Composer: George Frideric Handel
Performer: Joyce DiDonato, Maite Beaumont, Karina Gauvin, Sonia Prina, Kobie Van Rensburg, Laura Cherici, Vito Priante
Orchestra: Il Complesso Barocco
Conductor: Alan Curtis
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Archiv
Catalogue: 4777374
Release: 2009
Size: 979 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Alcina, HWV 34
CD 01
01. Overture
02. Musette
03. Menuet
Act 1
04. Oh Dei! Quivi non scorgo
05. O s’apre al riso
06. Questo è il cielo de’ contenti
07. Gavotte
08. Sarabande
09. Gavotte da capo
10. Menuett
11. Gavotte
12. Ecco l’infido
13. Di’ cor mio, quanto t’amai
14. Generosi guerrier, deh
15. Chi m’insegna il caro padre
16. Mi ravvisi, Ruggier
17. Di te mi rido, semplice stolto
18. Qua dunque
19. È gelosia, forza è d’amore
20. Io dunque
21. Bramo di trionfar
22. La cerco invano
23. Semplicetto! a donna credi?
24. Ah, infedele, infedel!
25. Si, son quella, non più bella
26. Se nemico mi fossi
27. La bocca vaga
28. A quai strani perigli
29. Tornami a vagheggiar
CD 02
Act 2
01. Col celarvi a chi v’ama un momento
02. Qual portento mi richiama
03. Pensa a chi geme
04. Qual odio
05. Vorrei vendicarmi del perfido cor
06. Chi scuopre al mio pensiero
07. Mi lusinga il dolce affetto
08. S’acquieti il rio sospetto
09. Ama, sospira, ma non t’offende
10. Non scorgo
11. Mio bel tesoro
12. Regina, io cerco in vano
13. Tra speme e timore
14. Regina, sei tradita!
15. Ah! mio cor! schemito sei!
16. Or, che dici
17. E’ un folle, è un vil affetto
18. Ed è ver che mi narri?
19. Verdi prati
20. Ah! Ruggiero crudel, tu non mi amasti!
21. Ombre pallide, lo so, mi udite
CD 03
Act 3
01. Sinfonia
02. Voglio amare
03. Credete al mio dolore
04. M’inganna, me n’avveggo
05. Un momento di contento
06. Molestissimo
07. Ma quando tornerai
08. Tutta d’armate squadre
09. Sta nell’Ircana pietrosa tana
10. Vanne tu seco ancora
11. All’alma fedel
12. Niuna forza
13. Mi restano le lagrime
14. Sin per le vie
15. Già vicino è’l momento
16. Barbara! io ben lo so
17. Le lusinghe
18. Non è amor, né gelosia
19. Prendi, e vivi.Ruggiero vuol la tua libertà
20. Dall’orror
21. Entrée
22. Tamburino
23. Dopo tante amare pene
Under baroque-pioneer conductor Alan Curtis, the sorceress Alcina bewitches as never before for Handel year 2009. Alan Curtis, lauded by Opera as “one of our finest conductors of Baroque opera,” illumines Handel’s masterpiece, Alcina, by casting, as heroine, the brilliant Joyce DiDonato. Since Alcina is historically dared by virtuosic sopranos like Sutherland and Battle, this innovative recording with a mezzo is a must-have not just for Alcina freaks but all who adore sensational vocalism. As Handel did in his time, Curtis arrays our era’s finest Baroque singers – such as Maite Beaumont and Karina Gauvin – in supporting roles around his star
It’s a pleasure to have such an abundance of excellent recordings of Handel operas that were long virtually unknown or available on CD in a single version, if at all. Alan Curtis’ stellar recording of Alcina, which joins a respectable number of very fine recordings of the opera, is remarkable for the supple liveliness of his conducting and the outstanding performances of the soloists. The elasticity of his performance, leading Il Complesso Barocco, should dispel any misconceptions about Baroque music being rigid and metronomic. The nuanced care with which he brings out the emotional depth of Handel’s writing is evident from the first measures of the overture and enlivens the entire opera. The opera is one of Handel’s strongest, both in its sensuous, endlessly inventive music, and in the coherence and emotional complexity of its libretto, taken by an anonymous writer from Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso,” the source of many operas of the era, and Curtis and the singers give it fiery dramatic urgency. The soloists assembled here, veterans of Baroque opera, perform with assurance and fluent familiarity with the style. The intelligence and emotional rightness of their ornamentation in the da capo arias is especially impressive, and they handle the florid pyrotechnics with polish and an engaging sense of spontaneity. Joyce DiDonato is stunning in the title role, with the intensity of a force of nature, and Maite Beaumont as Ruggiero and Karina Gauvin as Morgana are no less impressive. The women who are less well known, Sonia Prina and Laura Cherici, are just as astonishing in their virtuosity and the consistent purity and beauty of their tone quality; these are singers to watch out for. Bass Vito Priante sings with comparable effectiveness, but tenor Kobie van Rensburg doesn’t quite have the ideal vocal heft for his role, although otherwise his performance is exemplary. The sound is immaculate and clean and intensely present. This version of Alcina should delight fans of Baroque opera and might even make converts of opera lovers who have never warmed to this repertoire.