Handel G.F. Alcina opera / M.Kožená / Les Musiciens du Louvre / M.Minkovski (3CD)

Georg Friedrich Händel - Alcina - opera (3CD)

Magdalena Kožená, Erin Morley, Alois Mühlbacher, Anna Bonitatibus, Elizabeth DeShong, Valerio Contaldo, Alex Rosen

Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski conductor

Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre return to Handel with a complete recording of his opera Alcina. The title role is interpreted by Magdalena Kožená, who reunites with Les Musiciens and maestro Minkowski after a series of acclaimed baroque recordings. She is joined by an excellent casts of soloists, consisting of Erin Morley (Morgana), Anna Bonitatibus (Ruggiero), Elzabeth DeShong (Bradamante), Alois Mühlbacher (Oberto), Valerio Contaldo (Oronte) and Alex Rosen (Melisso). This studio recording transports the listener to Alcina’s enchanted island, and shows Handel at the peak of his power: the score is dramatic, lush and colourful as well as introspective and profound where the story requires it.

Since its foundation in 1982, and under the baton of its founder and musical director Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre have developed into one of the world’s best period-instrument ensembles, with a vast discography. The ensemble returns to Pentatone after having presented Mozart’s Mass in C Minor in 2020. Alcina is star mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená’s fifth album as part of her exclusive collaboration with Pentatone, after having presented the baroque cantatas recital album Il giardino dei sospiri and the songs in chamber-musical setting project Soirée in 2019, as well as Nostalgia together with Yefim Bronfman (2021) and Folk Songs with the Czech Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle (2023).

Marc Minkowski a Les Musiciens du Louvre se vracejí k Händelovi s kompletní nahrávkou jeho opery Alcina. Titulní roli interpretuje Magdalena Kožená, která se s Les Musiciens a maestrem Minkowskim znovu setkává po řadě uznávaných barokních nahrávek. K ní se připojuje vynikající obsazení sólistů ve složení Erin Morley (Morgana), Anna Bonitatibus (Ruggiero), Elizabeth DeShong (Bradamante), Alois Mühlbacher (Oberto), Valerio Contaldo (Oronte) a Alex Rosen (Melisso). Tato studiová nahrávka přenese posluchače na Alcinin kouzelný ostrov a ukazuje Händela na vrcholu jeho sil: partitura je dramatická, svěží a barevná, stejně jako introspektivní a hluboká. tam, kde to příběh vyžaduje.

(Pentatone Records 2023)