George Frideric HANDEL (1685–1759)
Rodelinda, Regina de’ Longobardi
(1725)
Rodelinda – Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Bertarido – Iestyn Davies (countertenor)
Grimoaldo – Joshua Ellicott (tenor)
Garibaldo – Brandon Cedel (bass)
Eduige – Jess Dandy (contralto)
Unulfo – Tim Mead (countertenor)
The English Concert/Harry Bicket (harpsichord)
rec. St John’s Smith Square, London, UK, 16 – 21 September 2020
Sung texts with English translations enclosed
Reviewed as download from press preview.
LINN CKD658
[(3
CDs): 202:00]
Handel was in an uncommonly inspired phase in the mid-1720s, when within
less than a year he created three of his best operas: Giulio Cesare (premiered on 20 February 1724), Tamerlano
(31 October 1724) and Rodelinda (13 February 1725), all three with
librettos by Nicola Francesco Haym, who invariably drew the best from him.
Haym’s source for Rodelinda was Paul the Deacon’s chronicle of
tidings in seventh century Lombardy in northern Italy. French dramatist
Pierre Corneille in the seventeenth century based a tragedy on that
material – not a success – but in the early eighteenth-century librettist
Antonio Salvi refurbished the drama, cutting out most of the politics and
concentrated on the personal emotions, and it was this libretto that Haym
versified for Handel.
The story is, as almost always in baroque operas, quite complicated and the
easiest way to get the gist of it is through
Wikipedia’s article. A thumbnail account goes like this: “Grimoaldo defeated
Bertarido and usurped the throne. Bertarido fled and is believed to be dead
but his friend Unulfo knows that he is hiding in the vicinity. Grimoaldo is
betrothed to Bertarido’s sister, Eduige, but he has also fallen in love
with Rodelinda, Bertarido’s wife. The evil Garibaldo, who is Grimoaldo’s
counsellor, plans to take the throne for himself. Bertarido returns in
disguise and he and Rodelinda meet secretly. They are discovered by
Garibaldo who throws Bertarido in prison; Unulfo and Eduige manage to
release him. Grimoaldo tries to find rest in a garden where he falls
asleep. Garibaldo finds him and is ready to kill him with his own sword,
but then Bertarido appears and kills Garibaldo but spares Grimoaldo, who
gives up his claims to the throne and finally asks Eduige to marry him.
Happy ending, and all the characters unite in a short jubilant chorus.”
Handel was a master at characterising the persons in his music, and even
Mozart, who didn’t think too highly of fellow composers, said: “Handel
understands affect better than any of us. When he chooses, he strikes like
a thunder bolt.” This is particularly true about Rodelinda where
all six characters are pictured in rounded portraits that make them
believable individuals, human beings of flesh and blood. They also develop
during the run of the opera, as Ruth Smith analyses in her very readable
liner notes. Composing the work for some of the greatest singers of the
period – Francesca Cuzzoni was Rodelinda at the premiere, Francesco
Bernardi, better known as Senesini, was Bertarido and Francesco Borosini,
with a range spanning from tenor to bass, was Grimoaldo – he had to satisfy
his stars’ demands for virtuoso arias, and they all get their fair share of
coloratura. No less than 8 arias fall to Rodelinda’s lot and Bertarido
follows hard on her heels with 7; they also sing two duets. Grimoaldo
doesn’t come away empty-handed, either, with 6 arias, while Eduige and
Unulfo get 3 each and poor Garibaldo only 2 – but he is, of course, the
ugly customer. There are also substantial portions of recitative, both
secco and accompagnato, but they are mostly delivered swiftly and with
strong dramatic power.
The technical demands are, naturally, high but besides the fireworks, which
are in no way empty showpieces, there are many moments of repose and
contemplation. The very first vocal number, after the rhythmically acute
and colourful overture and the elegant minuet, rivetingly played, is
Rodelinda’s sorrowful lamentation, Ho perduto, where she bemoans
her husband Bertarido’s death. It is one of the finest laments in any
Handel opera and it is deeply moving. But when the usurper Grimoaldo
approaches her and declares his hitherto hidden love to her, she ignites
and delivers a furious aria that tells him that she will never give in to
him despite her devastating sorrow. Embellished, technically superb,
glorious singing. Within less than one minute she expresses diametrically
extreme feeling. The psychologist Handel at work.
In the next scene Bertarido, who is far from dead but will not yet reveal
that he is alive, arrives and sees the monument erected to his memory. He
is as deeply in love with Rodelinda as she is with him and in the famous
aria Dove sei, amato bene? he pours out his feelings. This is also
one of the many musical highlights in this opera, and here the dethroned
King, who otherwise is a hot-head, shows his softer side.
Among further masterly arias in the first act Rodelinda’s Ombra liante, urne funeste is beautifully scored with obbligato
recorder solo. In act II Bertarido sings another touching lamentation, Con rauco mormorio, and again the scoring is superb. Rodelinda
counters in a following scene with the beautiful love song Ritorna, o caro, divinely sung. But all the arias have something
to offer, be it technical brilliance or dramatic intensity (often in
combination). In fact, it is a treat just to lean back and enjoy the music,
without bothering about the text. And there are many magical moments. The
most magic – and here you must follow the text – is Grimoaldo’s recitativo
accompagnato near the end of the opera. He is alone in the royal garden.
His soul is in a turmoil. He is haunted by three furies armed with many
whips, and remorse torments him “calling me faithless, perjurer, usurper,
villain and tyrant”. But here comes the turning-point, a transformation in
his soul, and the orchestra tells us that more convincing than a thousand
words. Grimoaldo has found comfort and peace, become a better human being:
“a peaceful heart is as precious as the throne.” He sings his aria Pastorello d’un povero Armento, where the text says: “The shepherd
of a poor flock may sleep content beneath the shade of a beech or laurel;
I, king of a magnificent realm, can find no peace under the shade of purple
and gold.” He falls asleep and the eval Garibaldo appears, intent on
killing him. At that moment Bertarido, sword in hand, rushes in and chases
Garibaldo offstage.
The whole scene must have been a thriller at the
King’s Theatre
in the Haymarket back in 1725, and it still is a nail-biter almost 300
years later, thanks to Haym and Handel. But they are extremely well
supported by Harry Bicket and The English Concert and the six top-rank
soloists. I have already commented on the superb playing and must add that
the choices of tempo are unerringly apt. As a listener one sits from the
start on the edge of the chair, eager to follow the outcome of the story.
The soloists all have the technical and emotional capacity to tackle the
admittedly advanced challenges of the music. Lucy Crowe, whose Gilda in Rigoletto at Covent Garden was an eye-opener for me almost ten
years ago, is a fantastic Rodelinda, a role she did at the Dutch National
Opera in January 2020. She is dramatic and expressive in recitatives, has
beauty of tone and warmth in the lyric moments and negotiates the virtuoso
cascades with aplomb. The workload for the soprano in a stage performance
is enormous; here recorded over a period of almost a week she could,
hopefully, come fresh to every new take. A resounding success in every
respect. The same goes for Iestyn Davies in Bertarido’s role. The technical
demands are just as challenging for him and he has few, if any, superiors
in the world today. Technique and dramatic conviction are true hallmarks
for him and together they also match each other to perfection in the two
duets. Joshua Ellicott as Grimoaldo is an excellent actor and his technical
ability is also superb. His tenor may not be intrinsically beautiful – but
he is, on the other hand, an evil character most of the time – and his
expressivity is certainly tangible. Brandon Cedel’s Garibaldo is the other
bad boy, and his powerful bass-baritone is impressive with blackish bottom
notes. Jess Dandy’s Eduige and Tim Mead’s Unulfo are also impressive in
their roles and the only problem – if it really is a problem – is that Mead
and Davies, who sing a lot together, are a little tricky to tell apart.
Their timbres are similar. Ms Dandy’s fruity contralto is, however, very
distinctly individual. With excellent documentation and recorded sound in
the demonstration class this is in every respect an utterly recommendable
production of one of the best baroque operas.
What about competition? There was an old Westminster recording under Brian
Priestman from 1964, which has been available on Deutsche Grammophon (DG
4792343), but it is uncertain whether it still in circulation. The almost
contemporaneous Decca recording under Richard Bonynge with Joan Sutherland
in the title role is, of course, a classic, but it is abridged and
stylistically rather dated. It is now available on Australian Eloquence
(4806105 –
review
of Pristine Audio version). Nicholas Kraemer’s 1996 recording on Virgin
Classics is today available on Erato 5452772; and Alan Curtis’ 2005
recording on DG Archiv (4775391), which I have not heard, was hailed by BBC
Music Magazine in 2007: “Of available recordings this set has the edge, for
its greater dramatic urgency and richer characterisation”. The latest I
have come across is a live production on Dynamic CDS7724 from 2010, which I
reviewed
favourably some years ago. Conducted by Diego Fasolis and with Sonia
Ganassi and Franco Fagioli as Rodelinda and Bertarido, this is a worthy
alternative, if one is prepared to accept stage noise and applause. The two
main characters are splendid, and Fagioli is probably the closest we can
come today to the sound a castrato alto produced. For overall excellence,
however, I give my vote to Harry Bicket and his crew. This recording should
satisfy every lover of baroque opera!
Göran Forsling
George Frideric HANDEL (1685–1759)
Rodelinda, Regina de’ Longobardi
Lucy Crowe, Iestyn Davies; The English Concert/Harry Bicket rec. 2020
LINN CKD658
[69:40 + 66:46 + 65:34] [GF]
Should satisfy every lover of baroque opera!