"There are two reasons to buy this recording-Joyce Didonato and Patricia Ciofi. If you have their Handel duet album on Virgin, you will love this. Didonato continues to be a singer of such talent and magnetism (I saw her Rosina to Florez's count in Pesaro last summer) that it is hard to believe that the career is really just now blossoming. Her technique, breath control, legato singing are all traits that one would only wish for in a singer. Conducting and the rest of the cast are also first class. Highly recommended!"
Alan Curtis keeps getting better....
Chris Protopapas | New York | 06/06/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In the past, I have not been too impressed with Alan Curtis' recordings of Handel operas, but with Radamisto he has definitely hit his stride. Having Joyce DiDonato in the cast doesn't hurt, either. This is a great recording of a somewhat neglected Handel masterpiece, full of wonderful details; there's a relaxed quality to the performance that lets the music breathe and its beauty come out. Past recordings by Curtis, although good (and immensely valuable, as they are part of an attempt to record every Handel opera) were perhaps a bit stiff and forced. The latest batch, Radamisto foremost among them, are much better."
Rare Gem
MattKiwi | Champaign, IL USA | 05/31/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Very simply I think this recording is outstanding. The singing is generally fantastic, (with the exeption of a couple of singers who sound rather too modern in training...they don't have the subtlety to move their voices lightly in a baroque melisma), and sometimes exceptional (especially that of Polissena - sung by Patrizia Ciofi). The playing is truly excellent, and the highlights are certainly the ensemble moments. As a lover of Handel and of all things related to baroque opera, I think this is one of the best. There are some incredible arias in this opera."
A Serious Happy Ending
Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 06/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Radamisto was among Handel's first efforts specifically to cultivate an English audience for Italian "opera seria". It was first performed in London in 1720, with at least some backing from the King, who may well have previewed the score. It's based on a libretto, already set by various composers in Italy, which was in turn based on a theatrical adaptation of a French play. Whoever adapted the story for Handel's purposes had a bit more literary sense than many of the "dear Saxon's" later librettists; the 'action' is well and clearly developed in the extended dramatic recitativos, allowing the da capo arias full freedom to be emotionally expressive without slowing down the exposition.
The story is, in fact, a trifle involuted. Radamisto and Zenobia are faithful lovers. Radamisto's sister, Polissena, is married to Tiridate, the King of Armenia, to whom she is faithful, but Tiridate is obsessed with passion for Zenobia. To make things stickier, Tiridate's brother Fraarte is also in love with Zenobia, while Tiridates' chief general Tigrane is in love with Polissena. Don't fret too much about the details; as I said, the tale becomes clear as the opera is sung. On the whole, this is one of the more tightly-plotted of Handel's operas. Apparently it was clear enough to be successful in London in 1720; it was met with loud applause, performed often, and revived in later years.
It's the two wives who emerge as heroically faithful and courageous, while the men are an unsteady lot. One could interpret the drama coherently by taking it as a parable of the restoration of the tyrant Tiridate's virtue and sanity through the example of fearless devotion set by the other characters.
But hey, it's opera, and it's all about the singing. Two mezzo-sopranos - Joyce DiDonato and Maite Beaumont - have the choicest roles as Radamisto and Zenobia, and they bring emotive gravity to their arias of desperation and devotion. The smaller roles of Polissena, Fraarte and Tigrane are all sung by flexible sopranos - Patrizia Ciofi, Dominique Labelle, and Laura Cherici. The tyrant Tiridate is sung by tenor Zachary Stains. (Isn't it nice to have the villain be a tenor for a change? We basses get that chore altogether too often!)
Basso Carlo Lepore sings the last role, as Farasmane, the father of Radamisto and Polissena. This is as fine a cast as I can imagine, all adept at the 'historically informed' vocal gymnastics required for Baroque opera.
It's almost a given that Il Complesso Barocco, under the baton of Alan Curtis, will perform flawlessly, and they do. This was probably the first opera ever staged in London to use an orchestra including trumpet and horns, as well as virtuosic oboes, along with the full complement of strings and continuo instruments. Il Complesso performs, with gusto and precision, this richly colorful score. Each act, by the way, concludes with a brief instrumental ballet -- a gesture perhaps to 18th C taste.
Radamisto is a very full-bodied opera, with arias expressing every emotion appropriate to the anxiety of the lovers: defiance, desperation, devotion; adoration, detestation, repentance, relief, and joy. There are simply no 'routine' moments of music in it. I'll venture to say it's one of Handel's masterworks.
The good news is that it's now available in the Virgin Classics bargain box of recordings by Il Complesso Barocco. The six operas in the box are:
RODRIGO - 2 CDs recorded in 1999, with Gloria Banditelli, Sandrine Piau, Roberta Invernizzi
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1