Koutcher, Nadine - Soprano

The exceptional technique of Nadine Koutcher, from Belarus, had created the strongest of impressions in her concert round, so it mattered less that her fine, stratospheric soprano betrayed the strain in this final. To borrow diving terms, her arias had carried the highest possible tariff in difficulty and, appropriately, it was for her precision in Olympia’s aria from The Tales of Hoffman by Offenbach that she will be remembered. Her instinctive musicality, meanwhile, shone in the more lyrical context of Marfa’s aria from The Tsar’s Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov. The emotion of winning broke through her steely calm...

 

As Gilda, 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World 2015 Nadine Koutcher captured the virginal naivety of her character with childlike-innocence. Throughout her performance she was technically perfect, top notes were executed with complete precision. The chemistry between her and Catana was engaging and intense, which made one feel as if one was intruding on that special relationship between father and daughter. By the final scene this had grown to such a depth, one felt the virtual hammer blows of the curse as she died in his arms.

 

Nadine Koutcher, the Belarusian winner of the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, was the evening's other standout performance, her soft, throaty soprano melting perfectly into Osborn’s tenor. Meanwhile, the handsome Jean-François Lapointe made for a perfect Guillaume Tell: noble and tender, with a buttery baritone one could easily imagine persuading a nation to revolt. Franco Pomponi’s Gesler was the only weaker link in the cast, although his slightly reedy baritone did strengthen from act to act. (It must be said that the pompous villain is hardly a leading role.) One final mention for Enea Scala’s high notes as Ruodi: I’d have quite liked to see him take his turn as Arnold!

 

Leider nur drei Mal trägt Nadine Koutcher mit ihrem schlackenlosen hellen Sopran eine Arie aus dem reichen ¼uvre Rameus bei. Auch diese aber einen weiten Bogen schlagend von der feierlichen Ruhe der Auftrittsarie der Priesterin Aricie (Hippolyte et Aricie) bis zur vokalen Verrücktheit in der Air de la Folie aus Platée, in der es die Sängerin mit brillanter Koloraturakrobatik nur so lachen, kichern und gackern lässt. Aber auch instrumental lässt Currentzis keine Gelegenheit zu musikalischer Klangmalerei aus, sei es das Huhn (La poule) oder der Schüchterne (Le timide) in seinen furchtsam tastenden Bewegungen.