Gratuitous Musickal Posting (TM)

I recently checked out Handel's 1724 opera Tamerlano from Netflix.

I'm really not much of a fan of opera seria and in its Baroque manifestation it can be a hard trudge. Here, for instance, one has to wait until half way through Act Three before there is any ensemble singing whatever. The bulk of the music is made up of long, long arais connected by recitative. It is a form not naturally sympathetic to either drama or action and one that I confess to find rayther tarsome after a while.

But nonetheless, I found this a very entertaining performance. For one thing, the conductor was Trevor Pinnock, meaning that the orchestral performace was absolutely superb. Pinnock and Handel together forgives an awful lot of minor flaws. For another, the costumes were absolutely wonderful and the sets- nothing more than a couple of brushed gold backdrops - showed what can really be done by way of simple elegance.

I know little about any of the cast involved. The mezzo Monica Bacelli in the title role hardly projected a look of Tartar savagery, instead bearing an eerie resemblence to Katherine Jefforts-Schorri. Also, her voice didn't seem to project well. On the other hand, both tenor Tom Randle as Bajadet, the captured Ottoman sultan and counter-tenor Graham Pushee as Andronico were quite solid. Anna Bonitatibus as Irene had a trick of pursing her lips in a funny way while inhaling nasally that got on my nerves after a while. And I deeply suspect that Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz as Asteria, daughter of Bajadet, doesn't make a regular habit of the Baroque, as her voice was way too warbly IMHO. Baroque vocal music is crystal clear at some times, heavily ornamented at others, and when one can't tell the difference between the singer's vibrato and her grace notes, there's a problem.

Nonetheless, as I say, I enjoyed this DVD and would recommend it if you're at all interested in this sort of thing.