This is the kind of issue that makes reviewing worthwhile. Gallardo­-Domâs‚ in a wide ranging recital‚ proves that she need not fear comparison with any of her distinguished contemporaries in the field and little from the best of her predecessors. By dint of her unimpeachable musicality‚ the sheer beauty of her truly Italianate tone and her exemplary way with words‚ she makes every track on this generously filled recital an in­dividual experience to treasure – and of how few singers can that be said? Before us come in turn her gallery of Bellinian‚ Donizettian‚ Verdian and Puccinian heroines‚ each one painted in character. If I go from back to front‚ as it were‚ it is because her Puccini readings seem the very best of all. As Butterfly she is suitably intense and lonely‚ her Mimì is at once fragile and determined – phrase after phrase of both her solos seems to achieve some kind of ideal. Manon’s ‘In quelle trine morbide’ has all the attention to detail Mattila so notably lacked on her recent recital (Erato‚ 7/01)‚ so equalling that unforgettable performance by the young Tebaldi (just reissued on Decca‚ 12/01)‚ and ‘O mio babbino caro’ is just the charming‚ unaffected solo it ought to be. Add to that the singer’s savouring of the text through her colouring of words and she is quite the equal of any of her predecessors. Her accounts of the other two verismo solos (‘Ebben’ as nostalgic and wistful as it should be‚ rising to a properly desperate climax) are just as remarkable‚ but why should they not have been placed at the end where they logically belong rather than sandwiched between the bel canto items? In Verdi‚ the singer has been rightly admired as Violetta‚ one of her calling ­cards‚ in many noted houses‚ and shows why by her identification with the woman’s plight. There is an intensity of utterance combined with a care over phrasing and dynamic that is once more very special. Listen to the letter reading in the Act 3 solo‚ then the way ‘Addio del passato’ is sung with gentle‚ inward feeling. Here and in the Act 1 scena the breath control and intelligent use of portamento are exemplary‚ as they are in the other Verdi pieces‚ both sung with an innate beauty of tone‚ feeling for situation and fine craftsmanship. Giulietta comes before us as the ingenuous heroine of Bellini’s imagining‚ her opening scene limpidly‚ plangently sung just as it should be. As Anna Bolena she catches the imprisoned queen’s plight with just as much pathos as does Gheorghiu on her recent ‘Casta diva’ programme (EMI‚ 8/01). Gheorghiu may have the more sumptuous‚ warmer voice‚ but Gallardo-­Domâs‚ by virtue of her delicately refined singing‚ is possibly superior. We are lucky to be able to enjoy both interpretations. As with her recent Aida for Harnoncourt (Teldec‚ 11/01)‚ there are moments‚ especially in ‘Sempre libera’ where high notes harden uncomfortably. With good orchestral support and a faithful‚ well­balanced recording‚ this CD is surely one that is going to please even the most fastidious admirer of the soprano voice. By the way‚ the note­writer seems to have been badly inform­ed as to what is actually being performed on the recital.

-- Gramophone 1/2002