3453-1 MARIELLA DEVIA

I greatly admire Mariella Devia, though I do not think she was in ideal form on this occasion. No major problems, just not up to her usual standard. Tempi are somewhat slow for her selections. The only items Devia sings on this CD are: Vado, ma dove? K. 583 Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle K. 538 Misera, dove son? K. 369 Chi sà, chi sà, qual sia? K. 582 The balance consists of the overture from Weber's Oberon, and Schumann's "Spring" symphony The tracks on the CD do not correspond to the selections (e.g., the first aria is split between tracks 1-2, Misera, dove son? and Chi sa are both within track 5). There are commercials and station identification which could easily have been edited out. Overall, the disc is worth having for Devia's arias, but it is not what I expected, nor is it as good as it could have been with proper disc tracks and editing.

Next to the puppets of today, Devia remains a leading diva.