Arrogant though it may sound, I knew from the moment Nicole Cabell first opened her mouth at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2005 that she was going to win. It was obvious that here was a singer with the complete package: vocal beauty, intelligence, stunning good looks, poise, communication - and, more than anything, a star quality that marked her out as special.
This debut CD satisfies on almost every level and, as with her programme for Cardiff, she presents a thoughtful and unusual programme that avoids, for the most part, the usual bleeding chunks that have been recorded to death. Have no fear, though: here are Musetta's 'Quando me n'vň', Magda's 'Chi il bel sogno di Doretta' and Lauretta's 'O mio babbino caro', sung with loveliness and a true sense of the meaning of the lyrics. Cabell's rich tone is ideal for Puccini and these tracks indicate the promise of some exciting portrayals of his soprano roles in coming years. Indeed, she is about to record La bohčme with Netrebko and Villazón for Deutsche Grammophon and will appear as Musetta at Covent Garden in July 2008.
But what excites me here is the inclusion of arias by Berlioz, Tippett and Menotti that on the one hand show Cabell's flexibility as an artist and on the other make me want to revisit complete recordings of these pieces. The aria by Berlioz with which she brought the house down at Cardiff, 'Entre l'amour et le devoir' from Benvenuto Cellini, is equally impressive here. The voice is amazingly focussed and secure, ringing in the top register, and she spits the words out with exhilarating attack. 'What a curse for woman is a timid man!' from Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief finds the artist in equally thoughtful and inspiring form, while 'How can I cherish my man in such days' from A Child of Our Time is distinguished for Cabell's complete change of character: the quality in her voice becomes more restrained and mournful to reflect the wartime context of Tippett's lament.
Gounod's Juliet is represented by two arias, namely the waltz and the potion aria. The former is wonderfully vivid and flirtatious, even if Cabell seems hard pushed occasionally with the faster coloratura passages (though it's still exhilarating and would probably bring the house down if sung live with such emotion); the latter is the highlight - deeply emotive and capturing the suffering and experience of the young woman. Bellini's Juliet (from I Capuleti e I Montecchi) is another imaginative and welcome inclusion and again a very assured and composed performance. Like Juliet's waltz, Norina's aria from Donizetti's Don Pasquale is perhaps a bit hard-driven, but two French arias - Delibes' Les Filles de Cadix and Charpentier's 'Depuis le jour' from Louise - denote a repertoire that will serve the singer very well in the opera house. The Charpentier in particular lies ideally for her voice and is simply breathtaking.
Without doubt, though, the most personal performance on the disc is 'Summertime' from the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Cabell's part Afro-American background no doubt influenced her hugely sensitive interpretation of the aria. It's the icing on the cake of a nearly perfect recording that has stayed in my CD player for days.