SANDRINE PIAU - HAENDEL,  OPERA SERIA  / LES TALENS LYRIQUES, CHRISTOPHE ROUSSET /

2004 NAIVE 

CD :

GEORG FRIEDRICH HANDEL [1685 - 1759]

2010

“Sandrine Piau and Christophe Rousset have been consistently stylish and perceptive Handelians together. Their musical flair and dramatic intelligence is marvellously captured here, and they have chosen arias that explore the full range of Handel's genius.
The experience starts with the spectacular 'Scoglio d'immota fronte', and the subsequent sequence weaves through wonderful contrasts.
It's hard to capture the full dramatic sense and vivid personality of Handel's opera characters in a studio recital, yet they hit the bullseye every time, bringing out Cleopatra's despair, Rodelinda's eloquent grief for her apparently deceased husband, the heartbroken sorceress Melissa in Amadigi di Gaula, Deidamia's distress at losing Achilles to the Trojan war, and Partenope's gorgeous charisma.
Although some da capo sections stray a little too far from Handel's notation for the comfort of scholars, they all enhance the drama of the text, and each cadenza, showing panache and taste, is a breath of fresh air. The playing of Les Talens Lyriques is a model of clarity, vitality and theatrical wit. It was an inspired decision to close the recital with the sublime understatement of 'Son qual stanco', featuring a heartbreaking cello solo by Atsushi Sakaï. Rousset and Piau achieve the perfect synthesis of elegance, extravagance and emotion. This is may be the finest recital of Handel arias ever recorded.”

This arguably is the best Handel aria recording ever made by a soprano, and that's acknowledging the fine efforts of singers such as Emma Kirkby and Renée Fleming, whose traversals of similar territory simply pale by comparison to the scintillating, virtuoso vocalism of Sandrine Piau. Beginning with the first of these 12 more-or-less rarely performed opera arias, Piau shows the difference between mortal accomplishment and super-human dominion over Handel's magnificent creations. The runs sparkle, the leaps land with pinpoint accuracy on every note, and the phrasing is executed with fiery dynamic impact, clear enunciation, and a forward drive that pulls us dancing along to a satisfying conclusion that we can only presume the composer would have relished. If you've heard Fleming's very solid, tonally full-bodied rendition of this "Scoglio d'immota fronte" (slower than Piau by nearly a half-minute), you're certainly impressed by her command of the music and its dramatic aspects, but next to Piau, her perfectly respectable performance is earthbound, abetted by a weighty orchestral accompaniment.

For Piau, Christope Rousset's Les Talens Lyriques is a spry, nimble, and very responsive orchestra that bends and breathes and bobs and weaves according to the soloist's every expressive utterance. And it's not only the fast and flashy singing that impresses--although there's enough of that here to satisfy everyone's appreciation for "show-off" material!; Piau also manages to convince us that she's a consummate interpreter by rendering the slower, more sensuous arias with equal aplomb and well-wrought characterization. The sound is ideal--and the orchestra's playing is every bit as exciting and vibrant as Piau's singing. Lovers of Handel opera must not miss these extraordinary, "disc of the year"-quality performances. C'est magnifique! [2/8/2005]

PRODUKT ORYGINALNY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!