Ben Horne

A group of models fly into the jungle of some South American country to look for a photo location. Their plane is shot down and they are captured by a drug baron's private army. At the same time, the Mafia's representative arrive to negotiate future collaboration.

"The Decca Sound" is a deluxe limited edition of 50 CDs of legendary classical recordings in some of the best sound quality every committed to disc. The inspired collaborations of great artists, gifted producers and dedicated engineers have resulted in a treasure trove of award-winning and critically acclaimed recordings. This special edition brings together a truly representative selection of these legendary performances for the first time.

This is, quite simply, one of the most splendid Handel opera recordings ever made. We owe a debt of gratitude to DG/Universal for reissuing this much-admired Westminster recording from 1965. The opera itself is one of Handel's finest; a late work magically integrating farce and pathos, and filled with an abundance of brilliant invention remarkable even for Handel. Priestman does full justice to the kaleidoscopic shifts of mood, affect, idiom and orchestration that makes this work a viable musical entertainment today no less than in 1738. Though Priestman's Viennese forces play modern instruments, the conductor obviously has a solid understanding of Baroque performance practice (according to the musicological priorities of his day)…