Ian Bostridge - Great Handel

George Frideric Handel (Composer), Harry Bicket (Conductor), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Orchestra), Ian Bostridge (Performer), Kate Royal (Performer), Sally Jackson (Performer), Lisa Beznosiuk (Performer), Steven Devine (Performer), Anthony Robson (Performer), Richard Earle (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Ian Bostridge, Kate Royal, Sally Jackson, Lisa Beznosiuk, Steven Devine, et al.
• Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
• Conductor: Harry Bicket
• Composer: George Frideric Handel
• Audio CD (July 17, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000PFU9LK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,194 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #89 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Historical Periods > Baroque (c.1600-1750)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Great Handel Tenors, July 20, 2007

By 

R. Rolland "GW Fan" (Benson, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ian Bostridge - Great Handel (Audio CD)

Just when the torrent of Handel recitals seemed to have slowed, we get two great tenor recitals in less than a month. Mark Padmore and Ian Bostridge double up on only a few airs - Where'er you walk, Total eclipse, As steals the morn, Waft her, angels. Padmore is more dramatic, with longer scenes; Bostridge more lyrical. I usually listen to them back to back, but if I only have time for one, it is the Bostridge that gets chosen. His "Waft her, angels" pierces the heart.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a voice teacher and early music fan, September 1, 2007

By 

George Peabody "Ariel" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ian Bostridge - Great Handel (Audio CD)

SOMETIMES DEVOTIONAL, ALWAYS EMOTIONAL, BUT MOSTLY SENSATIONAL!!

"Handel is the GREATEST composer who ever lived. I would bare my head and kneel at his grave." Thus said the great Beethoven.

The repertoire on this album is from both Handel's famous operas and oratorios, some of which were written for castrati. Ian Bostridge says that his aim is to put the spotlight back on the Handel tenor with the making of this album, while he also attempts to represent with the program, Handel's ability to recreate himself while remaining essentially the same. Handel has long been identified with great Choral Music, in part, and mostly with 'The Messiah'. Without diminishing the power of his traditional work, informed opinion lately has come to the true heart of his greatness: Opera.

Ian Bostridge, accompanied by the sublime Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, takes on a selection of arias and airs (and two duets) from Handel's operas and oratorios. He embraces these excerpts with equal parts grace, as in the lovely 'Ombra Mai Fu' and gives due strength to 'Scherzo infido' from 'Arodante'; and reminds us that great roles in late Baroque opera weren't confined to countertenors.

I have always been attracted to the sound of Bostridge's voice, and his singing is manufactured from a very intelligent mind, and a musical sensitivity that is rare in many singers. But in the past 10 years his voice has deepened and grown and I think he has attained the perfection for which he was striving. I have really never heard the much sung 'Where'er you walk' performed with such incredible emotion and feeling. Even the very fine tenor John Aler,who sang the song in the outstanding award-winning opera 'Semele', really does not match Bostridge's renditon on this disc. The entire album is superior, as is the Mark Padmore album that was just released. There are a few songs that are the same, but that in no way interferes with your enjoyment of both of them. Two fine tenors, each doing their own wonderful interpretation. I could not live without either of the them; my ears would curl up and die!!!!!

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bostridge in best form in Handel arias, July 17, 2007

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ian Bostridge - Great Handel (Audio CD)

I get the feeling that Amazon has given up providing official (paid for) reviews, so buyers won't be told that this colleciton of Handel from Ian Bostridge selects from Ariodante, Acis and Galatea, Samson, Jephtha, L'allegro e il penserosso, Semele, and of course, Messiah. The singer's voice has darkened since its fragile, willowy early days, and even though there are still a few holdouts like me who cannot abide its eccentric reedy timbre, there is no doubt about Bostridge's artistry. Here he gets good period accompaniment from the famous Age of Enlighenment orchestra (zingy strings, no vibrato), although the conducting is notably sluggish at points. The singer avoids his often excessive underlining and over-acting, so all in all one must call this CD one of his best recent outings.