Customer Reviews

Handel - Ariodante / von Otter, Dawson, Cangemi, Podles, Croft, Sedov, Coadou, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Ariodante" is one of Handel's finest scores (with the possible exception of "Giulio Cesare"). Of the four recordings available, this is unquestionably the best. The singing is phenominal, with von Otter rivaling the legendary Dame Janet Baker for masculinity of timbre and vividness of interpretation. Listen to her daringly slow "Scherza infida" and you will finally understand the power of Handel's dramatic genius. Minkowski is nothing less than inspired throughout. Yes, he pushes his singers and orchestra to their limits, but always to telling effect. Listening to this recording in one sitting I was in awe of Minkowski's mastery of musical and overall dramatic structure. Next to this McGegan's celebrated set sounds dull and bland. (It now sits on my shelf collecting dust!) I have studied "Ariodante" for years and have been involved in two staged productions, so I know this score intimately. Minkowski's rendition is one of the great recordings of this Handel opera, or any other I have heard. This "Ariodante" is a classic!

"Ariodante" (1735) was intended for some of the leading performers of Handel's time. Stiff competition from Nicola Porpora and the threat of bankruptcy `forced' Handel to write works of higher quality for the first time since the Big Three: "Giulio Cesare" (1724), "Tamerlano" (1724) and "Rodelinda" (1725).

Two things make "Ariodante" and its sister opera "Alcina" (1735) exceptional: 1. singers of the four major voice categories (i.e. soprano, alto, tenor and bass). Often Handel operas do without low male voices, e.g. "Teseo" (1713) and "Amadigi" (1715). 2. the services of the notorious French ballerina Mlle. Salle and her ballet troupe.

The instrumentation of "Ariodante" is not as grand as in "Giulio Cesare", "Rinaldo" (1711) or "Teseo" which are designed to make a splash and to ravish the senses. In "Ariodante" the orchestra is `down-scaled' to strings, oboes, horns and continuo - a trumpet also appears when Ginevra is vindicated. Handel utilises the orchestra in such a way that the sound world varies from one aria to the next to capture the right mood to reflect and propel the drama.

Minkowski is onto something great with his version - and what an inspired reading it is! He keeps the drama moving at a fast pace (maybe too fast sometimes, like Dalinda's final aria). It's hard to believe it, but the singers and wonderful orchestra keep up with him in this live recording.

Minkowski has Anna Sofie von Otter as Ariodante, the role created for the talented castrato Cusanino. Handel wrote exceptionally demanding and expansive coloratura arias for Cusanino (see Teseo's arias in "Arianna in Creta"). Von Otter sings with a clinical precision that can be hard to listen to at times and her already androgynous voice does not lend much appeal to her interpretation; like Fischer-Dieskau she tries to colour every note and syllable to make it more meaningful - too much spice is just as undesirable as too little - but she sings the zipping coloratura of the first version of "Con l'ali" with unequalled skill! For me "Scherza infida" suffers the most from her overbearing colouration of the vocal line, and "Dopo notte" does not touch Janet Baker's first exulted recording. Nonetheless, I think few mezzos today can equal von Otter in this repertoire.

The Ginevra, Lynne Dawson, delivers an uneven performance. In moments Dawson's singing can be exquisite and in others painful. She does have a very beautiful voice, but at times she sounds strained. The demands placed on Anna Strada del Po, who first created this role, seem unreasonable at first - until you listen to Edith Mathis do justice to this role on the Leppard set.

Veronica Cangemi sings Dalinda. Her runs are delivered at a cracking pace - and one wishes sometimes that Minkowski had given her more breathing space, literally and figuratively. Even in the more reflective moments her character comes off like Blondchen on 78 speed. But she delivers the goods at all times.

Ewa Podles sings ("sings" being the understatement of the century) Polinesso. Nothing can quite describe how Podles transforms Polinesso's less spectacular music into something special. She delivers the most outstanding performance on this recording, turning every aria into a Gala Event! No words can convey the talents of Podles: coloratura, high notes, low notes, long phrases - none holds any terror for this incredible ARTIST. Perfect diction, perfect colouration of the vocal line without resorting to ham effects make it a complete mystery why this underrated singer is not more widely recorded.

Richard Croft as Lurcanio has the least interesting character next to Odoardo in this opera, but he brings Lurcanio to life in his arias. Croft's "Il tuo sangue" is probably one of the most exciting recorded Handel arias ever.

Denis Sedov as the The King has a beautiful, full and flexible bass voice. He has a few stunning arias, and he delivers a very fine performance.

"Ariodante" can really be seen as Handel's "Cosi". In both operas the focus is on the emotional turmoil of the characters and not the social implications of their actions. Two moments stand out here: the sinfonia introducing Act 2 and the first Ariodante/Ginevra duet. The King interrupts them before they can continue with the da capo!

"Ariodante" is not just pretty music. Handel was always ahead of his contemporaries: in "Io ti bacio" Ginevra leaves her father to await execution. The introduction consists of four notes in the continuo. Then the violins alone accompany the vocal line in unison until all the instruments join in harmony on a Neapolitan chord - the 18th century chord to convey great despair. Most revolutionary is the second Act ending with an accompanied recitative to reflect Ginevra's madness - in the Baroque era this is unheard of. Then there is the intimate Lurcanio/Dalinda duet which starts of as an aria for Lurcanio, but when you expect the B section to start Dalinda joins, and what magic, what bliss, when their voices unexpectedly unite in harmony at the end with the tenor singing a 3rd above the soprano - very Puccini! Mozart is said to have remarked: "Handel understands effect better than any of us - when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt..."

I cannot resist mentioning the consecutive arias: Ginevra's "Volate amore"; The King's "Voli colla sua tromba" and Ariodante's "Con l'ali di costanza" which caused Burney to complain of Act 1 having nothing but "wings and flying"!

In closing: "Ariodante" appeals to our human and romantic nature, and unlike "Lotario" does not deal with the fate of nations, but rather the emotions of the individual. All these factors, and I wager the reduced orchestra, make us focus on the dark, distressing and mysterious atmosphere which pervades over this opera and its characters, an atmosphere perhaps only equalled in Wagner's "Lohengrin". I look forward to Minkowski's reading of "Arianna in Creta".

This review is a bit of an addendum to the one I wrote about the McGegan Ariodante. How lucky we are to have both his and Minkowski's superb recordings, so different yet both alive with vocal and dramatic excitement.

I've mentioned that I choose McGegan over Minkowski and it is for a number of reasons. That said, I feel that both are really excellent and either is a good choice. My main reservation about this set concerns the conducting. The tempos are all so extreme - on the one hand, Scherza Infida is so slow as to almost cripple poor von Otter (she's a good enough artist to get through - but it's a real challenge for the listener). Then on the other hand, much of the dance music and many of the arias (poor Veronica Cangemi in Dalinda's Act 1 number!) is taken at very, very high speed. The sound made by the Musiciens du Louvre is vibrant and alive but lacks the refinement and beauty of McGegan's orchestra. Minkowski is liberal - sometimes to a fault - with ornaments, and I feel that occasionally less would be so much more.

Fewer reservations about the singing. Von Otter is a wonderful hero, full and radiant of voice, rock-solid and exciting of technique. If she made just a little more of the words she would be the Ariodante of our time. Dawson's Ginevra has been highly praised here and elsewhere and whilst she sings most beautifully and with bags of feeling, I (heretic that I am!) find her range of vocal colour just a bit limited. Cangemi's voice is accurate but thin, whilst thin is never a term that could be applied to Podles' mighty contralto. She's not a subtle singing actress, but the sheer power and security of her singing is what impresses. Croft is certainly an improvement on his Harmonia Mundi counterpart.

A very, very good recording that for me isn't quite the equal of its main rival, but certainly wouldn't disappoint any Handel lover. Five stars, and no mistake.

"Ariodante" (1735) was intended for some of the leading performers of Handel's time. Stiff competition from Nicola Porpora and the threat of bankruptcy `forced' Handel to write works of higher quality for the first time since the Big Three: "Giulio Cesare" (1724), "Tamerlano" (1724) and "Rodelinda" (1725).

Two things make "Ariodante" and its sister opera "Alcina" (1735) exceptional: 1. singers of the four major voice categories (i.e. soprano, alto, tenor and bass). Often Handel operas do without low male voices, e.g. "Teseo" (1713) and "Amadigi" (1715). 2. the services of the notorious French ballerina Mlle. Salle and her ballet troupe.

The instrumentation of "Ariodante" is not as grand as in "Giulio Cesare", "Rinaldo" (1711) or "Teseo" which are designed to make a splash and to ravish the senses. In "Ariodante" the orchestra is `down-scaled' to strings, oboes, horns and continuo - a trumpet also appears when Ginevra is vindicated. Handel utilises the orchestra in such a way that the sound world varies from one aria to the next to capture the right mood to reflect and propel the drama.

Minkowski is onto something great with his version - and what an inspired reading it is! He keeps the drama moving at a fast pace (maybe too fast sometimes, like Dalinda's final aria). It's hard to believe it, but the singers and wonderful orchestra keep up with him in this live recording.

Minkowski has Anna Sofie von Otter as Ariodante, the role created for the talented castrato Cusanino. Handel wrote exceptionally demanding and expansive coloratura arias for Cusanino (see Teseo's arias in "Arianna in Creta"). Von Otter sings with a clinical precision that can be hard to listen to at times and her already androgynous voice does not lend much appeal to her interpretation; like Fischer-Dieskau she tries to colour every note and syllable to make it more meaningful - too much spice is just as undesirable as too little - but she sings the zipping coloratura of the first version of "Con l'ali" with unequalled skill! For me "Scherza infida" suffers the most from her overbearing colouration of the vocal line, and "Dopo notte" does not touch Janet Baker's first exulted recording. Nonetheless, I think few mezzos today can equal von Otter in this repertoire.

The Ginevra, Lynne Dawson, delivers an uneven performance. In moments Dawson's singing can be exquisite and in others painful. She does have a very beautiful voice, but at times she sounds strained. The demands placed on Anna Strada del Po, who first created this role, seem unreasonable at first - until you listen to Edith Mathis do justice to this role on the Leppard set.

Veronica Cangemi sings Dalinda. Her runs are delivered at a cracking pace - and one wishes sometimes that Minkowski had given her more breathing space, literally and figuratively. Even in the more reflective moments her character comes off like Blondchen on 78 speed. But she delivers the goods at all times.

Ewa Podles sings ("sings" being the understatement of the century) Polinesso. Nothing can quite describe how Podles transforms Polinesso's less spectacular music into something special. She delivers the most outstanding performance on this recording, turning every aria into a Gala Event! No words can convey the talents of Podles: coloratura, high notes, low notes, long phrases - none holds any terror for this incredible ARTIST. Perfect diction, perfect colouration of the vocal line without resorting to ham effects make it a complete mystery why this underrated singer is not more widely recorded.

Richard Croft as Lurcanio has the least interesting character next to Odoardo in this opera, but he brings Lurcanio to life in his arias. Croft's "Il tuo sangue" is probably one of the most exciting recorded Handel arias ever.

Denis Sedov as the The King has a beautiful, full and flexible bass voice. He has a few stunning arias, and he delivers a very fine performance.

"Ariodante" can really be seen as Handel's "Cosi". In both operas the focus is on the emotional turmoil of the characters and not the social implications of their actions. Two moments stand out here: the sinfonia introducing Act 2 and the first Ariodante/Ginevra duet. The King interrupts them before they can continue with the da capo!

"Ariodante" is not just pretty music. Handel was always ahead of his contemporaries: in "Io ti bacio" Ginevra leaves her father to await execution. The introduction consists of four notes in the continuo. Then the violins alone accompany the vocal line in unison until all the instruments join in harmony on a Neapolitan chord - the 18th century chord to convey great despair. Most revolutionary is the second Act ending with an accompanied recitative to reflect Ginevra's madness - in the Baroque era this is unheard of. Then there is the intimate Lurcanio/Dalinda duet which starts of as an aria for Lurcanio, but when you expect the B section to start Dalinda joins, and what magic, what bliss, when their voices unexpectedly unite in harmony at the end with the tenor singing a 3rd above the soprano - very Puccini! Mozart is said to have remarked: "Handel understands effect better than any of us - when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt..."

I cannot resist mentioning the consecutive arias: Ginevra's "Volate amore"; The King's "Voli colla sua tromba" and Ariodante's "Con l'ali di costanza" which caused Burney to complain of Act 1 having nothing but "wings and flying"!

In closing: "Ariodante" appeals to our human and romantic nature, and unlike "Lotario" does not deal with the fate of nations, but rather the emotions of the individual. All these factors, and I wager the reduced orchestra, make us focus on the dark, distressing and mysterious atmosphere which pervades over this opera and its characters, an atmosphere perhaps only equalled in Wagner's "Lohengrin". I look forward to Minkowski's reading of "Arianna in Creta".

This is a historic recording in every respect.
Before this recording many people thought that Händel operas were all the same and mostly un-dramatic. Minkowski definitely changed this with an extremely dramatic recording. Never before we heard these extreme emotions and tempos in a Händel opera. In 1998, when the recording appeared, there were mixed reactions.
Gramophone preferred the McGegan, because Minkowski was 'over the top', but on the European continent most reviewers recognized the importance and were baffled: the French magazine 'Diapason' even attributed a 'Diapason du siècle', this means that for them this was a recording of the century.
Even now, some people still prefer the McGegan which I can not understand. Just compare the beginning of the ouverture, and you hear that Minkowski enters the drama, he gets into the music. With McGegan it's just another lovely tune in the gallant Baroque style, but this is an opera=drama! In the second part of the ouverture Minkowski has 'drive', McGegan's version already falls flat. I won't go futher into McGegan's singers, which are honorable, but can't excel in the sort of routine direction he offers. Let's concentrate on Minkowski's cast: Lynne Dawson is a definitive Ginevra. Even Gramophone said she was 'the Händel soprano of this moment' and indeed: what a beautiful voice, what technical assurance! Listen to the first act 'volate amori', and you understand what they mean by a Händel prima donna. Ecstasy in every note, the bride is extremely happy at that point, not aware of what is ahead of her.
I am normally not a big fan of Von Otter, but here she is perfectly in place. Every line she sings is heartfelt and meant. On top of that you get the bravoura e.g. in the third act 'Dopo notte', which is really liberating after all the dramatic events that preceded.
The emotional climax of this recording is 'Scherza infida' where the music almost comes to a stand-still. It's really revolutionary to go to these extremes of tempo and dynamics and it is breath-taking.
Ewa Podles is a wicked Polinesso, no pleasant voice but very convincing. And the range of her voice is simply unbelievable, listen to 'Dover, giustizia, amor' in the 3rd act and marvel. Denis Sedov was very young at the time of the recording, but what a noble king! He has the greatest entrance : he interrups the da capo of the Ginevra-Ariodante duet 'prendi da questa mano' with a great line 'Non vi turbato, bell'alma innamorate' which can not sound more lovingly parental. Veronica Cangemi and Richard Croft conclude the cast of first-rate singers and the fact alone that they can keep up with Minkowski's extreme tempos is admirable.
I own over 50 Händel opera and oratorium recordings, and this is definitively one of my favorites (others are Nelson's Semele, Christie's Orlando and Hickox' Alcina). It is certainly the one I admire most, because everything is right.
But you must see a Händel opera as drama, and not just a chain of beautiful tunes ...

IMHO, the negative comments of some about "Scherza infida" and the tempi of many arias are dead wrong. The greatness of this production is due to its tremendous sensitivity to the dramatic possibilities of each aria. You never feel that any of the great arias of Act 2 and 3 are static. Nor do you ever feel that the Da Capo offers the same experience as the aria's beginning. The singers and accompaniment seize on every nuance, varying the intensity and focus of the emotions by modulating emphasis, intonation, loudness, tempo, pauses, & balance with the orchestra, so that the entire aria is an unfolding of the emotions.
To me, Minkowski's "Scherza infida" is an overpowering expression of a simply crushed young man thrown down in a moment from the height of his youthful idealism and romantic passion on the eve of his wedding. Ariodante's joyful aria (Dopo notte) and duet in Act 3 are also thrillingly emotional. (And the balance of the voices is perfect in all of the duets.)
It's definitely worth listening to this with libretto in hand, since the singing and acting is so lovingly matched to the word. And this is true of every role!

I consider this recording to be one of the best opera recordings ever made! We are talking sheer perfection, even though it's a live recording. What Minkowski does with this opera by Handel is just fantastic! This is what opera should be like. The singers and the orchestra does it so extremely well. It's dramatic, it's romantic, it's beautiful! I consider this music to be what we else call early romantic music. Listen for yourself and discover a world that you won't leave for a while!

This is not only the best recording of an Handel opera on CD but also one of the best recordigns of all time. The cast shines in general, but above all Anne Sophie von Otter and Lynne Dawson, the second one the best Ginevra ever recorded. Ewa Podles is also a very impressive Polinesso. Les Musiciens du Louvre play some of the most extraordinary soundigns ever produced by a baroque orchestra. I still love the McGeggan version with the 'divina' Lorraine Hunt, but I won't exitate to advice this one, under Minkowsky strong direction, as a first choice!

I first heard this recording in LA on the Friday night radio opera program. I have seldom, if ever, heard such a perfect performance. All of the singers' voices are perfectly suited to their roles, never shunning the trills or the sixteenth notes---the orchestra and direction are magnificent.

Make no mistake--this is no Messiah. It has the lyricism, passion and thrilling appogiaturas of the grandest of operas. It is currently my favorite recording (disc 2 in particular---Anne Sophie is incomparable in her rendition of "Scherza infida.") If more than a five-star rating were possible, this recording deserves the highest. A somewhat expensive three-disc set, but worth it.

This recording was made at a concert performance during a tour of Les Musiciens du Louvre in several cities in France, Belgium and Holland, and they just brought the house down. Minkowski's ability to bring baroque opera to life is probably unmatched at the moment. As much as I like Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, I find Van Otter's interpretation better (her "Scherza infida" is heartbreaking !). And what makes this recording so special is the brilliant idea of casting Podles as the villain Polinesso opposite Van Otter's "goody" Ariodante : the contrast between both voices works extremely well and contributes greatly to the drama. The rest of the cast is also irreprochable : Dawson's soprano is just exquisite in Handel's music (she proved it again this year in a performance of "Hercules", also directed by Minkowski), and so is Croft's elegant tenor.