A welcome extension of this fine singer’s repertoire on record, the programme exploits much that is best in her voice and also affords her a range of characterization which shows here to be an imaginative and steadily maturing artist. The finale of Anna Bolena in itself runs through a gamut of emotions, from the solicitous tenderness of its response to the grief of her attendants and the surge of outraged feeling as the off-stage band play jolly music for the marriage of Henry and Jane Seymour. Vaness traces the developments of mood and emotion with a sympathy that betrays no reliance on memories of Callas, which have led so many of the succeeding generation into histrionic excess and vocal grotesqueries. The change then to the lighter, more private voice of Violetta in the great solo from La traviata is accomplished naturally, as is the subsequent emergence of a haunted, powerful but deeply human Lady Macbeth. Less convincingly in character is Desdemona, the voice a little too dark, the expression (especially in dialogue with Emilia) not quite spontaneous enough – the long-forgotten song and the girl Barbara should ideally seem to come as recollection, and not as out of a musical score. The Trovatore Leonora, on the other hand, is totally real and apt, her love and sadness, tension and exultation finely caught.
The voice itself is still heard here for the most part as an instrument of rare beauty. The timbre is rich, the tone pure. These recordings were made in April 1993, and it is true that recent years have brought some deterioration, notable here every now and then as a loosening of the vibrations, and not always when under pressure at a forte. For instance, the quiet notes of Desdemona’s “salce” and Leonora’s “sospiri” have a little fraying of the texture. Yet a genuine nobility in the lower and middle voice distinguishes her singing, and the top notes (the high Cs in particular) have exciting fullness and resonance. Her florid work is skilfully done and never showy. The trills are a degree shallow, yet there is an excellent one on the E flat “pene” in “D’amor sull’ali rosee”.
The supporting singers do well, with Melinda Paulsen making a distinct impression as Smeton in Anna Bolena. Textual fidelity (no unwritten high notes) seems to be a working principle here; nevertheless Roberto Abbado’s conducting is sympathetic and flexible, and the orchestral work is fine. Recorded sound likewise, leaving as a single grumble the absence of texts in the booklet.'