Operatic Mozart

Simply titled Mozart Arias, this cd by Cecilia Bartoli is one of those cobbled together compilations that can surface when an artist changes record labels. In this case though, it has been easy to put together a sensible and coherent package. There are four arias from the early Mozart work Lucio Silla, two Cherubino arias from Le Nozze de Figaro and six from Cosi Fan Tutte in the character of Dorabella. The accompaniment for the Lucio Silla and Nozze arias is from Concentus Musicus Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt and for the Cosi arias from Daniel Barenboim and the Berliner Philharmoniker. It's a good cd compilation for me to have, since I don't think I could handle the complete operas, certainy not on audio cd, maybe dvd at some point. It's always easy to let Mozart just wash over you but it repays careful listening too in spades. Bartoli is one of the most thoughtful and musicianly of the superstar soloists of her particular generation, tending to serve the music rather than be self serving towards her career. Which ironically has helped to drive her career forward anyway.