Arabesque

Olga Peretyatko is blessed with a warm middle register followed by a coloratura ability that will astound the listener. Before hearing this CD I knew little about this glorious voice and any soprano that can handle with ease Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Gounod, Bizet and Johann Strauss can really deliver the goods. The final item on this CD 'Die Nachtingall' made me think of the late Rita Streich (a beautiful voice) whose timbre did not have the power of Ms. Peretyatko. Some highlights from this album for me are 'Quo la voce sua soave' from "I Puritani" and 'O legere hinonhelle from "Mireille". This very attractive lady is going to be a household name world wide soon and in a short time will be ranked amongst the finest sopranos of our time. The NDR Sinfonieorchester under Enrique Mazzola gives fine support. This album is entitled "Arabesque".......Get yourself a copy and be captivated like I was.

This is a very good soprano. The voice is not totally Italianate, and there is an occasional tendency to sing slightly under pitch on the high notes (very slightly). She has all the coloratura facility needed for this difficult music, which she obviously enjoys. Her production is even from bottom to top, and she is worth hearing.

This is a whopper of an endeavor and Mma. Peretyatko pulls it off with panache, beauty, and varying tones that convey the different characters she is portraying. She does not miss a note, interpolates high notes, and sings with precision in coloratura passages, and with wonderful control in the legato sections with clear diction - that combination is rare these days in combination (no aspirated yugga yugga coloratura either....thank goodness!) When I first heard her debut album, I thought she was one to follow. This album covers a great deal of repertoire ranging over a large period of time, some of which is quite obscure. My personal favorite was "Qui la voce" but that is always a showstopper if done well. It shows all the attributes I indicated above.

Olga Peretyatko's latest recital disk is another unqualified success. In a programme including works by Mozart, Bellini, Verdi, Gounod and Strauss, she shows that she can produce stellar performances in a wide range of styles. Her beautiful voice is silky, seductive, shimmering and crystal clear, and perfectly supported throughout her range. Her diction is mostly excellent, though her French could use a bit of work. This is a stunning disk from a stunning woman and should be part of every opera aficionado's collection.

Excellent singer but not a distinctive voice.

Miss Peretyatko who will soon be starring at the Metropolitan Opera in I PURITANI and this disc has doubtlessly been issued to support her performances there. On the plus side, she is a lovely lady with a lovely lyric soprano voice capable of some coloratura facility. I wish her positives could compensate for her faults but sadly, I just do not hear it. It is not entirely her fault. PR now rules opera and it is the Director who calls the shots. Ever since the inexplicable rise of Anna Netrebko, opera directors seem to have put out a call for "Russian/Slavic, pretty coloraturas" and shoved them out onto the stage at the Metropolitan Opera and the few other remaining houses in the United States. Regardless of their faulty techniques, fuzzy coloratura, inexact trills, and unequal registers, because they are pretty the PR team will foist them upon us as the "New Golden Age of Opera". All we need to do is compare: Listen to the recordings of Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, Anna Moffo, Roberta Peters, Mariella Devia, Edita Gruberova who have all recorded the Mad Scene from I Puritani. Then listen to Peretyatko. Anyone would hear the difference. It sounds as if she is "sight reading" the aria and lacks any finesse. The final Eflat sounds forced and unsupported. Miss Peretyatko is not without her charms. But I hear more of a Mimi/Musetta in La Boheme or other lyric roles than coloratura parts.

great performance. she was at the Met singing Gilda i n Rigoletto. Perfect.