Handel: Dopo notte (from Ariodante)

“Handel's popular "Angels, ever bright and fair" from Theodora and "Scherza infida" from Ariodante remind us of her musical intelligence and vitality...The final tracks on each disc, Dido's Lament and "Bist du bei mir" from the Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach, are almost unbearably moving in their characteristic simplicity and intensity. She is much missed.” The Observer, 24th July 2011

“It is splendid to hear a singer of abundant personality leaping into the suicide scene from Tamerlano with such dramatic authority. Listening to Villazón's lively rendition of Bajazet's "Ciel e terra armi di sdegno", I find myself eager to see him sing the role on stage. ...the enthusiasm seems infectious: McCreesh's Gabrieli Players have rarely sounded better and more dramatically attuned in this repertoire. This disc is zany in some ways, but offers fine rewards.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009

“Villazón sings everything with such intensity and fire that you surrender to him. His performance of Ariodante's Scherza Infida is among the most beautiful and keenly felt on disc. If he'd been around in the 18th century, Handel would probably have adored him.” The Guardian, 10th April 2009 ****

“Villazón’s first number, one of three from Tamerlano, blasts us with a degree of bravura and sunshine rarely encountered among the regular male Baroque singers…” The Times, 20th March 2009 ***

“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

“Bostridge is sharply attuned to the subtlety of Handel's work setting, colouring his sound with a rich palette of timbres and effects: sonorous and sensuous in 'Ombra mai fù', hauntingly stark in 'Total eclipse'. …Harry Bicket's direction is sensitive and unfussy - tempos are well-judged, allowing him to shape Handel's long-breathed melodic lines with supple grace.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007 ****

“...high points of the disc include Where'er you walk, and the uplifting Comfort ye…Ev'ry valley from The Messiah. However, with Bostridge's vocal precision and smooth tone the whole disc is undoubtedly an enjoyable listen.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 16th January 2008

“Bostridge’s care over colouring and shading refreshes numerous chestnuts...No self-conscious art here; it’s the music that speaks.” The Times, 13th July 2007 ****

“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

“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 ***