Handel - Deidamia / Baird · Harris · Cheek · Fortunato · O'Brien · Castaldi · Palmer

On this CD:

1. Deidamia, opera, HWV 42
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Julianne Baird, Peter Castaldi, John Cheek, D'Anna Fortunato, Brenda Harris
Conducted by Rudolph Palmer

Tracks:

Act I: Ov
Act I: March
Act I: Recit: Per Vendicar
Act I: Air: Grecia Tu Offendi
Act I: Recit: Falsa E La Voce
Act I: Air: Al Tardar
Act I: Recit: O D'amicizia
Act I: Air: Nelle Nubi
Act I: Recit/Air: Ecco...Due Bell
Act I: Air: Di Lusinghe
Act I: Arioso: Seguir Di Selva
Act I: Recit: E Sempre Fisse
Act I: Air: Quando Accenderan
Act I: Recit: Alla Delizia
Act I: Air: Se Pensi Amor
Act I: Recit: L'uno E Fenice
Act I: Air: Si, Che Desio
Act I: Recit: In Vano
Act I: Air: Perdere Il Bene
Act I: Recit: Da Questi Scaltri
Act I: Air: Nasconde L'usignol

Tracks:

Act II: Sinf
Act II: Recit: Deidamia Qui
Act II: Air: Un Guardo Solo
Act II: Recit: O Che Importuni
Act II: Arioso: Lasciami
Act II: Recit: Se L'ira
Act II: Air: D'amor Nei Primi
Act II: Recit: Lusinghe
Act II: Air: Se Il Timore
Act II: Recit: Dalla Caccia
Act II: Air: Nel Riposo
Act II: Chorus: Della Guerra
Act II: Recit: Inseguito
Act II: Air: Non Ti Credo
Act II: Recit: Ninfa, Da Noi
Act II: Air: Presso Ad Occhi
Act II: Recit: Pochi Momenti
Act II: Air: No, No
Act II: Recit: Quest'e La Caccia
Act II: Air: Va Perfido
Act II: Recit: Plocar Tosto
Act II: Air: Si, M'appaga
Act II: Recit: No, Che Ninfa
Act II: Chor: L'alto Giove

Tracks:

Act III: Sinf
Act III: Recit: Assai Gioco
Act III: Air: Degno Piu
Act III: Recit: Molto Dagli
Act III: Air: Quanto Ingannata
Act III: Recit: Tutto E Gia Pronto
Act III: Air: Ai Greci Questa Spada
Act III: Recit: Che Piu Giova
Act III: Air: M'ai Resa Infelice
Act III: Recit: Versa Al Gran Fine
Act III: Air: Come All'urto
Act III: Recit: Dal Destino
Act III: Air: Or Pensate
Act III: Recit: Sprone Ad Affetti
Act III: Air: Consolami
Act III: Recit: Scoperte Son
Act III: Air: Non Vuo Perdere
Act III: Recit: Itaca Prence
Act III: Duet: Ama
Act III: Chor: Non Trascurate

Customer Reviews:

terrific Handel.......2002-06-12

I recently heard and loved this new recording of Handel's
last opera. As it is being presented this summer (2002) at the Caramoor Festival--I plan to attend--I wanted some advance knowledge of the score, and was surprised at the superb high quality of the artists performing here--most especially the outstanding soprano Julianne Baird in the title role. Opposite her is the also estimable Brenda Harris who this spring sang the title role of Agrippina so brilliantly at New York City Opera. It's a delight and the biggest success here is Handel's work. Buy it!

Deidamia is glorious.......2001-11-09

If this is Handel's last opera, one wonders in this age of annual "farewell concert tours," the joys of old age and AARP, why he actually stopped. It is glorious music--and this from the pen of the composer who--after deciding never to compose another opera--went on to produce Messiah, Judas Maccabaeus, and Joshua, none of them operas.
What a shame! But as this superb CD's booklet makes clear, his public, "fickle London," simply wasn't interested anymore in Italian plots and da capo airs, in castratos and foreign divas. This is too bad, since Handel gave up not only all these but the production of what comes down to us today: glorious tunes.
Mr. Palmer and his wonderful troop with Julianne Baird at the helm are utterly charming in this, offering the American CD buyer an alternative to the customary stranglehold placed on this material by their British counterparts.
Bravo. Go out and buy it and congratulations to Albany in landing this wonderful performance team. Maybe there's a still-unknown Handel work for them to hunt up??? Good work.

At last, Handel's last Italian opera in a worthy performance.......2001-10-22

This is a welcome premiere recording of Handel's last Italian opera (1740-41). As with Serse & Imeneo, the 2 that immediately precede it, we would call it a comedy if Shakespeare had written it; like Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte, it has a distinctly bittersweet tone, & the "happy" ending means sorrow for its heroine. The plot is a straightforward take on the mythology of the Trojan War, focusing on the efforts of the Greeks to recruit the young hero Achilles, who has been sent into hiding by his father. In the end the Greeks get their man: Ulysses outwits Achilles' lover Deidamia by feeding Achilles' desire for adventure & fame. (Hanging over the outcome is the prophecy that Achilles will die in the war.) Deidamia's efforts to save her beloved & the rocky course of their relationship inspired Handel to compose the most passionate music in the opera, & give the piece its emotional center. This recording, uncut except for a short scene in Act I, starts with an excellent foundation in the playing of the Brewer Chamber Orchestra under Rudolph Palmer's experienced direction. Then there is outstanding work from soprano Julianne Baird (Deidamia), mezzo-soprano D'Anna Fortunato (Achilles) & bass John Cheek (King Lycomedes, Deidamia's father), all stylish Handelians who know how to make their words count; baritone Peter Castaldi (Phoenix) offers solid support. As to the others, Maire O'Brien does some fine singing as Nerea, Deidamia's confidante, but also sounds unsettled in her 1st 2 arias; as Ulysses (a difficult role) Brenda Harris doesn't always point the text as much as one would like. Still, this is overall a serious & accomplished performance, a credit both to the performers & to producer John Ostendorf. Be warned, however: the English translation of the libretto is full of errors, many of them serious. Admittedly, 18th century operatic Italian can sometimes be convoluted; but there's no excuse for providing an English version which repeatedly obscures, muddles or turns upside down a thought which is perfectly lucid & logical in the original.

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