French soprano back at height of powers

By WILLIAM DART


Natalie Dessay is at her peak these days. After recovering from nodes on her vocal cords just a few years ago, she is now sweeping through the opera houses of the world, playing Zerbinetta, Lucia, Amina and other roles to breathless acclaim.

Amor, a new EMI release, finds the French soprano's clear and sprightly coloratura in selections from Richard Strauss operas together with four of the composer's Brentano Lieder.

Warning: don't expect high dramatics a la Deborah Voigt here. Dessay balances stylish froth and weltschmerz. Amor, the title Lied and a telling portrait of a wily cupid, is high, fast, and chromatically perilous but this is no worry for Dessay.

Generous operatic servings include a virtuoso "Most Gracious Princess" from Ariadne aux Naxos, which - hard to believe - she recently performed in the opera house while doing some acrobatic turns on stage.

In another excerpt from the work, Dessay dashes off the plot of the opera with just the right brittleness against Sophie Koch's oh-so-serious Composer.

Felicity Lott, a vocally poised Arabella, joins Dessay for Ich danke, Fraulein, the ultimate sisters' duet from that opera.

Finally, we have 20 minutes from Der Rosenkavalier.

First, Angela Kirchschlager plays Octavian to Dessay's Sophie in the Act 2 duet, introduced by a burst of Strauss at his most lush, perfectly caught by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House under Antonio Pappano. After this the last 13 minutes of the opera afford us a rapturous Trio and a lovely final duet, set in its Straussian orchestral diadem.

Richard Strauss had an uncanny gift for creating memorable heroines. The Italian Baroque composer Barbara Strozzi (1619-64) also had a special understanding of the female psyche, which you can hear on a Harmonia Mundi CD of American soprano Judith Nelson in six Strozzi cantatas.

This reissued 1981 recording hasn't dated, and few can equal Nelson's dramatic nous and psychological penetration in this repertoire. William Christie is the most familiar name in the band, although John Hutchinson's harp provides the most piquant touches.

And the most piquant thought of all? What might Strozzi have done with one of Strauss' librettos if she could have availed herself of a Time Machine?

* Strauss, Amor, with Natalie Dessay (Virgin Classics 45705); Strozzi, Cantates, with Judith Nelson (Harmonia Mundi HMX 290 1114)