Anna Caterina Antonacci / Reviews

A critic once opined that there was nothing more beautiful than watching Anna Caterina Antonacci suffer; to that, I add that there is nothing as irresistible as watching her flirt. With a sly smile and a knowing wink, Antonacci had her audience in the palm of her hand within her first few phrases. Not that her programme was an audience-pleaser by any means, comprised of mostly unfamiliar song cycles by Respighi, Britten, Poulenc and Nadia Boulanger. Though the voice perhaps has lost a bit of its sheen over time, Antonacci’s customary textual acuity and charismatic stage presence made the strongest possible case for these unjustly neglected works.