This recital release has multiple purposes. It is part of a series introducing protégées of mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, and it is a survey of pieces written for the famed 19th century mezzo Pauline Viardot. Further, the orchestral accompaniment from Les Musiciens du Prince-Monaco is among the few to use period instruments in this repertory. On top of all this, the recital concludes with an Armenian song, Krunk, reflecting the background of singer Varduhi Abrahamyan. It seems like a lot, although Viardot did perform Armenian music from time to time. Viardot did give the premiere of Brahms' Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53, but it seems doubtful that she would have plunked it down between Gluck and Rossini, and it might have done better at the beginning or the end. Abrahamyan may seem an odd follower for Bartoli; she doesn't sound much like her with her heavy vibrato and rounded sound. She doesn't seem a terribly text-based singer; her articulation in the various languages here drops consonants, but there's real charisma in her singing, and even if the program is a bit of a jumble, it plays to her strengths. She chooses large chunks of music that showcase her ability to find the long line and carry a scene. Listen to the pair of pieces from Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, which lie squarely in the heart of Viardot's repertory and lets Abrahamyan stretch out. This release undoubtedly promises things to come from its young singer.
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