Her second album for Decca after Voice of Hope (2014) South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza’s Arias (released May, 2016) is a collection of famous opera and concert arias with some lighter additions. After graduating from the College of Music of the University of Capetown, Pumeza Matshikiza won a three-year scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London. In 2010 she joined Stuttgart Opera and has since performed at Covent Garden and La Scala, singing the roles of Mimi, Micaela, Pamina and Susanna.
The recording is on the shorter side at 53 minutes. Here is a truly glorious voice of richness and rare sensitivity. The instrument is not light, instead a sumptuous breadth and warmth of sonority prevails. Vibrato is more or less a constant and occasionally on the underside of the note, particularly in the higher register. As well, enunciation is sometimes a problem, though complete empathy of the text sung and musical setting is not.
One needs to search to find that her accompaniment is provided by the Danish Aarhus Symfoniorkester under Swede, Tobias Ringborn, who gives the soloist plenty of space for smooth take-offs and landings. For me, her La Paloma (Yradier, arr Gamley) is wonderful, throbbing with Spanish seduction. À Chloris (Hahn, arr Hazell) is also a delight for its suave and touching innocence and beautiful simplicity. Surely the slowest performance on record of Dido’s lament by Henry Purcell ends the album. It almost seems incongruous to hear Matshikiza imploring us ‘Remember me’, for how could anyone forget this magnificent artist.
As always for Decca, the sound and balance of the recording is faultless.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Pumeza Matshikiza – Arias
Aarhus Symfoniorkester
Tobias Ringborn
Decca 478 8964-4
Distributed by Universal Australia
