This delightful soprano's name appears in the current Classical Catalogue in some Masses and cantatas and in the most recent Hansel und Gretel (under Sir Colin Davis on Philips, 10/93) in which she sings the Dew Fairy, and might very well, one would think, have sung Gretel. A solo recital now comes at just the right time, following up her highly successful Glyndebourne debut as Anne Trulove and a performance with Hans Peter Blochwitz of the Italian Songbook at the Wigmore Hall. That last event forewarned somewhat of the limitation evident in this record, for she did not then impress as a singer who has as yet any notable depth or range of expression at her command. In these so-called concert arias the soloist has to think herself into the operatic situation, and the needful emotions go well beyond such prettiness and grace as this lovely voice, light and pure as it is, so readily suggests. The first of the arias here, Ah! se in ciel, pleads for pity: ''either take my life or leave my lover''. The music has much of the Constanze of Die Entfuhrung in it, and it needs the 'face' within the singing to be much less bland than what is evoked here. In Misera! dove son the libretto tells of a Fury-ridden nightmare, the singer being ''chilled'', ''filled with horror'', ''haunted for ever''; and again the tone or treatment of the words gives scarcely a hint of such urgencies. In Ah, lo previdi! on the other hand, Oelze does carry dramatic conviction enough to encourage a belief that she has it in her to achieve a more expressive style: there is more attack in recitative and a more vivid responsiveness to mood.
She is helped greatly by the keen feeling for phrase and rhythm in her conductor Hartmut Haenchen and his players. Their work is sufficiently strong in expression for the young singer to have at any rate some of the responsibility taken off her shoulders, and for a listener to be able to enjoy the voice and technical accomplishment which are in such fine flower. She sings a melody both gently and firmly, without pressing or fussing it; her scale-work is immaculate, as is her intonation. The tone itself is the most lovely thing of all, and we have to reflect that greater expressiveness may come with time, but this is that precious and often short-lived season, the springtime of the voice.'