Ella Fitzgerald: Like Someone in Love

Cover of Ella Fitzgerald's Like Someone in Love, Verve Records, 1957. Photo credit: Phil Stern. Image source: Goatless

Technology can revolutionize not only artistic form, but content. The advent of the 12-inch 33 1/3 RPM long-playing record in the late 1940s and early 1950s is a case in point. The LP could hold up to 25 minutes of music on a side, in comparison to the 12 minutes of the 10-inch 45 RPM or the four minutes of the 78 RPM records that were then the standard formats. With its greater duration, the LP made possible whole albums of sustained moods or overarching themes.

A key early example is Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours (1955), an album of meditations on lost love that was precipitated by his failing marriage to Ava Gardner. Filled with melancholy ballads in arrangements by the brilliant Nelson Riddle, the album's mood is reflected in the cover art featuring a pensive Sinatra smoking a cigarette late at night under a lamppost on a deserted urban street.

Cover of Frank Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours, Capitol Records, 1955. Image source: Amazon.ca

Sinatra wasn't the only one exploring the possibilities of the longer format. The year after the release of In the Wee Small Hours, jazz producer Norman Granz began showcasing Ella Fitzgerald on his new Verve label in a thematic project enabled by the LP: the Song Book series. Each entry in the series was devoted to the work of a single songwriter or songwriting team of the Great American Songbook. Ultimately the series consisted of eight releases comprising 15 hours of music on 19 LPs: double albums for Cole Porter (1956), Rodgers & Hart (1956), Irving Berlin (1958), and Harold Arlen (1961); a four-LP boxed set for Duke Ellington in both big band and small ensemble modes (1957); a five-LP set for George & Ira Gershwin (1959); and single albums for Jerome Kern (1963) and Johnny Mercer (1964).

Cover of Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book, Verve Records, 1956. Image source: "Celebrating Ella Fitzgerald's Life Through the Objects That Defined Her Career" by Lily Rothman and Liz Ronk, Time, 25 April 2017.

The first albums in the Song Book series were immediate successes. But in the middle of recording the series—in fact, in the same month she recorded The Duke Ellington Song Book—Ella went back into the studio with an orchestra playing arrangements and conducted by Frank DeVol. On 15 October 1957 they recorded eleven tracks (!), four with Stan Getz on tenor sax; returning almost two weeks later on 28 October, they recorded another eight tracks with Ted Nash on alto sax. Fifteen of the nineteen tracks recorded in these sessions were released as the album Like Someone in Love in early December of the same year. Thirty-four years later the album would be released on CD, with the addition of the remaining four tracks from the 28 October session. And thirty-five years after that, I would come across the CD at my local public library sale and discover anew the brilliance of Ella Fitzgerald at her peak.

Like Someone in Love is Ella's In the Wee Small Hours, an album of torch songs that creates a hushed mood. The songs express anticipation and yearning; the joys of dawning love and the sorrow of inevitable loss. Ella's inimitable voice had gained warmth but lost little of its purity as she entered her 40s. Cushioned by DeVol's lush string arrangements and accompanied on four of the tracks by Stan Getz's understated soloing, Ella's singing is seductive, caressing, and sometimes mournful.

Another notable aspect of the album is its song choice. Where each album in the Song Book series focuses on one songwriter, the expanded CD version of Like Someone in Love features songs by seventeen different lyricists and eighteen different composers (Johnny Mercer and Johnny Burke are the two lyricists each represented by two songs, and Jimmy Van Heusen the only composer represented by two songs). I had never before knowingly heard the work of many of the songwriters, as with the first track, "There's a Lull in My Life," with lyrics by Mack Gordon and music by Harry Revel:

https://youtu.be/b3Q3FD2Tdko

Some of the songwriters who would later feature in the Song Book series are also represented here: Mercer, of course, supplying lyrics for Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke's "Midnight Sun" (re-recorded for the Johnny Mercer Song Book arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle) and Van Heusen's "I Thought About You"; George & Ira Gershwin's "How Long Has This Been Going On" (re-recorded for the Gershwin Song Book, also arranged and conducted by Riddle); and Irving Berlin's "I Never Had A Chance" (which was not re-recorded for the Irving Berlin Song Book):

https://youtu.be/PBu7cKEjdoE

For me, among the delightful new discoveries on the album is "Then I'll Be Tired Of You," with music by Arthur Schwartz (composer of "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" and "Dancing In The Dark") and words by Yip Harburg (lyricist of "April In Paris" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"):

https://youtu.be/BdaXz-Du7XU

I'll never be tired of hearing Ella Fitzgerald. Like Someone in Love is 70 minutes of Ella captured in the era of her peak vocal artistry: pure pleasure.

Nymphs, shepherdesses, muses and lovers: Virginie Thomas

Virginie Thomas. Image credit: Studio Ledroit-Perrin. Image source: Les Heures Musicales de l’Abbaye de Lessay

Although my shelves (and coffee table, and stereo cabinet) are groaning with CDs, I recklessly continue to seek out new musical discoveries. And right now we are experiencing a flowering of French Baroque performances and recordings, as still-active period-instrument groups such as William Christie's Les Arts Florissants (approaching its 50th anniversary), Marc Minkowski's Les Musiciens du Louvre (approaching its 45th), Hervé Niquet's Le Concert Spirituel (next year celebrating its 40th), Christophe Rousset's Les Talens Lyriques (turning 35 this year) and Emmanuelle Haïm's Le Concert d'Astrée (entering its second quarter-century) are joined by the newer generations of ensembles and performers that they have nurtured.

Virginie Thomas is a French soprano who has performed and recorded with Christie, Rousset, and Vincent Dumestre's Le Poème Harmonique, but also with newer groups such as Raphaël Pichon's Pygmalion, Gaëtan Jarry's Ensemble Marguerite Louise, and Reinoud Van Mechelen's a nocte temporis. She has specialized, in the words of her artist's biography, in portraying "muses, nymphs, bergères and amoureuses."

In fact, her first recital album for the L'Encelade label is entitled Nymphes (L'Encelade ECL 2203, released in 2023), a program of airs sung by nymphs from the operas of Lully, Desmarest, Campra, Leclair and others.

Nymphes (ECL 2203). Image credit: Virginie Thomas. Image source: Presto Music

The goddess on the cover of Nymphes is apparently Virginie Thomas herself: the image is credited as Autoportrait d'une nymphe à la piscine [Self-portrait of a nymph at the pool]. In her booklet note Thomas writes that the idea for the album arose from concerts she gave as part of the open-air Dans Les Jardins de William Christie summer festival. Nymphs are minor (though, I was surprised to learn, not immortal) goddesses associated with nature that, Thomas writes, "have to cope with human problems (love, desire, jealousy, etc.), and this is something that makes them particularly appealing."

Appealing is the word for this album. On Nymphes Thomas is accompanied by a period-instrument chamber orchestra led by harpsichordist Béatrice Martin and violinist Emmanuel Resche-Caserta; in some works she is joined by sopranos Maud Gnidzaz and Juliette Perret and mezzo-soprano Anaïs Bertrand. Thomas has arranged these airs for nymphs into a mini-opera. We follow the progress of the Nymph of the Seine as she emerges into the human world, discovers the pleasures and pains of love, and finally retreats into "darkness and silence."

If I have one (very minor) complaint, it's that a chamber orchestra cannot provide the aural richness of the 50 musicians or so for whom Lully and others composed their operas at the Académie Royale de Musique. But in compensation, the chamber orchestra places Thomas's lovely voice at the forefront.

From Nymphes, the nereid Orithe's "Me plaindrai-je toujours, Amour, sous ton empire?" (Must I forever lament, Love, under your yoke?) by a composer new to me, Pascal Colasse, a younger contemporary of Lully:

https://youtu.be/Qp0cych1ZnI

Me plaindrai-je toujours, Amour, sous ton empire? Ne seras-tu jamais favorable à mes vœux? On me fuit et mon cœur est toujours amoureux, Sans espoir de secours, je languis, je soupire. Me plaindrai-je toujours, Amour, sous ton empire? Ne seras-tu jamais favorable à mes vœux?

Oh Love, shall I forever groan underneath thy yoke? Wilt thou never grant my wishes? I am shunned and love is still in my heart, With no hope of help, I languish and sigh. Oh Love, shall I forever groan underneath thy yoke? Wilt thou never grant my wishes? —all English translations in this post by Nick Halliwell

As is obvious from this clip, Virginie Thomas's soprano is beautifully pure and clear. Its qualities make Thomas an ideal performer of the repertoire on her second recording project for L'Encelade, Mademoiselle Hilaire (ECL 2502).

Mademoiselle Hilaire (L'Encelade ECL 2502). Image credit: Presto Music

Hilaire Dupuis (or Hylaire Dupuy) was "known as 'le cristal humaine' due to the crystalline purity of her voice," Thomas writes in her booklet note. On Mademoiselle Hilaire, Thomas explores the airs, chansons and ensembles composed specifically for this exceptional singer by Michel Lambert, Jean-Baptiste Lully, and Francesco Cavalli during Louis XIV's minority and reign.

Mlle. Hilaire's older sister Gabrielle was also a singer. In 1641, Gabrielle married Lambert, but died just over a year later after giving birth to a daughter, Madeleine. Mlle. Hilaire, then 17 or 18, moved into Lambert's household, perhaps to help care for her infant niece. Mlle. Hilaire became a student of Lambert's and frequently performed with him. In 1655 on a visit to Paris, the Dutch mathematician Christian Huygens wrote to his father of a private concert he'd attended by "Monsieur Lambert and Mademoiselle Hilaire, his sister-in-law, who sings like an angel." [1]

In 1659, when Mlle. Hilaire was in her mid-30s, she was appointed as an Ordinaire de la Musique de la Chambre du Roi, singing in entertainments for Louis XIV, primarily ballets de coeur. Many of these were written by Lully, who attained a position as a court composer. A few years later, after the success of the ballets he had composed for Cavalli's wedding opera L'Ercole Amante (1662), the 29-year-old Lully married the 19-year-old Madeleine Lambert, and moved in with his father-in-law and Mlle. Hilaire. By living in the same house as the two most renowned French composers of the period and having an appointment at court, Mlle. Hilaire was positioned at the center of French musical life.

In the early 1660s Lully and the playwright Molière created a new genre, the comédie-ballet, in which musical intermèdes introduced, appeared between the acts of, and concluded a play. One such work, La Princesse d'Élide, was presented in 1664 as part of week-long spring festivities at Versailles, Les Plaisirs de l'Isle enchantée (Pleasures of the Enchanted Island). The theme of the festival was drawn from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso, in which the knight Ruggiero is seduced by the beautiful sorceress Alcina and the pleasures of her magical island. La Princesse d'Élide was performed on the second day of the festival, 8 May.

The plot revolved around a princess who was apparently immune to love but who was eventually won over by a young man who feigned indifference in order to entice her. At the outset Princess Elide was presented as a spirited beauty who loved hunting more than she sought love, and it cannot have been an accident that [the king's mistress] Louise de la Vallière was dedicated to the chase. Indeed the whole play might be seen to justify Louis' passion for her. [2]

Portrait of Louise de La Vallière, attributed to Pierre Mignard, c. 1660s. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The musical accompaniment for the intermèdes was provided by "a large, rather heterogeneous orchestra with exotic and colorful instruments. The livret of La Princesse d'Elide mentions 'several hunting horns and trumpets' in concert with the strings, and at one point describes a 'large tree machine in which there are sixteen Faunes, eight of whom play flutes, the others, violin. . . . .Thirty violins answer them from the orchestra with six other harpischord and théorbo soloists." [3]

The sheer scale of the undertaking can be seen in the commemorative engravings of the occasion made by Israël Silvestre:

Seconde Journée: Theatre fait dans la mesme allée, sur le quel la comédie, et le ballet de La princesse d'Elide furent representéz [Second day: Theatre erected in the same avenue, in which the comedy and the ballet of The Princess of Elis was performed], designed and engraved by Israël Silvestre. 19th-century print after 1673 original. Background: a scene from Molière's verse play La princesse d'Élide. Foreground: Louis XIV and members of the court watching the performance. Image source: New York Public Library Digital Collections

As on Nymphes, on Mademoiselle Hilaire Virginie Thomas does not attempt to reproduce the richness of the instrumental forces marshalled for the King's pleasure. But the more intimate approach she and her collaborators take enhances the music's sensuality. "Recit de l'Aurore" from La Princesse d'Elide:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46AsyU-8Xmc

L'Aurore: Quand l'amour à vos yeux offre un choix agréable, Jeune beauté laissez-vous enflammer; Moquez-vous d'affecter cet orgueil indomptable Dont on vous dit Qu'il est beau de s'armer. Dans l'âge où l'on est aimable Rien n'est si beau que d'aimer. Soupirez librement pour un amant fidèle, Et bravez ceux qui voudraient vous blâmer; Un cœur tendre est aimable, et le nom de cruelle N'est pas un nom à se faire estimer. Dans le temps où l'on est belle Rien n'est si beau que d'aimer.

Dawn: When love seems to offer you a pleasant choice, Young beauty, allow yourself to be set alight; Trouble not to feign that indomitable pride That is so often said to be Such a fine weapon in one's armoury. When you are of an age to be loved There can be naught finer than to love. Sigh freely for a true lover, And defy those who would criticise you; A tender heart can be loved, and being called "cruel" Is no way to gain others' esteem. For as long as you have beauty There can be naught finer than to love.

The writer Jean Loret was one of the 600 invitees to the Versailles première of La Princesse d'Elise, and wrote a celebratory poem about the performance that mentioned Mlle. Hilaire by name, calling her one of the "Nightingales of the Court." Loret essayed a second poem on seeing the revival two months later of the Lully-Molière comédie-ballet at the Fontainebleau Palace:

Ces deux Filles, qui par leurs voix Ont charmé la Cour tant de fois, Sçavoir Mademoizelle Hilaire, Qui ne sçauroit chanter sans plaire, Et La-Barre, qui plainement Dompte les coeurs à tout moment, Par le rare et double avantage De son chant et de son vizage, Joüérent si bien leur rolet Dans la Piéce et dans le Balet, Remplis d'agréables mélanges, Que, certainement, leurs voix d'Anges Furent dans ces contentemens Un des plus doux ravissemens.

These two Girls who, with their voices, Have charmed the Court so many times, They are Mademoizelle Hilaire, Who could not sing without making a pleasing sound, And Mademoizelle La-Barre, who plainly Wins hearts at any time, With the rare and twofold advantage Of her singing and her face, Played their little roles so well In the Play and in the Ballet, Full of pleasant combinations, That, certainly, their Angels' voices Were, in these contentments One of the sweetest delights. [4]

"Mademoizelle La-Barre" was Anne de la Barre, another court singer with whom Mlle. Hilaire often performed, along with Anna Bergerotti and Mademoiselle de Saint Christophe. Mademoiselle Hilaire includes vocal duets, trios and quartets written for these singers, such as "Recit de l'Europe et des 4 parties du Mond" from Ballet Royal de Flore, given in the Tuileries in 1669:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWeR049nDYE

L'EUROPE Amour, n'est-ce point vous qui par tant de merveilles Charmez nos yeux, et nos oreilles? Sans vous tout déplaît en effet, C'est par vous que des dieux la troupe est divertie, Amour, il n'est rien de bien fait, Si vous n'êtes de la partie. L'AMERIQUE, L'ASIE, L'EUROPE, L'AFRIQUE Amour, il n'est rien de bien fait, Si vous n'êtes de la partie. L'ASIE Il n'est point de plaisir qui ne semble imparfait. L'AFRIQUE Point de félicité pleinement ressentie. L'AMERIQUE Le cœur ne goûte rien dont il soit satisfait. L'AMERIQUE, L'ASIE, L'EUROPE, L'AFRIQUE Amour, il n'est rien de bien fait, Si vous n'êtes de la partie. L'EUROPE En vain pour les plaisirs ici tout se prépare, L'Air s'embellit, le ciel se pare, Sans vous tout déplaît en effet, C'est par vous que des dieux la troupe est divertie, Amour, il n'est rien de bien fait, Si vous n'êtes de la partie. L'AMERIQUE, L'ASIE, L'EUROPE, L'AFRIQUE Amour, il n'est rien de bien fait, Si vous n'êtes de la partie.

EUROPE Oh Love, is it not you whom, by so many wonders Charm our eyes, and our ears? Without you, indeed, there is naught that is pleasing, It is by you that the company of the gods is entertained, Oh Love, naught is well, If you are not there. AMERICA, ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA Oh Love, naught is well, If you are not there. ASIA There is no pleasure which does not seem imperfect. AFRICA No bliss fully felt. AMERICA The heart tastes naught that slakes its thirst. AMERICA, ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA Oh Love, naught is well, If you are not there. EUROPE Everything here prepares for pleasures, yet in vain, The very Air beautifies itself, the sky bedecks itself, Without you, indeed, there is naught that is pleasing, It is by you that the company of the gods is entertained, Oh Love, naught is well, If you are not there. AMERICA, ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA Oh Love, naught is well, If you are not there.

The singers joining Virginie Thomas on the recording are her colleagues from Nymphes, sopranos Maud Gnidzaz and Juliette Perret and mezzo-soprano Anaïs Bertrand.

In 1677 at age 52, Mlle. Hilaire withdrew to the convent of the Nouvelles Catholiques; she remained there for more than three decades until her death in 1709. Mademoiselle Hilaire, from its thoughtful conception to L'Encelade's beautiful design to the exquisite performances of Thomas and her collaborators, allows us to comprehend full well why Mlle. Hilaire was called one of the "nightingales" of Louis XIV's brilliant court.

---

1. James R. Anthony, French Baroque Music from Beaujoyeulx to Rameau. Amadeus Press, 1997, p. 347.
2. Ian Thompson, The Sun King's Garden: Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre and the creation of the gardens of Versailles. Bloomsbury, 2006, p. 135.
3. Anthony, French Baroque Music, p. 77.
4. Quoted in Lisandro Abadie, "La Sage Demoiselle Hilaire," Mademoiselle Hilaire booklet, p. 13.

In memoriam: Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare

Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, 1980s. Image credit: David Corio. Image source: The Guardian

On Tuesday The Guardian carried an obituary for the drummer Sly Dunbar, who together with his bassist partner Robbie Shakespeare made up the rhythm section Sly & Robbie. Both men had been mentored by members of Bob Marley's Wailers: Sly by drummer Carlton Barrett, and Robbie by Carlton's brother, bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett, who gave him his first bass, a Hofner. Aston also helped Robbie get gigs. That's a 19-year-old Robbie playing bass on "Concrete Jungle," the first track on the Wailers' 1973 breakthrough album Catch A Fire.

Sly & Robbie were a key element in the dark, spare sound of Black Uhuru's hugely influential Showcase album, released in 1979; over the solid kick-drum and bass foundation, Dunbar added distinctive accents on the off-beat. The songs were released in various versions; the extended dub mixes put the rhythm section at the forefront. Which was a good thing: some of Michael Rose and Duckie Simpson's lyrics were misogynistic ("Shine eye gal is a trouble to a man") or anti-abortion (in "Abortion" they call the procedure "first-degree murder"). But "General Penitentiary" was their masterpiece ("Cause the food that you take to save your life can let you lose it the same. . .General Penitentiary, it's a warehouse of human slavery"):

https://youtu.be/RDstxZ1JiGA

Lyrics aside, sonically Showcase felt somewhat like the reggae equivalent of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures (particularly tracks like "Candidate"). The spareness of Showcase also clearly influenced the sound of Gang of Four ("Paralysed") and the Au Pairs ("Headache (for Michelle)," which has never felt more relevant). But Sly & Robbie's music wasn't only dark and dread. They also backed the duo Althea & Donna's cheeky 1978 dancehall hit "Uptown Top Ranking," name-checked on the Psychedelic Furs' "We Love You" from their debut album just a few months later. (The Furs lyric had been a mystery to me until my girlfriend pulled the Althea & Donna album out of her collection and gave it a spin to dispel my ignorance. Dispelling my ignorance is a task my girlfriend and now life partner continues to this day.)

https://youtu.be/VE-A5JULvRM

A few "Uptown Top Ranking" lyrics (written by Althea Forrest & Donna Reid):

See me in mi heels an' ting Them check so we hip an' ting True them no know anyting We have them going an' ting Nah pop no style I strictly roots Nah pop no style I strictly roots See me 'pon the road, and you no call out to me True you see me in mi pants an' ting See me in mi halter back Say me give you heart attack Give me little bass, make me wind up mi waist Uptown top ranking Love is all I bring Inna mi khaki suit an' ting

Sly & Robbie quickly became in-demand session musicians and producers. Working at Island Records' Compass Point Studios, they provided the rhythm section for Grace Jones' Warm Leatherette (1980) and Nightclubbing (1981), her re-imaginings of songs by The Normal, Roxy Music, Tom Petty, Iggy Pop, Marianne Faithfull, and The Police, among others. Jones' version of The Pretenders' "Private Life" is definitive:

https://youtu.be/yvLn_qC7QAs

I'm clearly not the only person to hear a Joy Division connection in Sly & Robbie's sound; the B-side of the "Private Life" single was a non-album cover of "She's Lost Control." (That cover, though, deliberately subverts Unknown Pleasures' original. I find the arrangement to be too busy and the vocals too declamatory. A rare misfire.)

Sly & Robbie continued performing and recording together for decades, backing musicians as disparate as Gwen Guthrie ("Padlock"), Gwen Stefani ("Underneath It All"), and Bob Dylan (Infidels). Their collaboration ended only with Robbie Shakespeare's death from kidney failure in 2021 at age 68. Now Sly Dunbar has followed him at age 73. Not to take anything away from their later work, but it is the indelible music they created as the late 1970s shaded into the early 1980s for which they will always be remembered.

Let's give Althea & Donna the last word. "No More Fighting":

https://youtu.be/drY8NndCsGE

No more fussing and fighting We want no more, we want no more No more stealing and back-biting We want no more, we want no more Alone I sit in deep meditation Wondering why the wicked still survive Killing and stealing is part of their daily life I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know When it's all gonna end

Favorites of 2025: Recordings

As with the other posts in this series, the recordings listed below are my favorites of those first experienced in 2025. I've listed them below by musical category in chronological order by period.

Renaissance polyphony

Two all-male choirs made my list for 2025. Although in this music we also very much enjoy mixed ensembles such as the Huelgas Ensemble, Stile Antico, and Tallis Scholars, during the Renaissance sacred polyphony was probably most often sung by single-sex choirs. (Although the repeated edicts barring women from church choirs does make one wonder why the ban had to be so often reissued.) I confess as well that I simply like the sound of all-male (and all-female) choirs. Both of these groups are exceptional, and their programs were of music mainly unfamiliar to me.

Queen of Hearts. The Gesualdo Six, Owain Park, director. Hyperion CDA68453; recorded 2023.

This album features songs of praise for the Virgin Mary and "regretz chansons" (songs of lamenting and despair) from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Much of the music is associated with four queens: Anne of Brittany, Margaret of Austria, Anne Boleyn and Mary Tudor. Three of the queens died relatively young from ill health, sudden or chronic; one, Anne Boleyn, was executed by her husband, King Henry VIII, after unsubstantiated accusations of adultery, incest and treason. The music is exquisite, and includes two contemporary works (one by the group's leader Owain Park) that fit into the program almost seamlessly.

"Sub tuum praesidium" by Antoine Brumel, c. 1500:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAvNucEv1Qk

Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei genetrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

To thy protection we fly, O Holy Mother of God; Do not spurn our prayers in our time of need, but from all dangers deliver us always, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.

Jacobus Vaet: Missa Ego flos campi. Cinquecento. Hyperion CDA67733; recorded 2008.

Vaet, a composer new to me, died in 1567 at age 37. His music does not sound as dark or melancholy to my ears as that of the Franco-Flemish composers of the "regretz chansons" from a generation or two before him, although perhaps that is because most of the music on this disc is devotional and laudatory. It is beautifully performed by the voices of Cinquecento, with the floating countertenor of Terry Wey of particular note.

Vaet's "Miserere mei, Deus," c. 1562:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAEWIH4PgEI

Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea. Miserere mei, Deus.

Have mercy upon me, O God: according to thy lovingkindness. and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Have mercy upon me, O God.

Baroque opera and oratorio

Johann Adolf Hasse: Piramo e Tisbe. Barbara Schlick (Piramo), Ann Monoyios (Tisbe), Wilfred Jochens (Padre). La Stagione, Michael Schneider, conductor. Capriccio 60 043-2; recorded 1993.

In October 1763 the 64-year-old Johann Adolf Hasse, Kapellmeister of the Dresden court of the Elector of Saxony August II, lost his position when his patron died. It was the latest in a series of catastrophes: earlier that year on returning to Dresden after several years, Hasse had discovered that his house and all of his musical manuscripts had been destroyed during the Prussian bombardment of the city in 1760. After August's death, the new Elector instituted economies and ended large-scale musical activity at the court. Hasse and his wife Faustina Bordoni were given two years' salary, but no pension for their 30 years of service. They departed for Vienna early in 1764.

In Vienna Hasse found himself enmeshed in controversy. He was upheld as an exemplar of Metastasian opera seria against the reformers Christoph Willibald Gluck and his librettist Ranieri de' Calzabigi. Gluck and Calzabigi meant to do away with what they considered the old-fashioned and static conventions of opera seria, such as the da capo exit aria intended to showcase virtuoso vocalism. Instead, they wanted to push the dramatic action forward more swiftly. Two years before they had produced an opera following these principles, Orfeo ed Euridice (1762).

Johann Adolf Hasse, engraved by Friedrich Johann Kauke after a painting by Pietro Rotari, ca. 1763. Image source: Museum-Digital Sachsen-Anhalt

Hasse must have seen the false position in which he'd been placed as something of a challenge. When an opera was privately commissioned from him in 1768, he responded by producing a Gluck-like work with just three characters, featuring short arias with few repeats that emerged out of accompanied recitative and flowed back into recitative without a break, and that reaches its conclusion in a swift two hours—very much like Orfeo ed Euridice.

Piramo e Tisbe is based on Book IV of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Prefiguring Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe have fallen in love, but their families are at odds. In the face of a parental ban on their union, they plan to elope. But their plan goes awry, and disaster ensues. Hasse and his librettist Marco Coltellini went further even than the reformers: their intermezzo tragico is a true tragedy. Unlike in Orfeo ed Euridice, no gods intervene to ensure a happy ending and reunite the couple. Instead, this is the very rarest and darkest of 18th-century operas: at the end, all the characters in the opera—the two lovers along with Tisbe's father, who had forbidden their union—are dead, and all have died by suicide.

Pyrame et Thisbé. Line engraving by Vicenzo Vangelisti after Guido Reni, 18th century. Wellcome Collection 42992i

This recording was one of the first ever made of this work, and has stood the test of time. As Tisbe, Ann Monoyios displays a pretty soprano with an appropriate touch of plaintiveness. The opera was commissioned by the singer who played the original Tisbe, and Hasse lavished his gift for beautiful melodies on the character. Barbara Schlick's Piramo offers a slightly harder-edged voice, not as appealing but well-suited to her male role. Tisbe's father was written for the librettist Coltellini himself, a tenor. Wilfred Jochens' voice is sufficiently ringing to provide a sense of authority, even if to my ears his music doesn't sound particularly threatening. 

Piramo e Tisbe has received a new recording this year on Harmonia Mundi featuring Roberta Mameli as Tisbe, Anett Frisch as Piramo, and Jeremy Ovenden as the father, accompanied by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin conducted by Bernhard Forck. The two leads on the Harmonia Mundi recording are perhaps stronger than those on the Capriccio recording, although I prefer Jochens to Ovenden as the father. On Harmonia Mundi, Forck employs somewhat swifter tempi and has the singers emphasize the drama, while on the earlier recording Schneider takes a more measured and stately approach. Forck also cuts the ballet music that concludes each act, and which may not have been composed by Hasse. If you don't already own a copy of this work, the new recording might be the preferred one. But this earlier recording is a very satisfying discovery, and I'm not rushing out to replace it.

Tisbe's Act I aria "Perduto l'amato bene," in which she begs her father not to force her to marry another man against her will:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w92tQqXCxjM

Perdero l'amato bene rompero quel dolce laccio; ma que ad altro amate in braccio per tua man mi guidi amor! Ah non posso, ah non sia vero adorato genitor. Tanta forza al cor non sento. Mi sgomento il sol pensiero. Basterebbe in quel momento ad uccidermi il dolor.

Should I renounce my love and sever that sweet bond? Should my love for you guide me into the arms of another lover? Oh, I couldn't! It could not be true my dearest father. It is not in my heart's power. I am dismayed by the thought alone. It would be enough at that moment to kill me with pain.

Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto. Philippe Jaroussky (Moses), Julia Lezhneva (The Angel), Bruno de Sá (Josue), Carlo Vistoli (Eleazar), Jakub Józef Orliński (Nathanael), David Hansen (Eliab). Les Accents, Thibault Noally, conductor. Erato 2173239904; recorded 2023.

There are fireworks aplenty in Hasse's oratorio Fiery Serpents in the Desert. The work depicts an Old Testament incident during the 40 years Moses and the Israelites wandered in the desert after Exodus: God sends venomous snakes to punish the restive Israelites, who can only be saved by reaffirming their faith. The oratorio was written around 1735 for the all-female instrumentalists and vocalists of the Ospedale degli Incurabili orphanage in Venice. Judging from the music in Serpentes ignei in deserto, they must have been extraordinary virtuosi.

In this recording five of the six roles originally sung by women are taken by an all-star lineup of countertenors. Although the presence of perennial favorite Philippe Jaroussky is the reason I bought this for my partner, it is the male sopranist Bruno de Sá who provides the most astonishment.

There is another, older recording on Harmonia Mundi that features a gender-reversed group of soloists in the male roles, including the wonderful mezzo-soprano Stéphanie d'Oustrac along with contralto Annette Markert and sopranos Isabelle Poulenard and Valérie Gabail; countertenor Robert Expert is the Angel. In this live recording the singers are accompanied by Les Paladins conducted by Jérôme Correas. I'm very curious, as the Harmonia Mundi recording matches more closely the historical forces that first performed this work. However, if you are a fan of countertenor singing there is every reason to experience this new recording.

Josue's "Spera, o cor" sung  by Bruno de Sá, accompanied by Les Accents conducted by Thibault Noally:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THeA4aWbld0

Spera, o cor, spera, laetare, consolare, veniet lux, veniet laetitia; in moestitia sic afflictum non plorabis. Surge laeta aura splendoris, aura amoris, infelici sede optata cor tranquillum habitatis.

Hope, my heart, hope and rejoice, be comforted: your light will come, your joy will come; you will not weep thus amid affliction and sadness. Arise, joyful breath of splendor, breath of love; though in a place of unhappiness you will live with a peaceful heart.

Invocazioni Mariane. Andreas Scholl (countertenor), Accademia Bizantina, Alessandro Tampieri, conductor. Naïve V5474; recorded 2022.

Andreas Scholl turned 58 this year, and so it's unclear how many more recordings we can expect from him. However, his voice on this album of Marian music of the early and mid-18th century still retains much of its fullness and purity; on this evidence he could continue to perform and record for years to come.

Most of the composers represented are Neapolitan, including Nicola Porpora, Leonardo Vinci, Giovanni Pergolesi, and Pasquale Anfossi, and most of the pieces included are vocal or instrumental excerpts from Easter oratorios. All of the works on the disc by these composers were unfamiliar to me, which just emphasizes how much high-quality music of this era remains to be discovered.

The one work that seems out of place is Antonio Vivaldi's Stabat Mater. It's a curious choice for this album because Vivaldi was not from Naples (he was born in Venice and spent most of his professional life in Northern Italy) and Stabat Mater is not an oratorio (although neither is Anfossi's Salve Regina). Also, Scholl has recorded it at least twice before, in 1995 with Ensemble 415 conducted by Chiara Banchini, and in 2017 with Bach Consort Wien conducted by Rubén Dubrovsky. Beautiful as Vivaldi's work is, I wish that Scholl had sought out more under-performed Marian music by other Naples-based composers such as Leonardo Leo or Francesco Durante. 

Finally, a word about the cover showing a furtive-looking and unshaven Scholl in a hoodie and overcoat, looking like he's about to do a smash-and-grab at a jewelry store: not sure what the thought was there, but perhaps there should have been a second one. A curious cover for an otherwise lovely album.

From Anfossi's Salve Regina, "Ad te suspiram":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmKqjf3d60s

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.

To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.

Music after 1800

Schubert: Lieder. Elly Ameling, soprano, with Rudolf Jansen, piano. Philips 416 294-2; recorded 1984.

This is the second year in a row the Dutch soprano Elly Ameling has appeared on my favorites list (see Favorites of 2024: Recorded music). She had a four-decade-long career, primarily as an exponent of art song; in a different era for the dissemination and reception of classical music, she recorded over a hundred albums. I'm still in the process of discovering her many recordings, which reveal her lovely soprano and her thoughtful approach to each song.

Although over the course of her career she sang music by many 18th- and 19th-century composers, she is known especially as a supreme interpreter of Schubert. This was her second album of Schubert songs with accompanist Rudolf Jansen, her third long-time partner after Jörg Demus and Dalton Baldwin. I look forward to many more years of exploring her extensive discography.

Schubert's "Am Bach im Frühling" (By the brook in springtime), D. 361; the poem is by Franz von Schober:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d9PNtx_FX0

Du brachst sie nun, die kalte Rinde, Und rieselst froh und frei dahin, Die Lüfte wehen wieder linde, Und Moos und Gras wird neu und grün. Allein, mit traurigem Gemüte Tret ich wie sonst zu deiner Flut. Der Erde allgemeine Blüte Kommt meinem Herzen nicht zu gut. Hier treiben immer gleiche Winde, Kein Hoffen kommt in meinen Sinn, Als dass ich hier ein Blümchen finde, Blau, wie sie der Erinnrung blühn.

You have broken now the frozen crust, and ripple along, joyful and free; the breezes blow mild again, moss and grass are fresh and green. Alone, with sorrowful thoughts, I come as before to your waters; the blossoming of the whole earth does not gladden my heart. Here the same winds forever blow, no hope cheers my spirit, save that I find a flower here, blue, like the blossoms of remembrance.

Other favorites of 2025:

• Books
• Live and streamed performances
• Movies and television

Favorites of 2025: Live and streamed performances

As always, we experienced many wonderful musical performances this year, both live and streaming. From more than two dozen choices, I've listed the eight most memorable, plus one honorable mention.

Two great recitals

Two great recitals bookended the year, the first from a singer entering the middle period of her career, and the second from one close to the end of her career.

Lise Davidsen with Malcolm Martineau (piano). Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 4 February 2025. Produced by Cal Performances.

Lise Davidsen accompanied by Malcolm Martineau at Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, Tuesday 4 February 2025. Photo credit: Katie Ravas for Drew Alitzer Photography. Image source: KQED.org

Ten years after bursting onto the international opera stage by winning the top prize in both the Operalia and Queen Sonja vocal competitions, the acclaimed dramatic soprano Lise Davidsen, accompanied by the great Malcolm Martineau, gave her first Bay Area recital. She displayed a rich and opulent lower register and high notes that rang out with an almost shocking power. She also revealed an ability to mesmerize an audience with her soft singing, attentiveness to words, and emotional expressiveness. The first song in her program, Edvard Grieg's "Dereinst, Gedanke mein":

https://youtu.be/3TonfA2SsKY

Dereinst, Gedanke mein (Emanuel Geibel)	One day, my thoughts
Dereinst, Gedanke mein, Wirst ruhig sein. Läßt Liebesglut Dich still nicht werden, In kühler Erden, Da schläfst du gut, Dort ohne Lieb' Und ohne Pein Wirst ruhig sein. Was du im Leben Nicht hast gefunden, Wenn es entschwunden, Wird's dir gegeben, Dann ohne Wunden Und ohne Pein Wirst ruhig sein.	One day, my thoughts, You will find peace. If love's passion disturbs your repose, In the cool earth You will sleep deeply: Without love And without pain You will find peace. What in life You have not found When it is ended Will be given to you; Then without wounds And without pain You will find peace.

I decided to attend this recital at almost the last minute, spurred by a $25 per ticket sale. I am so glad I did—it was one of my peak musical experiences of the year. For more, see Lise Davidsen in recital.

Anne Sofie von Otter with Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano). Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, 5 October 2025. Produced by Cal Performances.

Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano. Photo credit: Ewa Marie Rundquist. Image source: Cal Performances

The Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter turned 70 this year. She has had a long and illustrious career in concert, in opera, and on recordings. If her concert in Berkeley's Hertz Hall in October was her last public appearance in the Bay Area, it was a fitting farewell: a performance of Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang (Swan Song, 1829).

With the passage of time von Otter's voice has lost a touch of the purity of tone, perfection of intonation, and sustained breath support so evident in her earlier recordings. However, her communicative power as an artist remains undiminished.

From one of those earlier recordings, Edvard Grieg's "En Svane" (A swan); von Otter's accompanist is Bengt Forsberg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee6T4RsZd4I

En Svane Min hvide svane du stumme, du stille, hverken slag eller trille lod sangrøst ane. Angst beskyttende alfen, som sover, altid lyttende gled du henover. Men sidste mødet, da eder og øjne var lønlige løgne, ja da, da lød det! I toners føden du slutted din bane. Du sang i døden; du var dog en svane!

A swan My white swan, so mute, so silent, without warble or trill let your song be heard. Anxiously protecting the elf who sleeps, always listening, you glided away. But at the last meeting when oaths and eyes were secret lies, yes then, then it sounded! In music’s birth you ended your life. You sang in death; you were a true swan!

For more, see Anne Sofie von Otter: Swan Song.

Two exceptional concerts from American Bach Soloists

A Baroque New Year's Eve at the Opera. Maya Kherani, soprano; Eric Jurenas, countertenor. American Bach Soloists, Jeffrey Thomas, artistic director. 31 December 2024, Herbst Theater, San Francisco.

Soprano Maya Kherani. Image source: MayaKherani.com

For the past half-decade or so (pandemic shutdown excluded) we've rung out the old year and rung in the new with American Bach Soloists' "A Baroque New Year's Eve at the Opera." Each New Year's Eve ABS artistic director Jeffrey Thomas brings together two vocal soloists and the superlative ABS orchestra in a well-selected program of arias and duets from Baroque opera, and each year the singers and the program are different.

In 2024 the soloists were E&I favorite Maya Kherani with a singer new to us, Eric Jurenas. In addition to delightful selections for each singer from Handel works both relatively familiar (Partenope, Rinaldo, Ariodante) and much less so (Riccardo Primo, Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, Flavio), as well as the gorgeous Caesar-Cleopatra duet from Giulio Cesare, the program included relative rarities from operas by Carl Heinrich Graun and Jean-Philippe Rameau.

The opening aria in the ABS concert, "L'amor ed il destin" (Love and Fortune), as sung by Kherani as the title character in Handel's Partenope in a recording of the 2018 Opera NEO production:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIm40VDTwPk

L’Amor e il destin Combatterà per me; Avrò corone al crin E non catene al piè.

In my Defence to combat now, Both Love and Fate shall meet; A radiant Crown shall bind my Brow, And not a Chain my Feet.

The occasion was enhanced for us by the presence of dear friends, who will be with us again for this year's edition featuring the vocal soloists Sarah Coit (mezzo-soprano) and Matthew Hill (tenor). We're very much looking forward to this most festive occasion.

A Grand Tour. Julie Bosworth and Morgan Balfour, sopranos; Kyle Sanchez Tingzon, countertenor; Agnes Vojtkó, contralto; Jesse Blumberg, baritone. American Bach Soloists and Cantorei, Jeffrey Thomas, artistic director. Seen 26 October 2025, St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco.

Morgan Balfour. Image source: MorganBalfour.com

For the inaugural concert of American Bach's 37th season, artistic director Jeffrey Thomas used the Grand Tour as the selection principle for four Baroque masterworks: Handel's Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, "Eternal Source of Light Divine" (1713), representing London; Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major (c. 1725), representing Leipzig; Vivaldi's Gloria in D major (c. 1715), representing Venice; and Handel's Dixit Dominus (1707), representing Rome. Bach's Orchestral Suite, a work perhaps not fully in alignment with the program's theme (it's unlikely that a Grand Tourist would have heard it), was nonetheless superbly performed. And each of the three vocal works featured the excellent soloists and thrilling contributions from Cantorei, the ABS chorus.

From Dixit Dominus, "De torrente in via bibet" (He shall drink of of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up his head), beautifully sung in concert by Julie Bosworth and Morgan Balfour, here sung by Annick Massis and Magdalena Kožená accompanied by Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski:

https://youtu.be/XJ42ApWadwA

For more, see A Grand Tour: American Bach Soloists.

Another brilliant Ars Minerva production

L'Ercole amante. Zachary Gordin (Ercole), Aura Veruni (Giunone), Melissa Sondhi (Venere/Pasithea), Kindra Scharich (Deianira), Max Ary (Hyllo), Lila Khazoum (Iole), Sara Couden (Paggio), Nina Jones (Licco), Nick Volkert (Nettuno/Eutyro/Sonno/Mercurio). Céline Ricci, director; Matthew Dirst, conductor/harpsichord; Entropy, projections designer; Marina Polakoff, costume designer. Seen 16 November 2025, ODC Theater, San Francisco.

Max Ary (Hyllo) and Lila Khazoum (Iole) in Ars Minerva's production of L'Ercole amante. Image source: Ars Minerva

For its landmark 10th production, Ars Minerva Executive Artistic Director Céline Ricci chose for the first time to stage an opera by a woman, Antonia Bembo. L'Ercole amante features abduction, the forced parting of true lovers, infidelities, jealousies, intervention by angry gods, raging tempests, attempted suicide, attempted murder, a descent into the Underworld, and a poisoned wedding cloak. It's your basic Baroque opera, in other words, and in the assured hands of Ricci and her team was given a visually spectacular and aurally accomplished production. Another wonderful discovery by the pioneering Ricci; her lead will be followed next year by the Opéra National de Paris, which will perform L'Ercole amante in June. We are fortunate indeed to be able to see modern staged premières of such unjustly neglected works thanks to Ricci's passionate advocacy.

A taste of Bembo's music, from a recording released this year of a European concert performance of L'Ercole amante inspired by Ars Minerva's 2020 "Cocktails and Chit-Chat" episode on Bembo. In this scene, Giunone with the aid of Sleep causes Ercole to fall into a deep slumber; she then urges Iole to kill him. Giunone is sung by Flore Van Meerssche and Iole by Anita Rosati, accompanied by Il Gusto Barocco conducted by Jörg Halubek.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXWR01rgym0

For more, see Hercules in love: Antonia Bembo and Ars Minerva.

Our season of Handel opera

George Frideric Handel, attributed to Balthasar Denner, 1726–1728. Image source: National Portrait Gallery NPG 1976

The year 2025 marks the 340th anniversary of Handel's birth. By coincidence or design, the past season featured concert performances of four Handel operas, three live and one streamed. In semi-chronological order:

Acis and Galatea (1718/1739). Nola Richardson (Galatea), James Reese (Acis), Douglas Ray Williams (Polyphemus), Michael Jankosky (Damon), Agnes Vojtkó (Corydon). American Bach Soloists, Jeffrey Thomas, artistic director and conductor. St Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco, 23 February 2025.

Polyphème surprenant Acis et Galatée (Polyphemus surprising Acis and Galatea) [detail] by Auguste Ottin, 1863. Fontaine Médicis, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris. Image credit: Daniel Stockman, CC BY-SA 2.0. Image source: Wikimedia Commons.

John Gay's text for Acis and Galatea draws on Ovid's Metamorphoses for its swiftly-moving tragedy: the shepherd Acis and the nymph Galatea love one another, but the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus kills Acis by crushing him with a boulder. The sorrowing Galatea turns Acis' blood into a "gentle murm'ring stream," and Acis himself into its god.

The scholar and critic Stanley Sadie wrote that "Acis and Galatea represents the high point of pastoral opera in England, indeed anywhere." Despite the tragic subject, Handel—perhaps inspired the bucolic surroundings of the country estate of Cannons, where the opera was composed—filled the work with beautiful pastoral melodies, and the words "pleasure," "delight," "desire," and "love" recur throughout.

The performance by the forces of the American Bach Soloists directed by Jeffrey Thomas fully brought out the delightful qualities of the music, and the three principals gave exceptional performances. For more, please see the full-length review of Acis and Galatea.

Galatea's air "Heart, the seat of soft delight," here performed by Teresa Wakim accompanied by the Boston Early Music Festival Vocal & Chamber Ensembles directed by Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs:

https://youtu.be/sATWpLlyxvw

Heart, the seat of soft delight, Be thou now a fountain bright! Purple be no more thy blood, Glide thou like a crystal flood. Rock, thy hollow womb disclose! The bubbling fountain, lo! it flows Through the plains he joys to rove, Murm'ring still his gentle love.

Alceste (1750). Lauren Snouffer (Calliope), Aaron Sheehan (Apollo), with Leandra Ramm (soloist) and Jeffrey Fields (Charon). Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, Peter Whelan, conductor. Herbst Theater, San Francisco, 7 March 2025.

La mort d'Alceste, ou l'Héroïsme de l'amour conjugal [The death of Alcestis] (detail) by Jean-François Pierre Peyron, 1785. Image credit: Louvre, Paris. Image source: Speakerty

Alceste, music composed for the interludes of the play Alcestis by Tobias Smollett, was never produced during Handel's lifetime, and has rarely been performed or recorded since. None of the main characters of Smollett's play—King Admetus, who has been summoned by Death; Alcestis, his devoted wife who chooses to die in his place; and Hercules, the hero who rescues her from the underworld and restores her to life and to her husband—have singing roles in Handel's work. Instead, Alceste features the muse Calliope, the god Apollo, and the Stygian ferryman Charon, who comment on the play's action.

Despite its neglect, Alceste contains some very appealing music. The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra performance made a strong case for the viability of the work in concert. The roles of Calliope and Apollo were pleasingly sung by Lauren Snouffer and Aaron Sheehan, respectively, while the Philharmonia Chorale directed by Valérie Sainte-Agathe made a substantial contribution to the success of the performance—not only with its usual superb unison and intonation in the rousing choral numbers, but also by supplying two soloists. For more, please see the full-length review of Alceste.

Calliope's "Gentle Morpheus, son of night," performed by soprano Lucy Crowe with the Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn:

https://youtu.be/NYZCPr9bM-A

Gentle Morpheus, son of night, Hither speed thy airy flight! And his weary senses steep In the balmy dew of sleep. That when bright Aurora's beams Glad the world with golden streams, He, like Phoebus, blithe and gay, May re-taste the healthful day.

Ariodante (1735). Megan Moore (Ariodante), Amanda Forsythe (Ginevra), Ann McMahon Quintero (Polinesso), Richard Pittsinger (Lurcanio), Robin Johannsen (Dalinda), Brandon Cedel (King of Scotland), Jason McStoots (Odoardo). Boston Baroque conducted by Martin Pearlman. Streamed performance of 27 April 2025, available on demand at https://baroque.boston/ariodante

Lurcanio prevents his brother Ariodante from throwing himself on his sword when he sees Polinesso entering Ginevra's apartments. Illustration by an unknown engraver after Thomas Coxon (1591) after Girolamo Porro (1584), for Canto V of Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, translated by Sir John Harington, 1634 edition. Image source: Internet Archive

Ariodante is set in the court of the King of Scotland. The knight Ariodante loves the king's daughter Ginevra, and she returns his love. But Ariodante has a rival for Ginevra's favors and the throne, Polinesso. To add to the romantic complications, Ginevra's lady-in-waiting Dalinda loves Polinesso, while Ariodante's brother Lurcanio loves Dalinda.

Polinesso exploits Dalinda's love and asks her to make an assignation with him while dressed in Ginevra's clothes. Ariodante witnesses them and believes that Ginevra is unfaithful; he flees the court and is later reported to have killed himself. Ginevra is condemned to death by her father, unless a champion is found who is willing to defend her honor. . .

Ariodante is among Handel's most dramatically effective operas, and Boston Baroque's production featured a good-to-excellent cast. The costumes did not always reflect the characters' aristocratic status, but with Handel at the peak of his powers minor details didn't matter. For more, please see the full-length review of Ariodante.

Ginevra's "Il mio crudel martoro" (My cruel suffering), performed by Lynne Dawson with Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski:

https://youtu.be/BsEDGj3BDu4

Il mio crudel martoro crescer non può di più; morte, dove sei tu, che ancor non moro? Vieni; de’ mali miei, no, che il peggior non sei, ma sei ristoro.

My cruel suffering Surely can become no greater; Death, why do you tarry, Why am I still alive? Come, Death; you are not The worst of my evils But will be my relief.

Honorable mention, Handel opera division

Giulio Cesare (1724). Christophe Dumaux (Giulio Cesare), Louise Alder (Cleopatra), Beth Taylor (Cornelia), Paula Murrihy (Sesto), John Holiday (Tolomeo), Morgan Pearse (Achilla). The English Concert, Harry Bicket, conductor. Produced by Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA, 27 April 2025.

César remet Cléopâtre sur le trône d'Egypte [Caesar offers Cleopatra the throne of Egypt], by Pierre de Cortone (Pietro da Cortona), ca. 1637. Image source: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon

I wish I could say that details didn't matter in The English Concert's performance of Giulio Cesare. The poor stage direction (uncredited) frequently undermined the characters and drama. Handel's superb music and the excellent vocal and instrumental performances overcame the poor direction, but it remained a serious distraction—thus the honorable mention. For more, see the full-length review of Giulio Cesare.

Cleopatra's "V'adoro, pupille" (Your charming eyes) performed by Magdalena Kožená (with Marijana Mijanovic as Cesare) accompanied by Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski:

https://youtu.be/m-U92nkrEzM

V’adoro, pupille, saette d’amore, le vostre faville son grate nel sen. Pietose vi brama il mesto mio core, ch'ognora vi chiama l’amato suo ben.

Your charming Eyes My ravish'd Soul adores, The thrilling Pain My Heart with Pleasure bears. When you with Pity look, My Sorrows cease; For you alone Can heal the Wounds you gave.

Other favorites of 2025:

• Books
• Recordings
• Movies and television