Handel: Hercules: Where shall I fly? (Dejanira's Mad Scene)

“DiDonato tackles this catalogue of emotional meltdowns with customary gusto. Sampled track-by-track, it's a thrilling operatic show case…” BBC Music Magazine, November 2008 ****

“The pieces are by no means all "furious". But most are passionate, and passion is something that DiDonato does well… A good example is the accompanied recitative "Orride larve" from Admeto, where the king rages at his fate. The following aria is quite different, a calm acceptance of death that DiDonato sings with affecting simplicity.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009

“...an exhilarating roller-coaster of a recital from a charismatic singing-actress.” The Telegraph, 7th November 2008

“One of the most enjoyable 'gems from' Handel discs in recent years was 'Amor e gelosia', a recital of duets sung by Patrizia Ciofi and Joyce DiDonato (see above). DiDonato now presents a selection of arias, entitled 'Furore', that is just as fine; indeed, it's superior in that the accompaniment is provided by a chamber orchestra rather than the spare tones of the one-to-a-part Il Complesso Barocco.
The pieces are by no means all 'furious'. But most are passionate, and passion is something that DiDonato does well. A good example is the accompanied recitative 'Orride larve' from Admeto, where the king rages at his fate. The following aria is quite different, a calm acceptance of death that DiDonato sings with affecting simplicity.
Would that the same could be said of her cadenzas and embellishments. As with many other singers, the decorations hover on the borders of good taste; and starting the da capo of 'Sorge all'alma' a third higher was not a good idea.
The selection is refreshingly unhackneyed, 'Scherza infida' from Ariodante and 'Where shall I fly?' from Hercules being among the few predictable arias; and although there is an excerpt from Serse, it isn't 'Ombra mai fu'. Full marks for including some secco recitatives.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Technically, she can't be bettered. Her legato is exceptionally smooth, particularly notably in Ariodante's ''Scherza infida'', her coloratura is dazzling, her high notes perfect even in the heat of passion, and her dynamic range is a joy...All in all, a marvellous solo album debut.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 28th November 2008

“DiDonato uses her first solo aria disc, recorded live, to bring her rare dramatic intensity and purity of tone to 14 mad scenes from Handel...But there are calmer beauties here, too, in a collection that stands way out from the recent spate of Handel recitals.” The Guardian, 5th October 2008

“DiDonato holds the listener in her grip through every response, and her bravura in anger is matched by her moments of tenderness. Christophe Rousset provides fine supportive accompaniments with Les Talens Lyriques, and if you enjoy vocal fireworks this can be strongly recommended.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“The voice that goes straight to the heart” Sunday Times

“…Magdalena Kožená beguiles and enchants throughout this captivating collection. The Czech mezzo's mature voice combines radiant purity with burnished intensity and…she negotiates Handel's quick-fire show-pieces with dazzling bravura. The musicians of Venice Baroque respond to her incantations with thrilling energy and passion. All in all, the results are completely spell-binding.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 *****

“With most items familiar from previous Handel aria anthologies, on paper this looks full of tired clichés. Thankfully, the stirring and passionate execution of Handel's music is anything but dull routine. KoOená and her Venetian accomplices might not be giving us anything deeply perceptive but everybody involved sounds as if they are engaged with the music. In particular, the Venice Baroque Orchestra sound admirably absorbed in the dramatic world of each aria.
KoOená has a good stab at this, too, but does not quite capture the personality and situation of each character. Alcina's heartbroken first encounter of a man being beyond her seductive power in 'Ah! mio cor!' is ravishing but its slowly creeping pathos is not a natural opener for a disc like this, and KoOená – albeit passionate – does not capture the depth of Alcina's complex psychological condition. An extrovert 'Cara speme' does not quite fit Sesto's emotional self-inquiry.
KoOená is much better at conveying the scheming Agrippina's anxious plea to the gods and 'Scherza infida' is finely judged, its best passages not too far off the benchmark set by Janet Baker, Sarah Connolly and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (alas, it is let down by the staccato B section). The most convincing synthesis of musical outpouring and dramatic mood is Melissa's 'Desterò dall'empia dite' (from Amadigi).
In Dejanira's mad scene from Hercules, KoOená's affected vowels and hammed-up insanity rob it of the poignancy that understatement achieves much better; Dejanira is a distraught heroine, not a lunatic shrieking that the Martians have landed. A similar approach makes for an over-egged mad scene from Orlando. But despite the frequent limitation of one-dimensional characterisation, these appealing performances have strength and colour.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Sarah Connolly is an exemplary Handel singer.
Her recital is dominated by two roles she's performed at ENO, with arias from Alcina and Ariodante.
'Scherza infida' is an addictive mixture of vocal elegance and poignant desolation, and 'Mi lusingha' is sung with a beautiful simplicity that lacks for nothing in drama or passion.
In contrast, the extravagant coloratura in 'Dopo notte' and the robust 'Sta nell'Ircana' capture the virtuoso thrills of heroic joy. In Dejanira's 'Where shall I fly?', she reminds us that taste and subtlety have an important place even in Handel's tormented and emotionally unstable creation. She avoids contrived intensity and allows the quality of the vocal writing to speak for itself.
Harry Christophers' direction is judicious, supportive yet never intrusive. It's pleasant to hear performances that are musically sensible, dramatically sensitive, and brave enough to apply understatement.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Some of these world versions of classic London songs bear repeated listening and all are good fun” Financial Times, 4th August 2012

“Larmore's gloriously long phrasing, and orchestral playing whose broad tempos and style seem trapped in the 1960s, characterise this selection of favourite arias by Handel and Mozart” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ***

“A fine selection which demonstrates the English mezzo's huge range of expression in repertory ranging from Baroque to Britten (the cantata Phaedra written for her) and the unique commitment she brought to everything she sang.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2009 *****

“… a solid achievement, distinguished by the mezzo's remarkable artistry.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 ****

“In this selection of passages from Bach cantatas and arias from Handel's Hercules, recorded at the church, admirers can trace [Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's] growth from low lyric soprano to lush mezzo of perfect technique, intonation and clarity.” The Observer, 15th June 2008

“Typically, [Hunt Lieberson] makes each of these arias a confessional drama of the soul. In the process, she turns what should be a springy gavotte from Bach's cantata No 30 into something closer to a dirge. But she is magnificent in the arias Handel wrote for the neurotic, self-tormenting Dejanira in Hercules...Her burnished tone always remains beautiful. Another moving memento of a singer who, to quote one of her colleagues, "sang every performance as if it were her last".” The Telegraph, 12th July 2008

“Compiled as a memorial to the mezzo, this archive collection has become a memorial as well to Craig Smith, the founder of the Boston group Emmanuel Music, from which Lieberson first took wing. The voice isn’t quite at full power in the aria from Bach’s Cantata No 30, but you find the authentic emotional blast in Dejanira’s arias from Handel’s Hercules. The recordings don’t have much bloom – but the voice!” The Times, 27th June 2008 ****