In 1738, the statue of Handel as Orpheus, now in the V&A, was unveiled at Vauxhall’s Spring Gardens in London. Handel was at the height of his powers and his latest opera, Serse, had just had its premiere — not to great acclaim, though it has since become one of his most performed.
This new album comes as part of The English Concert’s annual series of Handel operas live in concert, subsequently recorded in studio conditions. It will presumably go on to form part of the complete online survey that The English Concert is assembling of every note Handel composed.
There have been other recordings of Serse, notably those conducted by Nicholas McGegan and William Christie, but this one more than holds its own. Unlike the others, it has a cast with no countertenors, which may sway prospective buyers one way or the other.
The five main characters are all taken by female voices and the leading pair especially are outstanding. In the title role, Emily d’Angelo has tremendous panache and a firm, arresting mezzo-soprano that records very well. Lucy Crowe, as Romilda, raises doubts about her ornamentation, more Donizetti than Handel, but the beauty and individuality of her singing would melt any heart.
The rest of the cast — warm soprano Mary Bevan, contrasting mezzos Paula Murrihy and Daniela Mack, and sturdy baritones Neal Davies and William Dazeley — all sing well, and Harry Bicket conducts a performance as vividly alive as the opera must have seemed when it was new.
★★★★☆
‘Handel: Serse’ is released by Linn
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