The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, based in Sydney but touring to other centres, is one of the first of Australia’s Baroque specialist groups. Their latest concert introduced Australian audiences to Japanese soprano Yukie Sato, but many of the highlights came from its orchestral repertoire. Concertmaster Shaun Lee-Chen shone in his violin solos with Paul Dyer conducting as usual from the harpsichord.
As the name suggests, the concert was largely, but not entirely, devoted to works by Handel, in particular the arias sung by Sato. It kicked off with the overture to Handel’s first London opera Rinaldo, in which the orchestra seemed a little ragged, but with notable work by the oboes (Adam Masters and Kallen Cresp). Sato entered as this came to its conclusion, looking very glamorous in a glittering off-white gown with a long frothy train. She embarked on the recitative intro to the concluding aria from Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, “Tu del ciel ministro eletto”, from Handel’s early period in Rome. This exquisite and demanding aria was a great entry piece, but might have come better later in the concert, as Sato was not entirely audible throughout. She has a voice of considerable purity of tone, accurate and with a good range, but perhaps needed to warm up a little for this one.
After an orchestral interlude, the next aria was the equally demanding “Ombre pallide” which concludes Act 2 of Alcina. The originator of this role was Anna Maria Strada (del Pò), whom one suspects had a rather fuller-bodied voice than Sato, who did not quite plumb its emotional depths. Her third aria, concluding part one, was “Dopo notte” from Ariodante, originally written for the alto-castrato Carestini, taken at a very fast tempo here which led to rather smudged coloratura. There is no denying however that Sato is a charming stage presence, returning after the interval in stunning bright pink gown, and embarking on another Strada number, “L’amor ed il destin” from Partenope, a rather lighter number than “Ombre pallide”, sung in sprightly fashion. Similarly “M’allontano, sdegnose pupille” from Atalanta, originally sung by sopranista Gizziello, was a good cantabile vehicle.
The final aria on the program was “Tornami a vagheggiar”, also from Alcina but sung by Alcina’s sister Morgana, originally the lighter voiced Cecilia Young but taken in a revival by Strada (apparently the licence for its purloining by Dame Joan Sutherland in various Alcina performances). For some reason, the B section was sung from the floor. Sato’s encore was the not exactly surprising “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Rinaldo, a beautifully phrased, heartfelt rendition.
Interspersed with the vocal contributions were the non-Handel items, Pisandel’s Violin concerto in D major, broken up into two sections before and after the interval (I would personally rather have had it all in one go), the Adagio from Vivaldi’s Violin concerto in G major, RV314a, and his Concerto con molti strumenti in F major, RV 569 (complete and straight through). The ABO seemed much better coordinated in these items. For the initial and concluding movements of the Pisandel, and the second Vivaldi work, it was joined by two horns for an exhilarating experience, and all were distinguished by dazzling virtuosic violin solos from Lee-Chen.
