
Without any doubt, the best Ariodante ever heard and seen in Europe since the disappearance of castratos:
Joyce DiDonato - Mezzosoprano
It was the first time that an Ariodante singer gave me satisfaction. I had searched from Barcelona to Vienna, survived minor disasters and ... finally found him/her (Dopo Notte!!) right at my doorstep:
LIVE in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov 2007
G.F. Handel: Ariodante, London 1735
Video Trailer of this production:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l5GyahMzuzQ
Total cast:
Joyce DiDonato ............. Ariodante
Patrica Petibon ................ Ginevra
Varduhi Abrahamyan .... Polinesso
Amanda Forsythe ............ Dalinda
Charles Workman .......... Lurcanio
Antonio Abete .... King of Scotland
Kenneth Montgomery, conductor
Joyce DiDonato about this role on her website:
http://www.joycedidonato.com/englishjournalarch1-33.html
"This Prince has long been at the top of my list of 'dream roles', and in a way it's a bit sad to move it from the unknown, virginal stage of "maybe one day I'll get to sing it" to the reality of premiering such an iconic role, knowing that there is only one 'first time'. I have high hopes for this role, as artistically it feels like a perfect fit, and I am surely challenged in every single way with the demands of the role. But the hardest part as I go into Sunday's premiere is that I want it to be so, so good. I want people to breathe each breath along with Ariodante, to feel his naive and unfiltered jubilation at the start of the piece, to walk with him as the poison of doubt enters his veins, as his heart breaks in two when he believes his love to be untrue, not to mention when the realization erupts in him that ultimately he, himself, is the only one to blame for the betrayal, and finally coming full circle to joy again -- but this time, a joy which bares the wounds of his mortality, that shines through the scars of his all too human nature. I want people to take this journey with him, so that at the end of the (nearly) 4 hour evening, they will have experienced a rich odyssey of human fraility. I also want them to be completely absorbed by the almost painfully beautiful music Handel created for his masterpiece, for this is truly, a masterpiece."
Aria of ARIODANTE
************
Con l'ali di costanza
Alza il suo volo Amor,
Fa trionfar nel cor
Fede, e speranza.
Non devo più temere
Di sorte il rio tenor,
Ma col mio bel tesor
Sempre godere.
************
Love takes its flight
on the wings of constancy,
and causes faith and hope
to triumph in the heart.
No longer need I fear
the cruel course of Fate,
but with my fair beloved
can always rejoice.
************
I've uploaded 5 of Joyce's great Ario arias:
- Tu, preparati a morire
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9048-HyQDGM
- Dopo notte
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oYLqmc1u0ck
- Con l'ali di costanza
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=L-uZZEbNXpk
- Cieca notte
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2B4a-BeDdA
- Numi! lasciarmi vivere
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3brcxVfPqWs
Scherza infida will be on her Furore CD
(too long for youtube)