Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Handel Arias [HYBRID SACD - DSD] [IMPORT]

Lorraine Hunt (Artist), George Frideric Handel (Composer), Harry Bicket (Conductor), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Orchestra), Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Performer), Stephen Stubbs (Performer), Phoebe Carrai (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Stephen Stubbs, Phoebe Carrai
• Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
• Conductor: Harry Bicket
• Composer: George Frideric Handel
• Audio CD (August 10, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
• Label: Avie
• ASIN: B00022LZW8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,336 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #48 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Historical Periods > Baroque (c.1600-1750)
  #92 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Arias

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If you think you've heard Handel's "Ombra mai fu" (known as his "Largo") so often, and in so many different arrangements, and sung by so many different voices, that you can no longer be moved or surprised by it, think again. This CD of Handel arias, mostly from his Theodora or the cantata La Lucrezia, ends with "Ombra mai fu," and as sung by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, it is so tender, so beautiful, so impeccably shaded, that you'll think you're hearing it for the first time. But that's only four of this disc's 67 minutes---a follow-up to Hunt Lieberson's extraordinarily successful CD of Bach cantatas. There's not a dull or disinterested moment to be heard anywhere. As the violated Lucrezia, Hunt Lieberson alternately rages against the man who raped her and turns her grief inward; the former is terrifying in its intensity, the latter makes us almost feel as if we're eavesdropping. The five arias for Irene, Theodora's friend, confidante, and the upholder of Christian beliefs are all magical prayers or statements of faith, and from Hunt Lieberson, they become real, with each word honestly conveyed and colored. The voice itself is unfailingly beautiful---warm, lush, never forced, agile when necessary---and her breath control is stunning. She is backed ideally by Harry Bicket and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the string soloists in the ensemble---the viola da gamba player, lutenist, etc.---are as gifted as she is. If you want proof that Handel was a great dramatist with a special gift for communicating emotion, all while listening to sublime sounds, this CD is a must. --Robert Levine

Product Description

Grammy Nominee!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laurel upon Laurel!, October 25, 2004

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is steadily, assuredly demonstrating to the music world that here is a voice of such beauty, warmth, and intelligence that she simply has no peers. While other singers who traverse the Handel or Bach repertoires do so with success and dignity, Hunt Lieberson transcends them all in her poignant ability to go directly to the composer's intentions while keeping the singing fresh, creatively alive and eloquently real. Her way with ornamentation, especially that of her da capo embellishments, is simply ravishing: brilliant technique for technique's sake never gets in the way of enhancing the beauty of the vocal line. The CD presents arias from two of Handel's operas (both of which Hunt Lieberson has performed successfully on stage) - "Theodora" and "Serse" - and an added cantata "La Lucrezia". As the crowning light of her recording she performs with the gifted Harry Bicket and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the collaboration is perfect! A compleat singer, this, and an inestimable gift to the music world.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson (1954-2006), supreme Handelian, July 6, 2006

By	The Cultural Observer - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I have never heard a voice purer of tone, more flexible in phrasing, and so gorgeously produced in a homogeneous column of sound such as this artist in Handel's repertoire. It is very tastefully sung (unlike a certain person whose name begins with R and ends with enaaay Fleming) and so dramatically touching that one could not help but feel that this repertoire finally has found its instrument. And how sad it is to know that this instrument has passed away two days ago. Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson died two days ago in her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico of breast cancer. It is such a huge loss to the opera world, as she is an artist who is still experiencing the prime of her career. The voice is just so beautiful, the tone so pure, that I lament that we can no longer hear any great roles from this artist. She will be missed.

74 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lorraine Hunt.....You Bloody Legend, September 19, 2004

By	David Greco - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Words are quite useless to describe the divine voice of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, there are not enough favourable adjectives one could give to praise this highly intelligent and dramatic musician. Ms Hunt has a voice and instinct so highly refined as to leave most singers for dead when it comes perfect articulation and phrasing and getting to the raw nerve of the piece. Her commitment to exploring the total pallate of colours possible for the human voice yealds sounds oftern too beautiful to bare.

Being a singer myself I can only say thankyou to Ms Hunt for one of the best singing lessons Ive every had in my life-listening to her Irene from Theodora instilled in me the importance and appreciation for exploring all the dramatic shades of colour a piece of music has to offer. Suddenly singing becomes more than an 'in your face-stand up and deliver' art form, but an interactive, truely human and utterly fragile and sensitive genre.
God bless you you true singing Diva. If only the everyone was made to listen to you for 5 minutes a day, what a world we would live in.

Oh yeah, this Disk presents all of Lorraine Hunt's efforts form the Sellars production of Handel's AMAZING opera/oratorio Theodora from Glynborne. The arias are amongst the most touchingly beautiful and richely crafted works of Handels output. They have changed the way I listen to music full stop. 5 STARS FOR LORRAINE AND 5 STARS FOR THE MUSIC.