In war and peace: thoughtful virtuosity from DiDonato

By Dominic Lowe, 24 November 2016

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“drenching the word “horror” with an oily blackness”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 22 November 2016

Handel, Jephtha HWV 70: 'Scenes of horror, scenes of woe

Leo, Andromaca: Prendi quel ferro, o barbaro!

Cavalieri, Sinfonia Rappresentatione di anima e di corpo

Purcell, Chaconne in G Minor, Z 730

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Z 626: Dido's Lament "When I am laid in earth"

Handel, Agrippina: Pensieri, voi mi tormentate

Gesualdo, Tristis est anima mea

Handel, Rinaldo, HWV 7: Lascia ch'io pianga

Purcell, The Indian Queen, Z 630: They tell us that you mighty pow'rs above

Handel, Susanna, HWV 66: Crystal streams in murmurs flowing

Handel, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17: Da tempeste

Pärt, Da pacem Domine

Handel, Rinaldo, HWV 7: Augelletti, che cantate

Jommelli, Attilio Regolo: Par che di Giubilo

Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-soprano

Il Pomo d'Oro

Maxim Emelyanychev, Conductor

Reincarnation of Baroque ecstasy: Giulio Cesare at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 12th February

From Jakub Józef Orliński’s youthful radiance to Sandrine Piau’s sovereign mastery, this performance revives Baroque ecstasy through razor-sharp orchestration, muscular playing and inventive embellishments of unparalleled emotional depth.

*****

Carry on up the Nile: Handel's Berenice by the Seine

Sandra Bowdler, 21st May

One of Handel's lesser operas receives a deluxe concert performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, with Il Pomo d'Oro and a fine array of singers.

****1

Beyond conventions: Jakub Józef Orliński and Il Pomo d'Oro in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 30th November

Touring with the ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro, Jakub Józef Orliński reinvents the Baroque recital formula at the Berlin Philharmonic featuring breakdancing, an audience sing-along and a good deal of fun.

*****

Gesualdo lights up La Bâtie in Veyrier

Elodie Olson-Coons, 8th September

Il Pomo d'Oro and La Compagnia del Madrigale deliver a moving, nuanced performance of Gesualdo madrigals at La Bâtie festival.

***11

Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro make the Konzerthaus their Eden

Chanda VanderHart, 20th March

Pageantry abounds as the popular mezzo-soprano turns the Konzerthaus Wien into a sort of classical music, multisensory varieté.

*****

A starry cast for Handel's Theodora in Paris

Kevin W Ng, 22nd November

It’s hard to imagine more glorious vocalism from such a starry cast, but this Theodora at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées falls short of the sublime.

***11

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Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.

In war and peace: thoughtful virtuosity from Joyce DiDonato at the Barbican