Description
OUT NOW
NOW ALSO AVAILABLE ON DVD HERE
In Spring 2019, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, led by John Eliot Gardiner,
presented a critically-acclaimed European tour of Handel’s opera ‘Semele’, including Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, where this live recording took place. Before the tour, Semele had not been performed by John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi ensembles since they originally recorded it in the 1980s and this recording gives listeners the chance to hear a fuller version of the work.
A glamorous team of young soloists joins the Monteverdi ensembles to bring the story of Semele to life, including celebrated English soprano Louise Alder, who takes on the title role, with the young tenor Hugo Hymas portraying the amorous Jupiter.
“Semele’s musical score is a glorious blend of irresistible solo arias – some virtuosic showstoppers, others lyrical, sensual and evocative, ensembles, duets, accompanied recitatives and (unlike his operas) imposing choruses. Still more than when I first performed it and recorded it almost forty years ago, I feel Semele’s time has finally come.”
John Eliot Gardiner
SDG733 | 3CD (68 Tracks)
Release date: 26 June 2020 (Digital) / 2 October 2020 (Physical) / 26 February 2021 (DVD)
REVIEWS
ALBUM OF THE WEEK & RECORD(S) OF THE YEAR 2020 – Sunday Times
VOCAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR – Record Geijutsu Magazine, Japan
OPERA CHOICE OF THE MONTH – BBC Music Magazine
CRITICS’ CHOICE – Opera News, USA
RECORDING OF THE WEEK – Presto Classical
“Where there had previously been a decorous oratorio, there is now a pulsating opera, and the wit of the drama sparkles.”
The Financial Times – Richard Fairman
“Gardiner is in his element with this great piece.”
The Sunday Times – Hugh Canning
“Rampant with glorious music… the musical pleasures hardly cease … The loyal and committed Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists (leader Kati Debretzeni) shine as ever.”
The Guardian – Fiona Maddocks
“Orchestrally, the English Baroque Soloists play with their usual incision… The players are equally finely poised in supporting and colouring the arias and recitatives.”
Music-Web International – Jonathan Woolf
The Monteverdi Choir hasn’t aged a bit and is bursting with vocal health. Its precision, flexibility and impeccable ductility are still admirable.
ResMusica (Spain) – Matthew Roc