Lorraine Hunt - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Handel Arias
|
Our Price: $19.98 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $13.16 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Handel Arias
Free Music Review: Stunning Beauty by a True Handelian, Hunt Lieberson Soars
Hit: 5 Stars
Mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson has such a warm, glowing voice of subtle power and nuance that one wonders what took her so long to record the five arias from the classic 1996 Peter Sellars staging of Handel's "Theodora" at Glyndebourne. For those who have not seen that production, it is captured faithfully on a DVD released just last year (very strongly recommended). If you get it, you can see one of the most powerfully moving oratorios Handel ever wrote with stellar performances, in particular, by Hunt Lieberson and countertenor David Daniels. She portrayed Irene, the heroine's friend and supporter, and here she recaptures the spiritual purity of her character with a particularly distinctive and beautiful mezzo voice that continues to deepen and resonate over the years. Her unerring tone is even and accurate across its range, and she leaves herself emotionally available in a naturalistic manner that does not make her seem the least bit mannered. The high point of these arias is the opening selection, "As with rosy steps the morn", a beautiful hymn that rises stepwise in a series of repeated notes that bloom into an even lovelier melody that describes a soul's inexorable progression toward spiritual rapture. It's a stunning vocal performance that retains a gulf of humanity far outweighing the religious overtones.
The 21-minute "La Lucrezia" cantata provides a dramatically temperamental contrast to the ethereal Irene, wherein Hunt Lieberson embodies the mercurial emotional changes experienced by the dishonored queen without any prima donna posturing. She moves seamlessly from rage to remorse to utter hopelessness, encompassing the character's arc through her instinct for accepting all the musical possibilities. The concluding two "Serse" selections demonstrate this same musical acumen in what seems like diametrically opposite ways. The rage of "Se bramate d'amar, chi vi sdegna" is captured in a series of sharp movements, while the familiar closer, "Ombra mai fù", is sung so simply and beautifully that it becomes inspirational. Daniels' wondrous version on his "Handel Opera Arias" CD (strongly recommended) is the closest to Hunt Lieberson's in capturing the same emotional depth and vocal virtuosity. Perhaps because Hunt Lieberson has extensive experience in playing these roles on stage to great acclaim, she manages to harness her dramatic intensity within the bounds of the character and musical style in which she happens to be working. As a true Handelian, she demonstrates impeccable diction in either English and Italian, and unlike someone like Renée Fleming, Hunt Lieberson uses vocal decorations to complement the flow of drama and feeling within each piece versus seizing opportunities for gymnastic flourishes. Another true Handelian, Harry Bicket provides expert musical direction here, no surprise since he has brought his unmistakable skill to other wonderful recordings such as Fleming's recent "Handel Arias" and Daniels' "Sento Amor" (both strongly recommended). He leads the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment expertly with perfectly played period instruments. This is a stunning recording of the highest magnitude.
Free Music Review: Laurel upon Laurel!
Hit: 5 Stars
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is steadily, assuredly demonstrating to the music world that here is a voice of such beauty, warmth, and intelligence that she simply has no peers. While other singers who traverse the Handel or Bach repertoires do so with success and dignity, Hunt Lieberson transcends them all in her poignant ability to go directly to the composer's intentions while keeping the singing fresh, creatively alive and eloquently real. Her way with ornamentation, especially that of her da capo embellishments, is simply ravishing: brilliant technique for technique's sake never gets in the way of enhancing the beauty of the vocal line. The CD presents arias from two of Handel's operas (both of which Hunt Lieberson has performed successfully on stage) - "Theodora" and "Serse" - and an added cantata "La Lucrezia". As the crowning light of her recording she performs with the gifted Harry Bicket and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the collaboration is perfect! A compleat singer, this, and an inestimable gift to the music world.Free Music Review: Lorraine Hunt.....You Bloody Legend
Hit: 5 Stars
Words are quite useless to describe the divine voice of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, there are not enough favourable adjectives one could give to praise this highly intelligent and dramatic musician. Ms Hunt has a voice and instinct so highly refined as to leave most singers for dead when it comes perfect articulation and phrasing and getting to the raw nerve of the piece. Her commitment to exploring the total pallate of colours possible for the human voice yealds sounds oftern too beautiful to bare.
Being a singer myself I can only say thankyou to Ms Hunt for one of the best singing lessons Ive every had in my life-listening to her Irene from Theodora instilled in me the importance and appreciation for exploring all the dramatic shades of colour a piece of music has to offer. Suddenly singing becomes more than an 'in your face-stand up and deliver' art form, but an interactive, truely human and utterly fragile and sensitive genre.
God bless you you true singing Diva. If only the everyone was made to listen to you for 5 minutes a day, what a world we would live in.
Oh yeah, this Disk presents all of Lorraine Hunt's efforts form the Sellars production of Handel's AMAZING opera/oratorio Theodora from Glynborne. The arias are amongst the most touchingly beautiful and richely crafted works of Handels output. They have changed the way I listen to music full stop. 5 STARS FOR LORRAINE AND 5 STARS FOR THE MUSIC.