Austrian label Preiser Records is renowned for producing high-quality reissues of vocalists and opera from the distant past. But once in awhile Preiser departs from its standard fare in order to make room for something new, and in coloratura soprano
Akiko Nakajima the label has found an artist worth singing about. On her debut album La Pastorella,
Nakajima's silvery and pure voice floats weightlessly and effortlessly through a mixed bag of obscure and semi-obscure repertoire, including pieces by Alessandro Scarlatti, Franz Schubert, Alfredo Catalani, and Franz Schubert. Assisting
Nakajima in this project is pianist Niels Muus, who contributes a splendid and sensitive accompaniment, and legendary clarinetist
Peter Schmidl, who brings a sense of authority to one of the nicest recordings ever made of Schubert's Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, a piece that has not always been treated with this much care on record. There are many Catalani songs on La Pastorella, including a Romanza never recorded before -- devotees of his opera La Wally will be surprised to discover that Catalani was such an excellent writer of art song.
La Pastorella is eminently easy to listen to, and anyone who enjoys soprano vocal recitals will find something to like in it. Preiser's recording is a little quiet and distant; cured simply by turning the disc up louder than one normally would.
Nakajima is certainly a very comely and attractive singer, which makes the back cover and label image of
Nakajima pulling plant materials up into her hair a little disconcerting; why, one wonders, was she rolling around in the grass? Despite these extremely minor complaints, La Pastorella is a superlative debut by a very promising young artist, and hopefully Preiser will bring us more of the same.