From Australia come two new discs from the Melba label, whose praises we already sang on the release of an excellent Wagner’s tetralogy in SACD format some time ago …
The second disc from Australia features Australian soprano Deborah Riedel (who in fact also appears in the Wagner mentioned above). Veteran conductor Richard Bonynge has rescued from oblivion 20 beautiful ‘vocal treasures’ of the 18th and 19th centuries and, with the Arcadia Lane Orchestra, accompanies the soprano in a recording named ‘Cherry Ripe’. The title is taken from one of the songs on the disc, composed by Horn, and in fact aptly reflects the maturity reached by this soprano who has already enjoyed an extensive career and is becoming acknowledged as one of the best voices of her time in her country. Having inherited the technical characteristics of the legendary Joan Sutherland, Riedel is astonishingly like her.
The disc includes 21 songs in different styles by composers as varied as Pasiello, J.C. Bach, Mayr, Cimarosa and Zingarelli, full of embellishments and ornamentation of the period, perfectly executed by Bonynge and his orchestra.
A beautiful disc complemented by design to match and including the lyrics of the songs. Melba clearly takes great care not only with the quality of its recordings but also with the presentation of its products. In short, another disc well worth recommending.
Both discs are distributed in Spain by LR Music.
Fernando Segura Morillas (English translation)