大象传媒

Berta Joncus recommends a recording of Handel's Alcina from among available versions for Building a Library on Radio 3.

Power, love and sex are the themes of Handel's final operatic masterpiece. The tale of Alcina, whose journey begins as all-powerful enchantress and ends as tragic victim, inspired Handel to weave his own musical magic and create one of his most memorable and alluring female characters.

From rollicking to heart-breaking, the opera's series of show-stopping arias both for Alcina and other roles, coupled with sparkling dance numbers has made it a magnet not only for some of the great singers of our times but also for many of the leading specialists in period performance and their ensembles.

Top recommendation:

HANDEL: Alcina (Live Recording, Vienna Staatsoper, 2011)
Anja Harteros (Alcina), Vesselina Kasarova (Ruggiero), Kristina Hammarstrom (Bradamante), Veronica Cangemi (Morgana), Benjamin Bruns (Oronte), Adam Plachetka (Melisso), Alois Muhlbacher (Oberto), Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, Marc Minkowski (conductor)
Arthaus Musik 101 571 (2 DVDs)

Other recordings:

Below is a shortlist of other recordings which Berta Joncus also liked, although we can鈥檛 guarantee the availability of these discs.

HANDEL: Alcina
Renee Fleming (Alcina), Susan Graham (Ruggiero), Natalie Dessay (Morgana), Kathleen Kuhlmann (Bradamante), Timothy Robinson (Oronte), Juanita Lascarro (Oberto), Laurent Naouri (Melisso), Les Arts Florissants Orchestra, Chorus, William Christie (conductor)
ERATO 8573802332 (3CD budget)

HANDEL: Alcina
Joyce DiDonato (Alcina), Maite Beaumont (Ruggiero), Karina Gauvin (Morgana), Sonia Prina (Bradamante), Kobie Van Rensburg (Oronte), Laura Cherici (Oberto), Vito Priante (Melisso), Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis (conductor)
DG ARCHIV 4777374 (3CD mid-price)

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