Sarah Aristidou - Æther - Gramophone

Aristidou has much been admired in Germany both in opera and contemporary works, and her programme basically combines classics for lyric-coloratura soprano with new music, all of it, she tells us, expressing the ‘inner quest’ for a ‘perfect elsewhere’ undertaken by her chosen heroines with their ‘celestial tessitura’. 

Her voice is strong, and very French, reminiscent at times of Denise Duval, at others of Mady Mesplé. Playing and choral singing are consistently beautiful, and the instrumental contributions from Barenboim, Rivet and Emmanuel Pahud are excellent, as one might expect.