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Reviewer: Bill
White I first saw British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote perform, as I expect did many Americans, when she sang Hänsel in Humperdinck’s fairy tale opera in a Live in HD Metropolitan Opera matinee several years ago. I didn’t particularly care for the Met production, but as usual, the casting was top-notch, including Coote. Apparently, trousers roles are something of a specialty for her, as they were for her predecessors, Janet Baker and Frederica von Stade. Handel roles would also seem to be something of a speciality. Here Coote combines both strengths, singing several male roles originally written for castrato on this new Hyperion all-Handel disc. Arias for Hercules’s wife, Dejanira, and Radamisto’s wife, Zenobia, are interspersed with male roles from Alcina, Giulio Cersare in Egitto, and Ariodante. As far as programs go, these are all well-known pieces in the mezzo and even countertenor Handel repertoire, so that this disc duplicates much of the material on many others. It is safe rather than adventurous, but these are all quite lovely arias. Coote sings it all with distinction. She has a rich, warm voice with a bright, secure top range, employs vibrato judiciously, decorates tastefully, and provides plenty of vocal coloration. Like many sopranos, Coote lacks a true trill, but she gets by with vocal approximations. I was less happy about the accompaniment of The English Concert, a period ensemble now under the leadership of Baroque specialist Harry Bicket. The group’s strings, especially the violins, sound edgy and lacking in refinement, like many groups used to sound when the period instrument movement was new. Since that time many of the instrumentalists have figured out how to play these sometimes balky combinations of wood, glue, and gut with a bit less edge and a bit more tonal beauty. That train seemingly passed The English Concert by without stopping. Also annoying are the slow tempos employed on several of these pieces, so slow that the group sounds draggy and becomes wearing on the ear. Maybe that was the singer’s choice, but it is not a good one. Hyperion provides texts and translations with well-written background information on each of the arias, a superior effort. I can’t really recommend this disc, but if you don’t mind whiny, rather harsh period strings, the singing is just fine. | |
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