Rating: 5/5
Review:
Fabulous stuff from Natalie Dessay
This is a lovely disc from Natalie Dessay. She is a marvellous singer with a truly beautiful voice and I think she uses it to excellent effect here. The disc is devoted to arias and duets by Cleopatra from Giulio Cesare, introduced by the overture and with two vigorous Sinfonias interspersed. It also includes some arias which Handel wrote and then discarded in favour of others for a different dramatic effect, but which are very well worth hearing.
Dessay sings with real emotion and feeling in every piece. She meets the huge technical challenges of Handel's music and the extraordinary ornamentation with an apparently effortless virtuosity and I found her range of powerful passion, tragic lament and sweet meditation all very convincing. Coupled with the very fine playing of Le Concert d'Astrée under Emannuelle Haim and excellent recorded sound the effect is consistently engaging and really magical in places.
I suspect your response to this programming will depend on your attitude to opera on disc. I understand and respect the view of many that operas should be heard in their entirety but personally, although I love to see full productions of operas, I often find them quite hard going on disc and very much enjoy programmes of selections like this. If you share my view, I am sure you will enjoy this disc as much as I do. Very warmly recommended.
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