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George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Opera Arias and Overtures, Vol. 1

Emma Kirkby (soprano), The Brandenburg Consort, Roy Goodman (conductor)
Download only
Label: Hyperion
Recording details: September 1995
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Martin Compton
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: April 1996
Total duration: 74 minutes 47 seconds
 

The greater part of Handel's working life as a composer was devoted to writing and performing operas. In many ways this was the genre to which he owed his international renown: performances during his period of study in Venice won him an audience far greater than could be expected in London. Italian opera reached England around 1710, and the staging of Rinaldo in 1711 confirmed Italian as the language of the future for such ventures.

This exciting recording from Emma Kirkby presents nine arias, from nine of the most enduring of Handel's Italian operas, alongside four overtures.

All of the music on this album is also available as part of the specially priced box set Handel: Opera Arias: ‘Kirkby’s talent for matching brilliant coloratura with dramatic urgency remains unparalleled … a compelling interpretation of rarely heard masterpieces’ (International Record Review).

Reviews

‘It is difficult to pick out a particular highlight, there are so many of them’ (Classic CD)

‘A splendidly enjoyable disc. Kirkby is in top-notch form’ (Hi-Fi News)

«Existe-il vraiment d'autres chanteuses aussi inventives dans l'ornementation, aussi discrètes dans le bon goût, aussi sensibles à la ligne de chant? Le Brandenburg Consort de Roy Goodman officie dans l'allégressece récital au pinacle des disques consacrés à l'opéra haendelien» (Le Monde de la Musique, France)

Other albums in this series

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