Handel: Rodelinda (complete opera)
$72.00
Out of Stock6+ weeks add to cart
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Rodelinda (complete opera)
Lucy Crowe; Iestyn Davies; Joshua Ellicott; Brandon Cedel; Jess Dandy / The English Concert; Harry Bicket
[ Linn Records / 3 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Friday 14 May 2021
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
Handel's 1725 hit opera Rodelinda was written for the greatest voices of its day and is performed here by some of today's finest, as The English Concert and artistic director Harry Bicket's acclaimed concert cycle of Handel operas appears for the first time on Linn. Lucy Crowe and Iestyn Davies are the devoted partners Rodelinda and Bertarido, heading a cast packed with exactly the sort of vocal star-power Handel would have expected, including Joshua Ellicott, Tim Mead, Brandon Cedel and Jess Dandy. Both Davies and Crowe have won acclaim for their performances in these roles: BBC Music Magazine wrote, 'Iestyn Davies stole the show with aria after aria of heavenly purity and ardour', whilst BachTrack commented, 'Lucy Crowe gave a brilliant performance ... Her singing, firmly centred, agile and sparking with temperament, was a triumph.' The English Concert's reputation for combining urgency, passion and fire with precision, delicacy and beauty will ensure their forthcoming series of Handel operas will become an essential part of Linn's catalogue. The English Concert will be recording Handel's Tamerlano in 2021.
"[Davies is] as expressive a countertenor as they come, and his pure-toned singing has a star quality that makes his slow arias special. The recording's other main attraction is Lucy Crowe in the lambent arias of the title role. Her voice has a distinctive softness at the top that lends a sensitive quality to loyal wife Rodelinda...Bicket and The English Concert's Handel opera specialists have lost none of their vigour." Financial Times 4 out of 5 stars
"This new recording, more subtly directed and more consistently sung, now becomes my top recommendation for an opera that should be on any Handel lover's shortlist." Gramophone Editor's Choice July 2021
"This new Rodelinda has a gorgeously sung heroine in Lucy Crowe, who only needs to sharpen her diction…and Iestyn Davies is near-ideal as Bertarido, rightful King of Lombardy…while the support is excellent: Jess Dandy as Bertarido's sister Eduige with fruity low notes; Tim Mead, deluxe casting in Unulfo's three superb arias; and Brandon Cedel, magnificent as Grimoaldo's sidekick Garibaldo. Bicket propels the drama forward with inexorable momentum, his period band on top form. Highly recommended" Sunday Times
"Bicket's artistic integrity makes his the definitive Rodelinda. His subtlety pays off especially in slow movements, which are more suspenseful and ravishing than in any previous recording...Crowe's laments alone make this a must-have recording, but her steely bravura is equally gobsmacking." BBC Music Magazine Awards 2022 Shortlisted - Opera
