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AJ 0662
Royal Handel
Label Catalogue Number:
Alpha662
Alpha662
Running Time: 64:59
Release Date: January 2021
Originally recorded in 2019
Originally recorded in 2019
Genre:
Baroque
Baroque
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About
London, February 1719: the birth of the Royal Academy of Music. George Frideric Handel was appointed musical director. German-born Handel, having spent four years in Italy, wanted to make London the new capital of opera. The only language to be sung on the stage of the King’s Theatre was to be Italian, and two other composers, Attilio Ariosti and Giovanni Battista Bononcini, were imported from the Italian peninsula. Both men were string players and contributed a new instrumental sweep to the company.
Public enthusiasm reached considerable heights: thirty-four operas – more than 460 performances in all – were given at the Royal Academy over a period of nine years. Handel premiered his masterpieces Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Ottone and Radamisto. Ariosti and Bononcini also enjoyed great success between 1720 and 1723, notably with Coriolano (Ariosti) from which the sublime aria ‘Sagri numi’ is taken. ‘Royal Handel’ is a musical portrait of the first Royal Academy of Music. Eva Zaïcik and her partners in Le Consort celebrate the prodigious variety of the Handelian genius and introduce us to previously unrecorded arias by Ariosti and Bononcini: ‘We are captivated by the ghostly sonorities of “Stille amare”, the engulfing fury of “Agitato da fiere tempeste”, the virtuosity of “Gelosia, spietata Aletto”, the swirling excitement of “L’aure che spira”, the ascetic counterpoint of “Ombra cara” and the poignancy of “Deggio morire”.
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Reviews
Baroque Vocal category - Nominee
International Classical Music Awards 2022
“… this is a most enjoyable program, and the enjoyment is driven largely by the sweetness and brightness of Zaïcik’s voice, and by the dignity which she lends to this procession of kings.”
Raymond Tuttle – Fanfare – September/October 2021
“… Her [Eva Zaicik] voice has the agility for the most extravagant coloratura, her diction is clear, and she has the vocal support for even the longest Handelian lyrical lines. I was also particularly impressed by the quality of her ornamentation; it is very inventive and effective … As a model of Handelian singing, this recording can be recommended…”
Charles Brewer – American Record Guide – May/June 2021
**** Excellent Album
Philippe Ramin - Classica magazine (France) - April 2021
“… The playing of Le Consort, under Justin Taylor, is a perfect match both technically and musically, contributing significantly to a release that gives nothing but pleasure.”
Lindsay Kemp - Gramophone magazine - April 2021
Opera Choice
Performance ***** Recording *****
“…The band director … harpsichordist Justin Taylor, is Zaïcik’s constant collaborator and fully her equal. Their joy in performing together comes through in the easy familiarity with which singer and players dash, halt and above all, breather, together in a kind of joint intelligence… in its ravishing beauty, this performance is unique.”
Berta Joncus - BBC Music magazine - April 2021
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