Heroines Of Love And Loss – Ruby Hughes

   in Opera Now (Jun, 2017)
At completely the opposite end of the musical spectrum is Ruby Hughes in Heroines of Love and Loss, a mixture of 17th-century works by or about women. Hughes has a pellucid soprano of arresting beauty and her phrasing is sophisticated in its very simplicity. She doesn’t just rely on making beautiful noises, as she plunges into the pieces by Barbara Strozzi, with their dramatic declamation and impassioned narrative. The soprano is joined by Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann on cello and Jonas Nordberg, and between the three of them they conjure not just ravishing sounds but a rather magical atmosphere. …