The Vienna of the late 18th century was a magnet for the world’s greatest musical geniuses. Chen Reiss invites you to discover the secret ‘Liaisons’ formed in this fascinating capital of music.
‘Soprano Chen Reiss makes her first recording for ONYX, and has chosen a programme of arias by Cimarosa, Haydn, Salieri and Mozart - all composers working in Vienna in the 1780s. Included here are some ’insertion’ arias by Haydn and Mozart composed for use in operas by other composers such as Amfossi, Gugliemi and Martin - forgotten names today. So here we have liaisons on stage - secret marriages and affairs, and liaisons between composers’
Performance **** Sound *** "Balanced and accurate capture"
Sylvain Fort - Classica - February 2012
"Her technical mastery of arias from Mozart, Haydn, Salieri and Cimarosa is admirable...Her soprano is as clear as an alpine stream with pin sharp coloraturas and an effortless high and higher register... The American flings down every virtuosity with aplomb and does not sound mechanical at all, but seems to take delight in doing this..."
Rondo magazine (Germany) - October 2011
CD Tipp. 4.5 stars out of 5 Kurier (Austria) - 19 September 2011
"What a stimulating assemblage of arias, and intelligent , standard-setting performances . Soprano Chen Reiss creates a rewarding vocal cross section of Mozart -era Vienna...Unexpected insights arise at every turn..my favourite moment is how wonderstruck her Susanna sounds while absorbing the beauties of the night in the Act 4 Figaro aria...Reiss’s coloratura shows none of Cecilia Bartoli’s aspirating that can have a splintering effect in vocal runs;hers are all of a piece. trills are excellent"
Gramophone magazine - November 2011
