Handel’s Unsung Heroes

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

In the PENTATONE CD Handel’s Unsung Heroes, the instrumentalists of La Nuova Musica are placed on the same plane as the singers.

Three marvelous players – violinist Thomas Gould, oboist Leo Duarte and bassoonist Joe Qiu stand shoulder to shoulder with soprano Lucy Crowe, mezzo-soprano Christine Rice and countertenor Iestyn Davies in an array of nine arias, and shine in a variety of instrumental turns.

The three singers – countertenor Iestyn Davies, soprano Lucy Crowe, and mezzo-soprano Christine Rice are nothing short of spectacular: Iestyn Davies sets the bar high for peer countertenors, delivering two show-stopping arie di bravura from Rinaldo: Or la tromba in suon festante and Venti, turbini, prestate le vostre ali a questo pie.  

Mezzo-soprano Christine Rice’s lyric sound is perfect for Pena tiranna io sento al core from Amadigi di Gaula, ideal for Ariodante’s Scherza, Infida, and incomparable in Sta nell’Ircana pietrosa tana from Alcina.

Lucy Crowe’s dispenses warp-speed runs with aplomb and rides the high tessitura of Cleopatra’s arias from Giulio Cesare with ease, later producing a flute-like dulcet sound for Galatea’s Qui l’augel da pianta in pianta from Aci, Galatea e Polifemo.

Leading unobtrusively, accompanying the singers, and dominating the proceedings in the various instrumental passages David Bates is the ideal Handel conductor.

Rafael de Acha    ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”