Resist if you want, but in the end, resistance is futile. Russian-born mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk's voice may at first seem too big, too strong, and too unyielding to be effective, much less beautiful. But after a song or two on her debut disc of Russian songs on Harmonia Mundi, her voice seems just the right size for her passion, just the right strength for her repertoire, and just the right temperament for her interpretations. How else should she sing Rachmaninov's "Night is Mournful" if not with a voice as big as the steppes the lyrics describe? How else should she sing Glazunov's "Oriental Romance" if not with a voice as strong as the desire the lyrics describe? And how else should she sing Taneyev's "Stalactites" if not with a voice as unyielding as the stones the lyrics describe? Of course, one could quibble that Tchaikovsky's "None But the Lonely Heart" might be better sung at something less than full voice and that Rachmaninov's "Child, You Are As Beautiful as a Flower" might be better interpreted with something more closely approximating maternal feelings. But even there, Semenchuk's voice overpowers all objections and the listener is reduced to agreeing with her performances -- whether they want to or not. Accompanist Larissa Gergieva, sister of conductor Valery Gergiev, shows amazing pianistic fortitude in supporting Semenchuk's voice, and Les Nouveaux Musiciens, a subsidiary of Harmonia Mundi, shows astounding technical ability in capturing Semenchuk's voice.
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