Customer Reviews

Haendel: Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rinaldo Alessandrini was wise to choose this early (but fully mature) oratorio for his first Handel recording. The only other worthwhile recording with Minkowski in ERATO is now superseded in every department. Alessandrini has a superior orchestra in his fabulous Concerto Italiano who play Handel as if to the manner born. His soloists couldn't possibly be bettered: soprano Deborah York covers herself with glory in her great arias, and Gemma Bertagnolli is not too far behind. Sara Mingardo is the finest Italian mezzo since Bartoli switched to soprano and the sweet voiced tenor is a delight too. All in all, it would be VERY difficult for a better recording of Il Trionfo to come by. If you don't know this beautiful oratorio you are missing an important masterpiece.

Somewhere I ran across a reference to this work and I bought it for one reason---Sara Mingardo. (See my review to Vivaldi's Farnace.) Additionally there is also Gemma Bertagnolli, Deborah York, Nicholas Sears and Concerto Italiano directed by Rinaldo Alessandrini. In other words a fabulous all-star cast. This is not great Handel Triumphalism that one gets in his grand oratorios and operas like Semele, Radimisto and the like. It is beautiful music, beautifully presented. Take my advice. Buy anything in which Sara Mingardo or Gemma Bertagnolli sings or hopefully both of them such as Vivaldi's La Verità in Cimento. Buy anything directed by Rinaldo Alessandrini such as Vivaldi's L'Olimpiade and his Vespri per L'Assunzione di Maria Vergine. And let us thank Opus 111 for making this work available to us.

There is not a single duff piece in this early oratorio, and I cannot conceive of a better performance than it gets here (despite seeing a pretty impressive live version of it by Le Concert d'Astree last night in London). This is possibly the most glorious available recording of anything in the baroque repertoire. You can hear all the excitement that Handel must have felt on his exposure to the italian musical scene.

Buy it.

You will *not* regret it.

In common parlance, giving 5 stars to this amazing achievement of Concerto Italiano is a "no brainer." Go ahead, try to find for me a Handel vocal work performed more engagingly and so beautiful to listen to. One lovely aria performed flawlessly after another.

If I could only have one vocal Handel recording this would be it. It's no wonder that so many of these arias are slightly re-worked and find their place in Handel's future operas.

Here, you get them all and performed expertly by the singers and orchestra. The two working well together at all times.

Bravo, Mr. Alessandrini, encore!