Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth waiting for, 18 Sep 2005
This is a vocal portrait of the megastar alto castrato Senesino whose singing held European audiences spellbound and earned him an astronomical income. It outlines his career from the first aria (by Lotti) that Handel heard him sing to his last performance, taking in some of his biggest hits from Handel's operas Rinaldo, Giulio Cesare and Rodelinda, and some other previously unrecorded arias by some of the period's best composers. Senesino's tessitura and Scholl's are the same, as far as we know, and all these pieces are tailor-made to show off both singers' talents. It's a wonder that Andreas Scholl has not recorded Cara Sposa before now. His intepretation and use of vocal colour in this track are very affecting, ranging from introverted pain to powerful desperation. The CD includes Aure deh per pieta and Dove Sei, both of which Scholl recorded a few years ago, before (as he says) performing on the opera stage transformed his approach. For anyone who knows his work, the difference is very clear. There is a most wonderful 'shake' (a Senesino trademark) towards the end of Aure deh per pieta. The fast coloratura runs in Stelle Ingrate and Al Lampo dell'armi were written to bring the house down and one can imagine the delight of an audience on hearing these pieces live from Andreas Scholl, given his unmatched vocal agility. One can but guess at the impact of hearing them, newly-minted, from Senesino himself. Andreas Scholl's admirers have waited a long time for this recording and would welcome others like it. There is a huge catalogue of highest-quality Baroque music for the alto voice, eminently suited to Scholl's talents, much of it unrecorded, and one hopes he will get around to documenting more it.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Gem!, 25 Oct 2005
By A Customer
This is a wonderful album. I have never listened to Scholl until I heard him on TV. I purchased this 1 week ago and have not stopped listening to it since. The power of his voice, variations in styles of singing and his vocal range are all of great quality. This music might be an acquired taste, but for those who enjoy the delights of this music already, Scholl's album is a treasure. Any who are new to this music should listen repeatedly to develop the "ear" for such delightful and different music performed by a real expert and the talent of Scholl.
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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A missed opportunity ?, 19 Sep 2005
This has been a long awaited release from star countertenor Andreas Scholl, but although the singing is as nuanced and fluent as before, and the playing generally thrilling, Decca's (presumably) choice of repertoire is disappointing. Also, disappointingly, apart from some informative notes on Senesino from David Vickers, the lion's share of information on each aria, its origins and context, is in Italian only.Scholl, along with American David Daniels, has been most responsible in the last decade or so for popularising the operas of Handel, and tackling the castrato roles that many thought previously were too difficult for modern singers to cope with. Here he sings a programme of arias created (in the most part) for the castrato Francesco Bernardi, known as Senesino. Arias from various stages of Senesino's career are represented here, though there is a major bias to the Handelian operas of the mid-1720s period - Rodelinda and Giulio Cesare. But, there are also arias from Albinoni, Lotti and Alessandro Scarlatti, tohgether with the last aria thought to have been sung by Senesino - Porpora's 'Va' per le vene il sangue'. Scholl has recorded most of the Handel arias before for both Harmonia Mundi and Decca, except the opening aria Bel Contento from Flavio. His singing here is delightful and his ornamentation understated but interesting. Similarly, his mature interpretation of the scenes from Rodelinda and Giulio Cesare shows his experience of both roles in the theatre, and while the voice perhaps has lost a bit of that 'purity' in the highest notes, his attention to the text is absorbing. Al Lampo dell'armi is thrilling at breakneck speed but is perhaps not the best example of this type of aria written for Senesino. Why Cara Sposa is included, written as it was for an earlier singer Nicolini, is slightly unclear, except as a piece of marketing, but it is the least effective aria which fits Daniels' voice more readily than Scholl's. The best singing, and playing comes in the non Handel arias. Here Scholl has the chance to show off his remarkable voice to better effect - the highlight is probably the last aria from Porpora - and the others all make one wish for recordings of the operas they come from. Many of these are recorded for the first time. If one is looking for a more rounded view of Senesino's vocal qualities then pick up Nick McGegan and Drew Minter's disc. Scholl fans will buy this disc because of his voice, and newcomers will be interested all the more because of his Last Night at the Proms debut in September.
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~ Georg Friederich Handel
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