Rolando Villazón, a lyrical bel canto tenor - what this baroque? This can not go well but! Believe me, it is even more than good. With this album the singer in my opinion puts on the strongest prior to his debut album "Italian Opera Arias". According to the company, the charismatic opera singer worked six months in mind to develop its technology for Handel and you can hear that. He sings the Baroque arias in perfect style for me - purists will perhaps have to improve tiny little things. But this is not the inclusion of a bel canto performer who tries to fun times to Handel, but the inside immerses himself with a lot of attention and intelligence in this music and it delivers. In addition, the warm voice of the singer is wonderfully suited for early music, although one could imagine before actually bad. The result is that he gives an unexpected new vitality of baroque music and gives it its own touch that yet never glossed over the style of the Baroque. The coloratura he copes without difficulty and the legato passages come his singing anyway more than accommodating.
The Gabrieli Players under Paul McCreesh do their job extremely well and give with their original instruments and their original way of playing a very precise idea of how exciting and baroque music can be. They always remain discreetly in the background of the song - only absolutely appropriate places they emerge. Paul McCreesh coordinated here a unique interplay between singers and orchestra. The decision to open this CD with an original ensemble, performs, among other things, that the Baroque music will appear here very intimate and true to the heart. An effect that is lost otherwise often large in accordance with the style of classical orchestrations and the music takes its direct effect.
The most poignant for me arias this CD are in addition to the phenomenal hit "Ombra mai fu" (no. 5), among others, the rather unknown aria "Pastorello d'un povero armento" (no. 3) from the opera "Rodelinda, Regina de `Longobardi", as well as the arias "Scherza, infida, in grembo al drudo!" (No. 8, from Ariodante) and "Caro figlio" (No. 14) from the "resurrection".
The last two arias that were selected from the Tamerlano, are "Figlia mia, non pianger" and "Tu, spietato, il vedrai" (no. 11, 12) and are for me a poignant example of the ability of this artist. Without that, I know the opera or possess the text of the arias, is here only by vocal representation of the farewell of a father to his daughter, grief, despair and the subsequent agony illustrates very poignant. Another highlight of this extraordinary CD!
I was God knows no Baroque lovers, but by this CD my interest in the Baroque was very aroused and I will oppose this style in the future with open arms - and I'm sure that will not only me go so. Rolando Villazón may not be a specialist baroque singer, but he is a singer who is the Baroque certainly gain more attention and freed from its verbosity - by a precise character study and a wonderfully vivid interpretation of the "original" music.
