Customer Reviews

Handel: Admeto

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

 

 

Alan Curtis and his ensemble Il Complesso Barocco are counted today among the leading Italian proponents of historical performance practice, but this re-issue of one of Handel's most successful Italian operas was recorded in Haarlem in the Netherlands in 1977, and the musicians are, for the most part, Dutch or Belgian, many of the names being familiar from 70's and 80's recordings for labels such as Seon and Harmonia Mundi France: Lucy van Dael, Alda Stuurop, Staas Swierstra, Wouter Möller, Bruce Haynes, Danny Bond, Ab Koster, Bob van Asperen ? those are just a few of the illustrious names in the instrumental ensemble on these three Cds. It is hardly surprising that in his notes on the performance Alan Curtis states that he was proud to have assembled such a troop.

But this is opera, and of course it is the singers who are in the forefront. Things have changed quite a lot since 1977, and today this dramatic work would demand very different voices from what the pioneers of historical performance practice had available to them. In general, Handel's Italian texts are sung a lot faster today, and Curtis has his singers declaiming perhaps somewhat too deliberately (although this makes it easy to follow the text). The title figure, Admeto, is here sung by falsettist René Jacobs, whose somewhat unnatural timbre can hardly be compared with that of the castrato Senesino who originally sang this role in 1727. (Alan Curtis admits as much in his notes.) Jacobs was a great promoter of baroque singing style, and the whole early music scene owes him an incredible debt of gratitude for his opera productions over the years, but the fact remains that his voice, even if it here sounds a lot less strained than it did a few years later, could never have been in everybody's taste (to put it mildly).

The two forefront female figures, Alceste and Antigone, are sung by Rachel Yakar and Jill Gomez respectively, reflecting the original production with Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. Both have lovely but rather 'slim' voices typical of the historical performance school in the 70's but not really to be compared with some of today's Handel heroines (e. g. Natalie Dessay or Sandrine Piau, to name just two). The Handelian scheme of recitative and aria gives both of them plenty to do and chances to show off their voices in very varied moods, and in the end I would adjudge the result to be a tie.

James Bowman gives a typically mellifluous touch to Trasimede, the brother of Admeto, and the hunting air 'Se l'arco avessi, e i strali' is worthy of any Handel recording even today. Ulrik Cold, bass, as Hercules, has a vibrant, masculine quality to his voice which is a welcome change from all the sopranos and countertenors, and the scene in Hades comes over very well. Max van Egmond as Meraspe has only a comparatively minor part, but fills it extremely well, his voice here being in its zenith. The other smaller role is sung by Rita Dams, alto, who has only one aria and some shorter recitatives, but plays a decisive role in moving the action along.

Considering how old the production is, it gets good marks for sound quality. It was recorded in an empty church, which is not really an ideal context for opera, and sometimes one catches this atmosphere through a touch of echo, making it very plain that this is no theatre production. But the orchestra is spaciously captured, and the voices are placed clearly in the foreground; a few occasional noises, particularly on the second CD, do not really disturb the performance.

The booklet is, for a mid-price production, excellent, with full libretto and plenty of information. - The current Handel opera revival, supported even by non-musical figures such as the famous European crime writer Donna Leon, has progressed way beyond this 1977 production, but it is still very much worth listening to, especially at the fair price it is generally offered at.

Admeto is a most interesting opera from Handel's maturity. The recording by Alan Curtis has many fine points and features a generally strong cast of singers from the early years of recording baroque operas with period instruments. Only one thing makes it less than a pleasure to listen to. That is the singing of the title role by Rene Jacob. Unfortunately he is at his hootiest, slipping and sliding about with a featherweight tone that defies description. Since this is the only recording this piece has recieved, I hope that someone will give us another chance at this fine work. It is generally accepted that Handel himself was not overly fond of the male falsetists and used them only when he had to. They are not castrati and should not be used when a great female voice in the same range is available. This is not to denigrate the work of the current crop of quite good countertenors, however. David Daniels can sing anything he wants to and I will listen.

Many of us have only discovered in the last four or five years that Alan Curtis is the best Handel conductor of our times, but this recording, believe it or not, dates from 1977-78. As soon as one hears the overture, one knows one is in the presence of a master of Handelian music. This prophetic recording is now available in Virgin Classics' new boxed set of "Six Operas" of Handel for this Handel commemorative year, many of which are now out of print, and all of which are first-rate recordings indeed by the great Alan Curtis and his Il Complesso Barocco. Even when the soloist is not absolutely the best (like Rene Jacobs, who sings Admeto in this recording, but who later found his true calling as a great Baroque conductor), just listen to the instrumental "accompaniment" by Il Complesso Barocco, and you will never feel you are wasting a second of your time. The other soloists are absolutely first-rate, and several of them achieved "historic" performances with this recording, in view of the fact that they seem to be not much heard of later (at least to this latter-day fan of Baroque music).

This version is complete (e.g. really long), well played and thoroughly musical. Many recent historically "informed" performances strike me as unduly fast, even frenetic. This one is not--the fast arias are quick enough when they need to be. I want to take exception to the NY Times reference to the sound being raw. I couldn't disagree more. I liked my LP version of this performance and like the CD incarnation of it as well. The recording venue had enough reverb to add bloom to the sound, but not enough to be churchy and cavernous. It's good!

Rene Jacobs sounds like himself. Other reviewers call him hooty, with which I can agree, but I find his singing direct and accurate, even heroic at times. I like him.

Considerada como la mejor ópera de las cinco que escribió Handel durante el período en que rivalizaron en su compañía las prima donnas Francesca Cuzzoni y Faustina Bordoni, "Admeto, re di Tesaglia", es sin lugar a dudas un trabajo de madurez. La caracterización musical de los personajes principales, provistos de arias de gran factura y, sobretodo en el caso del rol titular, de recitativos accompagnatos de una fuerte carga dramática, prevalece por encima de un libreto no completamente sólido pero que dio al autor material para crear momentos de verdadero goce auditivo. La grabación de Curtis, pionera en la recuperación a la manera historicista de la interpretación de la música antigua, no ha perdido vigencia y se deja escuchar con verdadero placer. Con un elenco de lujo y una toma de sonido clara y bien distribuida, este es un trabajo digno de figurar en cualquier antología barroca. Jacobs y Yakar se llevan las palmas, seguidos por una brillantísima Jill Gómez, que dota a su personaje de algo más que simples malabares vocales. Il Complesso Barroco lleva su sonido ligerísimo y brillante durante toda la obra sin perder el brío que le aporta Curtis desde el podio. Un esfuerzo colectivo meritorio que, con el paso de los años, ha ganado sabor como el mejor de los vinos.

If you love Handel, you will deeply enjoy this opera. Brilliant composition, not always performed by the best voices, but one of the
best operas---ranks with Alcina, Ariodante.