"ONE
OF “THE BEST CLASSICAL CDS OF 2003" -Anne
Midgette, The New York Times (Sunday Arts & Leisure Section),
December 21, 2003
"Certainly
noteworthy of praise is Inga Kalna (Armida) and Vivica Genaux [Rinaldo],
the mezzo-soprano who has been making such a big splash in this repertory
in the past years."
- Anne Midgette, New York Times/Album Showcase (Audio Review),
June 4-10, 2003
"Vivica
Genaux is an impetuous Rinaldo, butch and bouncy in "Or la tromba",
meltingly tender in "Cara sposa." She dispatches Handel's
trills, runs and cavernous intervals with athletic grace, showing
again why she is among the most remarkable musicians of our time."
"Even if you already own the Decca Rinaldo, don't miss this marvelous
set; it offers proof that the golden age of opera may well be yet
to come." -
Marion Lignana Rosenberg, Time Out New York, May 22-29, 2003
"[Mezzo-]Soprano
Vivica Genaux is a thrilling Rinaldo, combining spot-on technical
command (does she ever need to breathe?) with a lustrous tone and
fierce dramatic intelligence." -
Tim Page, The Washington Post, May 11, 2003
“Many
Handelians doubtless own Christopher Hogwood's excellent recording
with the Academy of Ancient Music on Decca from two years ago, but
this new version provides some powerful, even preferable, competition.
While Hogwood's cast features such stars as David Daniels, Cecilia
Bartoli and Gerald Finley, the unique vocal aura each possesses tends
to throw the weaker aspects of Hogwood's conducting -- the clock-tick
tempos, the straitlaced interpretation -- into relief. But Jacobs'
singers -- especially the dusky-voiced mezzo Vivica Genaux, whose
coloratura technique is superior to that of Daniels -- can certainly
hold their own, and he allows them a far greater measure of improvisational
freedom; likewise, his direction of the Freiburg players gives the
score a driving physicality and sensuous charm that Hogwood cannot
reach.” -
Russell Platt, The Star-Ledger (Newark), July 15, 2003
“The
main attraction, of course, is Genaux. In the primo castrato role
of the titular knight of the Crusades, she soars through the score
with flawless technique propelling her powerful yet supple voice.
“Her vocal excellence is matched by her dramatic interpretation.
Vengeance, plaintiveness, tenderness or heroism are instantly identified.
A quintessential example is the first-act da capo aria, ‘Cara
Sposa.’ In the A section, Genaux pulls the listener into the
lament for the abducted fiancée, then, in the B section, she
stuns with defiant fury vented at the antagonists. It's hard to imagine
anything in this score that Genaux leaves unaccomplished.” -
Eric Haines, Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), May 18, 2003
HEADLINE:Vivica
Genaux and René Jacobs shine on a new CD of Handel's Rinaldo
"...Handel's Rinaldo with one of my favorite young singers, mezzo-soprano
Vivica Genaux, brilliantly filling the title role..." -
Joe McLellan, redludwig.com, May 9, 2003
"Jacobs'
soloists are mostly wonderful: Vivica Genaux is a vivid, involved
hero, singing with great evenness, impressive tenderness in the yearning
arias, and no fear of Handel's fiercer music;" -
Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com, Rating 9/10 May 5, 2003
“The
vocal work is hardly less dazzling. Vivica Genaux’s work is
truly magnificent.”
- Laurence Vittes, Audiophile Audition, May 2003
In
the UK:
“Genaux
is a superb Rinaldo: fearless, passionate and noble. The distribution
of bright and dark timbres in her voice sometimes reminds one of Teresa
Berganza. In ‘Or la tromba,’ however, Genaux, suddenly
pulls out some brassy chest tones startlingly reminiscent of Marilyn
Horne’s performances of this number.
- Roland Graeme, The Opera Quarterly, Winter 2004
“The
singers are a strong and unusually unified team: all of them firm
and clear of voice. The original primo uomo role of Rinaldo is taken
by a mezzo, Vivica Genaux, who draws a fine, slender line of tone,
and sings the lovely ‘Cara sposa’ with real passion, and
her next aria, the showpiece that ends the First Act, has some splendidly
defined and incisive singing.”
- Stanley Sadie, Gramophone, May 2003
“The
casting is less starry than on Hogwood’s rival set, but Vivica
Genaux’s feminine-sounding Rinaldo yields nothing to David Daniels
in bravura.... Dedicated Handelians, I suspect, will want both.” -
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times (London), April 6, 2003
“This
new version has some notable assets. Among the individual roles there
is all the panache and distinctiveness of profile we could possibly
wish for. In the title role, Vivica Genaux, a specialist in castrato
repertoire and its appropriate style, judges the balance nicely between
heroic attitudinizing and Rinaldo’s more vulnerable side, exposed
through his scene with rival heroines Almirena and Armida.”
-
Jonathan Keates, Opera, July 2003
3
Stars (Highest Rating) – “Opera Now Choice”
“Vivica Genaux, whose collaboration with [René] Jacobs
on the disc Arias for Farinelli made such an extraordinary impact,
delivers a triumphant account of the title role, giving purposeful
meaning to every page of recitative and finding as delicate shadings
of tone for the lover as she does formidable virtuosity for the warrior.” -
George Hall, Opera Now, July/August 2003
“His
[conductor René Jacobs’] young singers here shine all
the more brightly. Vivica Genaux, Miah Persson, Inga Kalna and Lawrence
Zazzo alone are four excellent reasons to invest in this wonderful
work.” -
Andrew Clarke, The Independent (London), April 19, 2003
“The
cast, led by the mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux, is of high quality.” -
Andrew Clements, The Guardian (London), April 11, 2003
“Vivica
Genaux may lack David Daniel’s androgynous timbre [on the rival
Decca recording] – the American mezzo is a Handelian in the
Marilyn Horne tradition, though less beefy, more feminine in manner
– but she yields nothing to the star countertenor in the virtuoso
rigours of ‘Venti, turbini’ and ‘Or la tromba.’
Genaux is a superb technician and stylist.” -
Hugh Canning, International Record Review, May 2003
In
France:
“Vivica
Genaux is an unusual Rinaldo. She does not attempt to emphasize the
heroic aspects of the character, which both Marilyn Horne and Ewa
Podles did. Like David Daniels, Genaux provides refreshing naturalness
in the moments of tenderness and vulnerability; ‘Cara sposa’
is sung with such emotion that it absolutely tears you apart. She
brings wonderful inventiveness to her da capo arias and her coloratura
is astonishing. This is virtuosity of the highest level.”
- Philippe Do, Répertoire, April 2003
“This
well-balanced cast could not possibly be bettered. Vivica Genaux positively
inhabits the role of Rinaldo – at times valiant; at other times
amorous.” -
Philippe Venturini, Le Monde de la Musique, April 2003
“Vivica
Genaux surpasses herself in this highly challenging and varied title
role, easily moving from the distraught and anguished ‘Cara
sposa’ to the frenetic virtuosity of ‘Venti, turbini’
“ -
Jean-Claude Laccroix, Opéra International, May 2003
“In
a cast led by Vivica Genaux, there are no weak links; these voices
blend matchlessly.” -
Jean-Luc Wachthausen, Le Figaro, March 20, 2003
In
Germany:
“Vivica
Genaux is highly convincing in the role of the Christian knight Rinaldo,
with a broad spectrum of expression. Her warm flowing mezzo-soprano
is endowed with a velvety richness so expressive in languishing love
duets and in moving arias of lament, and just as secure in the furious
outbursts in her encounters with Armida.” -
S. Matuschak. Das Opernglas, May 2003
