Natalie Dessay reviews
Mozart Heroines (Dessay)
Sopranos in Mozart’s day were expected to move easily between roles we would now label soubrette, lyric or coloratura. Today specialisation rules; and it is hard to think of any present-day soprano who could embrace the contrasting demands of these Mozart heroines as completely as Natalie Dessay. The evenness, agility and diamantine precision of her coloratura are phenomenal. But she never relies merely on technical virtuosity.