Rodelinda

Der Garant für die hohe musikalische Qualität der Produktion war Festspielleiter Nicholas McGegan. Diese Rodelinda bestach durch eine differenzierte und ungeheuer lebendige Interpretation von Händels Musik. Mit dem Orchester Concerto Köln stand ihm auch eines der besten "Barock-" und Opernorchester zur Verfügung, das in dieser Rodelinda vor allem die lyrischen Dimensionen des Werkes genussvoll gestaltete.

Rodelinda was the first of Handel's operas to be revived in modern times (at Gottingen, in 1920) and the first to be performed in the USA (at Smith College, Northampton. Massachusetts, in 1931), and this summer it adds to its laurels the distinction of being the first Handel opera (as opposed to oratorio) to be staged at Glyndebourne. Composed just after Giulio Cesare and Tamerlano, it must, I think, rank in many people's top half-dozen of the Handel operas, with its complex plot of dynastic intrigue revolving around the powerful, steadfast love of Bertarido (the ousted king of Milan) and his queen Rodelinda: just the kind that unfailingly drew strong music from Handel.

In Handel’s Rodelinda, the characters know only too well that in the corridors of power, complete candour is unwise. In the face of dishonour and the loss of her loved ones, Rodelinda’s dignified resistance and exemplary spirit ultimately elevate her amongst her rivals. In this recording The English Concert together with an all-star cast, directed by Harry Bicket, bring to life Handel’s music as it underpins the intricate twists and turns of his characters and their complex relationships.

Alan Curtis has done more than most to prove that many of Handel's 42 operas are first-rate music dramas – his Admeto, from 1977, was one of the first complete recordings of a Handel opera to feature period instruments and all voices at correct pitch without transpositions – but it is surprising to note that this is his first recording of an undisputed popular masterpiece. Rodelinda, first performed in February 1725, is a stunning work dominated by a title-heroine who remains devoted to her supposedly dead husband Bertarido and scorns the advances of his usurper Grimoaldo.

This is an interesting pre-authentic performance of Handel's odd masterpiece, an opera that has not done well on CD. Years ago, a severely cut, peculiarly cast Sutherland/Bonynge set appeared on London (Decca); this current performance, which has been around for a long time (and is available on other labels as well), dates from 1959. The orchestra is reduced, harpsichord is prominent, embellishments are added to the vocal line, and in general, aside from a slight heaviness in approach, there is little to be ashamed of. Some arias are cut or cut in half, but the spirit of Handel is present–and besides that, fans of either Sutherland or Janet Baker, both caught here so early in their careers that they were not even vaguely famous, will have to hear them. And they impress: Baker sounds far lighter than she later did but exhibits the same wonderful musicality and impeccable diction, and Sutherland's fresh voice, flawless technique, and yes, fine enunciation of the text are delightful.

As with the majority of Handel’s stage works, Rodelinda is composed in a purely Italian style. The libretto was adapted by Nicola Haym from a previous version by Antonio Salvi. In line with the norms for Italian opera, it consists of solo da capo arias interspersed with secco recitatives and, occasionally, with accompanied ones. The undoubted protagonist of the opera is Rodelinda, for whom the composer wrote eight of the original score’s thirty-two numbers, as well as the duet with Bertarido. Rodelinda’s characterisation is a masterpiece of psychological and musical insight, beginning with the entrance aria, Ho perduto il caro sposo.

Rodelinda stems from a period of great creativity in Handel’s life, 1724-25, following hard on Giulio Cesare and Tamerlano. Although it met with only moderate success. One of its first revivals was via the German Handel Society in the 1920s, and then the Handel Opera Society revived it again, with a cast including Joan Sutherland, during the 1959 celebrations of Handel’s bicentenary. It was one of Sutherland/Bonynge’s later Decca operatic collaborations (1985) and their only Handel opera they recorded together.

In 1973 ging Rodelinda in het Holland Festival met de wereldberoemde coloratuursopraan Joan Sutherland in de titelrol, begeleid door het Nederlands Kamerorkest onder leiding van Richard Bonynge. De voorstelling werd met superieure en spectaculaire virtuositeit gezongen. De decors van ragfijne hekwerken met klassicistische elementen en uitbundig barokke versieringen daalden uit de hemel en stegen weer op zonder de grond te hebben geraakt.