Melibea, Viaggio a Reims – Liceu Barcelona
And then, in the Melibea/Libenskof duet something happened. Suddenly, Marina Viotti and Lawrence Brownlee turned a routine production into something very special. We saw two people who really engaged with each other, striking sparks off of one another. From that point on, the evening seemed to take flight into a different league.
Viotti’s Marchesa Melibea was terrific. Hers is a contralto-tinged mezzo with a silky core, good agility and a bright top. She has only been singing professionally for two years but is already a very exciting talent !
Taking the waters: Il Viaggio a Reims at the Gran Teatre del Liceu
The two interpreters who recreated the Polish noble (Melibea) were as different as interesting. Maite Beaumont chose a more noble and elegant personality in the theatrical aspect while the Italian Marina Viotti showed us a more casual and provocative marquise with men. Both delighted the public with their performances in the sextet of the first part and the duo “Di chi son reo?”. Both gave a lesson of rossinian singing, Maite with a more velvety timbre and Marina with more vocal power and a darker timbre that reminded us of Daniella Barcelona, but both with outstanding musicality.
Mezzo soprano. Marina was born in Switzerland, her parents both being musicians, and grew up in France. Curious by nature, she did not only study classical music (flute), but also explored jazz, metal or chanson.
Marina is represented by Hilbert Artist Management (krause@hilbert.de)