Every recital disc seems to need a catchy title these days. The promise of “Love’s Sweet Surrender” may attract extra passing interest in this disc, but it is best not to look too closely at its relevance to the music (is that why there are no texts or translations?). Nothing could be further from Konstanze’s mind than surrender as she sings “Martern aller Arten” and Sylvia McNair is quite clear about the fact. This is one of her best tracks on the disc, because she enters into the spirit of the piece with energy and agility, really getting on top of the high Cs and Ds. Elsewhere, her singing is always beautiful, but she can sound self-regarding. The first recitative on the disc, “Giunse alfin il momento” leading to “Deh vieni”, introduces a doe-eyed Susanna, with too much American apple-pie cuteness and not enough Italianate sparkle.
It is interesting to make a comparison with another young American soprano in her recent Mozart recital. On Decca, Renee Fleming, already an exciting Donna Anna, looked back (not always with success) on her days as a lighter Mozartian; and here Sylvia McNair is going in the other direction, a Susanna who is looking forward to progressing to the Countess. McNair sings both the Countess’s arias – “Dove sono” is heard in an alternative version, deprived of its da capo – with a perfect sheen on the surface, but as yet the emotional character feels shallow. The concert arias, particularly Ch’io mi scordi di te, where we get the luxury of Alfred Brendel as the piano soloist, also need more backbone. But the lovely aria from Il re pastore is graced with some heavenly singing and “Ach, ich fuhl’s”, at a slower speed than Mackerras allowed Fleming, has more expression and just as much poise. Marriner and the ASMF accompany with matching suavity. In all, a pleasing recital, with bonus points for the imaginative touches in its programming.'