Handel: Figlio d'alte speranze, HWV 113

“Emma Kirkby, a seasoned Handelian, brings her considerable artistry to bear on some of [Handel's] most bold, moving and exciting music. Occasionally, particularly in the tragic 'Agrippina condotta a morire', one yearns for slightly darker shades than her naturally sunny voice can provide. Even so, here and in 'Notte placida e cheta', 'Un’ alma innamorata' and 'Figlio d’alte speranze', she and the [musicians] of London Baroque relish to the full the dramatic genius destined shortly to take London by storm.” Sunday Times, 24th August 2008 ***

“Emma Kirkby… sings four solo cantatas… These showpieces make immense technical demands… But splendid though such displays are, it is her sense of characterisation which sets her apart. She can 'rejoice, laugh and hope' with palpable rapture (Un' alma innamorata, HWV173), change mood like quicksilver in the great Scena of Agrippina (HWV110) where the queen, condemned to death by her own son, swings schizophrenically from inconsolable despair to furious anger. Outstanding.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2008 *****

“Emma Kirkby… is on superb form. Her interpretative intelligence and attention to words are a given but she can also catch a subtle mood, as in "Quel povero core" from Un' alman innamorata, whose sense of resigned torment is enhanced by a sensitive contribution from the solo violin.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008

“The largest single legacy of Handel's years in Italy (in his early twenties) were around 100 chamber cantatas, from which Emma Kirkby and London Baroque have picked out four excellent examples from the 30 or so featuring one or two violins alongside the solo voice and continuo. In this they face strong competition from La Risonanza's series with Italian singers on Glossa, but the clash does no damage to either group as both have distinct virtues. For some, of course, the presence of Emma Kirkby will be enough to seal the deal, and indeed she is on superb form. Early on there are a few signs of a lack of her usual instrumental precision; but by the time she is showing off her artless virtuosity in the final aria of Figlio d'alte speranze and striding easily through 'Orrida, oscura', the first aria of the compellingly dramatic Agrippina condottaa morire, all worries have long been banished.
Her interpretative intelligence and attention to words are a given but she can also catch a subtle mood, as in 'Quel povero core' from Un' almainnamorata, whose sense of resigned torment is enhanced by a sensitive contribution from the solo violin. Emanuela Galli captures this kind of intimate emotion even more affectingly in La Risonanza's performances, mind, but with a touch less vocal security.
The recorded sound, as often in London Baroque's recordings for BIS, is strangely resonant and steely. The 'Concerto a quattro' included here is claimed as a Handel work in its German 18th-century source but sounds like nothing of the kind.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Roberta Invernizzi is thoroughly at home with the expressive nuances and stylistic vocabulary of the late Baroque…” BBC Music Magazine, September 2006 ***

“Although titled 'Le cantate per il Cardinal Pamphili', only two of the four works on this disc were composed for Pamphili. But let's not be too pedantic: it launches La Risonanza's ambitious project to record all of Handel's Italian cantatas that feature a band of instruments.
Fabio Bonizzoni's lightly articulated yet rapid whirl through the opening of Tra le fiamme is utterly unlike any of the existing pastoral-tinged performances but it perfectly conveys the imagery of a moth fatally attracted to the flame.
Roberta Invernizzi is an impassioned (and, of course, resolutely Italianate) interpreter who brings the dramatic sentiments of the poetry fully to life, while also delivering inch-perfect coloratura and stylish phrasing. Her blend of spectacular singing and emotional substance in 'Un pensiero voli in ciel' (Delirio amoroso) is possibly the most satisfying interpretation on disc.
The programme's coherence, Invernizzi's authoritative singing and La Risonanza's theatrically coloured playing have raised the performance standard for Handel's Italian cantatas.
Bonizzoni's refreshing direction is entirely devoid of the coolly dispatched detachment or mannered feyness often found in this repertoire.
This lovingly prepared series promises to be of the utmost importance to Handel lovers.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Roberta Invernizzi is an impassioned… interpreter who brings the dramatic sentiments of the poetry fully to life, while also delivering inch-perfect coloratura and stylish phrasing. …the programme's coherence, Invernizzi's authoritative singing and La Risonanza's theatrically coloured playing have raised the performance standard for Handel's Italian cantatas. Bonizzoni's refreshing direction is entirely devoid of the coolly dispatched detachment or mannered feyness often found in this repertoire.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2006

“Invernizzi has a fresh, bright soprano that supplies constant delight” Sunday Times Classical CD of the Week

“With her bright tone and brilliant technique, Roberto Invernizzi is an ideal interpreter of the florid numbers; but she is equally adept in gentler arias...Singing, playing and direction are all one could wish for.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

“The fact that there is only one other recording of Un’ alma innamorata and no recording at all of the remaining three works on this disc currently in the catalogue would surely be recommendation enough for any lover of Handel’s vocal works. That the music is not only attractive and well crafted but performed so engagingly and with such little artifice makes a purchase almost mandatory. Veronika Winter engages with the texts in a straight-forward though far from strait-laced manner, relying less on histrionics and more on the affecting nature of her full and gorgeously affecting soprano voice…The fine recorded sound, bright and clear, is the icing on the cake of this laudable release.” Robert Levett, International Record Review