Dreams
August 2021
Published by Sony in 2017 Yende’s last release, “Dreams” is a collection of brilliant opera areas masterfully interpreted by the young virtuoso singer. The recording has been praised by the critics and music lovers around the world and it was chosen as the best recording of the year at the Opera Oscars, delivered in London.
The album reaches the top of what could be seen as the singer’s personal “fairy tale”, the story of her success which she already portrayed in her previous debut album A Journey.
South African soprano Pretty Yende has rapidly become a one of the most promising stars in the classical music spectrum. With her captivating elegance, her perfectly polished performances around the world, and the extraordinary global great acceptation achieved by international critics and the press, it seems that nothing can stop this angelic voice to reach the top of the stars. Since her international take-off at the Metropolitan Opera being only 27 years old, she has become an unstoppable phenomenon. But it was her interpretation at Le Comte Ory de Rossini, with Juan Diego Flórez, what catalyzed her right to the spotlight.
The recording leaves no doubt of her great command and the precious gift she’s got for the opera singing. Away from sounding plain or ethereal, her instrument has warmth and a very lyrical vocal background with great ease, of course, for vocal agility.
Ombre légère by Dinorah de Meyerbeer, is just one of the jewels of this recording. Such a divine and flawless interpretation, as well as in La sonnambula by Bellini, where she manages to capture with a greater degree of refinement and richness of nuances the female roles of Vincenzo Bellini’s operas. The passionate and tragic final scene of the few times performed La straniera, is where she once again displays all the expressive contrasts, and the deeply dramatic acuteness and where Yende as Alaide shows a serious well-built register in the initial aria “Sono all’ara”.
At some points, as for example in the new cadenza in Lucia, the excess coloratura plays a bad role for her, which turns into a point of vocal stridency and somewhat hinders the complete composition of the character and his big expressive richness, because the focus moves too much in the ability to reach high notes.
Her admirable command of the in French opera repertoire is just magical. There she can extendedly show her surprising agility with Juliette’s aria, moving to the rhythm of the waltz of Charles Gounod’s Romèo et Juliette, “Ah, je veux vivre!” choosing in the highest key of G versus F. This chose of the higher register version is repeated in the aria “O luce di quest’anima” by Linda di Chamounix de Donizetti.
Yende excels in bel canto and her coloratura capable of embellishing the melody with astonishing ease, makes her a unique artist.
For all these reasons, this second work Dreams constitutes a must have CD, for anyone who loves opera and especially for anyone who feels transported into a magical world thanks to music.
– David Smith
