Handel's Serse (1738), about romantic intrigues at the court of the Persian king Xerxes, bombed at its first performances and wasn't revived until the 20th century. Serse, sung here by mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo (it was originally a castrato role), gets an imposing entrance aria, the famous "Ombra mai fu," but much of the opera is comic, and the mixture of elements flummoxed 18th century hearers, including the critic Charles Burney. Audiences wanted big tripartite da capo arias and serious Greek themes, but instead, what they got, were brief one-section arias that flashed by and various bits of coquetry and satire that originated in Italian comic traditions and looked forward to Mozartian opera buffa. Nowadays, the opera is one of Handel's more popular, and its structure fits the talents on this recording perfectly. It is hard to decide which is more of a draw, the crisp conducting of Harry Bicket, leading the venerable English Concert and keeping the proceedings moving along as Handel intended, or the singing from a veritable all-star cast, at least among the women (there are no countertenors). D'Angelo is glorious, and Mary Bevan is equally good as the flirt Atalanta. The smaller roles are strong, too, and really, there is not a weakness to be found. A very strong Handel opera recording. © James Manheim /TiVo

The idea is interesting on the face of it: the Duke of Ferrara, at his court in the late 16th century, maintained a "concerto segreto," secret concerts of three singers who also accompanied themselves on instruments. The three singers of La Néréide have performed a program based on this repertory, reproducing the original circumstances as far as possible. It is perhaps a trifle less effective on a recording, where they employ other instrumentalists for accompaniment, but this almost unknown repertory holds plenty of interest in itself. The music on the album is mostly by the melodiously named Luzzasco Luzzaschi, the Duke's court composer, with other works by his contemporary Luca Marenzio and the slightly later Claudio Monteverdi and Francesca Caccini (who makes the cut because her opera La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola di Alcina, the first opera by a woman, contains an excerpt calls "Le tre sirene"). This was progressive music for the time, including some of the sharp dissonances better known in the writing of Carlo Gesualdo and also the emerging texture in which melody was accompanied by a continuo. Thus, La Néréide captures the swirl of influences out of which early opera emerged, framing them in a vivid scene that will be unfamiliar, like the music in general, to most listeners. The three women have a strong sense of ensemble, and the engineering from the small Notre-Dame-des-Centeilles chapel suggests the music's original surroundings. A really interesting release for those fascinated by the late Renaissance. © James Manheim /TiVo

Christina Pluhar has the gift of conceiving rich, unique and enchanting programmes. Better still, she knows how to carefully choose the musicians best suited to undertake them. At the head of her incomparable ensemble L'Arpeggiata, since the early 2000s she has been unearthing numerous pearls of repertoire, which she threads into a necklace to create a masterpiece."Alla Napoletana" is no exception to the rule: Pluhar resurrects for the occasion numerous manuscripts collected over the last two decades, resulting in this programme dedicated to 17th century Naples. In the age when all was possible that was favourable to strange carnivalesque transformations, scholarly and popular music maintained a more than porous border, until they fused together for the listener's great pleasure. The marks of theatricality borrowed from the "commedia dell'arte" offer a striking relief to these pieces which are fascinating in their formal and textual originality and reveal to us great modernity as well as the freedom of the tone of their composers. The grand ancient and poetic theme of love—but especially of lovesickness—is portrayed in various ways: satire, parody, elegy...If the tremendous qualities of the combined talents of Pluhar and her ensemble no longer need proving, we are also delighted by the performance of the soloists, in particular countertenor Vincenzo Capezzuto, who is hilarious in the more farcical pieces. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

With his agile technique, dramatic eloquence and rich palette of vocal colours, Jonathan Tetelman here inhabits a range of roles from the French and Italian repertoire. Recorded at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus with the Orquesta Filarm¢nica de Gran Canaria and its Chief Conductor, Karel Mark Chichon, this collection shows the strong and powerful voice of the tenor in a selection of popular and rather unknown arias. © Deutsche Grammophon

At the turn of the seventeenth century, the madrigal migrated from the seclusion of private rooms to the theatre. With this came new expectations in order to create a greater spectacle for viewers. Among them was the demand for increased dramatic expressiveness.Monteverdi's Seventh Book of Madrigals (1619) was written when the composer had settled in Venice. He finally enjoyed complete freedom directing the Cappella Marciana, the choir of St Mark's Basilica in Venice. This, combined with the artistic vivacity that runs through the City of the Doges provides a libretto that is fascinating in its polyphonic explorations and written complexity. This is a stark contrast to the Sixth Book, published five years earlier. The quest for a perfect, almost physical equivalence between the text and the music has led to instrumentation that serves as an ideal setting for the vocals.Always at the top of their game, Rinaldo Alessandrini and the Concerto Italiano beautifully perform this music sparkling with purity and beauty. Soprano Monica Piccinini’s ethereal tone particularly stands out. Her voice is truly indispensable to the ensemble's productions. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

This recording sees Harry Bicket continue his long love affair with Handel, which began back in 1996 at the Glyndebourne Festival when he conducted Theodora, produced by Peter Sellars. Here, Harry Bicket and the musicians from The English Concert tackle the oratorio La Resurrezione, following their recording of Rodelinda which was incredibly well-received by critics in 2021. With a well-knit team of excellent soloists in the ensemble, Bicket delivers a colourful interpretation of Handel’s work with sharp rhythms and beautiful instrumental tones.Created in 1708 at the Palazzo Bonelli (now the Palazzo Valentini) in Rome, under led by Corelli, La Resurrezione caused a scandal when Pope Clement XI sent a stern admonition to young Handel's patron, Marquis Francesco Maria Ruspoli, for having a woman (!) sing in a publicly performed religious work. The pope was clearly unable to understand the innovative nature of this musical feat.Through a libretto that superimposes two events taking place on the evening of Good Friday and Easter morning, Handel writes touching and dramatic scenes for an orchestral ensemble of 40 musicians, which was very large for the time. It also required two castrati male vocalists and the aforementioned soprano who was condemned by the Church. With his use of rare and diverse instruments, the young German composer gave his orchestra warm, powerful tones right from the outsight. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Orfeo honours Júlia Várady as one of the most important sopranos of the second half of the 20th century with the release of this 10-album boxed set "The Orfeo Recordings" on the occasion of her 80th anniversary on 1st September. A significant number of opera lovers and connoisseurs maintain that Maria Callas’ mantle ought to have passed to Júlia Várady, and that the (now eighty-year-old) Romanian-Hungarian-German soprano actually should, in her day, have ascended the international throne of the prima donna assoluta. But as it is said, her loyalty to her two musical homes, the Bavarian State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, prevented this. Nonetheless, she made guest appearances at all the world’s major opera theaters – but she was apparently not available to the market as unrestrictedly and ubiquitously as would have been necessary for her image, in order for her to be enthroned as the Várady (as the legitimate successor of the Callas). In addition to her loyalty to the two aforementioned opera houses, another reason seemed to be a natural modesty that prevented her from constantly drawing attention to herself (with a reputation, for example, of being the “difficult one,“ or even with scandals). Her marriage to the titan Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in 1977 may also have played a role, as she often and willingly stepped into his shadow. © Orfeo

Famous for its aria “Ombra mai fu”, known as “Handel’s Largo”, Serse (or Xerxes) is one of this German composer’s most original and varied operas. It’s one of his rare “comic” works, containing a great deal of facetiousness and humour whilst still being grounded in reality.This version was recorded live in 2019 across two evenings at the Teatro Romollo Valli de Reggio Emilia. Ottavio Dantone favoured mainly Baroque Italian voices without resorting to falsettists who, in his opinion, are too often used to replace the castrati of the past. The tendency to use countertenors for every purpose seems to be declining in favour of offering a better historical perspective. As such, Ottavio Dantone gave the main role of Serse to Arianna Vendittelli and her beautiful soprano voice, whose tone really captures the character’s fragility.Under the direction of its conductor, the Accademia Bizantina perfectly reflects the varied colours of this well-known work thanks to their clear attacks which beautifully emphasize the score’s many bravura arias. As for the young cast assembled for the occasion, they’re simply perfect. Monica Piccini excels in the role of Monica whilst the bright, clear voice of Francesca Aspromonte is perfect for the role of Atlanta. Alto Delphine Galou shines as Amaster, and the hilarious Elviro is flawlessly interpreted by Biagio Pizzuti. © François Hudry/Qobuz

At the height of a superb career, Franco Fagioli devoted his last album to the composer he had held in high esteem since his childhood: That composer was Mozart, to whom he devoted his mastery of the Bel Canto baroque origins and his delightful warm, rich and surprisingly wide ranging voice. It was through this repertoire that the Argentinian counter-tenor chose to develop the new album’s programme. Recorded in the autumn of 2020, he had the knowledgeable and attentive support of Daniel Bard who conducted the Basel Chamber Orchestra and his old instruments.By taking lessons from a castrato, the young Mozart had acquired an exceptional knowledge of the human voice. Familiar with the particular techniques and requirements of this genre of singer, he often took the opportunity to write for these exceptional artists, who were experiencing their last moment of glory at the time. The charm of his early works can be found in the two La Finta Giardiniera (1775) arias. The first "dramma giocoso" of this genius is a blend of comedy and great opera seria arias, such as those of Cavaliere Ramiro: the charming aria di Paragone "Se l'augellin sen fugge" is evocative of bird song while the “Va pure ad altri in braccio” manifests the fury of a scorned lover.For his last opera, La Clemenza di Tito (1791), Mozart once again had first-class “primo musico” at his disposal. As a result, he was able to offer the character of Sesto a poignant, virtuoso role, dynamic and including two significant arias: the "Parto, parto" where the voice converses beautifully with the accompanying clarinet, and the "Deh per questo istante solo,” an expressive and virtuosic Allegro. The extract from the “Davide Penitente” cantata, created in 1785, also demonstrates as much grace as it does technical prowess. In 1772, Mozart composed the role of Cecilio in Lucio Silla for a castrato he had a particular admiration for. Venanzio Rauzzini had a soft and flexible voice with an extensive range, a sought-after quality for the “Ah se a morir mi chiama” aria, which is as difficult as it is introspective. In 1773, in Milan, it was this same interpreter that created the “Exsultate jubilate” motet whose famous “Alleluia” includes triumphant vocals which complete this recording brilliantly. © Julia Le Brun/Qobuz

The countertenor Tim Mead leads an all-star cast in the Early Opera Company’s recording of Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula, conducted by Christian Curnyn. The opera was first performed, in London, in 1715, in the first season under the reign of George I, at the King’s Theatre on the Haymarket. The complex, twisting plot features the lovers Amadigi and Oriana, imprisoned by the sorceress Melissa (who seeks Amadigi’s love). His ally Dardano turns against Amadigi, his former friend, when he realises that they both love Oriana and he sides with Melissa. Her plans are repeatedly foiled, and true love triumphs at the final curtain! Amadigi is considered the finest of Handel’s early London operas in terms of musical sophistication, theatrical pacing, and a perfectly balanced exploration of the interconnected relationships, motivations, and emotional divergences among just four dissimilar yet equally arresting characters. © Chandos

There are two current complete works of Carlo Gesualdo’s Madrigals. Begun in 2013, the work by La Compagnia del Madrigale brings together the voices of the finest Italian Baroque singers, as well as those of Rossana Bertini, Giuseppe Maletto and Daniele Carnovich (the trio who founded La Compagnia del Madrigale in 2008). All of them were originally members of the ensemble La Venexiana.The harmonic complexity of Gesualdo's work is a musical mountain and it’s difficult to climb. After the first two highly acclaimed volumes devoted to Book 3 and Book 6, here is the First Book. It was composed in 1594 during his stay in Ferrara with the composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi and the renowned women’s ensemble Concerto delle Donne. Luzzaschi was already cultivating the poignant chromatism that Gesualdo, an extravagante native of Naples, would go on to include in his own compositions.After the dissonance and dizzying harmonic shifts in the first two volumes, this First Book of Madrigals for five a capella voices feels more classical, especially as our madrigalists know exactly how to make the rich polyphony pop: with fluidity, purity and softness. It’s impossible not to admire the vocal quality, the intensity of expression and supple melismas contained within this incredible music. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Part of PBS' long-running Great Performances program, Concerto: One Night in Central Park features legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's 2011 free concert on Central Park's Great Lawn. With Bocelli backed by the New York Philharmonic conducted by longtime musical director Alan Gilbert, the 17-track collection is also being made available in a deluxe edition that includes a DVD of the evening.© James Christopher Monger /TiVo