Schumann: Frauenliebe und -Leben

The Canadian Marie-Nicole Lemieux's Mrs Quickly was the vocal star of Glyndebourne's new Falstaff this summer, said Hugh Canning in the Sunday Times. Hers is a "rare voice of melting loveliness, warm, limpid and rich-toned throughout its range, yet entirely devoid of the stately hootiness traditionally associated with the contralto". Indeed, it is the perfect voice for singing A Woman's Love and Life, "Schumann's great tribute to Clara Wieck in 1840, the year he finally achieved his long-thwarted goal of marrying her".

The album shows the "most serious side to Lemieux's artistry", said Rupert Christiansen in the Daily Telegraph. But while she "is clearly a thoughtful musician and she sings with a warm, well-focused tone", after a while "the soft grain of her voice becomes a bit monotonous and the text isn't distinctively coloured". The pianist, Daniel Blumenthal, plays with great elegance, but ultimately, his interpretation "lacks any real rhythmic urgency". (Verdict: three stars out of five)
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