Composer: George Frideric Handel
Performer: Sarah Connolly, Rosemary Joshua
Orchestra: English Concert
Conductor: Harry Bicket
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN0767
Release: 2010
Size: 1.1 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Radamisto
01. Act III: Se teco vive il cor
Rodelinda
02. Act II: Io t’abbraccio
Solomon
03. Part I: Welcome as the dawn of day
Theodora, HWV 68
04. Act III: Streams of pleasure ever flowing
Ottone, Re di Germania
05. Act III: Duet: Note cara!
Theodora, HWV 68
06. Act II: To thee, thou glorious son of worth
Ariodante
07. Act III: Bramo haver mille vite
Belshazzar
08. Act III: Great victor, at your feet I bow
Tamerlano
09. Vivo in te mio caro bene
Sosarme
10. Act II: Per Le Porte del Tormento
Agrippina
11. Act III: No, no, ch’io non apprezzo
Giulio Cesare in Egitto
12. Act III: Caro! Bella!
This new Handel collection features two great singers alongside the English Concert, arguably one of the best baroque orchestras in the UK. Duets play a key role in Handel’s stage works. A master of the Baroque opera seria medium, with its extended sequence of solo arias and recitative dialogue, he understood the dramatic effectiveness of occasional numbers blending two voices, generally those of a soprano heroine and a castrato hero.
The exquisite programme offers a carefully chosen selection of Handel duets from his operas and oratorios Giulio Cesare, Belshazzar, Theodora, Ottone, Sosarme, Radimisto, Rodelinda, Agrippina and Tamerlano.
Sarah Connolly CBE has become a highly sought-after performer on the operatic stage in a wide range of repertoire. Her Handelian roles have including the title-role in Giulio Cesare for the Glyndebourne Festival; in Agrippina, Xerxes, Ariodante and Ruggiero (Alcina) for the English National Opera and Ino/Juno (Semele) for the San Francisco Opera. She also starred in the 2009 Last Night of the Proms.
Rosemary Joshua is well known for her Handel roles, having sung Ginevra (Ariodante) in San Diego; Angelica (Orlando) in Munich, for Covent Garden and at the Aix-en- Provence Festival; and the title-role in Semele for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award and recorded for Chandos. Her recording of Partenope for Chandos was awarded the Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize.
The English Concert is conducted by Harry Bicket.
With a combination of such forces, this album is sure to make for a must-have for all Handel enthusiasts.