In the arias from Vivaldi’s opera Galou is at her most flexible and assured. In ‘Si, si, bel volto’ she handles the thoughtful silences and reflections of the lover with consummate skill, and subtly insinuates the devious plot behind ‘Semplice non temer’…the cantatas are more problematic, partly because Vivaldi’s text setting does not always help the singer.

[Galou] Her voice is rich—in fact, in its upper regions it is surprisingly brilliant in sound—but not matronly or butch. In fact, she could pass for a star countertenor. In the arias, she sings material assigned to either male or female characters, and she is convincing in both.

All exploit the singer’s plush lower register and brilliant quasi-instrumental virtuosity.

She relishes the texts and despite her clear diction she sings with exceptional smoothness of line within her relatively narrow vocal range. She also leans into phrases, and can sometimes sound deliberately straight-toned, and could be accused of being hooty.