Handel/Hasse
Caio Fabbricio
Anna Gorbachyova-Ogilvie, Fleur Barron, Miriam Allan, Helen Charlston, Jess Dandy, Hannah Poulsom, Morgan Pearse; London Early Opera/Bridget Cunningham Signum SIGCD713 142:00 mins (2 discs)
In this worldpremiere recording, performing artists shine brightly in a pasticcio opera that was compromised at least partly by its first cast. In 1733, Handel wanted to arrange airs of Johann Adolf Hasse’s Caio Fabbricio; his vocalists, however, insisted on inserting their favourite numbers, by whomever, at key moments. As a result, the music doesn’t sweep the story along as in operas Handel wholly composed himself.
That said, Bridget Cunningham directs brilliantly, leading from the harpsichord to energise the other players, and to give them space to
