I love opera, bluegrass, burger joints and fictional detectives. Mostly, but not always, in that order. Formerly of Dunedin, formerly of Sydney, now travelling the world with the tenor in my life (Stuart Skelton) and blogging as I go.
I will always love mezzos just a bit (or a lot) better than countertenors, it's the way I am, but the latter still have the power to woo me now and then, and particularly when they sound so gorgeous that to resist would be utterly obtuse. Such is the case with Bejun Mehta, at least in his new Handel CD, Ombra cara. It's one of the most wonderful Handel aria discs I've heard for quite a while; up there with Joyce DiDonato's Furore and Sandrine Piau's Opera Seria. Quite amazing. And why am I telling you all this? Because my five star review of Ombra cara for Limelight is now online, so if you'd like to read it, you can. Then, if Handel's your bag, seriously consider buying the CD.
Today is Handel's 326th birthday – or would have been, if he'd ever run into Hieronymus Makropulos. So, in celebration, here are five of my favourite Handel moments.
1. "Myself I shall adore."
I suppose my introduction to Handel was probably Messiah, but it was another oratorio entirely which got me hooked – the decidedly secular Semele. Ruth Ann Swenson and Kathleen Battle between them taught me to love this aria, but here's another absolute favourite of mine, the gorgeous Carolyn Sampson, singing it at the Proms in 2009.
2. "As with rosy steps the morn."
It's pretty much impossible not to be spellbound by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson here.
3. "I know that my redeemer liveth."
You may or may not like the video – it's from a staged, modern dress Messiah – but I love Susan Gritton in this aria, one of the most beautiful moments in the whole oratorio.
4. "Un cenno leggiadretto."
At the opposite end of the spectrum, a bit of madcap fun from Serse, courtesy of Sandrine Piau, who never met a florid aria she couldn't ace.
5. "Destero dall'empia dite."
I couldn't not include some Joyce DiDonato on this list – her Handel is some of the most brilliant to be found these days. Here she is, live in concert (with a broken leg, which is why she's seated) singing this militant number from Amadigi di Gaula.
Bonus: "O, ruddier than the cherry" and "Cease to beauty"
It occurs to me that all the clips above are of female singers. Which probably says something about Handel's biases as well as about mine, but at any rate, here's something much more manly. Owen Brannigan – who created a number of Britten roles – sings two arias from Acis and Galatea. Audio only this time, but still fairly impressive; and that's one Joan Sutherland shunning him so prettily between the arias.
Of course, a list like this could easily run to fifty; that's why I like Handel so much. But at any rate, thanks for all the above and more, caro Sassone, and happy birthday.
