Customer Reviews

Natalie Dessay ~ Delirio (Handel Italian Cantatas)

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This is one of those albums for people who love Baroque music but who want to enter the realm of the lesser known works. Though Natalie Dessay has become a star on the opera stage, here she collaborates with Emmanuelle Haïm conducting Le Concert D'Astree in three cantatas for soprano and instruments. The result is a CD of enormous beauty and grace and one that deserves awards in every category of music making!

There are three works on this well engineered CD: 'Il Delirio Amoroso', 'Aci, Galatea e Polifemo,' 'Mi palpita il cor', and the aria 'Qui l'augel da pianta in pianta'. The recital opens with the 'Introduzione from Il Delirio Amoroso' in which Emmanuelle Haïm sets a buoyant and elegant mood for the rest of the recording. Natalie Dessay is in top form here, giving us a broader range of voice than we are used to hearing from this talented artist. She has a definite affinity for Handel and her approach to these rare works is gratifying in every way. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, March 06

French soprano Natalie Dessay has had to endure two major surgeries to remove nodes that were preventing her from fully reaching her stratospheric, two-and-a-half octave range. This supple dexterity is showcased nicely albeit briefly in her soubrettish turn as Morgana on the 2000 recording of the 1999 William Christie-conducted Paris Opera production of Handel's "Alcina". She also intertwined flawlessly with soprano Veronique Gens on "Ahi, nelle sorte umane" from the 2002 recording of Handel's Arcadian duets. Here, again under Emmanuelle Haim's direction of the period-authentic Le Concert d'Astree, Dessay performs in a deeper tone with more heft and color at the lower end, and the vocal change, if anything, has improved her interpretative skills in realizing the pastoral mythologies set to Handel's wondrous music composed during his youthful Italian sojourn when he was in his twenties.

Equipped with a cleaner, crisper voice than Cecilia Bartoli, Dessay produces a similar emotional intensity on the two cantatas featured here. Both written in 1707, they become vehicles for her to carry her own unique power and eloquence. Haim sets the stage beautifully by allowing her ensemble to play Handel's opening sinfonia with spirited solo turns on each of the featured instruments - oboe, cello, recorder and violin (played with virtuosity by Stefanie-Marie Degand). Five minutes later, Dessay enters and takes command of the first cantata, "Delirio amoroso" with the high point likely being the stunning aria, "Lascia omai le brune vele" with oboist Patrick Beaugiraud providing lively accompaniment during the key obbligato.

The second cantata, "Mi palpita il cor", is a more somber piece highlighted by Dessay's particularly adept performance of the two arias - the first about the possibility of rejection from a lover, "Ho tanti affanni in petto" and the concluding one, an about-face sung with complete abandon, about the gleeful anticipation of love, "Se un di m'adora". Regardless, the disc's unequivocal peak is the aria which bridges the two cantatas, "Qui l'augel da pianta in pinata" from "Aci, Galatea e Polifemo", where Dessay astonishes with her virtuosity in one of Aci's most dramatic passages. Overall this is a superb recording that matches a stellar voice growing more burnished over time with an impeccable ensemble. Handelians should be pleased.

Some time ago, it was reported that Natalie Dessay was facing a vocal crisis, and I became quite worried at how her voice would sound after that. Now I know I had no real reasons to be worried, since the superb Natalie Dessay proved again what a great and intelligent artist she is. While Natalie Dessay has had to abandone a little her former lirico-leggero coloratura singing with an abundance of stratospheric high notes and superhuman agility, she has now gained an equally stupendous voice. It's now creamier and fuller than before, with a much improved low register and a richer middle register. She doesn't attempt the highest notes anymore (notice that highest notes for Dessay mean High G's and High A's, since she's still able to hit a wonderful High E Flat or High E), but her artistry seems to have deepend and matured. One of my greatest praises to her singing has always been Dessay's ability to convey the proper nuance and dramaticism to any melody she sings, even if it's a simple recitative. Now she seems to have reached the complete maturity of her artistry, and this album is a proof of that.
This is an album of Händel's Italian Cantatas, which are full of nuanced and fascinating music. They may not have the dramaticism of his later operas nor the depth of other sacred pieces by him, like Messiah, but they have that wonderful melodical creativity that Händel had. In "Un pensiero voli in ciel", Dessay shows her flowing legato in long coloratura lines with the accompaniment of lively, meaningful strings. The aria "Lascia omai le brune vele" contains some fascinating, unselfconsciously exuberant fioriture, which are sung by Dessay with stunning ease. She's also magnificent in the more lyrical and melancholic arias, such as "Per te lasciai la luce" or "Ho tanti affanni in petto", where it's amazing to hear the rich and expressive vocal colours and tones of Dessay's voice.

There are some people who criticize Emanuelle Haïm's always lively and exciting conducting. Those must be real purists, who prefer a flawless sound to an orchestral performance that shows all the dramatic and melodical nuances of the music. As I'm not a Baroque purist, I must say I'm a real fan of Haïm's conducting. She doesn't seem to care a lot about creating a perfectly homogeneous and transcendental sound, but rather creating a sound that excites the ears and is meaningful to the heart, and she always succeeds. In this way, her conducting is a perfect accompaniment to Natalie Dessay, whose superb voice is always used to favor the drama that imbues the music.

Definitely, this is one of the best Händel releases of the last years, and it's also a great success for Dessay, who digs new repertoire for her and proves to be ideal for it. I highly recommend this excellent album!

I love Handel, and bought this cd because I had never heard "Delirio amoroso" or for that matter, I had never even heard of it. The cd turned out to be a wonderful surprise. The music is light and airy. Delirio is a substantial and brilliantly orchestrated cantata for solo Soprano. Handel aficionados may recognize some of the music as Handel reworked one of the arias for both "Rodrigo", and "Radamisto".

The cd also includes an aria from "Aci, Galateae Polifemo". If you are unfamiliar with this, then you may find yourself wanting to search out the entire cantata.

Finally, there is "Mi palpita il cor", a cantata that has been reworked several times. The cd notes say that this appears to be the earliest version of this cantata. While a purist may need to know that, to me it hardly mattered. The music intertwines the solo soprano voice with the oboe making the "palpita" a new Handel favorite. I love that combination! It is haunting in a way that baroque music seldom is. In my spare time I may search out the versions... one for alto voice and flute, HWV 132c, or HWV 132d, which apparently uses both flute and oboe.

Natalie Dessay is perfectly suited to the musical and interpretive demands. I love her voice! She moves through her voice registers seamlessly. She adds color to her voice as she interprets the music flawlessly. I don't know what else one could expect of a singer.

This is well worth the purchase price. I highly recommend it.

My understanding is that Natalie Dessay underwent surgery for vocal cord problems. Thus, I was quite curious to listen to this CD, to determine the state of her voice. She has surely been one of the top coloratura sopranos of the past couple decades, along with Sumi Jo et al. This is certainly not the repertoire that I'm used to from Dessay, but this is an affecting CD.

The "Introduzione" from Handel's cantata, "Delirio Amoroso," features Emmanuelle Haim conducting Le Concert d'Astree. This is a nice sprightly start to the cantata. In the recitative and aria, "Da quel giorno fatale" and "Un pensiero voli in ciel," Dessay sings well. If anything, her voice seems somewhat richer and fuller than before her surgery (although I have not played any "before" recordings due to sloth). She sings well, with backing from Haim on harpsichord as well as other musicians on their instruments. In the aria, Dessay's voice shows considerable agility and a rich quality.

Another part of the cantata, "In questa amene piagge serene," is begun with a well played instrumental solo. Dessay enters and, again, sings well. This is a different repertoire for her than I am used to, but she seems to handle it well.

The cantata closes with an energetic minuet, with musicians playing their instruments well.

Then, there is a piece from "Aci, Galatea e Polifermo," "Qui l'augel da pianta in pianta." Once more, Dessay shows both nice vocal agility and a creamy sounding voice.

An interesting wedding between composer (Handel), group and conductor (Le Concert d'Astree and Emmanuelle Haim), and singer (Dessay). A satisfying work. . . .

Natalie Dessay is back with a new album in spite of her two accidents in the last few years threatening her vocal chords.

Thanks to hard work, her stratosferic voice is still there, her agility to sing and her massive breath remain unchanged and her vocal pyrotechnics unrivalled. She is a force by nature, fully emotional when she sings, her voice is a wonder, crystal clear and devastatingly accurate with a remarkable power and flexibility...no hint of strain even at the outer limits.

Emmanuelle Haïm already worked twice with Natalie Dessay on the "Arcadian Duets" from Handel and "L'Orfeo" from Monteverdi. It's been a long friendship and cooperation between them.

Other Dessay's releases are as good as this one : Lucie de Lamermoor from Donizetti, Lakmé from Delibes (where I discovered Dessay), Alcina (singing Morgana), and other CDs dedicated to French Opera Arias...

If you've never heard of them, just try one CD : you cannot be disappointed. If you want to see the remarquable actress she is, the DVD recorded live at the Liceu in Barcelona ("Hamlet" from Ambroise Thomas) is the one you have to buy to admire her.

You will neer regret any purchase.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy Dessay's voice until I purchased this and my enthusiasm for her non-opera work was rekindled. Ive seen her in the last couple of years cutting up in La Fille du Regiment or going mad in Lucia di Lammermoor and had forgotten what a powerful Baroque solist she is. On this recording she sings with such grace and delicacy, and with the technical brilliance Handel requires. The pairing with Emanuelle Haim is perfect - they work together so well. This is a fabulous recording for any Handel and/or baroque lovers.

When I first heard Natalie Dessay I was imopressed by her remarkable flexible voice. After acquiring the recording of her performance of Handel I realized that her voice is thin with little substance and her coloratura is sometimes off pitch. I don't know why I didn't notice this in the beginning.