Arion: Voyage of a Slavic Soul

Natalya Romaniw, the Welsh soprano with Ukrainian heritage, offers a glorious collection of Slavic songs sung in Russian and Czech. The program is imaginatively chosen, embracing the familiar (Rachmaninov’s “Sing Not, O Lovely One”) and the more obscure (Vítězslav Novák’s A Tale of the Heart). Romaniw’s plush, velvety soprano is perfectly suited to this repertoire, and she has a wonderful way with the more melancholic songs. She sings Dvořák’s Love Songs, Op. 83 with terrific passion and makes the most of Janáček’s Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs. Lada Valešová is a superb partner.