Vasselina Kasarova - Offenbach: Belle Nuit (2008)

This selection of pieces from Offenbach operettas (and one opera) raises a question: why hasn't Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova made more of a specialty of comic roles in her recordings? Her operatic discography, with very few exceptions, consists of serious characters, but the flair with which she performs these arias and ensembles demonstrates a real comic gift, and that's something of a rarity in opera stars. (Her stage roles, in fact, are pretty well balanced between serious and comic operas, with a fair number of Rossini, Mozart, and Offenbach comedies in her repertoire.) The current disc at least begins to rectify the gap in her recorded legacy. Kasarova acts splendidly with her voice, and the wit of Offenbach's music, whether sly, wicked, or broad, clearly comes across. The bulk of the disc is devoted to excerpts from his more familiar works, like La Périchole, Les contes d'Hoffmann, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, La belle Hélène, and Orphée en Enfers, but also includes less known works like Pomme d'api and Barbe-bleue. Kasarova is particularly effective in exploiting the humor in the arias from La Périchole, La Grande-Duchesse, and Orphée. She brings her typical warm, full, creamy tone and broad range of vocal color to the music, so even when she is mugging (quite appropriately), she sounds marvelous. Ulf Schirmer leads Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and München Rundfunkorchester in just the kinds of vivacious performances this music requires. The sound is clear, brisk, and well balanced