Cecilia Bartoli
Barbican
Turandot
Royal Opera House
For this year’s appearance at the Barbican, Cecilia Bartoli, ever exploratory in her repertoire, chose an evening of canzone, songs by composers and a few by singers of the bel canto repertoire. She was accompanied by the hyper-reticent Sergio Ciomei at the piano. Admittedly, the accompaniments to these pieces are not in the least interesting, but they do need to be heard. A recital by Bartoli is in all senses an occasion. It is very much a matter of seeing what this performer is like now, just as it was with Schwarzkopf. And, as with Schwarzkopf in her later recitals, one is impressed by the sheer calculation of it all, from the moment she appears, marches on to the stage, distributes smiles to her admirers like blessings, and adjusts her expression for the first number.
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