Saturday, October 18, 2008

Mezzos doing Handel

Mezzo-sopranos singing Handel arias on YouTube. Most of them don't seem to have pictures. These are arranged in a not precise order of ascending weight.


Cecilia Bartoli singing "Da tempeste" from Giulio Cesare. I don't know if this counts since she's singing Cleopatra. In a proper comparison she would have to be singing a castrato part. This is a pirate recording from Zurich.


Vivica Genaux singing "Spero per voi, si, si" from Ariodante.


Anna Bonitatibus singing "Un pensiero nemico di pace".  I've seen her in Zurich and like her a lot. 


I have added Susan Graham just ahead of Joyce singing "Verdi Prati" from Alcina. She has one of the most beautiful mezzo voices around.


Joyce Di Donato singing "Where shall I fly?" from Hercules. Joyce is definitely growing on me. This is awesome.


Vesselina Kasarova singing "Mi lusinga il dolce affetto" from Alcina. **This is now a different aria also from Alcina. The closeups are priceless.


Alice Coote singing Sesto's "Cara speme, questo core" from Giulio Cesare.


Ewa Podleś singing "Dover, giustizia, amor" from Ariodante. This is what we missed when she didn't come to San Francisco.

Does this tell you anything about technique in the time of Handel? I always feel Handel in the mezzo Fach is pitched all wrong for women, but these particular women seem to be handling it well. Pun intended.

1 comment:

Paul said...

Thanks for the list, but what about my favorite, Jennifer Larmore? Here are two YouTube clips:

"Ombra Mai Fu"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_m6mnMIofc

Iris, Hence Away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_onejKg3_I