Greatest Moments At The Met
Decca, 2023
9/10
Listen to Greatest Moments At The Met
The soprano extraordinaire Renée Fleming documents some of her stunning performances at The Met on CD and digital for the first time, and it’s spread across 2 discs that cull together 19 years of appearances and includes duets with Cecilia Bartoli, Susan Graham, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Samuel Ramey, and Bryn Terfel.
Mozart’s “Le Nosse Di Figaro” opens the listen with Fleming’s soaring pipes hitting some very high notes alongside the dancing strings, and Verdi’s “Otello” follows with much intimacy as a stirring atmosphere surrounds the poetic and expressive singing.
Deeper into Disc 1, “Faust”, by Gounod, recruits strong baritone vocals alongside Fleming’s distinct pipes for the very animated first half highlight, and the back half opens with Floyd’s “Susannah”, where mood is key and the vocal acrobatics are quite captivating amid the majestic strings.
Further yet, Handel’s “Rodelinda” emits swift string manipulation and very melodic singing in the dreamy demeanor, and “Die Tote Stadt” exits with Fleming interpreting Korngold’s vision with much emotion and grace.
A truly spectacular collection of performances, anyone with an ear for opera would be wise to spend time with these indeed great moments at The Met.
Travels well with: Richard Wagner- The Golden Ring; Víkingur Ólafsson- From Afar