COMPOSERS: Bellini,Bizet,Delibes,Donizetti,etc,Massenet,Rossini,Saint-Sa‘ns
LABELS: Somm
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: Songs I Love
WORKS: By Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini, Delibes, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Bizet,
PERFORMER: Jenny Drivala (sop), Nina Walker (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: SOMMCD 200 DDD (distr. Complete Record Co.)
The solo recital is apt to expose shortcomings – and the much-marketed Greek soprano Jenny Drivala’s are many. The booklet notes swear she is an accomplished actress, but her voice is a problem: shrill, swallowed, indistinct (her Italian, French, Spanish and English are one homogenous set of vowels), utterly unvarying and sometimes positively caterwauling. The ‘songs she loves’ are an eclectic bunch and only in the four Greek songs at the end is any of her much-hyped talent audible. Claire Wrathall
Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini, Delibes, Saint-Sa‘ns, Massenet, Bizet, etc
The solo recital is apt to expose shortcomings – and the much-marketed Greek soprano Jenny Drivala’s are many. The booklet notes swear she is an accomplished actress, but her voice is a problem: shrill, swallowed, indistinct (her Italian, French, Spanish and English are one homogenous set of vowels), utterly unvarying and sometimes positively caterwauling. The ‘songs she loves’ are an eclectic bunch and only in the four Greek songs at the end is any of her much-hyped talent audible. Claire Wrathall
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:12 pm