It's hard not to consider this disc of aria selections as an introductory sample of Chandos's whole Opera in English project and to judge it according to one's feelings about the series. But these performances by the charismatic young American soprano
Elizabeth Futral deserve to be evaluated on their own merits, insofar as they contribute to the aims of the enterprise as a whole. This singer has a hard core of admirers in the U.S., and Great Operatic Arias seems likely to bring her new ones. She acquits herself beatifully in quite a range of material, running from Handel to Carlisle Floyd (the "Ain't it a pretty night" section from Susannah), and she passes a critical test here -- if you listen to the disc without help from the printed texts, you'll still understand most of what she's singing. The accompaniment by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Steven White, is likewise noteworthy for its versatility. The arias included certainly qualify as great but aren't chestnuts; Mozart is represented by selections from The Abduction From the Seraglio and Così fan tutte ("See here, Dorabella"). Objections will come from those who see no need for opera translated into English. There is, of course, a whole history of such performances. But the liner notes have nothing to say about that history, although they are translated into four languages (strange, in that the aria texts themselves appear only in English) and find room for numerous pretty but irrelevant pictures of
Futral and for ads for other discs in the series. Nor do we learn anything about the strenuous task of translating opera into a new language; some of the translations appear to be classics and others newly done, but the reader is left in the dark. Nevertheless, the disc offers an enjoyable way to try out Chandos' whole series.