The Swiss soprano,
Heidi Brunner, here presents an interesting
and consistently well-sung recital covering
quite a wide range both in terms of
style and vocal requirements. In the
Wagner and Haydn items she is well accompanied
on the piano by Kristin Okerlund who
also features in Mozart’s Scene with
Rondo, in addition to the orchestra.
This piece, which opens the disc, was
intended as a concert aria and seems
to have been composed as a kind of postscript
to Idomeneo some five years later.
The text is by Varesco and presents
Prince Idamente (played by a castrato
at the premiere of Idomeneo)
trying to calm his beloved Ilia. The
performance is dramatic with good interplay
between piano and voice in the final
section.
Wagner initially wrote
his five Wesendonck lieder with
piano accompaniment and subsequently
orchestrated them into the form in which
they are more usually played today.
With both piano and orchestral accompaniment
apparently available to her, it seems
that Heidi Brunner made a conscious
choice for the piano version. Although
the associations with Tristan
und Isolde are less striking,
this brings a less dramatic, more intimate
atmosphere. Brunner sings most beautifully
throughout and she and Okerlund are
convincing advocates for the piece in
this form.
Haydn’s tragic cantata
Arianna a Naxos is a late work
with Italian text, roughly contemporaneous
with the Oxford Symphony (No.92).
In this long-breathed performance it
takes almost as long as the five Wagner
lieder. Brunner provides immaculate
tone and diction, and the full range
of emotions without overplaying the
drama. Okerlund seems to be very much
on the same wavelength.
Respighi’s Il tramonto
is a marvellous work based on a poem
by Shelley and it provides a fitting
climax to the disc. Janet Baker recorded
this for the (lamented) Collins Classics
label at the end of her career – a wonderful
performance but I would prefer Brunner’s
more youthful voice and even slower
tempi. The string accompaniment, directed
by Bertrand de Billy, is also very fine.
In summary, these are
superb performances and the sound is
consistently clear and well-balanced.
There are no texts in the booklet but
this is the only blot on the landscape
of a delightful disc. Heidi Brunner
is clearly an artist to watch and, if
the programme appeals, this is well
worth considering.
Patrick C Waller
Heidi Brunner (soprano) 
