For Fans Of The Diva

This is another cd which has me slightly puzzled as to why I bought it. Not that it is bad, just not the sort of release that I would usually go for. It is The Art of Cecilia Bartoli and as the title suggests is a selection of various performances from over her career thus far. It is very lavishly packaged, lots of airbrushed glamourous photos and obviously aimed at fans of the singer with a capital "F". And I'm not into that kind of devotion. There's no denying the quality of the music but it is another of those sort of releases that you would put on to have a pleasant noise in the house while going about some chore or other. It includes pieces by Handel, Vivaldi, Gluck, Mozart and Rossini which are her kind of material, plus short snatches of Donizetti and Verdi. Luciano Pavorotti, Bryn Terfel and David Daniels make duet appearances and the maestros include Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly and Christopher Hogwood.