Drama queens

"Particularly impressive are Handel's ebullient sorceress Alcina, a self-determining spirit willing to wield power in "Ma quando tornerai", and the Empress Octavia of Monteverdi's "Disprezzata regina", in which the dramatic fury of the recitative militates against its resolution into melody".

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"I don't like DiDonato when she gets too shouty or adds "expressive" pitch-bends. But it'a all compellingly theatrical. Great choice, too, with familiar Handel mingled with rare jewels by Porter, Orlandini and Keiser".

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"Stepping cautiously on to Cecilia Bartoli's turf, DiDonato and Alan Curtis ... have unearthed some Baroque rarities. Instead of Handel's Berenice, we have Orlandini's Berenice, whose 'Da torbida procella' is an ideal fit for DiDonato's spitfire fioritura ... The switch from Hasse ... to the blush of woodwind in Handel ... is the most striking juxtaposition on a disc that elsewhere fails to capture the full warmth and expressivity of DiDonato's voice".