Three shades of grey...
I have my eye patch, my shovel and a stuffed parrot on my shoulder.
Handel: Tolomeo, Re di Egitto HWV25
Ann Hallenberg (Tolomeo), Karina Gauvin (Seleuce), Anna Bonitatibus (Elisa), Romina Basso (Alessandro), Pietro Spagnoli (Araspe)
Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis
Handel: Rodelinda
Simone Kermes (Rodelinda), Marijana Mijanovic (Bertarido), Sonia Prina (Eduige), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Unolfo), Steve Davislim (Grimoaldo), Vito Priante (Garibaldo)
Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis
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Please tell Handel to stop writing operas. I can't keep up!
My favourite handel operas:
And one that isn't strictly an opera:
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Natalie
Nat, Giulio Cesare is not among your favorites?
Anyway, I also profoundly love all that you have quoted, except that I've never heard Solomon.
But for me, Giulio Cesare is still king, followed closely by Hercules and Ariodante.
I also love Rodelinda, Rinaldo, Orlando, Tamerlano, Theodora, Serse, Teseo, and Giove in Argo (a pastiche). I care a bit less for Alcina, Acis and Galatea, Admeto, and Partenope. I loved the staged version of the Messiah.
That's all I know. I need to explore others (but I'm in a bel canto phase, will be moving to Donizetti next, I guess, after having finished the Rossini project; the other Handel operas will have to wait).
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
This is out of stock on Amazon but available from good marketplace vendors such as importcds, classical music superstore, and moviemars, actually all three cheaper than Amazon (but still, the cheapest one, $61.18; a bit less when shipped from the UK but it will take much longer). Before I commit, please tell me more about the quality of these recordings and the quality of the operas themselves. Other than Admeto, I don't know any of the other five.
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
It's my absolute favourite, but here I am trying to encourage Clayton to spend money on things he doesn't yet have.
Now you reminded me of Acis and Galatea, which Clayton NEEDS as well.
And Luiz, Solomon is utterly utterly gorgeous. I'd place it near Giulio Cesare.
Natalie
Ok, I've got the Rameau DVDs "wish-listed" for after getting a DVD player set up.
The good news, I suppose, is that focusing on Rameau's smaller output is way cheaper than building a Handel collection. Right now, I've only got Rinaldo and Xerxes/Serse. I guess I'm behind the curve on Handel.
So many operas, so little time...
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