29.03.2024

SABINE DEVIEILHE - new album with Lieder by Mozart & Strauss

Richard Strauss considered Mozart to be “the most sublime of all composers”. Both Mozart and Strauss wrote exquisitely for the soprano voice and Sabine Devieilhe, with pianist Mathieu Pordoy, has assembled a programme of their songs – eight by Mozart and 14 by Strauss. The programme includes such Strauss favourites as ‘Allerseelen’, ‘Ständchen’, ‘Kling!’, and perhaps the most famous of all his songs –‘Morgen’, in which time seems to stand still. The serene instrumental melody that opens and closes the song is played by violinist Vilde Frang, making a guest appearance.

When Devieilhe and Pordoy performed Mozart and Strauss at London’s Wigmore Hall in late 2022, The Spectator wrote of a “heart-stopping soprano” who made the songs “sound dewy-fresh. Her voice picked up and outlined each word; long lines sounded spontaneous but wholly considered. The clarity and the lightly worn self-awareness of Devieilhe’s singing made for a seductive combination, and never more so than when, as an encore, she sang one of Mozart’s rare French-language songs and her voice slipped like watered silk over each detail and corner of the words.” ‘Oiseaux si tous les ans’ features on the album beside, among other Mozart songs, ‘Abendempfindung’, ‘Das Veilchen’ and ‘An Chloé’.

Sabine Devieilhe has proven more than once on the opera stage that the music of Mozart and Strauss suits her particularly well: as the Queen of the Night in Paris, Munich and London, or as Susanna at the Salzburg Festival or as Sophie in Zurich as well as Ilia and Zerbinetta in Aix-en-Provence. Her interpretations are captivating not only for their beauty of tone, but also for the sensuality and warmth in her voice and her great respect for the score and text.

The soprano devotes herself to the lieder repertoire with stylistically confident elegance, which she demonstrates not only on this album, but also live in numerous recitals alongside pianist Mathieu Pordoy. A masterclass in chamber music is awaits listeners of this harmonious duo.

Erato/Warner
release date: 29th of March 2024