Minkowski Ariodante

Lynne Dawson is the star of this show. In Act 2, where Ginevra finds herself inexplicably rejected and condemned by everyone, Dawson brings real depth of tone and feeling to her E minor lament, 'Il mio crudel martoro'; in the final act she shines in the desolate miniature 'Io ti bacio' and brings much fire to the outburst 'Sì, morro'. But she never transgresses the canons of Baroque style. Von Otter, too, has much marvellous music – the aria 'Scherza infida' is one of Handel's greatest expressions of grief – and she sings it beautifully, but she isn't really at one with his idiom and seems to lack a natural feeling for the amplitude of Handel's lines. Yet there's much to enjoy here too, the beauty of the actual sound, the immaculate control, the many telling and musicianly touches of phrasing.

This is the fourth Ariodante I've reviewed for Classicstoday.com, and despite my love for the Minkowski, previously my favorite, this one outclasses it–and the rest. Ariodante is up there with Cesare, Alcina, and Tamerlano as one of the composer's truly great operas, with little unnecessary chatter, a good (and easy to follow) story, and real villains.

–Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

This version of Ariodante seems to have been released as long ago as 2000, soon after it was recorded, deleted and now reissued. If the deletion was due to poor initial sales, I hope that its reappearance will remedy the problem: this version has a great deal going for it.
The English National Opera revival of their production in June, 2006, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3; I have listened to the recording which I made of that broadcast with great pleasure. Though much less well known than Nicholas McGegan, who directed an earlier ENO revival and also recorded the opera for Harmonia Mundi (HMU90 7146.78, highlights on HMU90 7277), Christopher Moulds presided over a well-considered performance, with Alice Coote in the title role and Rebecca Evans as Ginevra. One notices from the outset the slightly faster tempo of Ivor Bolton’s version of the Overture, which nevertheless does not oust Moulds’ account from my affections. Brian Wilson

Anne Sofie von Otter is a leading mezzo-soprano known for her versatility in operatic roles, her interesting recital choices, and her willingness to take vocal risks. Her father was a Swedish diplomat whose career took the family to Bonn, London, and back to Stockholm while Anne Sofie was growing up. As a result, she gained fluency in languages. She studied music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Her main voice teacher was Vera Rozsa, while Erik Werba and Geoffrey Parsons coached her in lieder interpretation.

George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel was a German, later British, Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel received important training in Halle-upon-Saale and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.

“Smart, sophisticated and opinionated, Anne Sofie von Otter has become a star by doing exactly what she wants”
Music composed by Jacques Offenbach, Georges Bizet, Richard Strauss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Frideric Handel, Claudio Monteverdi, Benny Andersson, Elvis Costello, Cécile Louise Chaminade, Kurt Weill, Pavel Haas, Edvard Grieg, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, Gustav Mahler, Henry Purcell, John Dowland.