Delos once again proudly presents Podles' "formidable voice and riveting interpretations"Financial Times on her long-awaited new album of Russian Arias. Joining forces is the Philharmonia of Russia, conducted by one of Ewa's favorite collaborators, Constantine Orbelian, who, to quote Opera News, was "driving the getaway car"in Podles''s sensational Handel aria album (DE 3253). 

Russian Arias features memorable performances of music Ewa has claimed as her own, including Mussorgsky's harrowing "Songs and Dances of Death,"as orchestrated by Shostakovich, and Prokofiev's deeply touching "Field of the Dead"from Alexander Nevsky. Equally moving are the haunting "Arioso"from Tchaikovsky's Moscow Cantata, and some of Ewa's favorite arias such as Tchaikovsky's "Farewell, native hills and fields"from The Maid of Orleans, and Borodin's "The Daylight Dies,"Konchakovna's exotic, sensual aria from Prince Igor. The fascinating and varied program also offers such novelties as "Varvara's Limericks"from Shchedrin's delightful, little-known opera Not for Love Alone, and Jocasta's aria from Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. 

Russian Arias is an album rich in emotion and musical insight. "I want my singing to have drama, to send a message,"Ewa says. "Sometimes people cry when they hear me - this is what's important. I want people to love me or hate me because of the emotion of my singing."

Borodin: Konchakovna's Aria from Prince Igor, "The Daylight Dies" Tchaikovsky: Arioso from the Moscow Cantata Tchaikovsky: Joan of Arc's aria "Farewell, native hills and fields" (Adieu, forets) from The Maid of Orleans Prokofiev: "Field of the Dead" from Alexander Nevsky Shchedrin: Varvara's Limericks from Not for Love Alone Stravinsky: Jocasta's Aria from Oedipus Rex Mussorgsky-Shostakovich: Songs and Dances of Death: Lullaby, Serenade, Trepak, The Field-marshall