Special offer. Handel: Atalanta, HWV35
Dominique Labelle (Atalanta), Susanne Rydén (Meleagro), Cécile van de Sant (Irene), Michael Slattery (Aminta), Philip Cutlip (Nicandro) & Corey Mckern (Mercurio)
Philharmonia Chorale & Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan
Labelle's Atalanta is every inch the blue-blooded shepherdess whose inner Princess surfaces with her exquisitely polished tone. She also produces some deliciously seductive sighs...Impressive,...
Special offer. Handel: Atalanta, HWV35
Dominique Labelle (Atalanta), Susanne Rydén (Meleagro), Cécile van de Sant (Irene), Michael Slattery (Aminta), Philip Cutlip (Nicandro) & Corey Mckern (Mercurio)
Philharmonia Chorale & Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan
Purchase product
Labelle's Atalanta is every inch the blue-blooded shepherdess whose inner Princess surfaces with her exquisitely polished tone. She also produces some deliciously seductive sighs...Impressive,...
About
Handel’s 1736 opera 'Atalanta' concluded with a spectacular display of fireworks in its first year of performance; it has only recently been revived for the first time since the 18th century. The fireworks on this live Philharmonia Baroque recording from 2005 are of the vocal variety. The San Francisco Chronicle raved: “Magnificent… the most vibrant, exhilarating stretch of musical showmanship this organization has offered in many a long season. Not since a decade ago have Philharmonia audiences witnessed a performance so deep, so affecting or so rich in musical splendor… The music is inventive and beautiful throughout… McGegan, a consummate master of this style, led a performance that was at once tender and vivacious, brisk and rhythmically free. .. Even in a cast without a weak link, soprano Dominique Labelle stood out for the grandeur and pathos of her singing in the title role… a breathtaking performance.”
Contents and tracklist
- Susanne Rydén, Michael Slattery, Cécile van de Sant, Philip Cutlip, Dominique Labelle
- Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
- Nicholas McGegan
- Dominique Labelle, Susanne Rydén, Cécile van de Sant, Michael Slattery
- Philharmonia Chorale, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
- Nicholas McGegan
- Dominique Labelle, Cécile van de Sant, Michael Slattery, Susanne Rydén, Philip Cutlip, Corey McKern
- Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorale
- Nicholas McGegan
Awards and reviews
August 2012
Labelle's Atalanta is every inch the blue-blooded shepherdess whose inner Princess surfaces with her exquisitely polished tone. She also produces some deliciously seductive sighs...Impressive, too, is Susanne Ryden's breathtaking verve in dispatching the high notes...As ever, McGegan directs with incisive intelligence, drawing wonderfully spirited playing from the Philharmonia Baroque.
September 2012
a charming Arcadian tale full of warm-hearted characterisations and wonderful music...McGegan's gently charismatic conducting lavishes obvious TLC upon one of Handel's most light-hearted lesser-known gems. The performance is certainly more accomplished and captivating than the only other recording of Atalanta.
July/August 2012
For compulsive Handelians, the set is worth hearing above all for Dominique Labelle's entrancing heroine...She's the shining star of the set...McGegan himself is always worth hearing in Handel, with his lively pacing and apparently instrinctive sense of tempo relationships - the slow arias never sound a drag - and his long rapport with the Philharmonia Baroque reveals itself in playing which is as sprightly in fast numbers as it is expressive in slow.
Daily Telegraph 9th June 2012
McGegan's conducting is adroit
