Great Operatic Arias, Vol. 21 - Cheryl Barker Opera in English Orchestral & Concertos Opera In English

Great Operatic Arias, Vol. 21 - Cheryl Barker

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CHAN 3161

Great Operatic Arias, Vol. 21 - Cheryl Barker

CD UPC: 0095115316122

Release Date: September 2009
Originally recorded in April 2009

Composer (1866-1950)
Francesco Cilèa

Composer (1840-1893)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Composer (1857-1919)
Ruggero Leoncavallo

Composer (1842-1918)
Arrigo Boito

Composer (b. 1961)
Jake Heggie

Composer (1864-1949)
Richard Strauss

Composer (1931-2003)
Malcolm Williamson

Composer (1854-1893)
Alfredo Catalani

Soprano Voice soprano
Cheryl Barker

Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor
David Parry

Venue
Blackheath Halls, London

Producer (Executive)
Brian Couzens

Producer
Brian Pidgeon

Engineer
Ralph Couzens

Engineer (Assistant)
Jonathan Cooper

Genre:
Opera in English
Orchestral & Concertos

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FRANCESCO CILÈA

(1866-1950)

Adriana's Aria (Io son l'umile ancella) from Adriana Lecouvreur

3:15

'See now, I am exhausted…'–

'I am the humble servant of God's immortal art'

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

(1840-1893)

Lisa's Aria from The Queen of Spades

4:49

'You need not close the windows just yet' –

'Oh why am I so tearful'

with Gillian Keith soprano

RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO

(1857-1919)

Nedda's Aria (Stridono lassu) from Pagliacci (The Touring Party)

4:54

'His eyes were flashing with anger' –

'Through the air they soar'

Nedda and Silvio's Duet (E allor perchè, di' tu m'hai stregato)

11:34

'Nedda!' –

'My fate is in your hands' –

'Then will you say why you have enslaved me'

with William Dazeley baritone

ARRIGO BOITO

(1842-1918)

Death of Marguerita from Mephistopheles

5:57

'To the moonlit waves they cast him'

JAKE HEGGIE

(b. 1961)

A Bargain and a Prayer from The End of the Affair

6:36

'Nineteen forty-four. March. May. June'

with William Dazeley baritone

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Lisa's Scene and Arioso from The Queen of Spades

5:10

'It's nearly midnight now'

RICHARD STRAUSS

(1864-1949)

Arabella and Zdenka's Duet (Aber der richtige) from Arabella

6:19

'He's not the one who is right for me' –

'The one who's right for me'

with Gillian Keith soprano

FRANCESCO CILÈA

Adriana's Aria (Poveri fiori) from Adriana Lecouvreur

2:23

'Poor little flowers'

MALCOLM WILLIAMSON

(1931-2003)

10.

Berthe's Song from The Violins of Saint-Jacques

4:12

'How can I explain to you'

ALFREDO CATALANI

(1854-1893)

11.

Wally's Aria (Ebben? Ne andrò lontana) from La Wally

3:48

'I'll float into the distance'

RICHARD STRAUSS

12.

Arabella and Mandryka's Duet (Das war sehr gut, Mandryka) from Arabella

7:41

'I'm very glad. Mandryka'

with William Dazeley baritone

67:43

Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: David Parry

5-8 April 2009

About

Following her superb Katya in Katya Kabanova, her Emilia Marty in The Makropulos Case, recorded live at the London Coliseum, and her Butterfly for Chandos Opera in English, we were delighted to have enticed Cheryl Barker into our studios to record some fine examples of her dramatic artistry in music both familiar and fresh.

The repertoire chosen for the solo disc includes works, actually performed by her on stage, as well as arias Cheryl has always enjoyed listening to.

‘There were two arias that I was very keen to include one was the scene from The End of the Affair by the brilliant American composer Jake Heggie. I premiered the role of Sarah in Houston and I think this scene is dramatic and fantastically composed. I am very proud to have recorded the aria Each Afternoon from the Violins of St Jacques by Malcolm Williamson, a fellow Australian. It is very atmospheric with its simply vocal line. I have also included some popular arias and some repertoire performed by Dame Joan Hammond with whom I studied with as a student.’

‘As an English speaker, performing these arias in English means that I can relay the emotions of the arias in my native language and I think it is interesting to an English speaking audience to hear the arias in their native tongue. Also, it is important to have an accurate translation of the original text and I think in these arias we have that.’

GREAT OPERATIC ARIAS, VOLUME 21 – CHERYL BARKER

Following her superb performances as Emilia in The Macropulos Case and in the title role of Katya Kabanova and Madam Butterfly for Chandos’ Opera in English label, we are delighted to present a disc of Cheryl Barker singing operatic arias. Ms Barker comments, ‘There were two arias that I was very keen to include. One is from The End of the Affair by the brilliant American composer Jake Heggie, and the other from The Violins of St Jacques by my fellow Australian Malcolm Williamson… as I am an English speaker, performing these arias in English means that I can relay the emotions of the arias in my native language and I think it is interesting to an English speaking audience to hear the arias in their native tongue’. Cheryl Barker will appear in Manon Lescaut in Australia and in The Turn of the Screw at English National Opera in October and November.

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Reviews

This is singing from an artist who enters the whole being of the characters she portrays just as the LPO enters the worlds of the eight composers

The Sunday Telegraph - October 2009

“Apart from her warmly mellifluous voice, Barker has a reputation as an intelligent, thinking soprano, and it shows here. She has a way of bypassing singing as pure technique and arriving at the emotional and psychological truth behind the characters she sings.

As Marguerita in the death scene from Boito’s Mephistopheles she is pungently intense, but at the same time elegant and unforced. The highlight here is her highly charged performance as the vexed Sarah in The End of the Affair, except for what concludes: a wonderfully radiant, transcendent performance of Arabella’s closing scene. It’s glorious Strauss for all lovers of his voluptuously rich, scented art.

Supporting her is wonderfully paced playing from the London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor David Parry.” Graham Strahle

The Australian - October 2009

“…it is a pleasure to have her remarkable talents represented on a recital disc. One of the disc’s major positive points is the way it combines familiar and lesser known repertoire. Baritone William Dazeley and soprano Gillian Keith provide excellent support in the ensemble numbers, and the luxury accompaniment from the orchestra, under Parry’s singer-friendly yet spirited direction helps to create an overall impression of high quality.” John Woods

MusicalCriticism.com

“Cheryl Barker is always clean in her placing of notes and clear in her articulation of the English words. She is ready with a trill, has an ample supply of high notes and (in the Mefistofele aria, for example) reinforces the lower register effectively; Her associates have some additional qualities. Gillian Keith’s light soprano appears pure in tone and evenly produced and William Dazeley (surely one of our best baritones) has an attractive timbre, heard pleasingly throughout. …the orchestral playing is refined and responsive.” John Steane

Gramophone - Awards Issue 2009

“This is an imaginative collection , combining the well-known (‘Stridono Iassu’from Pagliacci) with rarities such as the Death of Marguerita from Boito’s Mephistopheles. Barker has a voice well-suited to the live opera house with plenty of steel to cut through an orchestra … David Parry and the LPO provide first-class accompaniments, as ever.” Emma Baker

Classic FM Magazine - November 2009

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