This is Ruth Ann Swenson’s fourth solo disc and I’m still trying to figure out what it is that makes her so favored while a handful of similar sopranos I’ve heard at the Met seem as good or better. True, the voice is pretty and she’s capable of singing beautiful pianissimos, but she tends to sound the same from aria to aria. The very top notes, while there, are hardly attractive, and what’s more, there’s a distinct beat entering her voice at forte–not a good sign. Her attempts at the non-coloratura repertoire are passable: Her Mimi, which is taken very slowly, is lovely, but the voice doesn’t blossom into the big notes the way, say, Freni’s does. The Otello Ave Maria is beautiful, but Swenson is clearly unsuited to the whole role and wisely doesn’t even try the Willow Song that should precede it. Her Liu is very good as is her Lauretta (from Schicchi), but don’t we all have just-as-good versions elsewhere? “Caro nome” is excellent and Giulietta’s gorgeous aria from Capuleti is too. Judging from this, Swenson’s no Violetta–aside from the notes, which are all there. So what can I say? Pretty stuff, prettily performed, and not memorable.
