Semele

"Orchestrally, the English Baroque Soloists play with their usual incision ... The cast is a strongly international one which in some ways reinforces the operatic or quasi-operatic nature of the work and its execution here. Roles are also strongly characterised ... Louise Alder remains the central performer ... she does splendidly ... Presiding over all is Gardiner who directs with huge authority, imagination and engagement. His earlier recording is still powerfully attractive but in terms of intensity and immediacy this live version is finer still".

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"Recording of the week: Alder's titular ambitious mortal socialite surely takes the laurels ... Her doomed divine sugar-daddy, sung by Hugo Hymas, is cut from similar cloth; his glib assurances to Semele are airily self-confident, thanks in no small part to Hymas's light, young-sounding tone ... Richardot is clearly having enormous amounts of fun chewing the scenery as a goddess driven to the brink of insanity by her desire for revenge".

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"In the British soprano Louise Alder we have a new and brilliant young Semele ... Fine contributions, too, from Lucile Richardot's Juno/Ino and Gianluca Buratto's Cadmus. The loyal and committed Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists (leader Kati Debretzeni) shine as ever".

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"Vurdering: Editor's choice" - "Brindley Sherratt, with his oaky bass, offers vivid, witty cameos as Cadmus and Somnus, while Stephen Wallace sings Athamas's arias with smooth tone and a nimble florid technique, though a suspicion remains that the role lies a bit low for him. With excellent recorded sound and balance, and an informative essay from David Vickers, this becomes a clear first choice for an ever-enticing work".

"Editor's choice: A new recording is always welcome, especially when it comes from someone who knows his dramatical business as John Eliot Gardiner does ... It would seem that Gardiner has also cast his performance with dramatic imperative in mind, for while his singers include relatively few familiar Handelian names, each has a colour and temperament to bring their character to life. Hugo Hymas has just the smooth vocal beauty needed for a sympathetic Jupiter ... As for Semele herself, Louise Alder is a happy choice, her voice rich, fluid and precise, and her agile and alert acting skills finding ideal projection in the wonderful clutch of arias Handel sets before her".