti,"
from "La Griselda." Words matter to her. She's a natural storyteller, so
we need scarcely know the text to understand its meaning. Fluid across her enormous
range, her trills and leaps were marked by thrilling accuracy. Could there be better
coloratura singing? For the Vivaldi, Bartoli was accompanied by Gyorgy Fischer (on
harpsichord and a desk-size positive organ) and the string quartet I Delfici, whose
individual members were not credited in theprogram booklet. Their crisp, sensitive
contribution earned a share of the Vivaldi's tremendous success.
Playing with the lid fully closed, Fischer later moved to the piano for accompaniment
in songs by Ravel, including three "Chants populaires." Bartoli's versatility
and color reflected a different atmosphere for each. Pauline Viardot's "Havanaise,"
a rarely performed gem, begins and ends in Spanish but features a sparkling middle
stanza in French. These and other songs make up her recent recording on the London
label.Ours is a time of extraordinary singers, in almost every vocalcategory. It
is Bartoli who stands first among them.