Georg Friedrich Händel - Berenice

"The premiere of Handel's 'Berenice' in London on May 18, 1737 came at a low point in the composer's life. From 1710 - the year he first set foot on English soil - until the night of the premiere, Handel had been at the center of London's music life. Starting in 1719, he had been largely responsible for bringing Italian opera - and virtuosic Italian singers - to the London stage. But by 1737, the year 'Berenice' premiered - and then disappeared after only four performances (the fewest of any of Handel's operas) - Italian opera and, it seemed, Handel himself, had fallen from fravor with both the general public and the high-born Englishmen who had underwritten London's operatic activities. The road to ruin was as long and tangled as a Handelian plot.

"When Handel arrived in England in 1710, he found a country more accustomed to music as an accompaniment to spoken drama than as a vehicle for drama. Resistance to a foreign form which presented a story in song never completely disappeared and, in the end, was one factor leading to the eclipse of Italian opera in London. But not before it enjoyed a brief - and brilliant - run on the capital's stages, largely under George Frideric Handel's direction.

"Handel, already an established composer when he came to London from Italy, quickly ingratiated himself with English nobility and royalty; by 171 he was being described as 'His Majesty's principal Court Composer'. His first three operas in London - 'Rinaldo' (premiered 1711), 'Il Pastor Fido' and 'Teseo' (both 1712) enjoyed some success. But it wasn't until 1719, when some of Handel's high born friend saw the possibility of reaping financial profit from opera, that Italian opera really took hold in the English capital.

"That year, a group of noblemen joined together to erect 'an academy at the Haymarket...' The investors, who dubbed their venture the Royal Academy of Music, named Handel 'master of the Orchestra with a sallary', and on May 14, 1719, Handel headed to Italy to recruit singers for the new company.

"These singers, as much as the operas written by Handel and other composers, most notably Bononcini and Attilio (Ariosti), contributed both to the wild popularity and ultimate failure of opera in 18th-century London. English audiences, once described as having 'vile tastes' by Mrs. Pendarves, a friend of Handel, may not have understood or appreciated the convoluted plots and foreign tongue of Italian opera, but they could grasp a good rivalry, and the Italian singers provided a steady supply of fireworks. The best-known duel was between the divas Cuzzoni and Faustina.

"But the display of singer's ego that was to cause Handel the greatest grief came from the alto 'castrato' Senesino, who, in 1733 had a hand in the formation of a rival company to Handel's known at the time various as 'Senesino's Opera' or 'The Opera at Lincoln's-Inn Fields' and later as 'Opera of the Nobility', because of its support by many of Handel's former patrons.

"The formation of Senesino's company came five years after the financially troubled Royal Academy had been dissolved and control turned over to Handel and John Jacob Heidegger, an impressario and the Academy's manager. After assuming control, the two had to rebuild from the ground up, as many of the Academy's singers had already returned to the continent, among them Senesino, a star of the Royal Academy for the eight years of its existence. His absence was sorely felt and the first season of Handel's reorganized company was essentially a failure. Lured by a hugely inflated salary, the 'castrato' did return for the following season and his reappearance in 1730 reportedly 'charm'd much'.

"Despire the continuation of a Handel-run company and the premieres of several of his new operas duiring the close of the twenties and the first years of the thirties ('Siroe' and 'Tolomeo' in 1728, 'Poro' in 1731, and 'Sosarme' in 1732) there were strong indications that Italian opera, never on firm footing in England, was slipping further out of favor with English audiences. The most dramatic evidence Handel could have had for their apparent desire for simpler plots, presented in a familiar language, was the great success of his first English-language oratorio, 'Esther', premiered in 1732. But despite direct suggestions from friends to write English operas for native audiences and despite the growing success of a budding English opera; the wild popularity of John Gay's burlesuqe, 'A Beggar's Opera'; and even the success of his own 'Esther', Handel clung stubbornly to Italian opera, a form he knew intimately and of which he was a supreme master.

"It would appear that on top of their boredom with Italian opera and with the endless feuds among Handel's singers, the nobility that provided a substantial portion of the company's funding were fed up with Handel himself. Their displeasure with his 'imperious and extravagant Will', as one press account put it, eventually led to the formation of the rival opera company with a cast headed by Senesino and comprising the remainder of Handel's singers, who - with the exception of the loyal soprano Anna Maria Studo - had decamped 'en masse' to join the upstart ensemble.

"In 1734, Handel's longtime partner, Heidegger, added insult to injury by leading the Haymarket theater to Senesino's new company. Reports in 1735 to indicate Handel's productions playing to nearly empty houses at his new digs in Covent Garden, while his rivals were drawing enthusiastic crowds with their newest imported star, the castrato Farinelli. 

"Handel still enjoyed the support of the royal cort and even received funding from the Prince of Wales, a major backer of Senesino's company. But London, which could barely support one opera company, could certainly not sustain two. The competing enterprises survived for another four seasons and then both collapsed, but not before 'Berenice' - one of Handel's last operas - saw the light of day.

"Years of seeing his singers and patrons desert him and decades of championing an art from that was misunderstood by audience and overly expensive to produce in a climate wracked by rivalries among the artists and patrons had taken its toll on Handel. In April of 1737, just a month before the 'Berenice' premiere, the maestro suffered a minor, but debilitating stroke, which prevented him from being present at the premiere of his latest creation.

"What appeared at that time as a tragic end to a glorious career was, in fact, a turning point, for after Handel's return from taking the cure on the continent, the composer was to spend the next few years gradually shifting his attentions from his beloved opera to oratorio, the form that would bring him renewed acclaim from the audiences of that day.

"Handel composed his three-act Italian drama 'Berenice' in the last weeks of 1736 and finished it in January of 1737. The librettist Antonio Salvai - his collaborator on 'Rodelinda' (1725) - supplied 'Berenice, regina d'Egitto', a subject which had previously been set to music by Jacopo Perti and ironically by Nicola Porpora, who was later to direct Senesino's Opera. Handel's choice of 'Berenice' could not have been coincidence; it was to be his final thrust against a competitor for the affections of London audiences.

"Salvai's story, set in ancient Egypt, was subtitled 'The Contests of Love and Politics', and was filled with the customary amorous intrigues, deceit, ambition, and fidelity - the stuff of some of Handel's most inspired and glorious musical settings.

"Though Handel could not be present at the premiere, it was attended by the King and Queen and several of their children. Anna Strada sang the title role, Gioachino Conti sang Alessandro, and Signora Bertolli who had decamped from the now-defunct rival troupe to join Handel's company, took the mezzo role of Princess Selene. The bravura part of Demetrio went to Domenico Annibali, Prince Arsace to Negri and the two lower male roles to John Beard and Thomas Rheinhold.

"No contemporary accounts of 'Berenice's launch have survived, although Charles Burney, the 18th-century music historian, described the minuet as 'happy and pleasing to an uncommon degree'. The score of the opera was published by John Walsh in June 1737. Several airs from the score were borrowed by the composer for one of his many 'pasticcio' operas in February 1738. Aside from a single revival of 'Berenice', supposedly offered in Brunswick in 1743 in a production not overseen by the composer, the work has remained unknown for centuries except for its overture and one popular aria. Ironically, the latter, 'Si, tra pi ceppi' - now a standard of vocal anthologies - was not part of Handel's main score, but rather an 'ossia' for Demetrio, which we present on this premier recording because of its superior musical inventiveness as well as its obvious and enduring appeal.

"Aside from those two well-known selections, this work offers the modern listener many other pleasures. Handel himself must have been pleased with the work, as he borrowed from it later in his career, reworking Berenice's Act Two aria 'Sempre dolci' into Clomiri's aria 'V'è un infelice' in 'Imeneo' (1740), and reusing themes from the third-act Sinfonia in his 1749 'Music for the Royal Fireworks'.

"The virtuosic vocal writing, occasioned by the egoistic demands of his singers, is well-represented in 'Berenice'. Each of the seven principals enjoys the knd of challenging solo writing that thrills the modern listener as much as it did 18th-century London audiences.

"Knowing what we do now about the shaky state of of opera's economics in Handel's London - particularly after the formation of Senesino's Opera - one wonders if 'Berenice's simply, yet effective scoring for strings, oboes, and continuo was as much a financial as an artistic decision. There are many occasions - among them the heroic Berenice-Demetrio duet of love and vengeance ending Act I ('Se il mio amor fu il tuo delitto'), as well as the ceremonial orchestral movements - that lend themselves to scoring for trumpets, horns and timpani. Was it budgetary considerations or Handel's rush to present a new work to match his rivals' offerings? We can't know for sure. But we do know that there was no shortage of large forces later in his career, when Handel, fully recovered from his illness, proceeded to pen some of his most glorious and enduring music, including several new operas and numerous richly scored oratorios. (From the liner notes.)

Performers: Brewer Chamber Orchestra, Rudolph Palmer, Edward Brewer, Julianne Baird, Drew Minter, D'Anna Fortunato, Jennifer Lane, Jan Opalach, Andrea Matthews, John McMaster

1.1. Ouverture: Maestoso

1.2. Ouverture: Allegro

1.3. Ouverture: Minuet

1.4. Ouverture: Gigue

1.5. Atto I: 'Aristobolo, A Noi Venga Il Romano'

1.6. Atto I: 'No, No, Che Servire Altrui'

1.7. Atto I: 'Fabio, Vedesti Mai Più Bell'orgoglio?'

1.8. Atto I: 'Vedi, L'ape Ch'ingegnosa Su Quei Fior'

1.9. Atto I: 'Io, Di Selene?'

1.10. Atto I: 'Che Sarà Quando Amante Accarezza?'

1.11. Atto I: 'Cara, Non Sospirar'

1.12. Atto I: 'No, Soffrir Non Può Il Mio Amore'

1.13. Atto I: 'Selene, Oh Dei!'/'Gelo, Avvampo, Considero E Sento'

1.14. Atto I: 'Alla Quiete D'Egitto'

1.15. Atto I: 'Con Gli Strali D'amor'

1.16. Atto I: 'Ascolta, E All'alma Quiete Comparti'

1.17. Atto I: 'Dice, Amor, Quel Bel Vermiglio'

1.18. Atto I: 'Principessa, Ed È Ver'

1.19. Atto I: 'Senza Nudrisce Alcuna'

1.20. Atto I: 'Alessandro, Che Pensi?'

1.21. Atto I: 'Quell'oggetto Ch'è Caro'

1.22. Atto I: 'Che Valor!'

1.23. Atto I: 'Se Il Mio Amor'

2.1. Atto II: 'Se Non Ho L'idol Mio'

2.2. Atto II: 'Già Che Per Tuo Consorte'

2.3. Atto II: 'Guerra E Pace'

2.4. Atto II: 'Molto Afflitto, Demetrio'

2.5. Atto II: 'Sempre Dolci Ed Amorose'

2.6. Atto II: 'Selene, Infida'

2.7. Atto II: 'Su, Megera, Tisifone, Aletto!'

2.8. Atto II: 'Mio Bel Sol'

2.9. Atto II: 'O Dei!'

2.10. Atto II: 'La Bella Mano'

2.11. Atto II: 'Aristobolo, Oh Dei!'

2.12. Atto II: 'Amore Contro Amor'

2.13. Atto II: 'Tiranne Degli Affetti!'

2.14. Atto II: 'Senza Te Sarebbe Il Mondo'

2.15. Atto II: 'E Qual Furor Geloso'

2.16. Atto II: 'Traditore, Traditore'

2.17. Atto II: 'Principessa, T'arresta'

2.18. Atto II: 'Si, Tra I Ceppi'

2.19. Atto II: 'È Questo L'amor Tuo?'

2.20. Atto II: 'Sì Poco E Forte'

3.1. Atto III: Sinfonia

3.2. Atto III: 'Olà! Tra Lacci Suoi'

3.3. Atto III: 'Per Si Bella'

3.4. Atto III: 'Regina, Addio!'

3.5. Atto III: 'Chi T'intende?'

3.6. Atto III: 'Tortorella Che Rimira Presso'

3.7. Atto III: 'Qui Dove Il Mio Tesoro'

3.8. Atto III: 'Questa Qual Sia Beltà'

3.9. Atto III: 'Qual Arduo Impegno, O Arsace!'

3.10. Atto III: 'Le Dirai... Dirò Che Amore'

3.11. Atto III: 'Prence, D'Iside Al Tempio'

3.12. Atto III: 'In Quella Sola'

3.13. Atto III: 'De' Satrapi E Adunata'

3.14. Atto III: 'Avvertite, Mie Pupille'

3.15. Atto III: Sinfonia

3.16. Atto III: 'Gran Nume Tutelar Di Questo Regno'

3.17. Atto III: 'Quella Fede, Quel Volto'

3.18. Atto III: 'Se Di Mia Libertà Prezzo'

3.19. Atto III: 'Con Verace Dolce Pace'

flac/16-bit

Georg Friedrich Händel - Agrippina

"In the summer of 1703 the eighteen-year-old Handel left his native Halle for Hamburg, where he found work at the Gansemarkt opera house, gradually rising through the ranks from back-desk violinist until his first opera, 'Almira', was premiered there in January 1705. Less than two months later, the Gansemarkt produced his second opera, 'Nero', the music for which is lost, though Friedrich Christian Feustking's libretto has a plot similar to that of Busenello's 'L'incoronazione di Poppea'. By mid-1706, having become increasingly fascinated by Italianate music, Handel resolved to travel to Italy at his own expense to develop his craft. By the end of the year he was in Rome, and was to spend the next three years in the Italian peninsula.

"He wrote an opera for the Teatro di via del Cocomero in Florence (Rodrigo, 30 October 1707) and a serenata for an aristocratic wedding celebration near Naples ('Aci, Galatea e Polifemo', on or around 19 July 1708), but seems to have passed most of his time in Rome, where he composed his first two oratorios 'Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno' (probably for its librettist Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, in early 1707) and 'La Resurrezione' (for Marquis Francesco Maria Ruspoli, and performed on Easter Sunday, 1708) and spectacular church music composed between April and July 1707, including music for Vespers, Dixit Dominus and numerous Marian motets. He also wrote a large number of secular cantatas. The majority of these were intimate settings of Arcadian poetry for one singer with continuo accompaniment; a few were larger pastoral dramas, featuring several characters and imaginative use of small orchestras, and others were scaled somewhere in between; a few were intensely dramatic miniature tragedies. Although they date from Handel's entire period in Italy, most of these cantatas were composed in Rome for patrons who were leading lights of the Accademia degli Arcadi ('Arcadian Academy'), a group of literary, artistic, musical and aristocratic cognoscenti whose reformist ideas aimed to purify the corrupting indulgence of contemporary writing through the restoration of classical Greek simplicity.

"Having achieved as much as he could without converting to Roman Catholicism, it seems that Handel then resolved to seek a permanent position in suitably Protestant climes. In late 1709 he travelled north to Florence and then to Venice, where, according to his first biographer John Mainwaring (London, 1760), he was recognised whilst playing the harpsichord at a masked ball:

"'Being thus detected, he was strongly importuned to compose an Opera. But there was so little prospect of either honour or advantage from such an under-taking, that he was very unwilling to engage in it. At last, however, he consented, and in three weeks he finished his 'Agrippina', which was performed twenty-seven nights successively [...] The audience was so enchanted with this performance, that a stranger who should have seen the manner in which they were affected, would have imagined they had all been distracted.

"'The theatre, at almost every pause, resounded with shouts and acclamations of 'viva il caro Sassone!' and other expressions of approbation too extra-vagant to be mentioned. They were thunderstruck with the grandeur and sublimity of his style: for never had they known till then all the powers of harmony and modulation so closely arrayed, and so forcibly combined.'

"The exact dates of Agrippina's composition are unknown, but it was certainly written on Venetian paper with Handel's customary speed shortly before the first performance at the Teatro Grimani di San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice on 26 December 1709, a couple of months before Handel's twenty-fifth birthday. The title-role was sung by Margherita Durastanti, who had begun her long association with Handel two years earlier in Rome; it is possible that she was replaced in some later performances by the Bolognese soprano Elena Croce Viviani. The cast also included Diamante Maria Scarabelli (Poppea, soprano), Valeriano Pellegrini (Nerone, soprano castrato), Antonio Francesco Carli (Claudio, bass), Francesca Vanini-Boschi (Ottone, contralto), her husband Giuseppe Boschi (Pallante, bass), Giuliano Albertini (Narciso, alto castrato) and Nicola Pasini (Lesbo, bass). The identity of the alto who sang the goddess Giunone in the opera's concluding Deus ex machina is unknown. On 11 February 1710, the London newspaper The Post-Boy reported the previous month's news from Venice:

"'Mr. Hendle's Opera, which is now performed at San Giovani Chrysostomo, is the best that ever was heard for the Musick; but the Words are but indifferent. Albino[n]i's Opera at San Cassan is also very well lik'd, both for the Words and Musick.'

"This is the only known contemporary reception of 'Agrippina'; it is also the earliest mention of Handel in an English newspaper — about eight months before he set first foot in the country that would eventually become his permanent home.

"Despite The Post-Boy's low opinion, the libretto is one of the finest that Handel set to music. Its author was almost certainly Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani (1652/5-1710), a member of the wealthy Venetian patrician family that had owned and run several of, the city's opera houses for two generations. His father Antonio and uncle Giovanni built and managed the Teatro SS Giovanni e Paolo (which opened in 1639), and in 1678 Vincenzo and his brother Giovanni Carlo inaugurated their magnificent new theatre just behind the church of San Giovanni Grisostomo, a tiny parish in the Cannaregio district not far from the Rialto (on the site of the present-day Teatro Malibran). By 1700 Venice had about sixteen opera houses, but San Giovanni Grisostomo was the largest: its stage had a particularly large proscenium and powerful stage machinery, and the auditorium was decorated with gilded boxwood reliefs and had five tiers of thirty-one boxes each, with another four on either side of the stage; including the parterre, its capacity is estimated to have been more than 1,400. It quickly established a reputation as Venice's foremost opera house, attracting the best singers and composers until well into the eighteenth century.

"At the time of Handel's arrival in Venice in late 1709, Giovanni Carlo Grimani's home was the regular meeting place of the local branch of the Arcadian Academy, so we can imagine a social connection occurring between the young Saxon visitor and the theatre's co-owner. Vincenzo Grimani had not let being ordained to the priesthood prevent him from writing the librettos 'Elmiro Re di Corinto' (set by Carlo Pallavicino for carnival, 1686/7) and 'Orazio' (set by Giuseppe Felice Tosi, 1687/8). It seems likely that his 'Agrippina' originated during the same period but was not used, perhaps because its author was banished from Venice in 1690 after the French complained about his overtly pro-Habsburg political sympathies when negotiating an alliance between the Duchy of Savoy and the Holy Roman Empire. Nevertheless, in 1697 Grimani was elevated to the rank of cardinal. Although pardoned by the Venetian Republic, he spent the remainder of his life working for the Habsburgs; on 1 July 1708 he took up his appointment as the Viceroy of Naples, where he might briefly have encountered Handel — although they had probably met in Rome in 1706-8, when Grimani was the Holy Roman Empire's representative to the Vatican. The cardinal was busy with official duties in Naples throughout the entire period of the commission, composition and performances of 'Agrippina', so it is unlikely that author and composer collaborated directly. An old spare text lying around from twenty years earlier was probably picked out for Handel, whose judicious self-borrowing from his own recent Roman and Neapolitan works (both music and words) suggests that it was refashioned for his purposes in collaboration with one or more unknown Venetian poets associated with the Grimani family's flagship theatre.

"The plot is drawn from the histories of Tacitus and Suetonius, and the drama is set in Rome, c.50 AD. The ambitious Julia Agrippina (fourth wife of the Emperor Claudius and sister of Caligula) schemes to put her son Nero (from a previous marriage to the consul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus) on the throne. It is reported that Claudius has died in a shipwreck on his way back from an invasion of Britain. Having secured the loyalty of the influential and wealthy freedmen Marcus Antonius Pallas and Narcissus, Agrippina attempts to proclaim her son emperor - but is thwarted when news arrives that Claudius was rescued from drowning by Marcus Salvius Otho, whose reward is to be named the emperor's successor. Agrippina discredits Otho and deceives his lover Poppaca Sabina (who also fends off amorous attentions from Claudius and Nero), and when her increasingly desperate intrigues fail, she cunningly twists the truth to create an illusion of her political and emotional fidelity. Claudius reconfirms Otho as his heir and instructs Nero to marry Poppaca, but Otho renounces the throne rather than lose Poppaea— which suits Nero very well, and brings about the triumph of his devious mother. The goddess Juno descends to bless the marriage of Poppaca and Otho.

"Agrippina is a comedy of antiheroic characters with an unquenchable thirst for political and sexual power, whose amoral, corrupt and decadent intrigues are shown as intrinsic parts of everyday life among ancient Rome's ruling class. The pervasive tone of irony and humour in the subject matter is the natural by-product of a Venetian text much closer in spirit to the mischievous world view found in the operas of Cavalli and his successors than to the virtuous heroism and moral integrity championed by Apostolo Zeno, Pietro Pariati and Metastasio, the Arcadian-inspired librettists active in Venice during the first few decades of the eighteenth century. Beneath the satirical surface of Agrippina, Handel's inventive musical treatments and youthful playfulness bring to the fore an unusually wide range of emotions as his characters display by turns seductive charm, deceit, exasperation, naivety, despair, barely controlled lust, fury and gleeful one-upmanship, as well as genuine tenderness and sincere love (Poppea and Ottone are not yet the characters we find in 'L'incoronazione di Poppea', although Nerone is well on his way there).

"Handel's music vividly portrays this emotional roller coaster, notwithstanding the fact that about seventy-five per cent of the score was remodelled from works he had written in Italy over the previous three years. The opening section of the overture was adapted from the Marian motet 'Donna, che in ciel di tanta luce splendi' (probably performed in Rome on 2 February 1707). Narciso's enthusiastic reply to Agrippina's suggestive proposal in Act 1 Scene 5 ('Volo pronto', with chirpy recorders) was based on an aria from the continuo cantata L'ungi da me, pensier tiranno' (copied in August 1709 for Ruspoli in Rome). Pallante's amorous response to the same promise ('La mia sorte fortunata', I:3) was based on the jealous Polyphemus getting hot under the collar in the Neapolitan serenata 'Adi, Galatea e Polifemo', while an aria for the sea-nymph Galatea was the basis for Poppea's 'Vaghe perle', the delightful music refitted for our first encounter with the vain beauty, gleefully admiring herself in a mirror. Claudio's seductive 'Vieni, O cara' is refashioned from a slow moment in the soprano motet 'Saeviat tellus inter rigores' (probably for Carmelite vespers feasts in Rome, July 1707). From his first oratorio 'Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno', Handel reworked musical material for Ottone's lonely 'Vaghe fonti', the pastoral lament with bubbling recorders evoking fountains modelled after Disinganno's 'Crede l'uom', while 'Come nube che fugge dal vento' reapplied the malevolent fury of Piacere to the psychopathic Nerone revealing his true nature in a violent tantrum: scolded by his exasperated mother for ruining his chances of becoming emperor, Nerone declares that he will abandon any interest in Poppea - a protestation that we know from history to be untrue. Two bass arias from 'La Resurrezione' were adapted, one for Claudio's boast of being conqueror of the world ('Cade il mondo', based on Lucifer's claim to have defeated God in 'Caddi, è ver'), the second for Pallante's devious promise to fulfil his part in Agrippina's murderous plot ('Col raggio placido', based on Lucifer's infernal 'O voi dell'Erebo').

"Durastanti was given several arias based on music she had sung previously for Handel in Rome, most notably 'Ho un non so che nel cor' - Mary Magdalene's words and music from 'La Resurrezione' changed only slightly to transform joy at Christ's resurrection into Agrippina's encouragement to the anxious Poppea to carry out her instructions (I:18), Perhaps Durastanti had sung the earlier incarnation of 'Non ho cor che per amarti' (I:23) in the cantata 'Qual ti riveggio, oh Dio' (Rome, 1707), and she had certainly performed the original version of 'Ogni vento, ch'al porta'; the lilting Act 1 finale, where it appears that Agrippina has secured everything she desires, was based on the fickle Fillide's 'Fiamma bella che al ciel s'invia' from the pastoral cantata 'Arvesta il passo' (Rome, 1708). Moreover, Agrippina's final aria 'Se vuoi pace? (III:I4, in which she appears to offer calm counsel to her beleaguered husband) was based on an aria Durastanti had sung as the two-timing minx 'Chloris in Clori, Tirsi e Fileno' (Rome, 1707). Several of the arias in the opera recycled music from Roman cantatas that were initially constructed using borrowings from works by Reinhard Keiser, six of them from his Hamburg opera 'Octavia' (1705) in which Handel had probably played in the orchestra.

"Poppea's 'Se giunge un dispetto' (which concludes Act 1, at which point she believes Ottone has betrayed her) is based on an aria from 'Tis fedel? tn costante?', and Ottone's lament 'Voi che udite il mio lamento' (II:5) contains material adapted from 'Alpestre monte' — both cantatas that might have originated in Florence, c. 1706-7. Agrippina's soliloquy 'Pensieri, voi mi tormentate' (II:13), her most private moment in the opera and one that exposes her anxieties as she desperately plots a triple murder to cover her treason, is a transformation of a jagged musical idea for unison strings that Handel had initially utilised for the comparably worried eponymous anti-hero midway through Rodrigo ('Siete assai superbe, o stelle'); for Agrippina's show-stealing prayer to the gods to aid her intrigues, Handel added a tormented solo oboe part, reinvented the string parts and created a new and much tauter voice part.

"Handel's autograph lacks the overture and the first, folio of the opening scene, but contains a large amount of material that he cancelled, transferred or substituted during the compositional process. A neater performing score would have been prepared for use during the 1709/10 Venice carnival, but is now missing. However, it appears to have been copied in its entirety at two different stages of the original production's run of performances. Both of the early manuscript copies are written on Venetian paper-types of the right period and the first of these, now in the British Library, appears to have been made shortly before or soon after the premiere: it contains Agrippina's 'Se vuoi pace' in F major, in accordance with Handel's instruction in the autograph for it to be transposed up from E major, and confirms that the 'Deus ex machina' for Giunone was performed after the chorus 'Lieto il Tebro'. The second copy; now held in the Austrian National Library, was probably made after the end of the run of performances; by this time, Poppea's 'Ingannata una sol volta' (II:8) had been replaced by a new aria and the final scene for Giunone had been cut. Both copies confirm that Handel's original setting of 'Pensieri, voi mi tormentate' was replaced by a new version that was, recomposed, condensed and without the unexpected coda. This recording follows customary modern-day practice in preferring Handel's first and more complex version of the scene, Other differences between Handel's autograph and the first performance are preserved in the libretto printed by Marino Rossetti (Venice, 1709), which also clarifies scene headings, stage directions and numerous small points of spelling and text. The wordbook contains a list of stage settings that includes three ballets for Germans ('Di Tedeschi'), Gardeners ('Di Giardinier') and Knights and Ladies ('Di Cavalieri, e Dame'), but their positions are not cued cither in the libretto or in the musical sources and it cannot be assumed that the lost dance music was by Handel. Moreover, after Giunone's aria at the end of the opera, the wordbook prints 'Segue il Ballo di Deita seguaci di Giunone' (There follows a dance for deities, attendants of Juno), but no music for this is known.

"A new performing edition was prepared for this recording by Peter Jones and the present author. It predominantly reconstructs the text and music given at the first performance. This means that we have chosen the shorter middle section of Ottone's 'Lusinghiera mia speranza' (I:13) and the slightly shortened version of Claudio's 'Pur ritorno a rimirarvi' (I:21). Handel's extensively recomposed final version of 'Se giunge un dispetto' has only superficial similarities to the rejected first version usually heard on other recordings. This performance adopts the simplified second section of the chorus 'Di timpani e trombe' (II:3) and prefers Handel's second setting of Nerone's 'Sotto il lauro' (14) in B-flat major because it captures Nerone's sneering mockery of Ottone's misfortune more adroitly than Handel's rejected siciliano-like E minor first setting.

"'Bella pur nel mio diletto', an elaborate virtuoso aria for Poppea in Act II Scene 6, featuring two concertante oboes and fully scored for four-part strings, was never performed by Handel. It was replaced before the first performance with 'Spera, alma mia', an entirely different text printed in the 1709 wordbook but for which no music survives. Musicologists John H. Roberts and John E. Sawyer both point out that 'Spera, alma mia' is probably a parody text that perfectly fits a simple continuo aria borrowed from 'Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno' that Handel had already tried unsuccessfully to accommodate twice during the composition of Agrippina. It is recorded here in its proper context for the first time; its gentle intimacy conveys Poppea's sorrow and her uneasiness about Ottone's alleged guilt, and forms a more effective dramatic transition from Ottone's preceding soliloquy than 'Bella pur'. We have opted for the recomposed setting of Poppea's 'Ingannata una sol volta' (II:8), and Agrippina' 'Se vuoi pace' is given in its F major transposition.

"A small number of Handel's rejected ideas from his autograph have been reinstated. In addition to the first version of 'Pensicri, voi mi tormentate' we use the slightly more elaborate setting of Lesbo's arietta 'Allegrezzal!' (I:10), as he bursts in after the trumpet fanfare that heralds Claudio's safe return (the fanfare was probably improvised, but to announce the emperor's miraculous return from the grave we could not resist the mischievous appropriation of the trumpet parts from the Angel's proclamatory first aria in 'La Resurrezione'). We have reinstated a two-bar phrase that Handel deleted at the harmonically twisting climax of Ottone's suffering in 'Voi che udite il mio lamento' (on the phrase 'il mio dolor'), valuing the prolonged emotional tension it offers at the epicentre of the opera; having been unjustly scorned and abandoned by each of the characters in turn, Ottone expresses his misery echoed by a doleful oboe and the resolutions of chromatic clashing suspensions for the strings in F minor express pathos and catharsis.

"The final post-chorus scene for Giunone is included but does not form a suitable climax to the entertainment — so the 'Balli' for the followers of Juno are reconstructed using five dances selected from an orchestral suite now bound in Handel's autograph of 'Rodrigo'. Curiously, the entire overture-suite is on Venetian paper, whereas the rest of Rodrigo was written on Roman paper in advance of Handel travelling from Rome to Florence for the opera's production in autumn 1707. Perhaps these folios originated as ballet music in 'Agrippina'. We have sequenced a lively Gigue, an elegant Sarabande, an energetic Bourrée (that corresponds to Giunone's aria), a graceful Menuet (that has the same music as the chorus 'Lieto il Tebro'), and we conclude with an exquisite Passacaille.

"An aria for Poppea after the recitative in I:19, 'Fa' quanto vuoi', was cut before the first performance. Instead, the action proceeded directly into the following scene, leaving Poppea no time to question whether the devious Agrippina has told the truth about Ottone's betrayal before having to fend off the advances of Claudio. The little animated continuo aria (with closing ritornello for four-part strings) has often been restored to its envisaged context in modern productions and recordings; listeners can choose for themselves whether to reinstate it.

"The sincere love duet 'No, no, ch'io non apprezzo' for Poppea and Ottone originally ended II:10, a moment of calm and tenderness following the farcical storm of comings and goings in Poppea's bedroom. Handel adapted the duet from the Roman cantata 'Il duello amoroso' (August 1708), in which the frustrated Daliso and disinterested Amarilli express bitter cynicism about love. Almost identical musical material would have represented the exact opposite sentiment for Ottone and Poppea in Agrippina, but Handel discarded the duet and instead prepared two increasingly different and longer schemes for the scene before he or his singers were satisfied. If listeners want to reconstruct Handel's concise first plan for II:10, culminating in the two lovers joining blissfully together, their duet can replace Ottone's declaration of love in his exit aria 'Pur ch'io ti stringa al sen' (also adapted from 'Il duello amoroso') and Poppea's giddy expression of joy (the recitative 'Piega pur del mio cor' and aria 'Bel piacere'), before proceeding to Nerone complaining to his mother in III:I I. (David Vickers. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev, Joyce DiDonato, Franco Fagioli, Elsa Benoit, Luca Pisaroni, Jakub Józef Orliński, Andrea Mastroni, Carlo Vistoli, Biagio Pizzuti, Marie-Nicole Lemieux

1.1. Sinfonia

1.2. Atto I, Scena I: 'Nerone, Amato Figlio'

1.3. Atto I, Scena I: 'Col Saggio Tuo Consiglio'

1.4. Atto I, Scena II: 'Per Cosi Grand'impresa'

1.5. Atto I, Scena III: 'A' Cenni Tuoi Sovrani'

1.6. Atto I, Scena III: 'La Mia Sorte Fortunata'

1.7. Atto I, Scena IV: 'Or Che Pallante È Vinto'

1.8. Atto I, Scena V: 'Umile Alle Tue Piante'

1.9. Atto I, Scena V: 'Volo Pronto'

1.10. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Quanto Fa, Quanto Puote'

1.11. Atto I, Scena VI: 'L'alma Mia Fra Le Tempeste'

1.12. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Qual Piacer'

1.13. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Amici, Al Sen Vi Stringo'

1.14. Atto I, Scena VIII: 'Ecco Chi Presto'

1.15. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Voi, Che Dell'alta Roma'

1.16. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Il Tuo Figlio'/'La Tua Prole'

1.17. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Ma Qual Di Liete Trombe'

1.18. Atto I, Scena X: 'Allegrezza, Allegrezza!'

1.19. Atto I, Scena X: 'Che Sento!'

1.20. Atto I, Scena XI: 'Alle Tue Piante, O Augusta'

1.21. Atto I, Scena XII: 'Augusta, Amo Poppea'

1.22. Atto I, Scena XII: 'Tu Ben Degno'

1.23. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'L'ultima Del Gioir'

1.24. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'Lusinghiera Mia Speranza'

1.25. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Vaghe Perle'

1.26. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Otton, Claudio, Nerone'

1.27. Atto I, Scena XV: 'Signora, O Mia Signora!'

1.28. Atto I, Scena XVI: 'Di Lieta Nuova'

1.29. Atto I, Scena XVII: 'Perché Invece Di Claudio'

1.30. Atto I, Scena XVII: 'È Un Foco Quel D'amore'

1.31. Atto I, Scena XVIII: '(Ma Qui Agrippina Viene)'

1.32. Atto I, Scena XVIII: 'Ho Un Non So Che Nel Cor'

1.33. Atto I, Scena XIX: 'Cieli, Quai Strani Casi'

1.34. Atto I, Scena XX: 'Non Veggo Alcun'

1.35. Atto I, Scena XXI: 'Pur Ritorno A Rimirarvi'

1.36. Atto I, Scena XXI: 'Ma, O Ciel, Mesta E Confusa'

1.37. Atto I, Scena XXI: 'Vieni, O Cara'

1.38. Atto I, Scena XXI: '(Che Mai Farò?)'

1.39. Atto I, Scena XXII: 'Signor, Signor, Presto'

1.40. Atto I, Scena XXII: 'E Quando Mai / Quando Vorrai'

1.41. Atto I, Scena XXII: 'Pur Al Fin Se N'andò'

2.1. Atto I, Scena XXIII: 'O Mia Liberatrice'

2.2. Atto I, Scena XXIII: 'Non Ho Cor Che Per Amarti'

2.3. Atto I, Scena XXIV: 'Se Ottone M'ingannò'

2.4. Atto I, Scena XXIV: 'Se Giunge Un Dispetto'

2.5. Atto II, Scena I: 'Dunque Noi Siam Traditi'

2.6. Atto II, Scena II: 'Coronato Il Crin D'alloro'

2.7. Atto II, Scena II: 'Roma, Più Ch'il Trionfo'

2.8. Atto II, Scena III: Preludio

2.9. Atto II, Scena III: 'Ecco Il Superbo'

2.10. Atto II, Scena III: 'Di Timpani E Trombe'

2.11. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Nella Britannia Vinta'

2.12. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Cade Il Mondo'

2.13. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Signor, Quanto Il Mio Cuore'

2.14. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Nulla Sperar Da Me'

2.15. Atto II, Scena IV: 'E Tu Poppea'

2.16. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Tuo Ben È Il Trono'

2.17. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Soccorri Almen Nerone'

2.18. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Sotto Il Lauro'

2.19. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Scherzo Son'

2.20. Atto II, Scena V: 'Otton, Otton'

2.21. Atto II, Scena V: 'Voi Ch'udite'

2.22. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Spera, Alma Mia'

2.23. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Il Tormento D'Ottone'

2.24. Atto II, Scena VII: '(Par Che Amor Sia)'

2.25. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Vaghe Fonti'

2.26. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Ma Qui Che Veggo'

2.27. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Fantasme Della Mente'

2.28. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Ti Vuo' Giusta'

2.29. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'Da Quali Ordite Trame'

2.30. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'Ingannata Una Sol Volta'

2.31. Atto II, Scena IX: 'Pur Alfin Ti Ritrovo'

2.32. Atto II, Scena X: 'A Non Pochi Perigli'

2.33. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Son Qui, Mia Vita'

2.34. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Col Peso Del Tuo Amor'

2.35. Atto II, Scena XII: 'Qual Bramato Piacere'

2.36. Atto II, Scena XII: 'Quando Invita'

2.37. Atto II, Scena XIII: 'Pensieri, Voi Mi Tormentate'/'Quel Ch'oprai'

2.38. Atto II, Scena XIV: 'Se Ben Nemica Sorte'

2.39. Atto II, Scena XIV: 'Col Raggio Placido'

2.40. Atto II, Scena XV: 'Di Giunger Non Dispero'

2.41. Atto II, Scena XVI: 'Or È Tempo'

2.42. Atto II, Scena XVI: 'Spererò, Poiché Mel Dice'

3.1. Atto II, Scena XVII: 'Per Dar La Pace Al Core'

3.2. Atto II, Scena XVIII: 'A Vagheggiar Io Vengo'

3.3. Atto II, Scena XIX: 'Signor, Poppea'

3.4. Atto II, Scena XIX: 'Basta Che Sol Tu Chieda'

3.5. Atto II, Scena XX: 'Favorevol La Sorte'

3.6. Atto II, Scena XX: 'Ogni Vento'

3.7. Atto III, Scena I: 'Il Caro Otton'

3.8. Atto III, Scena II: 'Ah, Mia Poppea'

3.9. Atto III, Scena II: 'Tacerò'

3.10. Atto III, Scena III: 'Attendo Qui Nerone'

3.11. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Anelante Ti Reco'

3.12. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Coll'ardor Del Tuo Bel Core'

3.13. Atto III, Scena V: 'Amico Ciel'

3.14. Atto III, Scena VI: 'Qui Non V'è Alcun'

3.15. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Temerario Insolente'

3.16. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Ora, Claudio, Che Dici?'

3.17. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Io Di Roma'

3.18. Atto III, Scena IX: 'Pur Alfin Se N'andò'

3.19. Atto III, Scena X: 'Ora Ottone, Che Dici?'

3.20. Atto III, Scena X: 'Pur Ch'io Ti Stringa Al Sen'

3.21. Atto III, Scena X: 'Piega Pur Del Mio Cor'

3.22. Atto III, Scena X: 'Bel Piacere'

3.23. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Cotanto Osò Poppea?'

3.24. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Come Nube'

3.25. Atto III, Scena XII: 'Evvi Donna Più Empia?'

3.26. Atto III, Scena XIII: 'Agrippina, Nerone'

3.27. Atto III, Scena XIV: 'Adorato Mio Sposo'

3.28. Atto III, Scena XIV: 'Se Vuoi Pace'

3.29. Atto III, Scena XV: 'Ecco La Mia Rivale'

3.30. Atto III, Scena XV: 'Lieto Il Tebro'

3.31. Atto III, Scena XVI: 'D'Ottone E Di Poppea'

3.32. Atto III, Scena XVI: 'V'accendano Le Tede'

3.33. Atto Terzo, Balli: Gigue

3.34. Atto Terzo, Balli: Sarabande

3.35. Atto Terzo, Balli: Bourrée

3.36. Atto Terzo, Balli: Menuet

3.37. Atto Terzo, Balli: Passacaille

3.38. Appendix. Atto I, Scena XIX: 'Fa' Quanto Vuoi'

3.39. Appendix. Atto III, Scena X: 'No, No, Ch'io Non Apprezzo'

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Nicola Porpora / Georg Friedrich Händel - Porpora and Handel in London: Duel

"The rivalry between Handel and Porpora in London would appear to have been one of the most heated feuds in the history of 18th century music, a subject that critics and admirers of the whole dramma per musica repertoire found particularly fascinating. So it's almost a pity that this contest, strife, dispute between giants never actually took place in the terms that are commonly reported. Granted, rivalry existed within musical circles at the time, but this had more to do with individual singers, aesthetic concepts and the patrons of the two different opera companies in London, and often had little to do with music as such. There was certainly no blazing personal row between the two composers, and though both were relatively hot-tempered, neither appears to have considered the other an enemy. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that the two artists actually admired each other's work. Suffice it to recall that Porpora kept a copy of Handel's 'Tolomeo re d'Egitto' made in the very years in whith this curious 'rivalry' was in full swing (see 'Stille amare,' track 17). By the same token, Handel greeted the publication of 'Porpora's Cantate op. 1' in 1735 with enthusiasm, as Giuseppe Sigismondo (1739-1826) points out in his 'Apoteosi della musica del Regno di Napoli,' an essential source for the history of Italian music. 

 

"The huge misunderstanding regarding the whole question of 'rivalry' probably derives from the effectively heated climate of opinion prevailing in England between 1733 and 1737, when the two composers were working there. So it certainly makes sense to explain the setting in which the purported challenge took place. Until 29 December 1733, with the first performance of 'Arianna in Naxo' at Lincoln's Inn Fields, opera audiences in London had never heard an entire original work by Porpora. That said, however, just as his fame in Venice was beginning to grow, his name had appeared in association with a new production, 'Elisa,' staged at the Haymarket in 1726. Nine arias by Porpora, slightly modified, were then included by Handel in four pasticcios between 1730 and 1732: 'Ormisda' (1730), 'Venceslao' (1731), 'Lucio Papirio dittatore' (1732) and 'Catone in Utica' (1732). Depending on the case, these pieces were performed in England as a choice of the singers who had already sung them on the continent or, sometimes (as in the case of 'Quando piomba improvvisa saetta,' from Porpora's 'Poro' - track 18) because Handel himself wanted them into the scores. 

 

"Handel exercised an absolute monopoly over opera in London, and Propora's arrival in the city to head the Opera of Nobility regarded both art and politics. Although London audiences consisted of little more than a thousand or so people, these came from the most important social strata, who were becoming increasingly aware that the musical style and dramaturgy then in fashion in Europe did not coincide with what the company directed by Handel had been staging for many years. Opera houses on the continent hosted works based on extremely modern librettos, often written by Metastasio, the foremost Italian poet of the century. Moreover, the composers connected with the best Neapolitan avant-garde circles had embraced a style that could accommodate both the liveliest dramatic requirements and constantly evolving vocal tastes introduced by a new generation of singers. Just imagine the impact of an aria such as 'Nume the reggi 'l mare' on an audience accustomed to the use of orchestral accompaniment and voice a la Handel, which was considerably less gallant than the Italian standard of the time (track 2). Although the situation in London was not entirely impermeable to all of this, it was nevertheless distinctly static and dominated by the conflict between the Tory and the Whig political perspectives, some ill-concealed anti-German sentiments, and a general discontent caused by price increases for the audiences who attended Handel's works. Moreover, the poet Paolo Rolli and the singer Senesino were scheming in favour of a new company that was overtly opposed to the existing one. A group of aristocrats within the sphere of Frederik, Prince of Wales, were bent on creating new produdions, calling in the best musicians then available in Europe. To create an outstanding vocal cast, the London star singers of the time (Francesca Cuzzoni, Senesino and Antonio Montagnana) were joined by Carlo Broschi Farinelli. The sets were to be designed by artists of the calibre of Jacopo Amigoni, and to cap it all, the composer they had in mind was Porpora, internationally acclaimed as one of the most solid points of reference with regard to musical quality and innovation. Indeed, Porpora was not only one of the foremost representatives of the heroic style connected with Pietro Metastasio's librettos, but also an undisputed master of recitative and a great connoisseur of the human voice. 

 

"All sorts of things happened during the course of those difficult years in London, where there were two opera companies that vied with each other: duels fought to their lethal conclusion during performances, violent financial crises, and evenings when Farinelli sang for an almost empty house. Yet most of this had little to do with the individual choices of the two composers involved, their main focus being the need to stage their creations by coordinating the instrumentalists and the singers. Handel and Porpora were certainly facing a challenge, but not among themselves. The aim of both of them was to attract audiences. Encouraged by his dose collaboration with Rolli, Porpora was more inclined to experiment, achieving greater formal freedom and an appealing take on local theatrical usage. Handel, for his part, soon had to resort to hiring singers who made a great impact on audiences (one of them was Giovanni Caregtini). In this he glowed skill in quickly adapting to the requirements of the moment, thinking up original ways of making his productions more attractive, including integrating ballets in his operas, which often meant engaging the dancer Marie Salle. 

 

"A particularly famous case in point is Handel's opera 'Ariodante.' Although the libretto was a rather modest adaptation of an earlier text by Antonio Salvi, the opera itself reveals the composer's genius in exploiting the opportunity of having Carestini in the cast and being able to count on a good ballet company. For this recording we have decided to include two musical episodes of particular importance from the opera: 'Scherza infida' (here performed with the variations of the B section and the Da Capo preserved in a well-known Engligh manuscript of the 18th century (track 9), and the ballet that closes the second act (tracks 11-14). The famous aria represents an extraordinary example of Handel's mastery in giving musical form to the theatrical requirements of the libretto, in particular in the delicate balance between vocal line and instrumental accompaniment (with bassoon obbligato and muted strings), thus complementing the state of mind of the protagonist In April of the same year, the company also staged 'Alcina,' whith includes 'Sta nell'ircana pietrosa tana' (track 1), especially written for Carestini to underline the singer's technical agility more than his power to move audiences, given the completely different dramatic context. 

 

"Right around the opening of 'Ariodante,' Porpora and his team were staging 'Polifemo,' one of his most convincing scores, based on a delightful new libretto of heroic-pastoral inspiration written by Paolo Rolli. The cast included Farinelli, Senesino, Francesca Cuzzoni, Antonio Montagnana, Francesca Bertolli and Maria Segatti. The aria 'Il gioir qualor s'aspetta' (track 10), sung by Calipso, concludes the masterful third scene of Act III, which tells of how Odysseus blinds of the ferocious giant Polyphemus. The fiery triplets of the vocal score and the animated passages played by the strings brilliantly underline the personal joy of the nymph, who sings of the success of the hero she loves.

 

"There can be no doubt that Porpora proved to be particularly flexible in the way he adapted to London theatre life, which called for approaches that were sometimes at odds with the experience and expectations of a composer trained in Italy. This regarded not only form and style, but also dramaturgy, as in the case of 'Mitridate,' based on a Shakespearean framework far from continental theatrical tastes. In fad it was not until Alessandro Verri's translations of Shakespeare were published in 1777 that the Bard's works began to influence Italian cultural output and, consequently, the stage works performed in Italy. Another essential aspect of the relationship between British audiences and the dramma per musica is the recitative: since knowledge of Italian was uncommon among opera-goers in London, secco recitatives tended to be shorter than in Italy, whereas accompanied recitatives were surprisingly numerous and long compared with what was common on the continent. An exemplary case in point is the intense and delicate sequence of recitative and aria in 'Dolce è su queste alte mie logge a sera... Fu del braccio onipotente,' which is part of the only oratorio Porpora wrote in England: 'David e Bersabea' (tracks 3-4). Here the verses describe the moment in which the King of Israel first sets eyes on the lovely Bathsheba, with whom he falls in love. Although the work comprises some remarkable music, the oratorio turned out to be a tremendous flop, probably because the score reflected tastes that were far removed from those established with such success by Handel. 

 

"In 1737, when excessive costs and insufficient fee-paying audiences led to the collapse of Opera of Nobility, Porpora returned to the continent, and to composing in a fashion that was more akin to Italian reality. Although he reused very little of the material he had composed in London, he did rework a scene from his 'Ifigenia in Aulide' to turn it into a chamber cantata for two voices: 'Calcante e Achille.' This is the source of the aria originally written for Farinelli 'A questa man verra' (track 8). The rest of his English output was completely forgotten, and the whole subject of the relationship between Handel and Popora only surfaced much later, at the start of the 19th century, when various legends, since disproved, began to circulate about Handel's unlikely admiration for Porpora's 'Berenice,' and for the equally unlikely challenge between the two regarding 'Agrippina.'

"In his life Porpora did have a couple of real adversaries with whom he clashed: Leonardo Vinci and Benedetto Marcello, though only the former constituted for him a real worry. His relationship with Handel during the London years doesn't seem based on personal antagonism: in fact both the composers were duelling with quarrelsome, lively audiences, whose riotous attitudes contributed to the birth of some of the foremost masterpieces of 18th century opera." (Stefano Aresi. From the liner notes.)

 

Performers: Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu, Franck-Emmanuel Comte, Giuseppina Bridelli

1. Georg Friedrich Händel - Alcina, HWV 34: 'Sta Nell'ircana Pietrosa Tana'

2. Nicola Porpora - Arianna In Naxo: 'Nume Che Reggi 'L Mare'

3. Nicola Porpora - David E Bersabea: 'Dolce È Su Queste Alte Mie Logge A Sera'

4. Nicola Porpora - David E Bersabea: 'Fu Del Braccio Onnipotente'

5. Nicola Porpora - Polifemo, Ouverture: I. Ouverture

6. Nicola Porpora - Polifemo, Ouverture: II. Allegro

7. Nicola Porpora - Polifemo, Ouverture: III. (...)

8. Nicola Porpora - Calcante E Achille: 'A Questa Man Verrà'

9. Georg Friedrich Händel - Ariodante, HWV 33: 'Scherza Infida'

10. Nicola Porpora - Polifemo: 'Il Gioir Qualor S'aspetta'

11. Georg Friedrich Händel - Ariodante, HWV 33, Suite De Ballet: I. Entrée Des Songes Agréables

12. Georg Friedrich Händel - Ariodante, HWV 33, Suite De Ballet: II. Entrée Des Songes Funestes

13. Georg Friedrich Händel - Ariodante, HWV 33, Suite De Ballet: III. Entrée Des Songes Agréables Effrayés

14. Georg Friedrich Händel -  Ariodante, HWV 33, Suite De Ballet: IV: Le Combat Des Songes Funestes Et Agréables

15. Nicola Porpora - Mitridate: 'Alza Al Soglio I Guardi'

16. Georg Friedrich Händel - Tolomeo, HWV 25: 'Inumano Fratel, Barbara Madre'

17. Georg Friedrich Händel - Tolomeo, HWV 25: 'Stille Amare, Già Vi Sento'

18. Georg Friedrich Händel -  Catone In Utica, HWV A7: 'Quando Piomba Improvvisa Saetta'

 

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