Handel - Ariodante / von Otter, Dawson, Cangemi, Podles, Croft, Sedov, Coadou, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski

Next to Giulio Cesare, Alcina and Orlando, Ariodante is one of Handel's finest operas. The music is exquisite and the plot is nos as silly as in other Baroque operas. We have 2 very desirable recordings of Ariodante> this one and a slightly older one in Harmonia Mundi which won a Gramophone Award for best Baroque Vocal recording. The main drawback of the Archiv recording is Minkowski's nervous conducting, sometimes it's just too fast for its own good (and the singers). Anne-Sofie von Otter sings mostly very well, but I think Lorraine Hunt has an even better sense of style and a voice just as good. The main advantage of the Archiv over the HM is the Ginevra of Lynne Dawson, marvelous performance. But HM has a better orchestra in the Freiburger Barockorchester, one of the choicest period bands around. Both recordings are good and I certainly would want both, but if forced to choose, the McGegan is the more natural and beautiful Ariodante to be had.

My favorite Ariodante so far. Great product. Thank you.

"Ariodante" (1735) was intended for some of the leading performers of Handel's time. Stiff competition from Nicola Porpora and the threat of bankruptcy `forced' Handel to write works of higher quality for the first time since the Big Three: "Giulio Cesare" (1724), "Tamerlano" (1724) and "Rodelinda" (1725).Two things make "Ariodante" and its sister opera "Alcina" (1735) exceptional: 1. singers of the four major voice categories (i.e. soprano, alto, tenor and bass). Often Handel operas do without low male voices, e.g. "Teseo" (1713) and "Amadigi" (1715). 2. the services of the notorious French ballerina Mlle. Salle and her ballet troupe.The instrumentation of "Ariodante" is not as grand as in "Giulio Cesare", "Rinaldo" (1711) or "Teseo" which are designed to make a splash and to ravish the senses. In "Ariodante" the orchestra is `down-scaled' to strings, oboes, horns and continuo - a trumpet also appears when Ginevra is vindicated. Handel utilises the orchestra in such a way that the sound world varies from one aria to the next to capture the right mood to reflect and propel the drama.Minkowski is onto something great with his version - and what an inspired reading it is! He keeps the drama moving at a fast pace (maybe too fast sometimes, like Dalinda's final aria). It's hard to believe it, but the singers and wonderful orchestra keep up with him in this live recording.Minkowski has Anna Sofie von Otter as Ariodante, the role created for the talented castrato Cusanino. Handel wrote exceptionally demanding and expansive coloratura arias for Cusanino (see Teseo's arias in "Arianna in Creta"). Von Otter sings with a clinical precision that can be hard to listen to at times and her already androgynous voice does not lend much appeal to her interpretation; like Fischer-Dieskau she tries to colour every note and syllable to make it more meaningful - too much spice is just as undesirable as too little - but she sings the zipping coloratura of the first version of "Con l'ali" with unequalled skill! For me "Scherza infida" suffers the most from her overbearing colouration of the vocal line, and "Dopo notte" does not touch Janet Baker's first exulted recording. Nonetheless, I think few mezzos today can equal von Otter in this repertoire.The Ginevra, Lynne Dawson, delivers an uneven performance. In moments Dawson's singing can be exquisite and in others painful. She does have a very beautiful voice, but at times she sounds strained. The demands placed on Anna Strada del Po, who first created this role, seem unreasonable at first - until you listen to Edith Mathis do justice to this role on the Leppard set.Veronica Cangemi sings Dalinda. Her runs are delivered at a cracking pace - and one wishes sometimes that Minkowski had given her more breathing space, literally and figuratively. Even in the more reflective moments her character comes off like Blondchen on 78 speed. But she delivers the goods at all times.Ewa Podles sings ("sings" being the understatement of the century) Polinesso. Nothing can quite describe how Podles transforms Polinesso's less spectacular music into something special. She delivers the most outstanding performance on this recording, turning every aria into a Gala Event! No words can convey the talents of Podles: coloratura, high notes, low notes, long phrases - none holds any terror for this incredible ARTIST. Perfect diction, perfect colouration of the vocal line without resorting to ham effects make it a complete mystery why this underrated singer is not more widely recorded.Richard Croft as Lurcanio has the least interesting character next to Odoardo in this opera, but he brings Lurcanio to life in his arias. Croft's "Il tuo sangue" is probably one of the most exciting recorded Handel arias ever.Denis Sedov as the The King has a beautiful, full and flexible bass voice. He has a few stunning arias, and he delivers a very fine performance."Ariodante" can really be seen as Handel's "Cosi". In both operas the focus is on the emotional turmoil of the characters and not the social implications of their actions. Two moments stand out here: the sinfonia introducing Act 2 and the first Ariodante/Ginevra duet. The King interrupts them before they can continue with the da capo!"Ariodante" is not just pretty music. Handel was always ahead of his contemporaries: in "Io ti bacio" Ginevra leaves her father to await execution. The introduction consists of four notes in the continuo. Then the violins alone accompany the vocal line in unison until all the instruments join in harmony on a Neapolitan chord - the 18th century chord to convey great despair. Most revolutionary is the second Act ending with an accompanied recitative to reflect Ginevra's madness - in the Baroque era this is unheard of. Then there is the intimate Lurcanio/Dalinda duet which starts of as an aria for Lurcanio, but when you expect the B section to start Dalinda joins, and what magic, what bliss, when their voices unexpectedly unite in harmony at the end with the tenor singing a 3rd above the soprano - very Puccini! Mozart is said to have remarked: "Handel understands effect better than any of us - when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt..."I cannot resist mentioning the consecutive arias: Ginevra's "Volate amore"; The King's "Voli colla sua tromba" and Ariodante's "Con l'ali di costanza" which caused Burney to complain of Act 1 having nothing but "wings and flying"!In closing: "Ariodante" appeals to our human and romantic nature, and unlike "Lotario" does not deal with the fate of nations, but rather the emotions of the individual. All these factors, and I wager the reduced orchestra, make us focus on the dark, distressing and mysterious atmosphere which pervades over this opera and its characters, an atmosphere perhaps only equalled in Wagner's "Lohengrin". I look forward to Minkowski's reading of "Arianna in Creta".

There is no doubt that "Ariodante" is a wonderful opera and that's one of the reasons of its popularity among the conductors: today we have 3 good recordings of "Ariodante" and I am sure we will have more. Is this one the best at the moment? I have been waiting impatiently for this release (again, it appeared much later in the USA than in Europe) and when I heard it for the first time I was severely disappointed. I bought this set for the music, which I already knew from McGegan's recording, and for von Otter, the singer whom I admire greatly. She was inevitably the first disappointment, since I started listening to the CD by going through my favorite tracks, most of them belonging to Ariodante. "Scherza infida", one of the most wonderful arias Handel ever wrote, was a failure and I still cannot find anything that would jutify this interpretation. Everything is just too calculated. If you need comparisons, listen to Lorraine Hunt and you'll see what is missing in von aria's words!). The tempo adopted here by Minkowski is killing the exquisite singer! Yes, it is Minkowski who should be blamed for this not completely satisfying feast - his extreme tempos do not serve well the singers though sometimes, in the quick passages, help show their skills. I also do not like the occasional harshness of the orchestral playing which sometimes reminds me of the old days of the original instruments practice. Other arias sung by von Otter are much more successful and it is hard to choose between her and L.Hunt. There is a lot of wonderful singing from von Otter that gives me almost constant pleasure but this set is worth having for Lynne Dawson's Ginevra. It is a pure delight! My major reservation concerns Ewa Podles's Polinesso - her voice, admirable as it is, does not really sound well in this musical context. She also tries much too hard to be a believable villain - if you listen to Jennifer Lane (McGegan's set) you'll see how a much subtler characterisation can help built a truly slimy Duke of Albany. Podles relies only on her low voice and some very exaggerated "gestures", notably in the recitativi (e.g. the beginning of CD 2 in the dialogue with Ariodante). J.Lane is a superb Polinesso - listen to her "humming" ornamention of the word "detesto" (I hate) in the aria "Se l'inganno sortisce felice..." (CD 2/11). Podles may sing this aria with more musical polish, but this is not what singing opera is all about. The minor roles are effectively taken in both recordings, though McGegan's King sounds more human to me than his equivalent on the Archiv set. Minkowski's Dalinda is more pleasant to my ears, if only because her voice is less shrill than L.Saffer's on Harmonia Mundi, and Richard Croft's Lurcanio (Minkowski) is slightly more successful than Rufus Muller (McGegan). What has been said about Lynne Dawson's Ginevra does not mean that McGegan's Princess is a failure. Juliana Gondek is wonderful and won't disappoint those who decide to buy this set. I am happy to have them both, although listening to Minkowski is sometimes frustrating. I play it quite often, but skip "Scherza infida". Sometimes I play the aria alone and try to find some beauty in this interpretation. So far I did not find much.

Absolutely brilliant. Wonderful music expertly sung.

Great music, again I would recommend this to everyone who loves opera.

Thank you very much! CD OK! Very good quality.

A brilliantly sung and directed performance!

J'ai assisté à "Ariodante" dirigé par Marc Minkowsky et l'orchestre du Louvre, à l'auditorium de Bordeaux,... je m'attendais presque à m'ennuyer,... cela a été 3h40 d'éblouissement total... De la qualité de la partition jubilatoire de Handel qui compose un joyaux pour ses interprètes, à la qualité rafraichissante du livret sur le thème de l'amour (...sortant pour une foi enfin vainqueur des pièges sournois, après avoir affronté le désespoir,... Acte II, moments époustouflants de lyrisme musical...), en passant aussi par la qualité superlative d'interprétation de l'orchestre du Louvre et des voix, toutes superbes et tellement "en place"... Tout était réunit pour "l'émerveillement par la découverte" de cette pièce inattendue...De retour à la maison, encore sous hypnose, je me suis précipité pour trouver un enregistrement de cet opéra, que j'ai finalement trouvé "gravé" par Minkowsky et ce même orchestre du Louvre... Cet enregistrement est aussi remarquable, "léger et enlevé" que la version live entendue ce soir-là,... seules les voix de ce triple CD sont malgré la "trempe" des interprètes de 1997, moins "naturelles et légitimes" que celles, "plus actuelles" entendues lors de l'écoute ébhaïe de cette prestation...