British soprano Amanda Roocroft has had some ups and downs in her career. But being dropped by her original record company, EMI, has turned out to be a good thing in the long run, for moving to the independent Onyx label has allowed her to produce this attractive new CD of songs by Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Strauss - her debut solo song album, in fact.
It's a simple enough affair: three groups of songs by contrasting composers, excellent piano accompaniment from Malcolm Martineau and a helpful booklet. I even like the accompanying photographs, which are flattering without becoming tasteless.
The six songs by Tchaikovsky which open the recital are by far the strongest, and if the Debussy and Strauss songs aren't quite on the same special level, these first six make the purchase more than worthwhile. Roocroft has a feeling for the Russian pieces, which suit her assertive approach and passionate vocal style. 'None but the Lonely Heart', for instance, shows how well she connects with the yearning Slavic soul on every page of the music. 'A burning fire devours me from within', she sings, and it's easy to believe it from such an emotional yet vocally restrained performance. The gentle lullaby 'Kolybel'naja pesnja' falls into the same category; it's wonderful how Roocroft creates such a Russian sound through her controlled vibrato and careful pronunciation of the hard consonants. The opening song, 'Zakatilos' solnce', has a more carefree quality, reflecting the freedom in the words, and Roocroft underlines the use of anaphora in 'Why?' to build up the tension in this piece.
However, the two most effective songs are 'Snova, kak prezhde, odin' ('Ah, once again alone') and 'Zabyt'tak skoro, bozhe moj' ('So soon forgotten'). They deal with being abandoned, forgotten, anguished, and Roocroft's whole-hearted attack and vocally generous accounts are compelling.
The suitability of her voice is more controversial when it comes to Debussy and Strauss, however. For me, the wealth of expression she brings to both makes them successful, with the Debussy coming off slightly better than the Strauss. The Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire are ideal material for Roocroft because the poetry is again evocative of a person undergoing a range of emotions. Though her voice is not traditionally sensuous or particularly French in tone and accent (and some of the lyrics suggest a man singing to a woman rather than the other way round), Roocroft conjures up different sounds that help her to make both internal contrasts within long songs such as 'Le balcon' and larger-scale contrasts between the five songs. Again the image of the 'tormented heart' in 'Harmonie du soir' is an interpretative hook for Roocroft's emotive performance, with the vocal line emphatic over the rippling ornaments in the piano part.
She also responds vividly to the erotic text of 'Le jet d'eau' ('The fountain'), and I particularly admire the pacing of the performance (surging in the third stanza's reference to the impassioned flame of the poet's lover's desire). 'Recueillement' is not as meditative and reflective as its title suggests: Roocroft rightly highlights the slightly sinister images offered by such lines as 'Suffering come this way' and 'Regret looms up with a smile'. Closing the group, 'La mort des amants' ('The death of the lovers') is perhaps the loveliest, not least thanks to the glinting, impressionistic accompaniment (reminiscent of 'Clair de lune'). It lies very well for Roocroft and is the perfect showcase for her voice.
I'm a little less convinced by its suitability to Strauss, however. To me, these songs require a soaring, floating quality and a creaminess which Roocroft can't provide. Listen to the smooth legato of Kiri Te Kanawa or the Germanic warmth of Anne Schwanewilms in similar repertoire and it's difficult to put Roocroft on quite the same level.
Nevertheless, there's plenty to enjoy in these performances of classics such as 'Befreit' (chillingly done), 'Ruhe, meine Seele' (arrestingly understated) and 'Cäcilie' (sung with urgency).
Roocroft is always a committed performer and even if she's not at home in the French language or with the demands of Strauss, she always brings a sense of the dramatic to everything she sings. Together with Malcolm Martineau - an intelligent and sensitive accompanist - she's done a terrific job on this recital.
Amanda Roocroft appears in The Merry Widow at English National Opera in April 2008.
Amanda Roocroft's debut CD 'None but the Lonely Heart' is available now.
To listen to excerpts from this CD, download it in MP3 format or for more information, visit Onyx's excellent website. Forthcoming releases from the label include an album of songs by Amanda Roocroft.
Read recent CD and DVD reviews, including Cecilia Bartoli's 'Maria', Danielle de Niese and Magdalena Kozena's new Handel CDs, Juan Diego Florez's new album 'Arias for Rubini', the latest instalment in John Eliot Gardiner's Bach Cantata Pilgrimage and Opera Rara's exciting new Offenbach CD here.