Awards 2010: Baroque - Vocal

"Rosso - Italian baroque arias"
Patricia Petibon; Venice Baroque Orchestra/Andrea Marcon
DG

Brian Wilson on MusicWeb remarks "If I have to find one thing to criticise, it must be the title and the spatter of 'blood' on the back of the booklet and on the insert". Well, Brian, you don't have to find something to criticise, so let's instead focus on the opening words of your Recording of the Month review: "This could have been a very short review, indeed, could even have taken less time to type than the contents listing: everything here - repertoire, singing, orchestral support, direction, presentation, generous playing time and recording quality - is a thorough delight". Meanwhile in American Record Guide, John W Barker describes Patricia Petibon as "a singer of extraordinary artistry. Her voice is attractive, with a wide range that is clear and utterly controlled at all levels. Above all, she has remarkable temperament, turning each of her 14 selections into dramatic and emotional events, full of unashamed expression. She can bend phrases and calculate inflections with great imagination. And there are some unusually good embellishments... Marcon leads his ensemble into the cauldron with the singer, matching her in intense support". Oh... wait... "The reason for calling this program "Rosso" (red or blush?) is not made clear". For goodness' sake people! It's not like she called the album "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy".
Patricia Petibon saw off competition from 2 other operatic spectaculars - Cecilia Bartoli's exploration of the castrato repertoire and Simone Kermes's perfectly explicably titled "Lava", as well as a Bach disc from Masaaki Suzuki that doesn't have cantatas on it and some obscure repertoire from Prague.

Runners-up:
Bach: Motets. Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki [BIS]
"Sacrificium". Cecilia Bartoli; Il Giardino Armonico/Giovanni Antonini [Decca]
"Lava: Opera arias from 18th century Napoli". Simone Kermes; Le Musiche Nove/Claudio Osele [Deutsche Harmonia Mundi]
Jacob: Missa Dei Filii & other choral works, plus music by Rathgeber. Capella Regia Praha/Robert Hugo [Supraphon]