Verdi - 'Heroines' Soprano Opera Arias [Gheorghiu/Chailly-Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano Giuseppe Verdi]The Romanian Soprano Angela Gheorghiu must be one of the most famous Divas performing today, she has a very distinctive 'fruity' voice, no doubt from her Eastern European dialect, plus she's got the looks to go along with her talent.
This is a nice collection of Arias, entitled 'Verdi Heroines', Chailly is very much an Opera Conductor, and of course the Italian Orchestra with Verdi's name to it is ideal.
I enjoyed tracks/Arias 2, 4-5 & 9, especially track 5, the aria 'Tacea La Notte Placida' [The Calm Night Was Silent] from Il Trovatore [The Troubadour], the Aria is a discussion between Leonore and Ines, where Leonore recounts her meeting the dark stranger Manrico at a jousting contest, and eventually being serenaded by him beneath her window late at night, the best bits of the Aria are the two chorus's by Leonore [2:47-3:27 & 4:11-5:30], that both break out into a waltz/song,
dolci s'udiro e flebili [when the sweet plaintive sound]
gli accordi d'un liuto [of chords from a lute was heard]
e versi melanconici [and a troubadour]
un trovator canto [sang melancholy verses]
gioia provai che agli angeli [the joy i felt was such]
solo e provar concesso! [as only the angels are allowed!]
al core, al guardo estatico [to my heart, to my ecstatic gaze]
la terra un ciel sembro! [the earth seemed a heaven!]
Gheorghiu/Leonore works her way up into an ecsatic desire of love and passion, an Aria that goes waltzing around your brain long after it's finished, Verdi certainly had a way with marrying words and music.
Here she is singing this Aria on YouTube.
