Fanfare Magazine critic Henry Fogel offers an absolute RAVE review for Sarah Coburn, Lawrence Brownlee, and Constantine Orbelian’s new recording of Bellini’s I Puritani:
“This release is something we don’t see too often any more: a studio recording of a complete opera… This set takes its place comfortably alongside the finest available recordings of Bellini’s final opera, and surely one of his most beautiful.
The prime motivating factor behind the recording is probably Lawrence Brownlee, who is without question one of the finest bel canto tenors singing today, and to my mind one of the greatest ever. … if I were forced to choose only one Arturo as the best, it would be his. Brownlee combines brilliant high notes with a uniquely beautiful voice—there’s a bit more velvet in his sound than in the others, di Stefano aside, along with stunning agility and deeply ingrained musicality.
‘But what about the famous high F in ‘Credeasi miserai’ in the opera’s final scene?’ I hear you asking. Not only does Brownlee hit it, but he sings it. The note sounds like an integral part of his voice, and it is therefore integrated into the musical line, which I have never heard before. …
[Coburn] has everything required for a successful Elvira. First, her high notes, like Brownlee’s, sound as if they belong to the same voice as the rest of her singing, and they are freely produced. Her runs, passagework, and staccato attacks are completely clean and shaped by a firm rhythmic sense. Her imagination and instincts serve Coburn well in the ornamentation she adds to second verses. … The last note sung in the opera is a fabulous high E♭ held over the chorus, which is produced here with no feeling of stress. In any era there are very few sopranos who can exhibit the pyrotechnics demanded by Bellini’s score while also spinning out a beautiful legato line. In this generation Coburn is certainly one.…
[Constantine Orbelian] finds the right balance between letting his singers have expressive freedom and retaining overall shape and firmness of line. Delos’s booklet provides a complete libretto with translation. The opera is given without cuts. Anyone who loves the bel canto opera should be thrilled by this release.”
—Henry Fogel, Fanfare
See the full review on FanfareArchive.com
