Angelika Kirchschlager sings the aria of Ariodante "Con l'ali di costanza" in act I of the opera Ariodante from Handel. Les Talens Lyriques are conducted by Christophe Rousset. Paris, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, March 2007.
So I'd like to revise my earlier enthusiastic comments. What I still highly adore is AK's wonderful Handel CD (did I mention?), her great Sesto on stage I saw on youtube.
And the adoration for DiDonato who managed to perform a perfect Ariodante on stage. Cheers.
I think what Kirchschlager has shown to us is that Ariodante is a totally different category from Sesto. Well she was supposed to sing it again last month in Vienna (where she is btw a huge star), but got an acute illness. Was replaced by a certain C. Hulcup, who had already replaced the acute ill Kasarova in Munich. AK said herself in an interview she didn't know before what Ariodante meant, sth I read in a Vivica interview as well. Ariodante on stage must be a killer.
I was more impressed by AK's Sesto from the Glyndebourne Giulio Cesare. I find her voice a little too feminine for a part like Ariodante, but in that production, Sesto was almost a grade school boy, and of course her singing is so musical and sensitive as usual.
I found Kasarova's Ariodante (well, actually her rendition of this aria on Youtube) terribly exciting and her coloratura magnificent in that aggressive and atheletic way that Carestini must've excelled in. Oh, and how fun to watch her acting like a puppet as the production required. I wish that production was available on DVD.
Well, it is actually preceded by a nice arioso, a perfect piece to warm up with before this. I find AK's coloratura totally admirable, but to me it's a crime to omit 2 full measures of semiquavers and makes all these rooms to breathe by deleting even more as she finds convenient, a la Janet Baker and Susan Graham, no matter how wonderful their "Scherza infida" was. I don't think they should've tackled Ariodante at all when Lorrain Hunt and Anne Sofie von Otter sang all the notes and then some!
For me, AK is not a coloratura wonder (or machine gun), but I'm totally fond of her timbre, LOVE her Handel studio recording, which makes me perhaps lose objectivity.
Have you heard other live versions of this aria?
The Minkowski CD says it's a live rec., von Otter is most excellent there!! But I never know how much is remastered in these CDs. Anyhow, I've unfortunately never seen von Otter as Ariodante on stage.
Not only is it bad, she has cut quite a lot of it. Not a role for this voice. She cannot sing it.
skidiva1913 9 months ago
agreed
violatione 2 years ago
Kirchschlager doesn't have the vocal agility required for this , perhaps? I love Ms. DiDonato's.
But Kirch is good at German repertoire...heard she's bringing down the ROH.
:-]
Satirike 3 years ago
So I'd like to revise my earlier enthusiastic comments. What I still highly adore is AK's wonderful Handel CD (did I mention?), her great Sesto on stage I saw on youtube.
And the adoration for DiDonato who managed to perform a perfect Ariodante on stage. Cheers.
Gudrun74 3 years ago
I think what Kirchschlager has shown to us is that Ariodante is a totally different category from Sesto. Well she was supposed to sing it again last month in Vienna (where she is btw a huge star), but got an acute illness. Was replaced by a certain C. Hulcup, who had already replaced the acute ill Kasarova in Munich. AK said herself in an interview she didn't know before what Ariodante meant, sth I read in a Vivica interview as well. Ariodante on stage must be a killer.
Gudrun74 3 years ago
This is very very bad.
Anne Sofie von Otter is the best Ariodante ever.
Pathetikos 3 years ago
I was more impressed by AK's Sesto from the Glyndebourne Giulio Cesare. I find her voice a little too feminine for a part like Ariodante, but in that production, Sesto was almost a grade school boy, and of course her singing is so musical and sensitive as usual.
vitellia 3 years ago
I found Kasarova's Ariodante (well, actually her rendition of this aria on Youtube) terribly exciting and her coloratura magnificent in that aggressive and atheletic way that Carestini must've excelled in. Oh, and how fun to watch her acting like a puppet as the production required. I wish that production was available on DVD.
vitellia 3 years ago
Well, it is actually preceded by a nice arioso, a perfect piece to warm up with before this. I find AK's coloratura totally admirable, but to me it's a crime to omit 2 full measures of semiquavers and makes all these rooms to breathe by deleting even more as she finds convenient, a la Janet Baker and Susan Graham, no matter how wonderful their "Scherza infida" was. I don't think they should've tackled Ariodante at all when Lorrain Hunt and Anne Sofie von Otter sang all the notes and then some!
vitellia 3 years ago
For me, AK is not a coloratura wonder (or machine gun), but I'm totally fond of her timbre, LOVE her Handel studio recording, which makes me perhaps lose objectivity.
Have you heard other live versions of this aria?
The Minkowski CD says it's a live rec., von Otter is most excellent there!! But I never know how much is remastered in these CDs. Anyhow, I've unfortunately never seen von Otter as Ariodante on stage.
Gudrun74 3 years ago