"Ave Maria"

Concert with Orchestra Arpeggione conducted by Alexander Rudin

Hohenems (Vorarlberg), May 14, 2007

"The Georgian-born mezzo-soprano Natela Nicoli shows that she understands the art of baroque embellishments in played-out snatches of ignominy such as Handel's Lascia chio pianga or Giordani's Caro mio ben. On the other hand, she makes one sit up and take notice coquettishly and intimately with the famous rose aria of Susanna from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and in late-Romanitic glow with Grieg's Ich liebe dich. In Spanish zarzuelas and a single unknown Ave maria by Caccini, Nicoli also shows temperament and depth of feeling."

Fritz Jurmann