Haendel: Rinaldo [Box set]

This is a shame because virtually all the soloists are thoroughly committed to their parts, both technically and emotionally. Lawrence Zazzo and Christoph Dumaux are convincing in the roles of Goffredo and Eustazio, both of them without the traditional countertenor 'hoot' - in fact both produce sweet sounds - even across the various registers and duly agile in the coloratura. A third countertenor, the veteran Dominique Visse, a Jacobs regular, is typically characterful as the Mago Christiano and as the Herald.

Argante, sung by James Rutherford, seems rather underpowered when compared to his CD rivals Ulrik Cold (Malgoire) and Gerald Finley (Hogwood) but is musical nonetheless. The sorceress role of Armida is sexily sung by Inga Kalna far outstripping Luba Organasova for Hogwood. Miah Persson (Almirena) is a much more convincing performer in this role than Cecilia Bartoli had been for Decca, her voice more suited to this style of opera.

But the title role is the one which makes or breaks recordings such as this. No one can deny Vivica Genaux's technique or her bravura ability, but despite wonderful reviews for the live stage performances, her voice does not sound 'right' for the heroic demands of Rinaldo's arias such as Cara Sposa, Or La Tromba or Venti Turbini.

Once again, with Harmonia Mundi, the sound is excellent and production qualities unrivalled, despite Rene Jacobs' claims in the booklet. We have here an excellent recording of one of Handel's best operas, but one which suffers from 'tinkering' and questionable artistic choices which this review found unnecessary.

In the title role, Vivica Genaux is something of a mixed bag. Her 'Cara sposa' is, frankly, ugly but later on - particularly in the faster, more dramatic arias she is much more impressive and certainly more dramatic than the sweeter toned David Daniels for Hogwood. As her beloved Almirena, Miah Persson is entirely delightful and a vast improvement on Hogwood's choice of Cecilia Bartoli whom I thought very unsuited to the role. The two countertenors, Christophe Dumaux and Lawrence Zazzo are very good indeed - real discoveries, although I marginally prefer the beefier tones of Bernarda Fink's Goffredo on Hogwood. As the 'bad couple', James Rutherford proves the only big disappointment for me in this cast, sounding rather old and tired for such a young singer and making a considerable meal of his first aria (which Jacobs conducts far too slowly). Both Gerald Finley and Ulrik Cold are much better on rival versions. His consort Armida is daringly taken by the exciting Inga Kalna who swoops and loops up and down the octaves quite alarmingly. This is impressive singing and she also displays a much sweeter, sexy tone in the quieter moments. It's a shame then that her showpiece aria 'Vo far guerra' is rendered virtually unlistenable by the appallingly dull and repetitive harpsichord passages either side. There is some historical precedent for these apparently but they are a huge mistake in my opinion.

To sum up then, this is an interesting set and if - like me - you don't mind having more than one set, it's worth hearing for the cast. However, despite Bartoli's heavy and unconvincing soprano turn as Almirena, Hogwood would be my first choice.