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René Jacobs & Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin - Handel: Agrippina (2011) [CD Rip]

René Jacobs & Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin - Handel: Agrippina (2011) [CD Rip]
  • Title: Handel: Agrippina
  • Year Of Release: 2011
  • Label: Harmonia Mundi
  • Genre: Classical
  • Quality: FLAC (image + .cue, log, scans)
  • Total Time: 3:23:07
  • Total Size: 1.11 GB
  • WebSite:

Agrippina, composed in Venice in 1709, is generally accounted as Handel's first operatic masterpieces. Musically it combines a number of perfectly timed and characteristically Handelian tunes with the extensive and dramatically shaped recitatives of an earlier era of Italian opera. The libretto, based on the ancient Roman story of the mother of the emperor Nero and her involvement in intrigues to depose Claudius, crackles with satire and is thought to contain references to Italian politics of the day. Even those who feel that the somewhat free, even flamboyant Baroque opera interpretations of conductor René Jacobs may sometimes go too far are likely to be won over by this entertaining reading. Jacobs tweaks details throughout for dramatic effect. He uses an autograph score in preference to the more commonly performed first edition, a decision that seems to increase the proportion of recitatives, but this is not a disadvantage: he deploys a very large battery of continuo instruments that bring the recitatives to life. The crucial role of the continuo in Baroque opera as participant in the drama, so much more than mere harmony filler, has rarely been so thoroughly explored. His singers for the most part are admirable partners in the effort, especially Bulgarian soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska in the title role. She inhabits what is a fully drawn character to rival those of Romantic opera, and although Agrippina is not Handel's most famous or consistently perfect opera, this might be recommended for those new to Baroque opera inasmuch as it is, especially in this version, a great deal of fun. ~ James Manheim


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