Rossini: Stabat Mater

Netrebko a Liability!

     

I was not especially troubled that this Stabat Mater sounds more like a collection of individual excerpts than a unified performance. The performances are quite fine and Pappano leads a wonderful orchestra and chorus. The male parts tend to be the weak link in this work, but Brownlee and Arcangelo both sing excellently. DiDonato sounds a bit shallow on the bottom, but still sings stylishly. However, I found myself continually distracted by Netrebko because she manages to mar just about every one of her segments with her all-too-frequent scooping and sliding. This musical slovenliness is most evident in her duet with DiDonato, whose musical manner is both clean and confident. Singing such as Netrebko's is not only unidiomatic, but it's just flat-out unmusical. For someone who has established a reputation for herself singing music from this period, it's quite intolerable. If you're able to look past this recording's obvious shortcomings, it should offer great pleasure; if not, try the Chailly recording on Decca.