Schubert: Lieder

Forget the horrible cover photo, which features Anne Sofie von Otter in a blue bathrobe, looking as though she just woke up and needs to take a shower. This is a great Schubert song collection. It contains many Schubert essentials, including "Ave Maria," "An Silvia," "Suleika 1," "Viola," "Ständchen," and "Im Abendrot." Von Otter is an extraordinary singer, able to invest each song with an abundance of character and textual insight--but she knows the difference between the recital hall and the opera house, and she never becomes irritatingly histrionic, as so often happens when experienced opera singers take on song programs. She's also very ably accompanied by Bengt Forsberg, her usual partner, and his response to each song is as keenly individual as that of von Otter. A great introduction to the deeply absorbing world of Schubert's songs. --David Hurwitz