Janet Baker

This morning, I've chosen to begin with Janet Baker in her stunning performance of Nuits d'été by Berlioz. Born August 1933, she was a fantastic lieder, concert, and opera singer. With her sparkly purple dress it's easy to discern that her shoulders aren't moving up and down at all. No trace of strange facial expressions line her face. Her movements are so natural, it feels like this mezzo is just pulling her voice from the very earth. Her fingers are delicate and seem to accent the music in their small movements, though not distractingly. Her tone quality is really full and brilliant, but not too chesty, a real Mezzo voice with a fantastic bottom. I particularly enjoy the way in which she carries phrases emotional until the very end. Suffice to say, her singing is quite entrancing. Even in the quiet and piano bits, she maintains this energy that really spins her tone into the large fortes in parts of her phrasing. One thing I really enjoy is how she doesn't over-sing, she uses her body efficiently to convey the message of the song. She really does see the Spirit of the Rose.