アラン・カーティスが情熱を注ぎ続けたヘンデルのオペラの復興。このアリオダンテでは、主役に世界的メゾの歌姫のジョイス・ディドナートを迎えて収録したヘンデルの傑作。

この全曲録音で、卓越したヘンデル指揮者/研究者のアラン・カーティスは、今や輝きを放つメゾ・ソプラノ、ジョイス・ディドナート他の実力者を結集しています。数多くのヘンデルのオペラの復興を行った高い評価の演奏のひとつです。ディドナート、当時はカストラートが歌った作品も数多く歌い、その表現は圧倒的。この役は当時のスター・カストラート、カレスティーニを想定して作曲され、タイトル・ロールである若き王子役のアリオダンテを歌っていますが、ヘンデル作品のなかでも最も有名な2曲のアリア「次の夜」「不実な女よ、戯れるがよい」が歌われます。ディドナートは2007年、ジェノヴァで『アリオダンテ』役を歌って絶賛されています。相手役の不幸なジネヴラ王女役にはカナダのソプラノ、ゴーヴァン、さらにカナダ出身のルミュー、スペイン出身のプエルトラス、フィンランド出身のレーティプーが共演した、絶品のアルバムです。

このHome of Operaシリーズは、多くの方に低価格で音楽を聴いていただきたく、歌詞・対訳は付いておりません。
ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2021/03/05）

The scope and grandeur of Handel's operatic output -- the musical variety and inventiveness, the depth of psychological insight, as well as the sheer volume of works -- continue to astonish as new operas are brought to light and more familiar works are given productions and recordings that do justice to the material. Ariodante, written in 1735, is nowhere nearly as frequently performed as the more famous operas like Giulio Cesare, but neither is it entirely obscure, and there have been several very fine modern recordings. This version with Alan Curtis leading Il Complesso Barocco can be recommended without reservation to anyone coming to the opera for the first time or for anyone who's already a fan. It's sonically impeccable, with full, spacious sound that's at the same time intimate and finely detailed. Curtis has a sure grip on the opera's depths of passion and its dramatic trajectory -- the libretto, by Antonio Salvi, based on an episode from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso," is one of the most direct and emotionally potent that the composer set -- and he brings the urgency of the story vividly to life. The superb cast is fully invested in the characters and performs with unguarded intensity. In the title role mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato sings with sumptuous tone, acrobatic agility, and penetrating dramatic honesty; this is a performance that even further cements her standing as one of the outstanding singing actresses of her time. The rest of the cast is very much in the same league; sopranos Karina Gauvin and Sabina Puertolas, bass Matthew Brook, and tenors Topi Lehtipuu and Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani have gorgeous voice and sure dramatic instincts, and contralto Marie Nicole Lemieux, with a voice and temperament that call Marilyn Horne to mind, practically steals the show as the villainous Duke of Alba. Il Complesso Barocco contributes as much as the singers, not only to the richly textured musical fabric but to the surging dramatic momentum. Highly recommended for fans of Baroque opera and of dazzling bel canto singing.

Rovi