Rudolph Palmer, Brewer Chamber Orchestra - George Frideric Handel: Faramondo (1996)

‘Faramondo’ was produced in 1738 at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket after the collapse of the rival Opera of the Nobility. This means that, unlike some of his Covent Garden operas which were produced whilst his rivals performed at the King’s Theatre, ‘Faramondo’ was written for a superb cast which included the bass Antonio Montagnana sang the role of King Gustavo and the castrato Carestini (making his London debut) in the title role. Writing for such fine singers means that Handel takes for granted the ability to sing virtuoso passages. In fact, singers would have expected to be able to display their talents in the requisite number of arias. These arias were crafted (or fine tuned) once the cast was known, so that they take advantage of the best points of a singer’s voice. King Gustavo’s arias takes good advantage of Montagnana’s amazing range and all the singers would have expected the divisions to lie in the best part of their voices. Signora Antonia Merighi was a contralto profondo who sang eight or nine roles for Handel, leaving us with a legacy of parts with coloratura in what can be a difficult part of the average female voice. And this is one of the eternal problems of casting Handel operas. Finding singers who are not only up to the demands of the part, but for whom the part lies in a good part of their voice. With a complete absence of castrati, a remarkable lack of low contralti and the presence of counter tenors, a voice type Handel used sparingly in the operas, it is not surprising that casting the operas nowadays is difficult. But a singer must be able to do more than just sing the part. Handel’s arias are not just vocal concerti, they illuminate aspects of the character and a singer must be able to use the virtuoso passages to help create character. So when listening to any performance, we are constantly monitoring how the singers match against the ‘ideal’ performance. Whereas in Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’ we may have heard what comes close to an ideal performance, in a Handel opera we may never have the chance, not even on record. This recording of Handel’s ‘Faramondo’ is currently the only one available, so we must be grateful to Vox. Whether the cast is ideal is not entirely the question, it is more the way that they cope that will matter.
This is by no means a perfect recording. But the Brewer Chamber Orchestra play stylishly and Rudolph Palmer’s tempi are crisp and well chosen. Despite their technical limitations, the cast believe in the opera and use Handel’s wonderful vocal lines to create character, making us believe in the opera as baroque music-drama; just as it should be.

–Robert Hugill

Performer:
Faramondo – D’Anna Fortunato
Clotilde – Julianne Baird
Gernando – Drew Minter
Rosimonda – Jennifer Lane
Adolfo – Mary Ellen Callahan
Gustavo – Peter Castaldi
Childrico – Lorie Gratis
Teobaldo – Mark Singer
Brewer Chamber Orchestra
Conductor - Rudolph Palmer

Tracklist:
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Faramondo
CD1:
01 Ouverture
02 Atto I. Recitativo accompagnato (Gustavo, Adolfo): Popolo, figlio
03 Coro: Pera, pera!
04 Recitativo (Gustavo, Adolfo, Clotilde, Teobaldo): Chiede l'ombra
05 Aria (Gustavo): Viva, si!
06 Recitativo (Adolfo, Clotilde): Siam pur fuori
07 Aria Clotilde): Conoscero, se brami ch’io t’ami
08 Recitativo ed Aria (Adolfo): Perdoni all’amor mio - Chi ben ama ogn’altro affetto
09 Recitativo (Rosimonda, Faramondo): A me dunque il tuo ferro
10 Aria (Rosimonda): Vanne, che piu ti miro
11 Recitativo (Faramondo, Gernando): Faramondo infelice!
12 Aria (Faramondo): Rival ti sono, ma son fedel!
13 Recitativo ed Aria ((Gernando): Va pur - Voglio che mora, si!
14 Recitativo (Faramondo, Rosimonda, Gernando): Sino ad ora, Gernando
15 Arioso (Faramondo): Si tornero a morir
16 Recitativo ed Aria (Rosimonda): Quel nemico - Sento che un giusto sdegno
17 Recitativo (Gustavo, Clotilde, Teobaldo): Si, Clotilde
18 Arioso (Gustavo): Vado a recar la morte
19 Recitativo (Clotilde, Adolfo): Dalla cittade
20 Aria (Clotilde): Mi parto lieta sulla tua fede
21 Recitativo (Faramondo, Gustavo, Adolfo): Fra quest'ombre
22 Aria (Faramondo): Se ben mi lusinga l’infida speranza
CD2:
01 Concerto grosso, op. 6 No. 4: I. Larghetto affettuoso
02 Concerto grosso, op. 6 No. 4: II. Allegro
03 Atto II. Sinfonia
04 Recitativo (Gustavo, Rosimonda, Childerico, Gernando): Gia udisti
05 Aria (Rosimonda): Si, l'intendesti
06 Recitativo ed Aria (Gernando): Si, sdegna Rosimonda
07 Recitativo (Rosimonda, Faramondo): Misero, e qual tuo fato
08 Aria (Faramondo): Poi che pria di morire
09 Aria (Clotilde): Combattuta da due venti
10 Recitativo (Gustavo, Adolfo): Faramondo e in catene
11 Aria (Adolfo): Se a’ piedi tuoi morro
12 Recitativo (Clotilde): Signor, umil ti chiedo
13 Aria (Gustavo): Sol la brama di vendetta
14 Recitativo (Gernando, Childerico): Tentai d'aver ingresso
15 Aria (Gernando): Nella terra, in ciel, nell’onda
16 Recitativo (Rosimonda, Childerico): Childerico!
17 Duetto (Faramondo, Rosimonda): Vado e vivo - Vanne e vivi
CD3:
01 Concerto grosso, Op.6 No. 4: III. Largo, e piano
02 Concerto grosso, Op.6 No. 4: IV. Allegro
03 Atto III. Sinfonia
04 Recitativo (Gustavo, Clotilde, Adolfo): Mi tradiscono i figlii
05 Duetto (Adolfo, Clotilde): Cara [Caro], tu mi accendi nel mio core
06 Recitativo (Gernando, Faramondo): Gia nel campo
07 Aria (Gernando): Cosi suole a rio vicina
08 Recitativo (Faramondo): Ritorna pur
09 Aria (Faramondo): Voglio che sia l’indegno
10 Recitativo (Gustavo, Teobaldo, Adolfo): D’un oltraggiato Re
11 Aria (Adolfo): Se ria procella sorge nell’onde
12 Recitativo (Faramondo, Gustavo, Rosimonda): Non isdegnar, Gustavo
13 Aria (Rosimonda): Sappi, crudel, io t’amo
14 Recitativo (Faramondo, Gustavo, Gernando, Adolfo): Clotilde, il tuo dolor
15 Aria (Clotilde): Un’aura placida e lusinghiera
16 Recitativo (Gustavo, Tutti): Reggi il mio braccio
17 Aria (Faramondo) e Coro: Virtu che rende si forte un core