Marie Friederike Schöder, soprano : Amor

   in Opera Now (Mar, 2014)
I’ve never heard of this soprano – she appears to have built a career in the smaller houses of Germany. I can’t judge the scale of her voice, and from this recording I suspect it is thimble-sized, but it is certainly pretty, and her coloratura accurate and assured. She starts with the Strauss song of the title, sung persuasively, and moves on to some obvious party-pieces. Schöder also throws in some strange choices, not least Dido’s ‘Lament’, which though pleasantly vocalised, sounds as though Belinda has stepped up to the role at the last minute. The best item is the last, Lakmé’s ‘Bell Song’, where she creates an air of mysterious …