Meditation – Elina Garanca

   in Opera Now (Jan, 2015)
The superstar mezzo’s new album is a collection of pieces that apparently transcend religion and are ‘about the soul itself ’, according to the Latvian diva. Pieces range from Allegri’s Miserere and Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana to a variety of settings of ave Maria, from Gomez to Caccini. I’m sure you get the gist. Aiming to leave personal bias at the door (I would have been tempted to call it Holy Crap), it is either an interesting sweep of musical genres or a mish-mash – take your pick. Garanca’s voice is rich and firm as ever, a gorgeous instrument. However, she puts herself in the firing line by interpreting pieces better known …