Of the classical female singing voices the mezzo soprano has always been my favourite. I have nothing against sopranos, but the the best mezzos have it all, both the high AND the beautiful, warm lower register.Among the still performing mezzos, Finnish Monica Groop comes in my opinion closest to perfection. She has everything that makes a truly great singer. And I do not know of any other singer who masters all genres of music like Ms. Groop. She is equally at home with baroque, romantic, opera, lieder and contemporary music. It is easy to agree with this characterisation of Ms. Groop´s artistry :
Finnish singer Monica Groop has ALL the goods. A truly complete singer who defies categories or labels-though billed as a mezzo-soprano, she has no fear of the heights, sailing easily to high B's, beautifully, without effort. This woman is a true artist and should have the publicity and career that many LESSER singers have achieved.
Not since the celebrated artistry of the likes of Sutherland, Tebaldi, Callas, to name a few, have I been this taken with a singer. Groop's extremely varied and complete repertoire defies categorizing this singer as yet another "early music girl." She has complete vocal fluidity and ornamentation in all the right places-indeed her ornamentation and coloratura are accurate, impeccable and clear with a beautiful legato. No huffing and chugging here! Yet one can hear her other recordings: of Bach, Grieg, Sibelius, Brahms and Schubert lieder and song, and understand this is a voice full of beauty and tone, no "paring down" to wisps of flight and fancy for the Baroque and early music! Monica Groop sings with a warm, full and creamy tone that has golden shimmer and excitement.
P.R. Marchesano
(Review of Monica Groop´s Arie Amorose CD)
If you are interested in learning to know more about Monica Groop, I suggest that you visit her home page, and e.g. this page at Kirshbaum Demler & Associates, who represent her in the US.
Monica Groop´s versatility is also reflected in her extensive discography (not updated after September 2009), which so far includes over 60 critically acclaimed recordings. She has recently recorded her last CD in the Complete Grieg songs series consisting of over 170 songs on seven CDs. Clicking this link gets you a list of over 500 items related to her recordings.
For those who would like to listen to samples of Ms. Groops performances and recordings, click this link.
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