Megan Kahtz Review – In Lovely Abbandono | Concert.de

With the first notes of Handel's “Ombra mai fu”, you almost think you're hearing an alto, until the mezzo-soprano colours assert themselves – and dazzle. Megan Kahtz is originally from South Africa and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where she has lived since 2009. Her speciality is opera, both old and new music. But song is also close to her heart. The current CD is devoted to solo cantatas by Handel and Haydn; the singer is accompanied by the Vienna Caristini Ensemble, which she founded and specialises in 18th-century repertoire. The chamber music ensemble (Anna Perl and Lisanne Altroff, violins; Ivan Pekka, viola; Mariusz Malanici, cello; Reinhard Führer, harpsichord) plays with a lot of soul and vitality, which perfectly matches the expressive singing of Kahtz, who describes himself as a “chamber singer”. Their presence on stage becomes noticeable as soon as you listen to them.

In Dolce Abandono
Handel: Umbra my voi, Armida abbandonata HWV 105 and Verdi Prati, Haydn: Arianna naxos hope

Megan Kahtz (mezzo-soprano), Vienna Caristini Ensemble
solo music