Getting at Handel's operas and oratorios

Started by Tancata, July 10, 2007, 01:25:37 PM

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Coopmv

Quote from: DarkAngel on July 03, 2009, 09:28:15 AM
Elgarian......I think I know another person who will soon be buying the Curtis/Virgin opera boxset   >:D

I am still not completely sold on the idea that Minkowski is more HIP than any of the names that I have been familiar with for years.  I have always known Alan Curtis as an outstanding harpsichordists as I have had his LP recordings on EMI for years.  Minkowski is new to me since I have never bothered to buy his recordings over the past ten years (until a few weeks ago) ...

DarkAngel

#461


Listened to Semele yesterday, unique hybrid opera/oratorio creation done near the end of Handels career in English so as to assure its financial success among London crowd. Unlike other oratorios this is secular theme dealing with frolicking love life of the gods, and like humans they too must deal with touchy situations, jealous suitors etc....... :D

The 1990 performance above is most highly regarded of the handful of CD versions out there, a true "luxury" cast of star vocalists.
Fortuantely we have Kathleen Battle near her prime as Semele, her light clear slivery tone perfectly suited to baroque singing as we expect today, Sylvia McNair & Michael Chance are baroque stars with solid body of work, throw in Sam Ramey and Marilyn Horne.
Striking pose by Kathleen on the cover as she ponders the vagaries of love.......

A very enjoyable work but not one of my very favorite Handel works, some of the arias from this work have become well known Handel staples so this is pretty essential work to collect, and any opportunity to get Kathleen Battle in her prime should not be passed by. I
would have preferred Italian language, but there is much to admire here and pretty easy to get good price on used version at Amazon

Coopmv

Quote from: DarkAngel on July 04, 2009, 05:29:51 AM


Listened to Semele yesterday, unique hybrid opera/oratorio creation done near the end of Handels career in English so as to assure its financial success among London crowd. Unlike other oratorios this is secular theme dealing with frolicking love life of the gods, and like humans they too must deal with touchy situations, jealous suitors etc....... :D

The 1990 performance above is most highly regarded of the handful of CD versions out there, a true "luxury" cast of star vocalists.
Fortuantely we have Kathleen Battle near her prime as Semele, her light clear slivery tone perfectly suited to baroque singing as we expect today, Sylvia McNair & Michael Chance are baroque stars with solid body of work, throw in Sam Ramey and Marilyn Horne.


A very enjoyable work but not one of my very favorite Handel works, some of the arias from this work have become well known Handel staples so this is pretty essential work to collect, and any opportunity to get Kathleen Battle in her prime should not be passed by. I
would have preferred Italian language, but there is much to admire here and pretty easy to get good price on used version at Amazon

I like Kathleen Battle, though John Nelson is an unknown to me.  I think the ECO generally performed best under Raymond Leppard, who was also the founder of this ensemble.  I have quite a number of Handel's oratorios and operas by ECO and Leppard ...

knight66

This Semele is excellent. Battle conveys a delight in the act of singing that infects her work here. Horne is relatively restrained....in a good way and sings her plum piece well. Chance was also at his best when the recording was made. The conducting produces light and airy textures.

As an aside, I saw Battle in concert wearing that dress. She looked and sounded beautiful and her charm ran counter to the many stories that circulated about her.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Coopmv

Just kicked off my Handelathon for this weekend.  Alan Curtis's Rodelinda is my first selection ...


Coopmv

Alan Curtis's Tolomeo is my second selection for my Handelathon this weekend ...


Elgarian

My goodness, Coop, you're racing away. I'm still drowning, gloriously, in Vivaldi.

Coopmv

Quote from: Elgarian on July 04, 2009, 11:58:28 PM
My goodness, Coop, you're racing away. I'm still drowning, gloriously, in Vivaldi.

Good afternoon (UK time) Elgarian.  I will probably order the Vivalid's set from Hyperion before the end of this month as I need more time to whittle down my play list.  It is time for us to give both the US and UK economy a shot in the arm ...
;D

Henk

#468
Quote from: Elgarian on July 04, 2009, 11:58:28 PM
My goodness, Coop, you're racing away. I'm still drowning, gloriously, in Vivaldi.

To compete with Coop ;).. I have the Curtis box, a box with Minkowski as conductor, containing Cesare, Ariodante, Hercules. I have Ricardo Primo, Faramondo and Alcina (Curtis). And in order are Tolomeo, Ezio and Floridante (all Curtis).

I prefer Curtis above other conductors, though other ones do very well also.

The new erato

Quote from: Henk on July 05, 2009, 04:42:11 AM
I have the Curtis box. A box with Mrawinski as conductor, containing Cesare, Ariodante, Hercules. I have Ricardo Primo, Faramondo and Alcina (Curtis). And in order are Tolomeo, Ezio and Floridante.
Mrawinski - didn't know he was into baroque opera..... ;D

Coopmv

Quote from: Henk on July 05, 2009, 04:42:11 AM
I have the Curtis box. A box with Minkowsky as conductor, containing Cesare, Ariodante, Hercules. I have Ricardo Primo, Faramondo and Alcina (Curtis). And in order are Tolomeo, Ezio and Floridante.

I will probably order Ezio and Alcina as I really enjoy the performance of Tolomeo and Rodelinda, which were conducted by Alan Curtis.  I already have Alcina by Christe.

Henk

Quote from: Coopmv on July 05, 2009, 04:47:35 AM


I will probably order Ezio and Alcina as I really enjoy the performance of Tolomeo and Rodelinda, which were conducted by Alan Curtis.  I already have Alcina by Christe.

How did you like Agrippina (Gardiner)?


Coopmv

Quote from: Henk on July 05, 2009, 04:52:32 AM
How did you like Agrippina (Gardiner)?



I have not had the chance to get to Agrippina yet, but Tolomeo and Rodelinda were excellent ...

DarkAngel

#473
Quote from: DarkAngel on June 25, 2009, 05:47:42 AM
My Handel new arrivals include:


Although Rene Jacobs has a limited Handel recording list so far, he is quickly becoming my conductor of choice for Handel!
I commented previously here about how much I loved his Saul which caused me to sell the very highly rated McCreesh/Archiv version. His Cesare/HM is also very highly rated, but I have not heard that version.........yet
(if I were to purchase a Cesare today I would get the Jacobs/HM even though strong competion from Minkowski/Archiv, I have the DVD with Christie to hold me over)

The Rinaldo if anything is even more impressive, little for me to critique so I will extol its many virtues.
Rinaldo was the first Italian opera Handel composed after moving to London where he remained the rest of his life. As typical of baroque opera complex plot with sorcery, magic gardens, assumed idenities etc but basically details the trails and tribulations of the knight named Rinaldo who fought in the battle for Christians to take the city of Jerusalem.

Musically you will be delighted to hear Moorish themes in the music and several harpsicord solo cadenzas during the opera. Rinaldo is sung by Vivica Genaux (who is known for her castrati roles) and female character Almirena by Miah Persson who has made quite a splash with her recent Mozart work. Fortuantely the Italian style is still firmly in place and we have many exciting arias with ornamented sections freely used, the orchestra plays with great passion and drama with very rich recitativio sections. Sound quality from Harmonia Mundi could hardly be better and Jacobs keeps everything moving along with expert dramatic flair.

The wonderful packaging from Harmonia Mundi deserves special mention, you get thick hinged outer box with artwork (not just thin slip cover) Inside a very thick booklet and a beautiful 3 panel digipak to hold the 3 CDs with wonderful artwork, a first class package all the way!

Coopmv

Quote from: DarkAngel on July 05, 2009, 08:34:06 AM
Although Rene Jacobs has a limited Handel recording list so far, he is quickly becoming my conductor of choice for Handel!
I commented previously here about how much I loved his Saul which caused me to sell the very highly rated McCreesh/Archiv version. His Cesare/HM is also very highly rated, but I have not heard that version.........yet

The Rinaldo if anything is even more impressive, little for me to critique so I will extol its many virtues.
Rinaldo was the first Italian opera Handel composed after moving to London where he remained the rest of his life. As typical of baroque opera complex plot with sorcery, magic gardens, assumed idenities etc but basically details the trails and tribulations of the knight named Rinaldo who fought in the battle for Christians to take the city of Jerusalem.

Musically you will be delighted to hear Moorish themes in the music and a harpsicord solo cadenza during the opera. Rinaldo is sung by Vivica Genaux (who is known for her castrati roles) and female lead character Almirena by Miah Persson who has made quite a splash with her recent Mozart work. Fortuantely the Italian style is still firmly in place and we have many exciting arias with ornamented sections freely used, the orchestra plays with great passion and drama with very rich recitativio sections. Sound quality from Harmonia Mundi could hardly be better and Jacobs keeps everything moving along with expert dramatic flair.

The wonderful packaging from Harmonia Mundi deserves special mention, you get thick hinged outer box with artwork (not just thin slip cover) Inside a very thick booklet and a beautiful 4 panel digipak to hold the 3 CDs with wonderful artwork, a first class package all the way!

I prefer this Rinaldo by Christopher Hogwood and have never liked Renee Jacobs as a soloist ...




Bulldog

Quote from: Coopmv on July 05, 2009, 08:51:17 AM
I prefer this Rinaldo by Christopher Hogwood and have never liked Renee Jacobs as a soloist ...





That's not relevant since Jacobs only conducts in his recording of Rinaldo.  Of course, you already know this, so why bring up your opinion of his vocal capabilities?

Coopmv

Quote from: Bulldog on July 05, 2009, 08:56:37 AM
That's not relevant since Jacobs only conducts in his recording of Rinaldo.  Of course, you already know this, so why bring up your opinion of his vocal capabilities?

It is highly relevant since I do not like him as a soloist, it is quite unlikely I will buy a CD with him conducting either.  I am entitled to my opinion ...

The new erato

Quote from: Coopmv on July 05, 2009, 09:03:57 AM
It is highly relevant since I do not like him as a soloist, it is quite unlikely I will buy a CD with him conducting either.  I am entitled to my opinion ...
Of course you are. But we are entitled to see the lack of relevance here as well. Horowitz reputedly was a bad singer as well, doesn't mean he couldn't play the piano. You are missing out on one of my two baroque conducting heroes. You remember my advice on the other one, Minkowski (whos La Ressurezione probably is my favorite recording of a Handel oratorio)? 

Coopmv

Quote from: erato on July 05, 2009, 09:19:22 AM
Of course you are. But we are entitled to see the lack of relevance here as well. Horowitz reputedly was a bad singer as well, doesn't mean he couldn't play the piano. You are missing out on one of my two baroque conducting heroes. You remember my advice on the other one, Minkowski (whos La Ressurezione probably is my favorite recording of a Handel oratorio)? 

But did Horowitz ever release any recordings that featured him as a singer instead of a pianist?  Anything that is not in the public record (i.e. like a released recording) clearly does not count.  I have a good number of CD's featuring Pinnock and Hogwood as soloists.  Had I not liked them as conductors, I probably would not have bought those CD's.  I still have not made up my mind if I actually like Minkowski, even though I have recently bought a number of his CD's.  OTOH, I enjoyed the Handel's operas conducted by Alan Curtis.  But then I already have a good number of harpichord recordings by him that I have truly enjoyed over the years.

DarkAngel

#479
If you want to hear what makes Jacobs/HM Rinaldo so special:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djJNBBLkumA

The brass fanfares are beautifully done and have wonderful 3D staging effect when listening on your home stereo.
Genaux does have a touch of vibrato/boxiness to her vocals, but that is part of what gives her the darker tonal pallate.
Listen to the vocal interplay between Vivica and the brass section, absolutely wonderful stuff that can make you a Handel opera fanatic.

Her ability to freely ornament the repeated aria sections (3:30-4:30 in sample) is why she is in high demand for baroque castrati roles, do not hesitate to get this Rinaldo if you have any interest in Handel's Italian operas..............