Georg Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Rodrigo – Opera in three acts HWV 5 (1707)
Rodrigo - Erica Eloff (soprano), Elisena - Fflur Wyn (soprano), Florinda - Anna Dennis (soprano), Giuliano - Jorge Navarro Colorado (tenor), Evanco - Russell Harcourt (countertenor), Fernando - Leandro Marziotte (countertenor), FestspielOrchester Göttingen/Laurence Cummings
rec. live 17 May 2019, Göttingen International Handel Festival
Sung in Italian. Libretto in Italian with German and English translations. Text in German and English.
ACCENT ACC26412 [3 CDs: 168:21]
Handel’s opera Rodrigo was composed for Florence during his early sojourn in Italy, which also brought such works as La Ressurezione (1708) and Agrippina (1709). It is filled with a much larger amount of recitative than we are accustomed to in his other operas. This recording is the third one that I am aware of. Previously there was a recording on Virgin Veritas under Alan Curtis, which I used for comparison. There was also another version on Naďve under Eduardo López Banzo, which I have not yet heard.
The first thing that struck me about this recording was how beautifully the sound engineers caught the natural ambience of the orchestra playing in an auditorium intended for baroque performance. There is a palpable sense of space around the instruments, which never feels overdone. The orchestra play beautifully throughout for conductor Laurence Cummings, who also plays the harpsichord during the recitatives.
The voice distribution on this recording involves three sopranos and two countertenors. The previous recordings had a mezzo-soprano in the mix. The two sopranos, Fflur Wyn (Elisena) and Anna Dennis (Florinda) are competing for the love of the Visigothic King Rodrigo. They have the disadvantage of sounding rather alike on CD. This puts the drama a little off-kilter; it is too hard to differentiate their tones, especially as a few of their arias come directly after one another. Both singers sing with a lovely pure tone, and manage their decorations with style and elegance.
Soprano Erica Eloff in the title role has a voice with quite a distinctive timbre that provides great contrast with that of the other two sopranos. Her vocal expression is really quite vivid, especially in the recitatives. She is not afraid to allow her tone to veer into unpleasantness for good dramatic effect.
As Giuliano, tenor Jorge Navarro Colorado has a light and warm-sounding lyric tenor. His gentle tones, however, do not do justice to the more aggressive arias that Handel provided, so the role of Giuliano lacks a dramatic impact.
Presence is certainly something that countertenor Russell Harcourt has in abundance for the role of Evanco. I found myself sitting up and taking notice every time his voice entered the proceedings. His vocal expression is so very assured and commanding that I welcomed each new appearance. His voice has a distinctively soprano-like timbre. He uses it well although he tends to turn harshly strident at the top of his range. In the role of Fernando, Leandro Marziotte has a vocal quality which is much closer to the sound we are accustomed to hearing among today’s countertenors. His presence takes something of a back seat to Harcourt’s because his mode of expression is more subdued.
This is a live recording, so there is the usual array of stage noises, including a bicycle bell at one point. Applause, kept at a minimum, occurs primarily at the conclusion of Act three. There is a generous booklet with many photos of what appears to have been a fairly ghastly-looking production. In comparison to the earlier Curtis recording, I find that the version on Virgin is preferable for the marvellous cast and wonderful performances of Alan Curtis and the Compleso Barocco. It is important to note, however, that Curtis cut the recitatives heavily to fit on two CDs. The Accent recording has the benefit of recording the full recitatives that have survived, which makes it spread over three CDs. Neither release includes the ballet music. If completeness is crucial, then I would certainly not hesitate to invest in the newer version, but the older recording would still be my first choice.
Mike Parr
