Isabel Bayrakdarian ~ Cleopatra
List Price:
Our Price: $13.70
You Save: $3.29 (19%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 4 weeks
Buy Used: from $7.97 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 2004-10-19
Music Label: Cbc
Soundtracks:
- Cesare e Cleopatra, opera: Act I. Tra le procelle assorto
- Cesare e Cleopatra, opera: Act I. Se avvien che si posi
- Cesare e Cleopatra, opera: Act II. Sento mio dolce amore
- Antonio e Cleopatra, serenata: Act I. Morte col fiero aspetto
- Antonio e Cleopatra, serenata: Act II. Quel candido armellino
- Antonio e Cleopatra, serenata: Act I. Un sol tuo sopiro
- Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act II. V'adoro, pupille
- Giulio Cesare in Egitto, opera, HWV 17: Act III. E pur cosi in un giorno...
- Cleopatra, opera: Act III. Was ist der Liebe Brauch
- Cleopatra, opera: Act I. Gute Nacht
- Cleopatra, opera: Act III. The Death of Cleopatra. Mein Leben ist hin
- Cleopatra, opera: Act III. The Death of Cleopatra. Nun ist es Zeit
Music reviews of Isabel Bayrakdarian ~ Cleopatra
Music Review: 'She makes hungry where most she satisfies.'
Rating: 5 Stars
Isabel Bayrakdarian, a Canadian soprano not yet thirty, has turned the opera world on its head in the last few years. She is a woman of stunning physical beauty whose assured vocal technique, intelligence and stage presence have created admirers throughout the world. How fitting that she would record a program that comprises fourteen arias from four 'Cleopatra' operas (out of an estimated total of about seventy written on the subject of that legendary beauty). Bayrakdarian is possessed of a silvery coloratura with spot-on intonation, easy flexibility and varied coloration that perfectly fit the demands of the florid baroque arias presented here. What's more, most of these arias are not well known and there is not a clunker among them. The four operas represented are 'Cleopatre e Cesare' (Berlin, 1742) by Carl Heinrich Graun (c. 1703-1759), 'Marc'Antonio e Cleopatre' (Naples, 1725) by Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783), 'Cleopatra' (Hamburg, 1704) by Johann Mattheson (1681-1764), and, best-known, 'Giulio Cesare in Egitto' (London, 1724) by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759).
Graun, Kapellmeister under Frederick the Great, wrote over twenty Italian operas for his patron's new opera house in Berlin. Of the three arias from the first of these presented on this disc, the most striking is the first, 'Tra la procelle assorto' ('In the midst of the tempest') in which Cleopatra responds to the fury of a thwarted suitor. Jeanne Lamon and her chamber orchestra, Tafelmusik, provide appropriately agitated string figurations to support Cleopatra's stern but philosophical rebuff, voiced in roulades of coruscating fioriture.
Hasse, who started out as a tenor, studied in Italy and composed his Cleopatra opera while there. The name role in his 'Marc'Antonio e Cleopatra' was sung by the celebrated castrato Farinelli, and strangely, the role of Marc Antony was sung by a female mezzo! The opera ends with Cleopatra's plaintive song of resignation at her suicide along with her lover, Antony, after their defeat at Alexandria at the hands of the Roman emperor Octavian. Bayrakdarian catches the sadness and resoluteness of the Egyptian queen.
Mattheson, like Hasse, was also as much a singer as a composer and he was the undisputed king of opera in his native Hamburg. He sang Marc Antony in his own Cleopatra opera (subtitled 'The Unlucky Queen of Egypt'). Unlike the other operas here, his Cleopatra sings in German. In her Act III aria 'Was ist der Liebe Brauch?' ('What is love's custom?), after learning of Antony's suicide, Cleopatra feigns compliance by telling the conquering Octavian she will marry him and accompany him to Rome. One can easily imagine this seductive aria convincing Octavian, and Bayrakdarian's tonal allure makes it all the more effective.
Easily the most familiar aria here is 'V'adoro pupille' from Handel's 'Julius Caesar.' It has been recorded many times by illustrious sopranos, including such luminaries as Beverly Sills and Joan Sutherland. In this aria Cleopatra, in the guise of 'Virtue' mounted on a throne, sings to Caesar 'I adore you, o eyes, the darts of love; your sparks sweetly pierce my breast.' It starts with a beguiling cavatina, has a brief restless middle section and then returns to the bewitching opening melody. Bayrakdarian sings it simply and intimately as if to be heard by only one listener, Caesar.
Obviously I have not written about the other arias included here, choosing instead to make a few remarks about an aria from each of the four operas represented. Be assured that similar artistry in Miss Bayrakdarian's singing is found throughout this 66 minute disc.
Strongly recommended.
Scott Morrison
More Isabel Bayrakdarian ~ Cleopatra free music reviews:
1
1
Description of Isabel Bayrakdarian ~ Cleopatra
In 2002, the beautiful Canadian-Armenian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian scored a major success when she appeared as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in Handel?s opera Giulio Cesare for the Canadian Opera Company. As one critic observed at that time, "Cleopatra is one of Handel?s most superb, and psychologically intricate, creations. The luminous Bayrakdarian has made a wonderful beginning in a role she will surely take to the great stages of the world?at first childishly seductive, then calculating, and ultimately revealing a profound nobility and vulnerability." For her third CD for CBC Records, Ms. Bayrakdarian has chosen arias from four works focusing on the Egyptian femme-fatale.Classical CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Classical CDs
Winterscapesby London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops:
The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebeeby Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops:
Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs CdrRelease date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $24.98
Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99
![Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS] Image](/images/Jose-Carreras-Jubileum-Concert-VHS-1584481471-X.jpg){kind=small}
Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops:
![Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS] Image](/images/Tchaikovsky-The-Nutcracker-Nureyev-Park-Royal-Ballet-VHS-156127092X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.89
Price in other shops:
![Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS] Image](/images/Lonely-Town-Lonley-Street-Sergeant-Early-Dream-VHS-1561270857-X.jpg){kind=small}
Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Winter Music: Composing the Northby John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.93
Price in other shops:
![Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Puccini-La-Fanciulla-del-West-Santi-Domingo-Neblett-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720382-X.jpg){kind=small}
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops:
![Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Verdi-Falstaff-Giulini-Bruson-Ricciarelli-Nucci-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720358-X.jpg){kind=small}
Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Lucia Popp - Lucia Popp - Queen of Night, Maiden of LightRelease date: 2009-10-20; Music CD
Best price: $22.07
Price in other shops:
Simone Kermes - Colori D'amoreRelease date: 2010-11-16; Music CD
Best price: $8.24
Price in other shops:
Philippe Jaroussky - Caldara in ViennaRelease date: 2010-12-07; Music CD
Best price: $7.96
Price in other shops:
Topi Lehtipuu - Topi Lehtipuu ~ Vivaldi Arie Per TenoreRelease date: 2010-10-26; Music CD
Best price: $10.91
Price in other shops:
Handel: AriodanteRelease date: 2011-06-07; Music CD
Best price: $15.82
Price in other shops:
Hasse: Marc' Antonio e CleopatraRelease date: 2010-08-31; Music CD
Best price: $17.81
Price in other shops:
Vivaldi: FarnaceRelease date: 2011-10-04; Music CD
Best price: $15.79
Price in other shops:
Isabel Bayrakdarian, James Parker - Isabel Bayrakdarian ~ AzulãoBAYRAKDARIAN,ISABEL; Release date: 2003-10-21; Music CD
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Isabel Bayrakdarian ~ Joyous LightRelease date: 2002-04-16; Music CD
Best price: $13.98
Price in other shops:
Isabel Bayrakdarian - Gomidas SongsRelease date: 2008-09-23; Music CD
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: