The Verdi Album
April 2021
The Münchener Rundfunkorchester conducted by Massimo Zanetti accompanies the Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva for her last album: “The Verdi Album”, including a selection of the most favorite arias by Il trovatore, Luisa Miller, Attila, Stiffelio, La forza del Destino, Otello, Simon Boccanegra, Don Carlo and Nabucco. This recital was recorded in 2017 at Studio 1 of the Bavarian Radio in München.
Yoncheva’s superb voice has been one of the greatest revelations in the classical signing world. Her wide breathing capacity and silky tone have been praised by many critics worldwide. She’s also well known for her wide palette of vocal colors (particularly dark ones), and a controlled beautiful vibrato.
The recorded areas cover a wide range of moods and emotions and not all of them have been sung live by the soprano. Yocheved’s Verdian roles have been particularly praised for the deep feeling, attraction and mournfulness that accompany her vocal production. She sings with true honesty but without taking many risks.
To complete the selected program, the singer must face such a diverse highly skill demanding characters with different vocal needs; as different as Abigaille and Odabella, which requires an exhausting work of dramatic agility, and Simon’s Amelia Boccanegra and Desdemona form Otello marked by a clear and inspirational lyricism, or the epic roles of Elisabetta del Don Carlo, Lina d’Stiffelio, and the two great Leonora, so contrasting and lively, from Il Trovatore and La forza del destino.
With a collection of emotions as varied as the chosen selection, the Bulgarian soprano struggles to give sufficient nuances to each character, and as a result everything has an expressive uniformity with low emotional temperature. The attractive color of her voice and her undeniable technique doesn’t completely make up for her limitations in the lower sounds, and her not always flawless and confident highest pitched notes. Compared to other historical sopranos like Maria Callas, she lacks a bit of power and strength on the most dramatic roles.
However, there are some exceptions where the artist really shines with all her potential, like the ‘Ave Maria’ by the Otello or in the Amelia and Desdemona, full lyricism with a well achieved and intense dramatic interpretation. And the orchestra masterfully conducted by Massimo Zanetti supports the soprano with a flexible accompaniment, creating a very appropriate atmosphere with a dense and rich sonority.
– Clara Horner
