Elīna Garanča: Sol y vida
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Magazine Review Date: 07/2019
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 66
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 483 6217GH
Author: Edward Seckerson
Garanča kick-starts with the inevitable ‘Granada’ replete with castanets, chirpy woodwinds and a sweeping invocation of the Alhambra. I like the switch from that to solo guitar – José Maria Gallardo del Rey – for the traditional ‘La Llorona’, which is confidential, moody and sultry, and definitely belongs to the shadows. As does Cardillo’s highly emotive ‘Core ’ngrato’, which more than does what it says on the tin. Violeta Parra’s ‘Gracias a la vida’ feels like an old friend, as does the return to Sorrento ‘Torna a Surriento’ and the ubiquitous ‘Brazil’, whose pulsations come with the promise of the next summer romance. Perhaps the arrival of a tall, dark stranger from Brazil.
Everything here (not least the filmic arrangements) is overheated in the best sense. The incongruity of Grieg’s ‘T’estimo’ – ‘I love you’, the starting or finishing point in all these numbers – is still wondrous even if it does belong to chillier climes and sounds odd in Catalan, and right at the heart of the recital is Tosti’s gorgeous ‘Non t’amo più’, which Garanča turns into a self-contained drama of its own. Harmida’s ‘Lela’ is the most sumptuous sweetmeat.
And just when you were thinking you might overdose on all this lovelorn romanticism there’s Piazzolla’s edgy, fiery tango ‘Yo soy María’ from María de Buenos Aires, where Garanča’s rasping defiance à la Carmen excitingly exploits the darkest recesses of her bottom register.
Her sheer joy in choosing and singing this repertoire is tangible. A holiday romance it may be, but enjoy it while it lasts.
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