Gennari Rinaldo

Rinaldo Alessandrini's brilliantly realized recording of Monteverdi's Vespers is an intimate, slightly pared down version of the early Baroque masterpiece. Working in the warm acoustic of Rome's Palazzo Farnese, he employs just one singer per part, and eliminates instrumental doublings in the choral movements except where they are expressly indicated. The result is a compact, richly haloed sound that won't ever knock you out of your chair, but which flatters the more intimate solo and duet movements that can sound anemic in grander productions; with the sound gap between the biggest and smallest movements closed, each holds its own within the overall structure of the piece…

Skin-tight rubber and lacrosse sticks bring contemporary chic to this timeless fantasy of warriors and witches in Robert Carsen's fun-filled transformation of Handel's first London triumph. Conducting from the keyboard just as Handel himself did, Ottavio Dantone leads a youthful cast of today's luminaries in the dramatic art of Baroque opera, the 'affecting' Sonia Prina, the 'unadorned intensity' of Anett Fritsch and 'fire-breathing flair' (The Observer) of Brenda Rae.

Presented by the Festival della Valle d’Itria, this is the first modern-day staging of Leonardo Leo’s Neapolitan revision of Handel’s Rinaldo, a pastiche with a Mediterranean allure, which was composed in 1718 but considered lost until a few years ago. The story behind this rare opera is fascinating: the score of Handel’s masterpiece was brought illegally to Naples by the castrato singer Nicolò Grimaldi, who had performed Rinaldo in London. Once in Italy, the work was given a makeover by local composers, including Leo, who adapted it to the taste of the Neapolitan public, adding intermezzos and amusing characters. Director Giorgio Sangati has transformed Leo’s revision into a ‘ba-rock’ opera set in the 1980s, where the struggle between Christians and Turks is re-imagined as a battle between pop-rock singers (the Christians) and heavy-metal performers (the Turks). The two factions represent opposite perspectives on life and love. Conductor Fabio Luisi leads the Ensemble La Scintilla, a group of specialists in Baroque repertoire.

…impressive three-octave range…hugely resonant and heroic low tones, smoky middle, brilliant top…astonishing flexibility… this recital reveals her dazzling outrageous and personalized approach to Handel, and it is stunning. The first two tracks alone demonstrate mastery of every vocal, theatrical and musical technique demanded by this repertoire…. This is the stuff eighteenth-century writers used to rave about… Such artistic integrity and completeness set Podles apart… Seat belts suggested.

The great Australian countertenor, Graham Pushee with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra directed by Paul Dyer, stuns us all in this program of favorite arias by Handel.

A Naïve boxed set that gathers the finest sacred works composed by Antonio Vivaldi and performed by some of the most recognized artists in this wonderful repertoire, including Sandrine Piau, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Philippe Jaroussky, Sara Mingardo, and Rinaldo Alessandrini.

Arcangelo Corelli is the (unheard) presiding genius behind this sequel to Rinaldo Alessandrini’s chronological survey of 17th-century Italian string music (6/12). The Roman master’s influence is audible in works ranging from a concerto by the Paris-based Michele Mascitti – Corelli with an added touch of Gallic chic – via a gravely impressive sinfonia by Caldara, to a Galuppi concerto a quattro that stands on the cusp of a new age. Here and elsewhere, Corelli’s trademark dignity and sobriety often receive a more extrovert, dramatic twist, in keeping with changing tastes.