One’s reaction is either “Oh, no, not another coloratura soprano,” or “Oh, good, another coloratura soprano.” By the end of this recital of chestnuts mingling with the somewhat unexpected, the “Oh, good” wins, despite not having discovered another great interpreter–or Sutherland, although this singer is certainly closer to a Stimme diva than a Kunst diva.
That having been said, she has quite a “Stimme”, and she seems a fine enough, if not deep enough, artist. Opening with Mozart can get bad singers in trouble—razzle dazzle isn’t enough—but Olga Peretyatko rises to the occasion: “Ah, si in ciel, benigne stele” is beautifully phrased, with endless runs and octave leaps in place; Donna Anna’s “Non mi dir” is clean and clear, each word understandable, and Peretyatko has no trouble with the tricky ending. You wish that conductor Enrique Mazzola had opted to add some energy to the cabaletta section; he’s bland when he could have been exciting. He offers lovely support to his soprano in Susanna’s “Deh, vieni…,”sung with warmth and feeling and some high-flying decorations near its close.
Rossini’s cantata Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo, composed for a Hapsburg wedding with Isabella Colbran as a goddess, has familiar moments for Rossinians—much of it was previously used for Almaviva’s final aria in Barbiere and later re-adapted for Cenerentola’s. It’s good to hear it in this format, and Peretyatko sings the heck out of it, with lovely trills, smooth legato, and a fine sense of line. Elvira’s “Son vergin vezzosa” and Mad Scene are also well sung with fine innocence for the first and notes of sadness for the bigger scene; Sony should have supplied the interstitial choral material for both the Rossini and Bellini. As fine and clean as all of these bel canto gems are sung, it’s hard to disregard how the very highest notes—D, E-flat, E—are on the verge of trouble, either shattering, shrieking, or coming in south of pitch. Verdi’s “Bolero” from Vespri closes what may be called the “serious” part of the program (sung with the same fluency and issues at the top of the voice).
The rest are fluffy showpieces, not that there’s anything wrong with that. “O légère hirondelle” from Gounod’s Mireille; “Ouvre ton coeur” from Bizet’s Vasco da Gama; and a somewhat insipid “Villanelle” by Eva Dell’Acqua are for canary fanciers, and as such are well performed. But there’s more: Arditi’s Il bacio is feather-light (if one recalls Sutherland’s gigantic reading of this, which is sounding more and more right as the years go on); Adele’s perky couplets from Fledermaus are well negotiated and very charmingly characterized, if you can stand them at all; and as a “bonus track” (what did we do to deserve it?) we get Alexander Alabieffs’ “Nightingale”, which is simply enchanting.
It’s not easy to listen to 74 minutes of high coloratura singing, and I recommend taking this in smaller doses, but Peretyatko is most certainly a singer worth hearing.
