Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than Rousset?, 14 Jun 2008
Riccardo Primo is one of those "quite good" Handel operas - not a patch on the magnificent Admeto which was premiered in the same year, but better than the rather bland Siroe which followed it.
Christophe Rousset's 1996 set has had the field to itself for over a decade. It's a fine performance, well played, sung and directed but I've always felt it to be a little unexciting. While there's no shortage of vitality, I have always sensed a certain lack of variety permeating the three hours of music.
However, it has been universally applauded by music critics, so Paul Goodwin needed to come up with something pretty good to trump Monsieur Rousset.
So how does he do?
Well, the first thing one notices is the choice of singer for the title role. Goodwin opts for countertenor Lawrence Zazzo over a female alto or mezzo. In that respect I suppose one could argue that Sara Mingardo (Rousset's set) perhaps sounds closer to what the original singer, Senesino, might have sounded like - although of course we will never know. However, this is not an impersonation contest and I personally prefer listening to Zazzo. He has a beautiful voice; sweet, but strong enough to avoid the choirboy sound that can so easily spoil the interpretation of these heroic roles.
In other respects, I think Rousset may just have the edge. Nuria Rial sings the role of Costanza well enough, but I think anyone attempting to go head-to-head with Sandrine Piau has to accept the inevitable.
The villain, Isacio, is sung by David Wilson-Johnson. As good as he is, I think that Roberto Scaltriti for Rousset is quite superb.
One weakness in Rousset's set is Claire Brua. I cannot warm to her rather rich and plumy tone. Geraldine McGreevy's voice, while not exceptional, is therefore preferable to my ears.
The two Orontes are pretty evenly matched. Tim Mead may just have the edge for Goodwin.
So far then, little to chose between the two sets.
However, where I think Paul Goodwin steals a march on his competitor is in his much less predicable approach to the music. In particular, he employs a far wider range of tempi than Rousset, and some are more appropriate to the music. He also achieves a notable success in the opening storm, which sounds more powerful than Rousset's somewhat weak rendition.
He paces the work well, although to be fair Riccardo Primo is not a dramatic masterpiece and this is arguably less crucial than it would be in, say, Tamerlano or Serse.
The orchestra have a big part to play in the success of the set and it is on fine form. I think the bass-line does benefit from the addition of a second theorbo. While on a couple of occasions there is a bit of over-enthusiastic strumming from them, they add a good extra element of thrust to some of the music. I am aware that Handel only ever employed one in his opera orchestra, but it's a small addition and as far as I can see the rest of Goodwin's decisions accord with the composer's intentions (aside from the non-availability of castrati!)
Unfortunately the sound quality is that it isn't quite a match for Decca's superb recording. It's a bit murky but most of the detail still comes through well - by way of comparison, George Petrou's recent recording of Tamerlano suffers to a much greater extent.
So the winner is? Well, these are two very evenly-matched sets and most listeners would , I suspect, be content with either. However, for me, Goodwin's set is more exciting, more interesting and ultimately more enjoyable to listen to and it his version that will be in my CD player for some time to come.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More dramatic than the Rousset version No Printed Libretto included, 24 Jun 2008
I agree almost completely with the previous reviewer "Paul C", and will only add a few additional points. One I do not hear any fuzziness in the recorded sound, but I do hear annoying errors in the Italian pronounciation in the singing of Streetman (Berardo), who doesn't seem to know how a double consonant changes the pronounciation compared with a single consonant and Rial (Costanza) who doesn't know the difference between an open or a closed Italian "e" and has weakness in accent and consonant sounds, all of which could have easily been corrected with a little help from the language coach. The difference between this version and the Rousset is that the orchestral playing is much more dynamic and almost grabs you by the collar and makes you pay attention in a way. So as the previous reviewer said this is why it is more dramatic than the Rousset version, and ultimately more enjoyable even though Piau is a better Costanza, everything overrides the better singing quality of Piau on the Rousset recording and thus makes this the recording of choice in my opinion.
Final point: there is NO PRINTED LIBRETTO BOOKLET included. You have to print one from the PDF file included on CD 1. This I find deplorable for a first issue recording.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A close run contest, 30 Dec 2008
Listening to 'Riccardo Primo' in isolation one could easily conclude that it is the finest of the five operas written during the 'Rival Divas' era - there is a great deal of wonderful music in this opera and the plot is reasonably intriguing and not too ridiculous (as opera seria plots generally go). Of course in truth 'Admeto' is probably the best of the five but I very much enjoyed trawling through 'Riccardo Primo' again in this recording of the piece by Paul Goodwin on DHM.
Having owned the older recording from Rousset for some years now, I was curious to hear this newer version especially as reviews have been so favourable. Finding a clear 'winner' between the two recordings is pretty much impossible however as both versions have much to recommend them. I do agree that Goodwin gets more drama from the piece and is the more exciting of the two. Rousset's reading is beautifully detailed but more laid back. Often Goodwin's tempos are more upbeat and I think this benefits the piece - the storm music is much improved.
As to casting, well that's going to be down to personal preference. Mingardo is in glorious, sumptious voice for Rousset in the title role but again, Lawrence Zazzo makes more of the words and is the more exciting singer. By conntrast, Piau has the more dramatic voice as Costanza (for Rousset) but then again perhaps Nuria Rial's gentle, soft-grained voice is more apt for this wilting violet role. In the Faustina role of Pulcheria, Claire Brua was always the blot on the landscape on Rousset's recording - her contralto really too fruity and heavy for the role. Geraldine McGreevy for Goodwin is far preferable and does make something dramatically of the role too. There is little to choose between the second countertenors - Pascal Bertin (Rousset) and Tim Mead (Goodwin) are both excellent. Nor did I find much to choose between the various basses although Scaltriti is very good as the villain for Rousset.
Ideally, Handelians should have both recordings as they both have their virtues. If pushed, perhaps I would have to say that the newer Goodwin recording has the edge (just).
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