Ruth Ann Swenson - Con Amore ~ Italian Opera Arias
The arias on this record display to perfection Ruth Ann Swenson's most striking  gifts: a pure, flawlessly produced bel canto voice that  caresses the ear (as in her previous recital album,Endless Pleasure) with a mellifluous, silken sound, and an effortless,  impeccable coloratura technique with a radiant top all the way up to E-flat.  With meticulous care for every detail, trills, runs, ornaments, and cadenzas all  simply come flowing out with natural ease and unhurried poise. Perhaps this  very perfection induces a certain vocal and emotional blandness, especially  since Swenson seems temperamentally most comfortable in calm, lyrical  music, a tendency underlined by the predominance of slow arias. However,  since nearly all of them belong to tragic operatic heroines, the singing  often rises to considerable intensity and becomes warm, affecting, and very  moving. Some highlights are the otherworldly, mournful dreaminess of the  lament from Bellini'sLa Sonnambula, Mimi's innocent simplicity in Puccini'sLa Bohème, and the deeply inward, anguished prayer from Verdi'sOtello. The orchestra is wonderful throughout, with some outstanding horn, harp, and  violin solos; the offstage tenor part in Verdi'sLa Traviatais vividly taken by a  solo cello.--Edith Eisler