Handel, Hasse: Opera Arias

1	Orlando, opera, HWV 31: A
2	Orlando, opera, HWV 31: A
3	Alcina, opera, HWV 34: Ar
4	Splende l'alba in oriente
5	Splende l'alba in oriente
6	Splende l'alba in oriente
7	Arminio, opera: Aria 'Ti
8	Arminio, opera: Aria 'Se
9	Arminio, opera: Aria 'Vag
10	No, perdonami, o Clori, c
11	No, perdonami, o Clori, c
12	No, perdonami, o Clori, c
13	No, perdonami, o Clori, c
Handel, Hasse: Opera Arias
1.	Orlando, opera, HWV 31: Aria 'Fammi combattere mostri e tifei' 3:44
	Composed by George Frideric Handel
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy
2.	Orlando, opera, HWV 31: Aria 'Ah! Stigie larve... Già latra Cerbero... Vag 7:20
	Composed by George Frideric Handel
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy
3.	Alcina, opera, HWV 34: Aria 'Sta nell'Ircana pietrosa tana' 5:37
	Composed by George Frideric Handel
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy
4.	Splende l'alba in oriente, cantata, for alto & orchestra, HWV 166 10:37
	Composed by George Frideric Handel
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy
5.	Arminio, opera: Aria 'Ti lascio in ceppi avvinto' 7:31
	Composed by Johann Adolf Hasse
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy
6.	Arminio, opera: Aria 'Se mia speranza sola' 7:47
	Composed by Johann Adolf Hasse
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy
7.	Arminio, opera: Aria 'Vaghi rai, pupille amate' 9:55
	Composed by Johann Adolf Hasse
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy
8.	No, perdonami, o Clori, cantata for alto & orchestra (La Scusa) 19:25
	Composed by Johann Adolf Hasse
	Conducted by Bernard Labadie
	Performed by Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy

All Music Guide

It takes a spectacular female voice to do justice to the soprano arias of Italian opera of the early eighteenth century, for this music, of which the arias by Handel and Johann Adolf Hasse recorded here offer quintessential examples, was the domain of the castrato, the surgically castrated male singer who had the power of male musculature but the range of a soprano. Fortunately, mezzo soprano Vivica Genaux, a native of Fairbanks, AK, has everything it takes to fill the shoes of the castrati. She has dramatic presence. She has a top range of awesome clarity and rhythmic vigor. Her low notes are shiver-inducing growls and pitch-perfect imprecations, and she jumps between segments of her range with the precision of a ballet dancer. Genaux's agility is especially important when it comes to the Handel arias, which are virtuosic not just in the sense of being showpieces but also because they often demand that the singer subject herself to lines that come out difficult for essentially musical reasons. Some wide leaps result, and Genaux fills them in with all the colors of a fireworks display. The music of Hasse, which Genaux has announced an intention to revive, initially seems warmer and less fiery, for it lies easily in the throat. But Hasse, whom the castrati called "il caro Sassone" (the Dear Saxon), treated his singers well, with heavily yet elegantly ornamented lines and extended single-breath feats that bring to mind the displays of gospel singers. Providing rich, warm, yet quiet support are Les Violons du Roy, the Quebec-based Baroque string ensemble that has been establishing itself on a level with any other in the world, and its conductor, Bernard Labadie. This is a superior Baroque vocal recital from an absolutely compelling singer. James Manheim

San Francisco Chronicle

Genaux makes the drive and drama of each number her primary focus. Her voice has a distinctive, dusky character, married to superior technique. Steven Winn