German Romantic Arias - Karita Mattila, soprano / Staatskapelle Dresden - Sir Colin Davis, cond.
Elektra/Asylum - #42141
rel. April 23, 2024

This CD is an album of selected vocal works by the German romantic composers Beethoven, Weber and Mendelssohn, of which the most familiar are the pieces by Beethoven (Leonore's arias from his only opera Fidelio) and Weber (Agathe's arias from Der Freischutz). Beethoven's scena Ah! perfido... Per pieta! - a vocal composition to dramatic Italian text said to be a precursor to Fidelio, arias from two other Weber operas Euryanthe and Oberon - a British commission, hence the English text, and one of Mendelssohn's two concert arias Infelice!... Ah, ritorna, eta felice.

Familiar or not, these works are tied together by one theme - a woman's lament in a state of extreme emotional stress caused by isolation or abandonment. And as composers renowned for their lush orchestrations have discovered, this inner conflict is rich material for dramatic vocal compositions such as exemplified by the selections in this album - definitely not for the faint-of-heart soprano. As the clips below demonstrate, they are some of the most vocally challenging pieces in the repertoire... and Karita Mattila is certainly not faint-of-heart. Her formidable vocal prowess allows her to rise to the challenge, as triumphantly as she has often done in her acclaimed performances on the operatic stage.

the CD

Click on a title below to listen to a music clip (Real Player required - download now):

Ah! perfido (Tr 2) Szene und Arie op.65 by Beethoven

Ocean! thou mighty monster (Tr 5) from Recitative and Ocean Aria by Carl Maria von Weber

Schermende Engelschar (Tr 6) from Euryanthe by Carl Maria von Weber

Infelice! Già dal mio sguardo si dilegnò (Tr 8) from Conzertarie für Sopranstimme und Orchester op.94 by Felix Mendelssohn