The award winning Italian mezzo has a velvety richness in her vocalisation that suggests the lubricious legerdemain that Agrippina is well-versed in using to her advantage. From her opening recitative, instructing Nerone, “la tua fortuna prender potrai pe’l crine, ed arrestarla”, we see a woman who will use any means, from crocodile tears to knife-in-back, to gain power and keep it.
Mark Aspen wordpress, 06.2018