Il maestro

"Sometimes Porpora's music sounds like Handel-and-water, but at its finest, in the magnificent Alto Giove from Polifemo (Philippe Jaroussky expands the opening syllable to eight seconds of pure tone), it has real eloquence".

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"Now Philippe Jaroussky presents an album of arias written by Nicola Porpora for Farinelli. Over string arrangements of a Vivaldian timbre, Jaroussky's gossamer technique is playfully employed on the likes of "Mira in cielo", the rapid ornamentation verging at times on laughter; but the more undulating upper-register glide of the sublime "Alto Giove" from Polifemo gives some indication of why Porpora's 50 operas were once considered the equal of Handel's".

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"Gauvin is just awesome. Her instrument is powerful and extremely present in this excellent Atma Classique recording, with seemingly inexhaustible resources for expressiveness and dramatic fire when called for ... Listeners will be thankful to Atma, Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco, and especially Gauvin for this splendid recital, both for what it reveals about Porpora and for its sheer entertainment value".

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"Vurdering: Tipp" - "Zwar möchte ic bezweifeln, dass Fatinellis Stimme so weich, so edel, ja fast feminin geklungen hat wie diejenige Jarousskys, aber die Ausdruckswelt der Opern Poporas kommt den stimmlichen Qualitäten des französischen Counters sehr entgegen".

"Her voice is both bright and warm; a true soprano, the middle of her voice has sufficient body so that no emphases may be lost. Her trill is the real thing ... As mentioned, the music may not be a collection of masterpieces, but it gives immense pleasure; Porpora, to give the devil his absolute due, knew how to write for the voice, and Gauvin has quite the voice ... highly recommended".

"Inspired by Nicola Porpora's little-known masterpieces, countertenor Franco Fagioli lets his imagination soar ... Fagioli forges his own powerful execution out of practices that Porpora helped invent. Ornaments of fiendish length, tempo and range spur Fagioli to ever-greater displays, racing ahead of the band. He is intense, yet precise, with a three-octave register that is astonishingly rich from top to bottom.

"Man bedauert fast, wenn sie sich dem Ende zuneigen. Und so lässt sich trefflich staunen über die Fähigkeiten der heutigen Countertenöre und über die erstaunliche Qualität der Musik Porporas".