Everything about these ladies is OTT: the heady last-rose-of-summer outpourings of the middle-aged Marschallin; the feisty feminism of Arabella; the soaring despair of the Countess, trapped in the final scene of Capriccio between words and music, love and logic.
To bring them vividly to life demands an equally strong musical personality: and there's no better woman for the job than the soprano Renee Fleming, a singer possessed both of an unfailing knack for getting the heart of things (the heart of Strauss: imagine!) and a glorious pearly sound which makes this superbly-recorded CD a joy from start to finish. If you fancy a treat, and you're ready for something luscious to the point of sinful, treat yourself to this.
