Rodelinda (first recording of complete opera)

"...this brilliantly directed, well-cast account easily surpasses rival period versions . . . Hitherto on disc, Curtis has concentrated on the rarer Handel opera titles, but here he tackles one of the composer's well-established masterpieces and supervises a performance worthy of the music. It is based on Pertharite, an obscure tragedy by Corneille, and Handel's music for the soprano (Rodelinda), castrato alto (Bertarido) and tenor (Grimoaldo) is among his finest. There is a ravishing duet for the married couple, with hardly a weak number for the supporting cast. Simone Kermes makes a forceful Rodelinda, spitting her fury at Steve Davislim 's commanding Grimoaldo. As Bertarido, Marijana Mijanovic sings movingly, with her grave, androgynous alto, and Sonia Prina, Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Vito Priante are excellent as Eduige, Unulfo and Garibaldo."
**** Record Review / Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times (London) / 03 July 2005

"...a cast that outclasses all others...Simone Kermes brings...passion and tragic grandeur to Rodelinda's music...this new set is the one to go for."
Record Review / Richard Wigmore, BBC Music Magazine (London) / 01 August 2005

. . . this long-term Handelian and one-time Berkeley prof has discovered the opera's psychological core and unleashed its power. Also, the recording stems from live
performances at the Baroque Festival of Viterbo, which explains its vitality and sense of
immediacy. Curtis' singers, no weak link among them, have portrayed their characters live. That said, the drama emanates as much from the expert instrumentalists, Baroque experts all, as it does from the singers.
Record Review / Tim Pfaff, Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco) / 12 August 2005

Simone Kermes's portrayal of the stronger-than-Penelope character of Rodelinda is gorgeous, the sound at the top occasionally metallic in a fascinating way, and her diction fine, divisions accurate and embellishments stunning . . . Alan Curtis has sucked all the energy out of the score. His Il Complesso Barocco plays beautifully, the strings lustrous and winds pointedly used and expertly highlighted . . . The recorded sound is excellent, Kermes is always worth hearing, and the score is elegantly presented and played.
Record Review / Robert Levine, International Record Review (London) / 01 September 2005

Il Complesso Barocco . . . here play with admirable vitality and dramatic subtlety. Curtis has obviously worked hard to encourage his string players to understand what the singers are communicating: each aria is impeccably interpreted and intellegently paced. On the whole, Curtis's passion and experience ensure another typically persuasive and theatrical vindication of Handel's genius.
Record Review / David Vickers, James Jolly, Gramophone (London) / 01 September 2005

This is a consummate piece of performing, and Simone Kermes is just staggering.
Record Review / Richard Powers, Gramophone (London) / 01 October 2005

Alan Curtis's "Rodelinda" finds the great Handel veteran turning for the first time to one of the canonic operas with a cast led by the magnificent Simone Kermes.
Record Review / Brian Robins, Fanfare (Tenafly, NJ) / 01 November 2005

Rodelinda herself is one of Handelian opera's greatest creations, not only a paradigm of the enduringly faithful wife, but a brave, passionate woman also capable of showing guile when defending those she loves. Her arias encompass a range of emotions running from deepest grief, through fiery defiance to joy. I find it difficult to imagine anyone doing greater justice to the role than Simone Kermes, who proves capable of descending to the depths of deepest pathos (her act III "Se'l mio duol" is almost overwhelming in its searing power) at one moment, while dazzling with perfectly placed, glittering colloratura the next. Kermes has already done some wonderful things on disc, but nothing as all embracing, as emotionally powerful as this . . . Above all, Curtis inspires a crackling sense of frisson, of dramatic veracity in no small way aided by orchestral playing that cuts deep into the spirit of the music. This, then, is a set for which to be profoundly thankful - a recording to relish, to glory in, and to treasure.
Record Review / Brian Robins, Fanfare (Tenafly, NJ) / 01 November 2005