Natalie Dessay - Mad Scenes (2009)

Natalie Dessay's collection of coloratura mad scenes from Italian, French, and American opera is culled from a variety of previous high-profile releases of recitals and complete operas, so avid fans of the soprano aren't likely to find new performances here, except perhaps Glitter and be gay, from Candide, from the 1997 EMI disc Centenary Gala at Glyndebourne. This disc makes an excellent introduction for listeners new to Dessay, though. It highlights her acute dramatic gifts, both tragic and comic, and her characteristic gleaming purity, agile flexibility, and focused musicality are evident throughout. While comic arias aren't generally considered mad scenes, the Bernstein perhaps qualifies for expressing a different kind of madness, and Dessay's riotous performance is deliriously and deliciously over the top. One of the most interesting things about the album is the inclusion of Lucia's mad scene from both the Italian and French versions of the opera, both conducted by Evelino Pidò, the French from a 2002 recording of the complete opera, and the Italian from 2007 recital. Dessay is in top form in both performances (even though the first was made just prior to the vocal difficulties that required surgery). The 2007 version ultimately makes a stronger impression, though, because Dessay's characterization has matured, and this Lucia seems more deeply tragic. Also, the use of a glass harmonica, instead of the flutes that replace it in most modern performance, provides a distinctive ghostly halo that makes a tremendous difference in the tone of the scene. Pidò, who leads Concerto Köln on three tracks, offers an especially attentive and sensitive accompaniment. The ambience of the sound varies between tracks because of the diverse sources of the recordings, but it is never less than very fine.