Cecilia has, ever since her first well-publicized appearence, been a target of the usual "is she a soprano ?" routine. Some of it is her own fault, for recording overtly soprano repertoire and for looking overtly sopano roles. But, at the same time, is it due to her phenomenal range ? Some of it is due to our tendancy to catalogue the voice. What is the appropriate standard for the mezzo-sopranos ? It is hard to say, except if we have a "narrow" definition of the range that lies the voice (as if a voice couldn't pass through its ample range to avoid the wearness between the mezzo and soprano registers).
In old days, bel canto composers thought in term of the four basic categories (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and made in practice distinctions between higher and lower types among these. No soprano role in bel canto opera has such narrow compass. Two-octave-plus spans are routine, as it extensive use of the chest voice. Morever, both low and (especially) high notes are used for special effect, reaching well range of the tune to provide a thrill based not so much on the choice of pitches as on the vocal color of the extreme registers. In those days, it was frequent to see the ease with which many singers slipped from Cherubino to Zerlina, Despina or Suzanna.
Maria Felicita Malibran were famous mezzo-soprano. Her range was remarkable three ocatves, from low D to high D (sometimes E). She transposed leading parts (that of Armida in La Somnambula by the fourth) and, on many occasions, Cecilia sang with great ease a selection from Bellini's La Somnambula in the original soprano key. La Malibran, with few others (like Giuditta Pasta) were called by the term soprano sfogato - suggestive of an "unlimited" invented voice. Due to her phenomenal range and her great ability to cross the "invisible" boundaries between mezzo and soprano, I am convinced that Cecilia has the stuff n which this rare category of singers are made, following the only modern soprano sfogato, Maria Callas. Nevertless, if Bartoli is wary of comparaisons with Callas - which the tabloid-style-profile have made - I am far to claim that both voices are similar, the voice of Cecilia Bartoli has nothing to do with the one of Maria Callas.
The more I hear Cecilia sing the more I am convinced that she is an authentic coloratura mezzo-soprano darkly beautiful in sounds. Her lines have a wonderful distinction. Her rythm is truly buoyant - sufficient vocal responsiveness to mark the beat without rigidity is basic for good singing, but rare. If one turns to her many recordings, one hears her rich and ripe sounds, the ease of movement - a voluptous, caressing quality always present. Her fascinating middle voice has a glow, an easy movment, an abundant breath, a deep, soft roundness. That's what it means to be a mezzo ! Nevertless, her voice is slightly higher than a "normal" mezzo. As once said Christopher Raeburn about her : « Cecilia Bartoli is a relatively light mezzo-soprano. I don't mean she doesn't have a very rich voice, which she does, but she's not like a battleship ». Cecilia can do high E's and things like that but she is much comfortable in the middle voice. If she sings the whole time in the high regirter, she would tire her voice. The great danger in operatic mezzos is the emphasis on the top and bottom at the expanse of the middle. It is not surprising wnen, after a hard use, mezzos produce a spread, cloudy, wobby tone in the middle. Only after the middle register is secure, tone for tone, should those 'special' (very high, very low) notes be added.
When we look to roles chosen by Cecilia, we notice : in Cosi fan tutte, the voice of Despina and Dorabella are similar. Despina is somewhat higher but even with the character the middle dominates. With Suzanna, looking at the score of Le Nozze di Figaro, one might notice that Suzanna is singing in the middle of the voice, like Zerlina. Other roles such as the recording of Rossini's Il Turco in Italia, Cecilia has chosen Fiorilla rathen than Zaida. If we forget ornamentation added by many coloratura sopranos, the tessitura of Fiorilla is quite enough in the middle of the voice. In the work La donna del lago, she looks her eyes to Elena rather than Malcolm. But, Elena is better suited to her tassitura and her timbre than Malcolm, a role associated to a contralto. In Haendel's Alcina, she looks to Alcina rather than Bradamante. Many modern lyric mezzo-sopranos, who are at home in the comic heroines of Rossini, generally find herselves better suited to the soprano parts of Haendel to alto parts ? It doesn't surprise me and I am far to believe that she must be a soprano rather than a mezzo but definately a sfogato!
Furthermore, Cecilia isn't the only mezzo who has been accused of attempting to hide from the thruth. Refer to Frederica von Stade and Suzanne Mentzer, two outstanding lyric mezzos (that I love !) who have been both heard « Are you sure you're not really soprano ? » a few times to often in their careers, once did the theoritically-in-their-ranges but very « sopranoid » Countessa-Suzanna « Letter-duet » from Le Nozze di Figaro at an AIDS benefit, annoncing, « Now we're going to prove to you once and for all we really aren't sopranos ! »
So, it is not surprising that Cecilia is also accused of attempting to hide from the thruth : she belongs to the ones who possess great high notes. Such pedantic insistance in the strandardisation of the range that lies the voice seems to be the slogan of our age and it is far to becoming less pervasive.
This aria that Cecilia is singing is Al tuo seno from Haydn's Orfeo ed Eurydice. It is Eurydice's aria and the range goes all the way up to a D in altissimo.
Cecilia Bartoli sings Al tuo seno from Haydn's Orfeo ed Eurydice
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