Word: bartoli
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...difference between a rock star like Debbie Gibson, and an opera singer like Cecilia Bartoli, who performed a Fleet CelebritySeries recital at Boston's Symphony Hall on October 22 to a full house, could be described as the difference between rhinestones and diamonds. While Gibson has (or had, depending on who you talk to) catchy beats, hot dance moves and glitz by the mile, Bartoli has complex, complicated arias, a captivating stage presence and an elegance so effortless that one can only surmise that it must be innate...
...recital began without fanfare, as Bartoli walked to the center of the stage, took a breath, and began to sing. Her only accompaniment was a therobo, a type of Baroque guitar that looks somewhat like a glorified soup spoon. This humble arrangement, however, was deceptively simple. Bartoli's first notes were tentative and seemed a bit unsure, but as she worked her way through four works by Guilio Caccini, she one could hear the strength coming into her voice. Bartoli showed hints of her vocal range by alternating between faster, animated songs ("Tu ch'hai le Penne, Amore," and "Amarilli...
...until Bartoli began singing Vivaldi that she hit her stride. Clothed in an opulent gown of Venetian-red silk, Bartoli became animated as she launched into her first Vivaldi work. She began with "Il Povero Mio Core," singing a heavy, soulful aria, followed by a quick, assertive Recitativo and then a frighteningly fast aria. It was in the last aria that Bartoli truly claimed the stage as her own-her anger was perceptible in the furthest balcony, and the her energy was palpable. Bartoli personified the words "Disperato, Confuso, Agiato" with all of the painful anguish of a scorned lover...
...Bartoli continued to sing, it became clear that she was not a woman to meet in a dark alley late at night, or someone whose heart it would be advisable to break. While she sang some breathtakingly beautiful slower songs-such as the dignified "Domine Deus" from Gloria, the serious "Non ti Lusinghi la Crudeltade," Lucio's aria from Tito Manilo, and the sublime aria of Irene, "Sposa son Disprezzata," from Bajaset-it was in the dark, angry arias of fierce battles and even fiercer love that her full vocal range was given the most expression...
...those who prefer their music sans message needn't feel left out. Michael Tilson Thomas, the Great American Conductor, celebrates the centenary of the Great American Composer by leading the San Francisco Symphony in Aaron Copland's electrifying Symphony No. 3 (Sept. 27-28). Cecilia Bartoli and Bryn Terfel, the hottest tickets of the post-Pavarotti era, join forces for a gala concert at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House (Oct. 29). Ace countertenor David Daniels, opera's freshest star, makes his triumphant return to the New York City Opera in a new production of Handel's Rinaldo...