Jacobs and Bejun Mehta unleash the primal energies buried in magnificent yet largely forgotten operas...Jacobs's abrupt tempo twists, the instrumentalists' boldness and the chorus's power make such ensemble sections as electrifying as Mehta's solos. This is a daring and important retelling of the story of Classical opera.

a well-chosen showcase, Mehta’s dramatic instincts are effectively deployed, and the accompaniments in the recitatives are handled with all the fluency we’ve come to expect from Jacobs complete Mozart opera recordings

if you have an ear for the tragic passions beneath the music’s formal contours, you will succumb to its expressive grace, especially with interpreters as persuasive as Mehta and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under René Jacobs.

Always acutely alive to text and dramatic situation...Mehta's dramatic involvement elevates some rather routine invention in the items by the teenage Mozart...The most enjoyable, intelligently planned countertenor recital to have come my way in years.

Mehta’s phrasing is impeccable in the melodically captivating ‘Pensa a serbarmi, o cara’ while the assertive ‘Se il fulmine sospendi’ affords another opportunity for heroic display with its trumpet-like coloratura. Raphael Alpermann supplies imaginative continuo support on a period piano without straying beyond the bounds of propriety. Highly recommended.

Mehta shows how [coloratura passages] can have real expressive point and dramatic purpose, while his purity of line in quiet passages is ravishing...René Jacobs's meticulous accompaniments with the Akademie für Alte Musik add the finishing touches.

Mehta tackles the tumultuous emotions and bravura technicalities of the great accompanied recitatives and arias that these innovative composers provided for the finest singers of the age. He provides solid style and a strong sense of purpose.