Puccini: Arias -Karine Babajanyan, Budapest SO, cond Pier Giorgio
Morandi Hugh Canning
The Sunday Times
April 5, 2009
This experienced, attractive, midcareer soprano from Armenia managed to
keep herself something of a secret until she had the fortune to appear
as Tosca in the latest Bond film, Quantum of Solace. It might seem
opportunistic of EMI to issue a disc with her, but Babajanyan is
clearly a Puccinian one would be more than happy to meet in the
theatre, and she lays out her stall with well-sung accounts of the
principal solos of Butterfly, Mimi, Tosca, Manon Lescaut and Suor
Angelica. The voice isn’t especially distinctive or beautiful ‘ it has
a keen cutting edge ‘ but her technique sounds rock solid and her
musical instincts are unerring. The surprise of the disc is the
excellent condition of the 68-year-old Giuseppe Giacomini in the
Butterfly and Manon Lescaut duets. He rounds off with a ringing Nessun
dorma that puts most tenors half his age to shame.
EMI 2677312