Angela Gheorghiu - Casta Diva / Pido
The titleCasta Divatells all. This recital disc shows sopranoAngela Gheorghiureaching out beyond the lyric Verdi-Gounod-Massenet-Puccini repertory in which shemade her nameand edging into the gymnastic world of coloratura and bel canto--with some measure of success. Her opening number, the eponymous Bellini "Casta Diva," doesn't show Gheorghiu at her best: the sound is hollow rather than serene and just a touch too fluttery in the vibrato to feel comfortable. But in other arias fromLa Sonnambula,I Puritani, andGuglielmo Tell, she seems on surer ground--though even here, the fioritura can be rushed and swallowed when it needs to be approached with measured confidence. Of course, the technique is there, as are the eloquence and subtlety--but take this disc as a token of things to come rather than evidence of what has already arrived. That way, you'll be pleasantly surprised as opposed to slightly disappointed.--Michael White