Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco - Handel: Berenice (2010)
Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco - Handel: Berenice (2010)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 890 Mb | Total time: 60:29+51:14+54:32 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Classics | # 50999 628536 2 | Recorded: 2009
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 890 Mb | Total time: 60:29+51:14+54:32 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Virgin Classics | # 50999 628536 2 | Recorded: 2009
Berenice is one of those slightly problematic operas which seem to work better in the theatre where the gender of the characters is (usually) more obvious. Here we have a pair of low voices, one singing a man and one a woman, and a pair of high voices similarly paired. Curtis has chosen a beautifully balanced cast. But it is one where the voices are not highly distinctive so that you sometimes have to concentrate to tell whether Berenice or Alessandro is singing, or Selene or Arsace. If you listen to the opera with the libretto these sort of problems disappear.
Klara Ek as Berenice has a lovely voice which adds an air of fragility to the character whilst introducing an element of steel where necessary. There is a slight quaver to her voice which adds a note of character. Ingela Bohlin’s Alessandro is delivered with a beautiful bright soprano voice, but which never manages to sound in the least bit masculine. Having your lead pair sung by two sopranos is something of a bonus when it comes to the final duet, where the two voices intertwine beautifully.
Handel’s orchestration of the opera was quite restrained. But he did showcase Giuseppi Sammartini’s oboe playing. Berenice’s aria Chi t’indende has a wonderful obbligato oboe part. Ek and oboist Patrick Beaugiraud combined magically here.
Romina Basso displays some nicely warm even tones as Selene, but adds to this an admirable proficiency in the faster passages. Her lover Demetrio is sung by counter-tenor Franco Fagioli. Fagioli has a soft-grained, sometimes feminine-sounding voice, but one which can take on the more dramatic edge when required. Fagioli’s tones are rather distinctive, which might not always be a good thing, but here ensures that his character is always distinct.
Mary Ellen News provides strong support in the relatively small role of Arsace - she only gets two arias. And the lower voices are well represented by Vito Priante as Aristobolo (Berenice’s captain) and Anicio Zorzi Giutiniani as Fabio the Roman ambassador.
What the cast provides above all is intelligent balance. They seem to be without a serious weak link. Each contributes a finely musical performance whilst being fully alive to the technical requirements so that I for once don’t have to add my usual moan about singers smudging their runs.
Curtis keeps the piece moving without ever making it rushed and the recitative feels swift without sounding skimped. He doesn’t quite manage to get the feel of a live drama, but comes pretty close.
This is one of Alan Curtis’s most recommendable recordings. Whilst Handel’s opera might not be of top rank and there are places where he seems to have been wool-gathering, there is plenty of interest here. And with this intelligently balanced performance, we have an account which certainly does the piece justice.–Robert Hugill
Performer:
Berenice - Klara Ek
Alessandro - Ingela Bohlin
Demetrio - Franco Fagioli
Selene - Romina Basso
Arsace - Mary Ellen Nesi
Arsitobolo - Vito Priante
Fabio - Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani
Il Complesso Barocco
Conductor - Alan Curtis
Track List:
CD1:
01. Ouverture: [A tempo ordinario] - Allegro
02. Ouverture: Andante Larghetto
03. Ouverture: Gigue
04. Atto II. Recitativo: Aristobolo, a noi (Berenice)
05. Aria: No, che servire altrui (Berenice)
06. Recitativo: Fabio, vedesti mai più bell'orgoglio? (Alessandro, Fabio)
07. Aria: Vedi l'ape che ingegnosa (Fabio)
08. Recitativo: Lo di Selene? (Alessandro)
09. Aria: Che sarà quando amante accarezza (Alessandro)
10. Recitativo: Cara, non sospirar! (Demetrio, Selene)
11. Aria: No, soffrir non può il mio amore (Demetrio)
12. Recitativo: Selene, oh dei! (Aristobolo, Selene)
13. Aria: Gelo, avvampo (Selene)
14. Recitativo: Alla quiete d'Egitto (Aristobolo)
15. Aria: Con gli strali d'amor (Aristobolo)
16. Recitativo: Roma, sì, sì t’intendo (Berenice, Arsace)
17. Aria: Dice amor, quel bel vermiglio (Berenice)
18. Recitativo: Principessa, ed è ver? (Arsace,Selene)
19. Aria: Senza nutrice alcuna (Arsace)
20. Recitativo: Alessandro, che pensi? (Alessandro)
21. Aria: Quell'oggetto che è caro (Alessandro)
22. Recitativo: Che valor! (Demetrio,Berenice)
23. Duetto: Se il mio amor fu il tuo delitto (Berenice, Demetrio)
CD2:
01. Atto II. Cavatina: Se non ho l'idol mio (Demetrio)
02. Recitativo: Demetrio, anima mia (Berenice, Demetrio)
03. Cavatina: Guerra e pace (Fabio)
04. Recitativo: Molto afflitto, Demetrio, ancor paventi? (Berenice, Demetrio)
05. Aria: Sempre dolci ed amorose (Berenice)
06. Recitativo accompagnato: Selene, infida! (Demetrio)
07. Aria: Sù, Megera, Tesifone, Aletto! (Demetrio)
08. Cavatina: Mio bel sol, dove t'aggiri? (Alessandro)
09. Recitativo: Prence Alessandro (Arsace, Alessandro)
10. Aria: La bella mano (Alessandro)
11. Recitativo: Aristobolo, oh dei! (Arsace, Aristobolo)
12. Aria: Amore contro amor (Arsace)
13. Recitativo: Tiranna degl'affetti (Aristobolo)
14. Aria: Senza te sarebbe il mondo (Aristobolo)
15. Recitativo: E qual furor geloso (Selene, Demetrio)
16. Aria: Traditore, traditore! (Berenice)
17. Recitativo: Empia, tu piangi? (Demetrio, Selene)
18. Aria: Sì, tra i ceppi e le ritorte (Demetrio)
19. Recitativo: È questo l'amor tuo? (Selene, Arsace)
20. Aria: Sì poco è forte (Selene)
CD3:
01. Atto III. Sinfonia
02. Recitativo: Olà! Tra lacci suoi (Berenice, Aristobolo)
03. Aria: Per sì bella cagion (Demetrio)
04. Recitativo: Mia Regina…(Aristobolo, Berenice)
05. Aria: Chi t'intende (Berenice)
06. Cavatina: Tororella che rimira (Selene)
07. Recitativo: Qui dove il mio tesoro (Selene, Arsace)
08. Aria: Questa qual sia beltà (Selene)
09. Recitativo: Qual arduo impegno, o Arsace! (Arsace, Alessandro)
10. Duetto: Le dirai…(Alessandro,Arsace)
11. Recitativo: Prence, d'Iside al tiempo (Fabio, Alessandro)
12. Aria: In quella sola (Alessandro)
13. Recitativo: De'satrapi è adunata l'assemblea (Aristobolo, Berenice)
14. Aria: Avvertite, mie pupille (Berenice)
15. Sinfonia
16. Recitativo: Gran Nume tutelar di questo regno (Berenice, Selene, Arsace, Alessandro)
17. Duetto: Quel bel labbro (Alessandro, Berenice)
18. Recitativo: Ora Selene è mia…. (Arsace, Selene, Demetrio, Alessandro, Berenice)
19. Coro Finale: Con verace dolce pace (Tutti)
Exact Audio Copy V1.5 from 20. February 2020
EAC extraction logfile from 14. July 2020, 16:03
Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco / Handel - Berenice CD1
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==== Log checksum 4BC7E6EF3D4AD7CB561F73E88599AEE4EEDC815C3334204301084B9621AEB17F ====
Exact Audio Copy V1.5 from 20. February 2020
EAC extraction logfile from 14. July 2020, 17:07
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==== Log checksum 394EEAF0F87F8599706F723F0936C80503013465C4CEB2CA13E9BCB317D67258 ====
Exact Audio Copy V1.5 from 20. February 2020
EAC extraction logfile from 14. July 2020, 18:20
Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco / Handel - Berenice CD3
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Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
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Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
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==== Log checksum 0D428444D3DA12E325A5761A8AAD6B1289D8AB7B098159AE2F1DA11FBA6582BD ====
Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco - Handel: Berenice (2010)
