Opera Arias: Gheorghiu(S)Chailly / Milan G.verdi So

This disc received the 2000 Gramophone magazine award for the "Classic fM People's Choice Award" and was also nominated for "Best
Recital Recording."
Selections recorded at CTC Studios, Milan, Italy on June 5 & 6, 1998 and
at Sala Verdi, Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Milan, Italy on July 23-27, 1999.
When Angela Gheorghiu burst on the world scene in 1994 with her thoroughly captivating portrayal of Violetta in Covent Garden's production of Giuseppe Verdi's 'La traviata,' Verdi-hungry audiences announced the arrival of a new great Verdi interpreter. With VERDI HEROINES, she will once and for all silence skeptics who thought her capable of a Violetta or a Gilda but not an Aida or a Desdemona: Gheorghiu is a marvelous Verdi singer, no qualification necessary. While Gheorghiu offers a supple-voiced and affecting account of Gilda's "Caro nome," she astounds with her vocal heft and dramatic range in a passionate performance of Aida's "O patria mia." She preserves her creamy tone and liquid flexibility throughout this challenging aria--unusual for the thicker-voiced sopranos who normally tackle this role. Gheorghiu brings these same virtues to her gripping performance of Desdemona's "Willow Song" and "Ave Maria." Here, however, she displays a startling vulnerability as her superior vocal technique captures every shade of Desdemona's eleventh-hour despair.
REVIEWS:
Opera News (9/00, pp.90-91) - "...Fans of this soprano will not be disappointed with 'Verdi Heroines'...Gheorghiu is in wonderful vocal shape throughout....Support from Chailly is strong and sensitive....Recorded sound is flattering to the diva, while not too distant."