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GRAMOPHONE (Awards/2014)
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Hyperion
CDA67979
Code-barres / Barcode : 0034571179797 (ID487)
Reviewer: David Vickers
To plan a recital revolving
around the most famous trilogies of arias from Ariodante, Alcina and
Hercules might seem an unimaginative selection but Alice Coote and The
English Concert remind us in no uncertain terms that these characters and
scenes rank among Handel’s supreme achievements as a dramatist.
Coote’s nuanced singing rightly hints at a perturbed undertone in Ruggiero’s
‘Mi lusinga il dolce affetto’ and her stylish embellishments are gripping.
‘Verdi prati’ is beautifully sung, although Bicket’s wallowing pace does not
capture its graceful minuet-like rhythms; Coote emphasises the tarnished
hero’s bittersweet memories of pleasure but does not portray that the hero
has become enlightened to the evil of Alcina’s transient illusions.
The horns seem a bit distant in
‘Stà nell’Ircana’; Coote’s shapely coloratura makes for a pleasingly relaxed
canter, although the top-heavy string ensemble doesn’t muster the gutsy
bass-driven bravura that Ruggiero’s long-postponed moment of heroism needs. Time
seems to stand still during a gently emotive performance of Dejanira’s ‘Cease,
ruler of the day, to rise’, although it suffers from an overly indulgent slow
dragging tempo (likewise, Sesto’s ‘Cara speme’ is unbearably mannered). I’m glad
to have heard Coote’s eloquent performance of ‘Where shall I fly?’, which uses
subtlety and genuine remorse instead of the histrionic over-egged insanity
clichés that blight performances by one-dimensional performers. Quick music such
as Ariodante’s ‘Con l’ali di costanza’ could do with more zesty crackle from
Bicket but ‘Scherza infida’ is sung with a breathtaking sincerity that puts
Coote’s interpretation right up there with Janet Baker and Lorraine Hunt for its
emotional intelligence.
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