Oksana Volkova, Constantine Orbelian, and the Kaunas City Symphony’s Poison D’Amour album has MusicWeb International critic, Michael Cookson, crossing his fingers for more!
“One immediately notices Volkova’s dark-tinged and agreeably burnished tone. Her chosen roles seem appropriately tailored to her tessitura, so there is little in the way of strain. The word ‘allure’ is often used to describe a quality of Volkova’s tone, and I can understand why. I do not find her noticeable vibrato intrusive; it actually serves to enhance the voice, not hinder it. I cannot resist the temptation of comparing mezzo-sopranos. One of my favourite artists is Elīna Garanča. Her voice might be blessed with more tonal beauty and nuance but Volkova can certainly produce a level of drama as exciting as anyone. … Constantine Orbelian and the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra play with a convincing emotional temperature that feels pretty much ideal for these Romantic works. As on several other of their recordings, there are some lovely solo contributions. As usual, Delos’s standard of album documentation is top-drawer. Lindsay Koob’s booklet essay contains helpful explanations of each aria in its operatic context. Sung texts with English translations are included. There also are concise biographies of the soloist, the conductor and the orchestra. Oksana Volkova is very effective in this aria collection. Fingers crossed for more!”
—Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International
See the full review at musicweb-international.com
