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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gorgeous revelation, January 18, 2004
This review is from: Hasse - Cleofide / Kirkby, Mellon, Wong, Ragin, Visse, Cordier, Cappella Coloniensis, Christie (Audio CD)
Cleofide has long been one of my favourite baroque operas. Unlike the previous reviewer, I'm not put off by the high voices. From the opening sinfonia to the final chorus, this is a gorgeous revelation of one magnificent, tuneful aria after another. I've been listening to this set for a decade and I've recommended it to many friends. If the only baroque opera you know is Handel or Vivaldi, add this to your collection and you won't be sorry!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A 'must have' for Baroque opera collectors!, January 9, 2005
This review is from: Hasse - Cleofide / Kirkby, Mellon, Wong, Ragin, Visse, Cordier, Cappella Coloniensis, Christie (Audio CD)
After seeing the film "Farinelli," I became interested in the music of Johann Adolf Hasse. A giant of opera in his day (alongside GF Handel and N Porpora), I was stunned to find that only one or two recordings of his music existed, and these were typically only excerpts of his religious music or a rare opera aria performed by a singer amongst a collection of arias by other composers. Until this recording by the Cappella Coloniensis... I picked it up in a budget catalog (at a discount!), and from the opening bars of the vigorous overture was entirely entranced. Critics of his day insisted that Hasse's melodies were more beautiful than Handel's, and that his command of writing music for the human voice greater than any composer in memory. The evidence is in this music. Counter-tenor Derek Lee Ragin provides one of the finest performances of his career and one of the finest in the modern counter-tenor library, making one shrug at the pleasant but restrained singing of other counter-tenors like David Daniels.Christie conducts every bar with sensitivity and mastery; Kirby, Dominque Visse and Randall K Wong provide stunning performances as well. (In fact, I had to read the libretto five times before I realized the arias credited to Wong were indeed sung by this man, and not the result of misprinted credits supposed to go to a young female soprano).
Not one aria in the recording is tiresome... each one soars with beauty and melodic grace. Of course, this is a Baroque opera. Don't look for Puccini-like dramatic moments, Verdi-esque choruses, or a rock-solid dramatic libretto. This opera was written to entertain, and to showcase the finest singers of Hasse's time... The sound of male altos and sopranos is not for every ear in the modern audience. But for any music lover eager to hear historically accurate Baroque opera, this recording is a must!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful opera, December 6, 2004
This review is from: Hasse - Cleofide / Kirkby, Mellon, Wong, Ragin, Visse, Cordier, Cappella Coloniensis, Christie (Audio CD)
As those who have read my reviews know, I am not a musician and have no technical knowledge. I love baroque vocal music, both sacred and secular. I have many Handel operas and oratorios, quite a few Vivaldi operas and sacred music, a lot of Bach and Telemann. Hasse's music ranks right up there with them, particularly this opera. It is beautiful music very very well performed. I love to listen to it. If you love baroque opera, you will too.
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