Handel - Rinaldo / Bartoli, Daniels, AAM, Hogwood [Box set]

George Frideric Handel (Composer), Christopher Hogwood (Conductor), Academy of Ancient Music (Orchestra), Cecilia Bartoli (Performer), David Daniels (Performer), Bernarda Fink (Performer), Luba Orgonasova (Performer), Gerald Finley (Performer), Bejun Mehta (Performer), Mark Padmore (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Cecilia Bartoli, David Daniels, Bernarda Fink, Luba Orgonasova, Gerald Finley, et al.
• Orchestra: Academy of Ancient Music
• Conductor: Christopher Hogwood
• Composer: George Frideric Handel
• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00006YYJ1
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,838 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb recording of Handel's first smash hit in London in 1711, October 21, 2005

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handel - Rinaldo / Bartoli, Daniels, AAM, Hogwood (Audio CD)

It is instructive to remember that when Handel went to Italy in 1707 to further his studies of composition and to study Italian Opera, that Opera was only a century old. It had begun in Italy in the early seventeenth century and was beginning to spread to other cities and courts in Europe. Opera was still sung in Italian and continued in that language simply because the great singers were Italian and preferred singing in their own language. When the popular arias were published, they were usually done in translation and sold by the ton making the publishers, and sometimes the composers, a great deal of money.

While it is not exactly clear how and why Handel was brought to London, he soon made a name for himself with the smash hit "Rinaldo". This opera is a fantasy or fairy tale based upon the notion of the Crusade to take Jerusalem around 1100 AD as a duty of Christian faith. As in most operas, the plot is quite convoluted in order to provide the maximum opportunity for the various kinds of singing the great singers could provide. One of the interesting features of opera at this time was the notion of two contrasting styles. There was the brilliant singing of great virtuosity and then there was the slower singing of great emotion. Many people were a fan of one style or the other, and many singers specialized in one or the other. It was dazzle them or make them weep. The greatest singers could do both. This opera provides every lead character with opportunities for both styles of singing and says a lot about the quality of singers Handel had at his disposal.

Handel's operas were not sung for a long time because of another feature of Italian opera at this time: the castrati. Young boys who were brilliant singers (and remember singers were servants and often drawn from lower classes) prolonged their career by having their testicles destroyed in a variety of ways in order to keep puberty from ruining their brilliant voice. So, they not only continued to sing at the high register we nowadays associate with women (but were not so then), they also developed greater lung capacity and vocal skill. They were among the most popular and sought after singers of their time. They did not sing in falsetto like Frankie Valli, but in a very strong full voice.

In the 1920s, Handel's operas began to be revived with women singing the roles of the castrati and later a male voice we now call the counter-tenor developed. In the past few decades some very brilliant counter-tenors have come on the scene and one of the greatest, David Daniels, sings the role of Rinaldo on this recording. It is also interesting that not all male roles went to males. From the very first performance the role of the commander of the Christian forces, Goffredo, has been given to a woman and wonderfully sung by Bernarda Fink here.

So, what is the opera about? Goffredo is leading forces to take Jerusalem from the Muslims. He offers his daughter, Almirena (sung by the acclaimed Cecilia Bartoli) to Rinaldo if he will help them take the city. The Muslims are lead by Argante (the superb Gerald Finley) who uses the powers of his sorceress wife, Armida (the terrific Luba Orgonasova) to kidnap Almirena and later ensnare Rinaldo as he comes for his betrothed. In captivity, Rinaldo and Almirena sing forlornly. Armida is smitten with Rinaldo and takes on the form of Almirena to deceive Rinaldo, but he is not deceived. Argante goes after Almirena. Both hero and heroine resist the seductions. Armida again takes the form of Almirena to trap Argante in his betrayal of her.

Goffredo and his brother Eustazio (the fine Daniel Taylor) go to a Christian magician and receive magic wands with which they destroy the castle and free Rinaldo and Almirena. The fight between the forces is finally engaged and Rinaldo captures the city and wins the day. Argante and Armida flee, but are captured. She renounces her powers and they convert to the Christian faith. All ends with the usual ensemble singing about evil being defeated by virtue alone and happiness only coming to a heart with purpose.

Think about all the dramatic possibilities! Sorceress flying in the air, smoke, thunder (the thunder machines were terrific in 1711 and are used in this recording), lightning, destroying castles by magic, armies, horns, despair, pathos, heroism, and victory. The stagecraft was fantastic and was exploited to the hilt, although that is not available to us in this recording.

This is a fine opera and you will find much to enjoy. The disks come with a fine booklet that contains a good history of the opera and the libretto in Italian and English.

It was not for nothing that Beethoven called Handel the greatest composer who ever lived and that he would uncover his head and kneel down at his tomb.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handel Handled by Masters Led by a Soaring Daniels, November 22, 2004

By 

Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handel - Rinaldo / Bartoli, Daniels, AAM, Hogwood (Audio CD)

This is a magnificent recording with an absolute dream cast. Despite its historical context within the late 11th century battles between the Crusades and the Saracens, Handel's "Rinaldo", written in the early 18th century, is actually a fanciful tale of love, devotion and betrayal populated by kings and warriors, fair maidens and sorcerers. It has all the elements of a great period action movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

You need a real vocal swashbuckler in the title role, and countertenor David Daniels is ideally suited with a rarefied voice that is alternately heroic and romantic. With his stunning coloratura and dramatic intensity, it would be hard to imagine anyone better as the conflicted Christian hero Rinaldo, who can lead an entire army to take Jerusalem but still have trouble taking his true love Almirena away from the hands of evil magicians. Daniels is particularly convincing with the music that reflects his deep love for her, in particular, with Rinaldo's famous lament, "Cara sposa, amante cara, dove sei?". The beauty of his timbre really flows out of him in what seems like an effortless manner, and provides proof positive that his is a special talent. As great as he is here, Daniels actually surpassed this performance two years later in David Alden's audacious update of the opera, staged in Munich in 2001 and luckily captured on DVD two years later (also strongly recommended). While not the most ideal interpreter of Handel, superstar mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli displays her supreme technique as Almirena. Her style is famously full of dramatic fire, but one gets the sense that a more plaintive manner would be more appropriate for such a lovelorn character. I kept thinking she could have been better cast as the sorceress Armida were it as important a role. At times, her presence is so overwhelming that she singes some of the more openly yearning arias with her bravura technique and amazing range. Ironically though, she and the more delicately toned Daniels meld together perfectly on their brief duets, notably "Scherzano sul tuo volto", and she certainly delivers the goods on the sonorous "Lascia ch'io pianga", likely the most definitive recorded version on the market now.

In a "pants" role, i.e., a female playing a male, mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink convincingly plays the Christian army general Goffredo, who almost acts like the chorus for all the action. Although the role is a bit passive, she lends a beautiful tone to all her pieces. Soprano Luba Orgonasova plays Armida, a sorceress that requires a singer to convey a concurrent sense of sensuality and melodrama, especially as she seduces and then falls in love with the stalwart Rinaldo. She falls a bit short though not at the sacrifice of communicating the fury of feelings which cause her change of heart. Quite impressive is baritone Gerald Finley, who is pitch perfect and provides clear diction as Argante, the King of Jerusalem. Perhaps because his voice is so dramatically deeper than anyone else's in the cast, he fully captures the dominating presence of his character. Amazingly there are two other countertenors in this stellar cast, which just shows how versatile this voice type truly is. Bejun Mehta brings a velvety quality to his aria, "Andate, o forti, fra stragi e morti"; and Daniel Taylor, with his choirboy innocence, does as well as he can in the least interesting role of Goffredo's brother Eustazio, especially with the lovely "Siam prossimi al porto", which opens Act II.

I love how characters will sing successive couplets culminating in some amazingly dulcet tones. Sound effects of thunder and battle and even simulations of birdsongs provide effective bridges between pieces and acts. Special praise should go to conductor Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music for the authentically dramatic sound of the period instruments. This is one of Handel's great early works, and we are lucky to have it preserved in such an exemplary manner here. Make sure to reserve three hours of your time to listen to this opera in total as it should be experienced. An absolute must-have for Baroque music aficionados.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music Really Does Have Charms to Soothe the Beast, October 15, 2008

By 

Miz Ellen "all the letters of my real name" (Bovine Universe) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Handel - Rinaldo / Bartoli, Daniels, AAM, Hogwood (Audio CD)

This opera recording sounds grand. David Daniels sings the title role with both tenderness and a swagger. Bernarda Fink sings Goffredo, commander of the Christian forces. The incomparable Cecilia Bartoli sings the role of Rinaldo's betrothed -- an Almirena to die for. Daniel Taylor, Gerald Finley, Bejun Mehta, Mark Padmore -- this is a fabulous cast. I wasn't familiar with Luba Orgonasova who sings Armida, Queen of Damascus, but she's completely at home in here. The Academy of Ancient Music plays, Christopher Hogwood conducts.

Even the liner notes are a delight--a complete libretto along with the backgrounds and biography of all the performers. I love this music. I love these singers. I played this opera so much and so often that my dog, recognizing that I was immobile while this was playing, would just sack out. There are some nice "thunder effects" in one section of this. This dog was afraid of thunder but learned to sleep through the "opera thunder". This came in handy during real thunderstorms. I could slip this opera into the CD player and crank it up--my dog was instantly bored and would sleep through fireworks. I would listen to Mr. Handel's glorious music with nature's percussion overhead. Life could hardly get any better than this.