Bel canto : from Monteverdi to Verdi

"What can she bring to this repertoire? As you would expect, she's good at 'the runs' and the high notes. However, she simply doesn't have the weight or dark colour to frighten us ... or inspire us ... The final Monteverdi item is heavenly, both in itself and in reminding us how strong Kermes is on home turf".

"I approached this new CD of 'Bel Canto' ... with an open mind ... My loyalty to Kermes has been tested and it has failed. This CD ... is as close to a catastrophe as a major artist can come ... Kermes sings all of these arias without vibrato, which is so effective in many of her Baroque arias but a disaster here ... The period-instrument group Concerto Köln ... plays stunningly, but also in the wrong idiom ... She is forgiven for this but I cannot even recommend it to her greatest fans, It's simply wrong-headed".