Far too often operatic recitals are vehicles to present a solo
artist in a number of standard arias. Once in a while there comes
a record with duets: Thomas Hampson has appeared with Jerry Hadley
as well as Samuel Ramey and there are others as well. However,
as far as I can recall we haven’t had a disc with two women singers
for quite some time. And when – as here – the repertoire is unhackneyed
and still highly individual and written by one of the great masters,
there is room for a hearty Bravo! Baroque opera in general
was short on ensembles. The works consisted of a string of pearls
of arias, connected by recitatives to carry the action forward.
The arias were intended to show the characters’ personality and
state of mind, but more often than not they were composed to show
off the singers’ virtuosity. Duets and other ensembles – at the
most one or two per opera – were rather ‘stale and stereotyped’,
as Simon Heighes puts it in the liner-notes to this issue. But
Handel was not just any opera composer; he was a master of the
genre and he was also able to make ensembles come alive. This
collection is ample proof.
Seventeen duets,
including some recitative and a couple of solos, from operas
that are rarely or never – well, hardly ever – performed in
the opera houses or recorded complete makes this a disc for
even well-stocked collectors. Performed by two singers well
attuned to baroque music backed up by a small instrumental
ensemble playing period instruments it makes further claims
to be heard.
Seventeen scenes
from thirteen operas, spanning almost the entire operatic
period of Handel, have been arranged ‘to form an emotional
journey of their own’. It is as good a concept as any and
it works well. The only opera that is represented with more
than one duet is Poro and those scenes are sprinkled
out over the whole recital. In other words there is no chronology
– we jump back and forth in time – but it works well.
The musical invention
is, as almost always with Handel, on the highest possible
level and one marvels anew at his ability to vary his utterances
and invest the text with meaning, and just as much his orchestrations.
The duet from Rodelinda (second part of track 3) is
one stunning example. And there is much else. The dramatic
recitative that opens the scene from Atalanta leads
seamlessly into the almost tumultuous duet – a fine example
of efficient theatricality. Even more impressive is the Orlando
excerpt, which is a masterpiece. The two characters are
clearly differentiated. Orlando is dominant and aggressive
and his coloratura tells us – and Angelica – that he is not
to tamper with. Angelica is serene and angelic. It’s a clash
of two temperaments and the ‘walking bass’ in the accompaniment
illustrates the conflict. All the music from Poro is
also extremely inspired.
Good music tends
to survive also mediocre performances while mediocre music
needs excellent performers to make impact. About this recital
there is nothing mediocre at all. There is a spring in the
step of whatever Il Complesso Barocco plays and what better
point to show that than the short – one minute only – sinfonia
to act 3 of Poro. Joyce Di Donato’s powerful and pliant
mezzo-soprano is ideally suited to travesti roles (in the
original of course written for castratos) and Patrizia Ciofi’s
lighter and brighter soprano could hardly be a better choice
for the female parts. Her calling card in this recital could
be the aria Se mai turbo il tuo riposo (tr. 11) from
Poro, elegant and nuanced with a fine trill and stylish
embellishments.
The disc is not
new. It was issued four years ago to critical acclaim and
is now reissued in a series with discs that had been recommended
by Gramophone and The Penguin Guide. I hadn’t
heard it in the original release but I fully share the two
publications’ choice. Sound quality is excellent, playing
time is generous, there are good liner-notes and we also get
the sung texts and English translations, with one exception
‘taken from the wordbooks published for early performances
of each opera in London’.
A superb disc
with baroque opera duets!
Göran Forsling
Patrizia Ciofi
(soprano); Joyce Di Donato (mezzo) 
