Gramophone Magazine critic Laurence Vittes reviews Oksana Volkova, Constantine Orbelian, and the Kaunas City Symphony’s Poison d’Amour recording in the August issue’s Sounds of America section:
“Mezzo-soprano Oksana Volkova’s recital of a dozen famous dramatic arias and one bloody obscurity gives full range to the Belarusian’s powerful voice and sultry temperament. … With a superb sense of pace, Volkova rolls out each aria so perfectly, with the flexible conducting support of Constantine Orbelian, that when she hits that aria’s sweet spot her voice is at its relaxed best, as in a luxurious, expansive Seguidilla or in ‘Voi lo sapete’, where she sounds in particularly splendid voice. … Volkova is supported throughout by the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra with sensitivity and beautiful playing, including a very cool clarinettist in ‘Pleurez! pleurez mes yeux’ and exquisite woodwind wisps in ‘Printemps qui commence’.”
—Laurence Vittes, Gramophone
See the full review in the August 2021 issue of Gramophone Magazine – or at gramophone.co.uk
