Taped at and in conjunction with live performances at the Paris Opera, this “fantastic” Handel opera–one of his finest, by the way–proves to be a fascinating series of character studies told in a succession of 28 (!) arias. The sorceress Alcina (soaring, melting soprano Renée Fleming in a ravishing, rich portrayal) lures men to her island and when they fall in love with her she turns them into animals. But she’s actually fallen for a new love, Ruggiero (mezzo Susan Graham in a superb reading, both emotionally and vocally), whose fiancée (mezzo Kathleen Kuhlmann–dramatic, and with plenty of energy to spare) has come to the island disguised as her own brother in order to find Ruggiero. Once there, Alcina’s attendant Morgana (soprano Natalie Dessay, her voice simply stupendous across its two-and-a-half octaves) falls in love with him/her. It’s all less silly than it seems once you get involved in the characters and the arias themselves, and this performance is, as I’ve hinted, one for the books.
William Christie and his Arts Florissants are even greater heroes than the magnificent singers; they play with passion, energy, and great understanding of the idiom, and the smaller roles are carefully cast as well. This recording replaces the cut and rearranged reading by Joan Sutherland and some other very fine singers under Richard Bonynge on Decca made many years ago, along with the Richard Hickox set with Arleen Auger, and that’s saying a lot. This is the recording of Alcina to own.
