*** A mischievous face with a roguish hat: the cd cover leaves no doubt that Anna Bonitatibus presents a series of Hosenrollen on this cd. The mezzo has selected them from the extensive repertoire, from baroque through Mozart and belcanto to Strauss and the musical Victor Victoria by Henry Mancini. The interpretation can sometimes charm, but certainly not always.
The baroque arias by Händel and especially Vivaldi (Farnace) are most convincing. As Farnace, Bonitatibus subtly exploits every corner of her voice. Here, astounding flexibility goes hand in hand with dramatic expression ("engombra di terror"). Also as Orphée in Gluck/Berlioz, the colourfulness of the voice in both the high and deeper register is admirable. While in the belcanto arias the vibrato is still just sufficiently controlled, it does run away in other arias (Nicklausse in Contes d'Hoffmann) and certainly as Octavian in Strauss' Rosenkavalier. She receives from the orchestra an intro like precious silk for this aria - one of the loveliest of Strauss' melodies - and she begins with melancholy, but then the strong tremolo disfigures the aria. Moreover, her diction here is so poor that the text is incomprehensible.
In one of the most popular fragments, Voi che sapete by Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, the vibrato is also disturbing, and it seems she is afraid that the aria is too worn that she wants to save it with extra ornamentation and fantasy. An album of varying quality then, with a very diverse selection of fragments, which are sometimes also particularly short to offer the opportunity to enter the atmosphere of the aria. A pity, because Bonitatibus has already demonstrated her talent before.
- WHAT: En travesti
- WHO: Anna Bonitatibus (mezzo-soprano), Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Corrado Rovaris
- RELEASE: BR-Klassik 900318