Customer Reviews

Handel - Rinaldo / Bartoli, Daniels, AAM, Hogwood

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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.

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.

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.

HIGHLY DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE OF 'RINALDO' ON THIS DISC.

Of George Frederick Handel of England, born Georg Friedrich Handel of Germany, an English critic wrote,"He did bestride our musical world like a Colossus." He was 18 when his Father died, thus allowing him to drop the Law mandated by his father, and turn to music which was his first love. After serving several apprenticeships in various places, including the Hamburg Opera, he went to Italy (1706), and for three years he absorbed Italian music, which powerfully influenced his own writing. It is not known for certain what prompted him to make London his home, but nevertheless, in 1720 he went there, and for 10 years contributed musically to England. And so the international German who wrote like an Italian became a naturalized Englishman in 1726, though he never lost his German accent.

The first opera Handel produced for London, and the first Italian opera specifically composed for London stage- was 'Rinaldo',which opened at the Queen's (later King's) Theatre in the Haymarket on Feb.24,1711. Giocomo Rossi wrote the libretto for 'Rinaldo' loosely based on episodes from Torquato's epic poem 'Gerusalemme liberta', a fantastically elaborated account of the First Crusade(1096-99) in which Tasso describes how Christian forces led by Godfrey of Bouillon captured the city of Jerusalem from Muslim rule. Handel partially ensured the success of the music by drawing much of it from the best works he had written earlier in Italy. There is , however, plenty of freshly composed music in the score as well. Handel, taking advantage of the many skilled instrumentalists available in London, used a wide variety of them to create a wonderful range of orchestral color.

The emotional depth which this music brings to the characters is no less striking, and is especially apparent in the role of Armida (Luba Orgonasova) first of a line of Handelian sorceresses, whose propensity for evil is conquered by true love. Rinaldo's (David Daniels) own aria of lament in Act 1,'Cara Sposa', is even more intense, and who can sing this better than Daniels?This particular role suits him so well; not only does he sound good, he also projects the characterization of a true mercenary. Almarena's(Cecelia Bartoli) charm comes strongly to the fore in her birdsong aria 'Augelleti' and in 'Bel Piacere' which she sings at breakneck tempo; magnificently, of course! The aria (also sung by Almarena)'Lascia ch'io pianga' is a wonderful example of Handel's ability to convey a sense of despair with the simplest of means.

In addition to the singers mentioned above, there are several others of equal ability:Bernarda Fink as Goffredo-Daniel Taylor as Eustazio and Gerald Finley as Argante. If that line-up doesn't convince you to hear this recording, nothing well!

Having been uncomplimentary about Christopher Hogwood's forays into the early Classical epoque, I am more than happy to acknowledge his success here in the Fach that suits him and his theories.

This recording is certainly starrier and dramatically more involving than Jean-Clause Malgoire's earlier, pioneering version and it is hard to imagine a better assembly of voices in the major roles if want wants to avoid the pallid breathiness that afflicts some Baroque performances. These are, after all, generally large voices used to commanding an operatic stage and David Daniels' warm, agile counter-tenor represents the best compromise possible in an age mercifully devoid of castrati. He is capable of sustaining a long line in "Cara sposa" but also despatches "Venti, turbini" with élan.

I know from hearing her live that Bartoli's voice is not huge but of course she is a byword for vocal fireworks and affecting plangency - and she blends very well with Daniels. Her detractors accuse her of having only two modes: winsome, breathy pathos and gargling coloratura excess but I find that she is reasonably restrained here without being inert. I wonder how she might have fared as Armida but that speculation is otiose as we have the big, velvety yet flexible soprano of Luba Organasova singing that role very satisfactorily.

Gerald Finley injects a welcome, virile bravura into his mainly martial, blustery arias, Bernarda Fink deploys her gorgeous, mezzo affectingly as Goffredo and Bejun Mehta compensates for Daniel Taylor's dull performance of Eustazio - in any case, a dull role - by injecting life and vocal allure into his cameo as the Sorcerer.

Hogwood's musicians are accomplished and musical, despite the prevalence of the "squeezebox" effect which suits Handel and lends a period charm to this, his first Italian opera for London.

The story of Rinaldo and Armida is not an unfamiliar one to fans of baroque and Classical era opera. Lully, Gluck, Jommelli, Salieri, Sarti, and Haydn all set in one form or another, along with more composers than one will ever know. Handel's version differs slightly, especially when compared to Quinault's libretto, which was set by both Lully and Gluck. That opera, if comparable to anything, is closer to 'Dido and Aeneas' than it is to 'Rinaldo'. Indeed, if one were tempted to compare Handel's opera on the subject, they would find far more similarities in Lully's 'Thésée'. In both cases, there is a pair of lovers, Almirena and Rinaldo in Handel's opera, Aeglé and Thésée in Lully's, whom are threatened by a sorceress whom is in love with the title character, Armida and Médée respectively. Anyway, both spirit away the lovers, threaten them, and, in the end, all ends well. Anyway, the Academy of Ancient Music is as good as always, playing with both precision and life, something which doesn't always happen with every group. Bartoli is excellent in her role as Almirena, and Daniels and the other soloists seem to know how to perform this repertoire as well.

The opera «Rinado» (1711) by Georg Friedrich Händel is a masterwork where the warrior spirit flows along its pages. The countertenor David Daniels as Rinaldo sings in outstanding way. He seems really a singer warrior; his aria «Or la tromba in suon festante» in the Act III yields feelings of battle in anybody: it's the best heroic aria that I have heard from an opera by Händel. Cecilia Bartoli as Almirena is wonderful; her arias «Combatti da forte» and «Lascia ch'io pianga» are masterworks of her voice; Bernarda Fink as Goffredo displays a great power in the arias«Solo dal brando» and «Sovra balze scoscese e pungenti»; Gerald Finley as Argante sounds sensual, in spite of he is a bass; you can have a proof of that in the aria «Basta che sol tu chieda», where the woe because of a no reciprocal love makes this character noble and you can feel identified with him in many ways; The countertenor Daniel Taylor as Eustazio has a wonderful voice: The aria «Sol la ruota di fortuna» is superb an you can feel like in heavens; Bejun Mehta as the «mago cristiano» has a powerful voice: The aria «Andate o forti fra straggi e morti» yields courage at you; Luba Orgonasova as Armida has many talent, too. Without doubt, it's one of the best performance that I have bought. I recommend this CD set!

I've enjoyed this opera very much, the singing is first rate and the music is of enormeous beauty
The singers chosen here all have distinctive timbres and that makes it easier on the ear as opposed to 2 sopranos who sound the same, 2 countertenors who sound the same, etc.
Cecilia does an amazing job at conveying fragility and loveliness, and Daniels is sublime in his "Cara Sposa", it is a wonderful recording and a treasure.

I really cannot agree with other reviewers who raved about this performance.
I think the major drawback is three-fold:
(1) the conducting;
(2) the protagonist Bartoli; and
(3) the protagonist Daniels.
As for the goodies, I'd mention first and foremost the pitch perfect, tone perfect, diction perfect, interpretation perfect performance of Luba Orgonasova, one of the foremost coloratura sopranos of the early 21st century.
Her Armida is about the only 'shine' in this performance. And Gerald Finley's Argante matches up to her almost 95% of the time, hence this supporting pair really saved an otherwise lackluster performance. Other adequate performances come primarily from Mehta and Taylor, with Bernanda Fink to a lessor extent. So you see - ALL the BIG names are NOT on par with the lessor names.
It is time to STOP believing in big names, perhaps.
Cecilia Bartoli's Almirena is a joke - a dry-voiced, husky mezzo-soprano, no way comparable to Miah Pierrson for Rene Jacobs, though Pierrson isn't the perfect Almirena, either. Bartoli's 'Lascio chi'o pianga' is pathetically 'under' - it is undramatic, unlyrical, and quite flat.
Then the title role of David Daniels. Again, it is high time to wake up from that absurd dream of trying to equate a castrato with a countertenor. Daniels is a good singer, with perfect technique. There is absolutely nothing to fault his performance here - except that - and a BIG exception it is - his timber.
His voice is apt for sacred repertoire or the tragic roles. NOT a heroic role like Rinaldo. It is a mockery of the highest order to thus miscast the hero of Handel's opera.