BELLA VOCE

The present album, her first solo recording, is primarily dedicated to Mozart. The three concert arias could stem from an opera, as far as their style is concerned, but they were composed without any specific context. Every aria is a dramatical portrait, each of them a challenge between bravura colloratura and emotional communication. Each aria reflects an informal recitativo and a formal melodie, each of them is technically complex.

The text of „Misera, dove son? ... Ah! non son io che parlo“, written in 1781, stems from the part in Pietro Metastasio's Ezio, in which Fulvia cries for her beloved husband. Compared to this, „Vado, ma dove?“of 1789, based on a text usually attributed to Lorenzo da Ponte, is much more concentrated and laid back. The aria served as an intermission in Martín y Solers Il burbero di buon core. In „Ah, lo previdi - Ah, t’invola agl’occhi miei“, written in 1777, we hear a very touching episode from Andromeda based on a text of Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi (which had most likely been put to music by Giovanni Paisiello before).

The opera excerpts also show Anja Harteros’ predilection for Mozart. „Porgi amor“ is the nostalgical aria presenting the countess in Le nozze di Figaro and the very aria that Anja Harteros chose for her New York debut. „Come scoglio“ and „Per pieta“ render Fiordiligi's different moods in Così fan tutte, at first proud and aggressive, then laid back and subtle. „D’Oreste, d’Ajace from Idomeneo is the breathtaking scena - crazy in the true sense of the word - with Elettra expressing her deadly anger.

Haydns touching cantata „Berenice, che fai?“ of 1795 follows a text from Metastasio's Antigono. She captures the listener by stunning modulations in the recitativi and a phenomenal brilliance in the two wonderfully orchestrated arias in opposing keys.