Alcina

"[In] Handel's Alcina or Disenchantment ... Sandrine Piau as Alcina herself and Sabina Puertolas as Morgana ... sing and act their roles with extraordinary passion ... By no means least of the contributions is that of the splendid Christophe Rousset and his superb period band Les Talents Lyriques ... [In] Tamerlano ... Rousset's orchestra excels. Jeremy Ovenden as Bajazet and Sophie Karthäuser as Asteria are outstanding ... This set is highly recommendable".

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"Prächtig gesungen und musiziert sind die ... beiden Werke ... mit wenigen andeutenden Kulissen und in Rokokokostümen ... Maite Beaumont (Ruggiero), Daniel Behle (Oronte), Sophie Karthäuser (Asteria), Ann Hallenberg (Irene), Christophe Dumaux (Tamerlano) und die andren machen das ganz vorzüglich".

"Editor's choice: Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques perform with a rare ability to express holistically the score's depictions of defiance, loneliness, introspection, enragement or melancholy ... This is essential viewing for those who take Handel as a dramatist seriously".

"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "If ever there was an opera production made for the probing, roving eye of the camera, it's Katie Mitchell's Alcina ... The director's signature visual detail, coupled with her emphasis on psychological truthfulness, means that every close-up yields more intrigue, more insight into Handel's troubled cast of characters ... For all that it's a magic opera ... With the support of Andrea Marcon and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and a superb cast of singing actors (including a mesmerising Petibon) ... Mitchell's concept becomes heartbreaking reality".

"Vurdering: (picture sound): 4/5" - Vurdering (performance): 3/5.

"Darmsaitenprofil Marc Minkowski schwelgt in feinen Valeurs am Pult seiner ihm blind folgenden Musiciens du Louvre. Anja Harteros führt in der Titelrolle eine ordentliche, aber nicht wirklich engagierte Besetzung an ... Adrian Nobles banale Regie verweigert sich allen Affekten dieses Zauberinnendramas um Alter und Liebeszwang und langweilt spätestens mit ihrem Als-Ob in einem georgianischen Salon zwischen Plastikgrün und Polsterstühlchen".

"Adrian Noble sets his production in a salon ... It's a charming conceit ... Conductor and orchestra are superb; so is Anja Harteros, who finds real depth in Alcina's passion for Ruggiero ... Sad to say, Vesselina Kasarova is deeply disappointing".

"Marc Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre contribute terrific dramatic flair and, of course, technique and musicianship of the highest order ... Star of the show (and the overwhelming reason to acquire the DVD) Is Alice Coote, a magnificent Ruggiero".