Christiane Karg sang Pamina in the Royal Opera’s recent Magic Flute, and this CD of concert scenes – long, dramatic arias written for standalone performance – finds her reinforcing her Mozartian credentials while seemingly auditioning for the more dramatic roles she will surely get in the not-too-distant future. Karg’s soprano has a metallic gleam that cuts through the buoyant ensemble playing of Arcangelo, who, directed by Jonathan Cohen, are responsive to all the scenery-chewing moodswings. In Beethoven’s Ah, Perfido, Karg sounds bright and mettlesome as resignation and anger coalesce into resolve, and she is compelling in Haydn’s Scena di Berenice and Mozart’s Ch’io Mi Scordi di Te?, in which she duets with Malcolm Martineau on fortepiano. In Mendelssohn’s Infelice! both Karg and Alina Pogostkina’s solo violin seem far back in the mix in this resonant church acoustic, but the piece is an unfamiliar gem, and it is beautifully performed.
