Sumi Jo - Les Bijoux / French Arias

I'm only a recent convert of the charming opera singer Sumi Jo. This is one of my favourite albums, showcasing arias of composers including Gounod, Offenbach, Bizet, and (most surprisingly) Meyerbeer.The Meyerbeer arias are truly something. Sumi Jo should consider doing a whole album dedicated to his works, but until then, we can savour the "Les Huguenots" and "L'Etoile du Nord" arias.Sumi Jo's voice has a fantastic, silvery quality, best-suited to the demanding arias on show here. Hers is a precision instrument that hits each and every note perfectly; never does she slide between notes or compromise the quality of the material. Perfection is a tough thing to live up to, but Sumi Jo is perfection.I heartily recommend this album. [Erato/Warner Music 3984-23140-2]

It is always a pleasure to have a soprano concert that does not include "Musetta's Waltz," "Un bel di," and "Sempre libra." Doubly welcome is one that does include rare items such as arias from "Hamlet," "L'Etoil du Nord," and even "Robinson Crusoe." And triply welcome, all this and more is beautifully vocalized by Sumi Jo in her latest album <Les Bijoux> on Erato 3984-23140-2. Accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra under Giuliano Carella, Ms. Jo makes one almost forget Sutherland and Sills in much the same material, the former in the arias from "Les Huguenots" and "Faust," the latter in the aria from "Manon." Except for Ophelia's lengthy mad scene and the dreamy "Depuis le jour," these arias sparkle like the title of the album, "The Jewels." And therein lies one of two reservations: too many glittering songs one after the other does pall a bit, no matter how well sung. The other reservation is endemic to almost all such concert discs (those of Bartoli excepted): there is little sense of character. Granted her Marguerite and Juliette should more or less sound alike, and so should her Titania and Manon. But Manon should not sound like Marguerite! Yes, I know this is a poser for any given singer; and yet it must be addressed in a review. Now and then this Korean singer lets her French become just a little mushy, much in the way Sutherland sang all her arias. French is hard to follow without a text at best for a non-speaker; but I had trouble finding my way even with the words in front of me that Erato provides (plus) but in white print on black (minus). Why, why, why?

This delightful recital shows again the skill and grace of Sumi Jo and her affinity with the French opera repertoire. As Robert Levine said, to hear Sumi Jo is in many ways to evoke the memory of Amelita Galli-Curci and Lily Pons. Among the highlights of the recording, the first that come to my mind is the Mad Scene from Hamlet. Ms. Jo brings a great expressivity to the piece, conveying Ophelie's combination of despair and happiness. Vocally, she brings a fresh sound, beautiful cadenzas and brilliant high notes. The chromatic scale at the end of the Mad Scene (up to high E) is stunning. Among the other highlights are "O légère hirondelle" from Mireille and the showpiece from L'Etoile du Nord. Both arias sparkle with brilliant staccatos and scales specially the one by Meyerbeer, where the soprano is in a vocal tour de force in competition with two flutes. The arias from Faust, Roméo et Juliette, Manon and Louise are well sung, even when Depuis le jour is a stretch for Sumi Jo's voice. But the rarities are the most refreshing part of the recital, and the recording ends brilliantly with the waltz from Robinson Crusoe, sung by the soprano with the charm and buoyancy that it needed for this repertoire.

I purchased this CD as a student of coloratura literature (specifically because of "Je suis Titania") and it is my first Sumi Jo recording. While I personally find her voice a little too bright for my taste and, occasionally, she sounds slightly unstable on the top, I still wholeheartedly recommend it. Sumi Jo is an extremely clean coloratura and has a beautiful voice, even if it is something of an acquired tasts if you are used to a more lyric sound. It is no wonder she is considered one of the best coloraturas singing today. Besides praising Sumi Jo, I have to say that this is simply a wonderful collection of music; all of it is lovely! It is truly delightful to listen to.

The best arias are from "Hamlet" by Thomas and "Louise" by Charpentier and "Les Pecheurs de perles" by Bizet. They are the best and just gorgeous. Well, for other arias, if you like Colaratura arias, they are for you, otherwise you will feel dizzy(though it has been sung better compared with previous versions by any other sopranos).

Il est déjà loin le temps où Eve Ruggieri faisait découvrir à la France une toute jeune soprano coréenne ! Elle a depuis joué tous les grands rôles de colorature sur les plus grandes scènes lyriques et festivals. Elle nous propose ici un récital d’opéras français, airs la plupart très connus. On ne va pas bien sûr comparer avec les récitals de Callas, dans le même domaine, tellement les vois sont différentes. C’est là que l’on voit que notre langue est difficile aux étrangers. Or, dans ce registre, nous avons nombre d’excellentes cantatrices françaises, sans remonter à Mady Mesplé (Dessay, Piau, Petibon…). Sur ce, admirons quand même la voix et la technique (elle fut élève de Bergonzi).Commentaire en français et anglais, sur les œuvres et non sur l’interprète, qui l’aurait mérité. Textes complets en français et anglais. Enregistrement studio de 1997-98.

une fois de plus une cantatrice étrangère s'est prise les pieds dans le répertoire français.Sumi JO fait ce qu'elle peut mais ne parvient pas à relever le gant.Sa diction est la plupart du temps approximative, aucune émotion ne ressort de ses interprétations.Ses aigus sont forcés et métalliques. On a le sentiment qu'elle cherche à contourner l'obstacle.Patricia PETIBON, Natalie DESSAY, Elisabeth VIDAL, Mady MESPLE, peuvent dormir tranquilles. Ce n'est pas Sumi JO qui leur fera de l'ombre.

J'ai découvert Sumi Jo à travers la BSO de la Neuvième Porte de Roman Polanski (vocalise)Je suis partie en découverte de cette merveilleuse colorature coréenne.Les Bijoux, La Promessa.... son art vous emportera tant son interprétation est cristalline, maîtrisée. Sur certains morceaux cela relève presque du Divin!Laissez vous porter et vous lâcherez agréablement prise.

C'est effectivement "un bijou" : album qui imprègne et transporte. Une voix pure où l'on sent la flamme et l'amour du chant. J'adore et il tourne pratiquement en boucle, surtout la piste 3, l' "Ave Maria" de Caccini, un Ave que je ne connaissais pas du tout, de même que son auteur ! Titre découvert à la lecture de "La mélodie des jours" de Lorraine Fouchet où il est maintes fois cité et qui réconforte la jeune femme malade. A l'écoute, j'ai compris pourquoi...