Casta Diva in Bloomington, MN

It is difficult to capture the range of mezzo-soprano
Cecilia Bartoli
's talents on a compilation album. That was even true of the last
Bartoli
compilation before this 2024 outing, 2013's
Sospiri
, which did justice to her Baroque opera singing but had a rather dour tone. On
Casta Diva
, things are peppier, but the "Queen of Baroque," as
has been styled, gets somewhat short shrift when it comes to that aspect of her remarkable career. As with
, there are a couple of new tracks to attract those who will buy anything
releases; these are a pair of
Handel
arias from
Alcina, HWV 34
, that she recorded in 2019. There is a bit of smoke in her mid-fifties voice, but generally, listeners will be impressed by how consistent the voice has been since 1992 when the earliest tracks on the album were recorded. As for the rest, of course, some things are left out (and there is a little overlap with
), but what is here is pure beauty. There is bel canto,
Mozart
, unusual items like
Persiani
and
Pacini
that
has done so much to research,
Rossini
songs with
James Levine
on the piano, and more. The version of
Bellini
's "Casta diva" is one that
devised, according to her theories of performance practice of the day, and it is quite persuasive. The remastering of all these various orchestras and sound sources is more than competent, and the bottom line is that new listeners in search of a single-album introduction to
will find this more than enjoyable. ~ James Manheim