Monday, August 6, 2012

Handel: Opera Duets and Arias


“The duets are exquisitely interpreted and show an excellent feeling for musico-dramatic character: the two singers combine to rapturous effect in "Carol" Dolce! Amico amplesso" (Poro), one of Handel's most erotic and gentle love duets, but they are also fantastic at conveying the unbridled exuberance of love in "Scherzano sul tuo volto" (Rinaldo). The singing is of a miraculous standard throughout, and the performances are consummately insightful and naturalistic. Much of the credit must go to Alessandrini, who directs every accompaniment with perfect dramatic appositeness and natural compassion for Handel's writing.” --Gramophone Magazine, July 2009


Gramophone Magazine
Disc of the Month - July 2009

One of today’s rare true contraltos, Sara Mingardo has become a highly sought-after performer on both the concert and operatic stage in a wide range of repertoire. She has enjoyed successful collaborations with such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Myung-Whun Chung, Colin Davis, John Eliot Gardiner, Riccardo Muti, and Roger Norrington, and has taken major roles in several of the award-winning opera recordings in the Vivaldi Edition, including L’Olimpiade, and La Verita in Cimento.

After initially making her reputation in Baroque music alongside William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Christophe Rousset, Emmanuelle Haïm, Sigiswald Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardt and René Jacobs, Sandrine Piau now sings a broad repertoire reflected in her large discography, and has confirmed her outstanding position in the new generation of French singers. Her Handel album with Les Talens Lyriques was an Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and was awarded the Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize for 2005. In 2007 she released another award-winning recital CD, Évocation, accompanied by Susan Manoff. Both Sara Mingardo and Sandrine Piau have appeared as soloists in La Fida Ninfa, the most recent opera release in Naïve’s Vivaldi Edition.

This new Handel collection features these two great singers alongside the world-renowned Concerto Italiano and its conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini, performing arias and duos from his operas Radamisto, Flavio, Poro, Tamerlano, Rinaldo, Orlando, Alessandro, Deidamia, Amadigi, and Ottone.

No comments:

Post a Comment