Mozart: Opera and Concert Arias

Diana Damrau/Jérémie Rhorer/Le Cercle de l'Harmonie

Virgin Classics

Rating: 5/5

If only every interpretation did such exuberant justice to Mozart as this recital by Diana Damrau.

To listen to Donna Anna's "Non mi dir" aria (Don Giovanni), one of the several centerpieces,
and be so enchanted as to be unaware of its fearsome technical difficulties, testifies to Damrau's triumph.

Never predictable, never over-cooking the most tempting moments of vocal vanity, she is as convincing a Pamina as a Donna Elvira.

In Jérémie Rhorer's expert orchestral forces, Damrau finds equally stylish kin, the extended introduction to "Martern aller Arten" offering many a cheeky smile.

Certainly one of the best Mozart releases of the year, Wolfgang would no doubt be pleased.