Olga Peretyatko, Mozart +, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton

If I do not ordinarily cover aria programs by opera voices of note, it is not for want of caring about such things. If done well such programs can enrapture, bring joy and in the most fortunate of instances they can also enlighten. So when I agreed to review Olga Peretyaktko's Mozart + (Sony Classics 19075919052) I was happy to be refreshed with something different and I hoped worthy of hearing. It most surely is. The combination of the superb artistry of Ms. Peretyatko and the unusual and interesting choice of arias carries the day--so we get some enlightenment as well as sheer musical pleasure.

Ms. Peretyatko sounds beautifully assured and lyrically expressive. She has a well burnished soprano instrument with pinpoint control and she exhibits a most artful expressivity thoughout. In the process she doubtless shows us how she belonjgs among the greats out there today. The Sinfonieorchester Basel under Ivor Bolton is as understated and subtle as one might hope. And they are a perfectly evocative foil in the best ways.

The repertoire on the program hits upon some familiar and lovely Mozart moments from "Le nozze di Figaro,"  "Don Giovanni," "Die Einfuhrung aus dem Serail" then too a slightly less covered aria from "Le clemenza di Tito" and then some rather obscure "Insertion Arias" from "Il  burbero di buon cuore."

To spice up the proceedings we then also get a rather exotic selection of arias from the period that are a great addition to the proceedings and well performed, perhaps needless to say. The program in fact starts with three arias from "Antigona" by Tommaso Traetta (1727-1779), followed by an aria from the aforementioned "Il burbero di buon cuore" by Vicente Martin Y Soler (1754-1806). Finally we get an aria from not Rossini's but rather Giovanni Paisiello's (1740-1816) "Il barbiere di Siviglia."

All told, the performances and the aria selection combine to make a most compelling listening experience, something for the connoisseur of repertoire as well as fans of soprano artistry. It is all here, delightfully so.