Briefly Noted: Drama Queens

Drama Queens (Handel, Hasse, Monteverdi, et al.), J. DiDonato, Il Complesso Barocco, A. Curtis (released on November 6, 2012) Virgin 5099960265425 | 67'54"

We are longtime fans of mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, especially for her contributions to the series of Handel opera recordings from the historically informed performance ensemble Il Complesso Barocco and conductor Alan Curtis. Sadly, the concert tour coinciding with the release of her new album of Baroque arias did not come through Washington this time: the experience of DiDonato's charming stage presence in live performance would likely increase one's enjoyment of this new disc. Certainly, it is all music beautifully performed, both the blazing vocal pyrotechnics of DiDonato, with florid embellishments worked out to maximum effect, and the refined, perfectly scaled sound of Il Complesso Barocco, all sensitively brought together under Curtis's direction. No complaints about the choice of repertory, either, as beyond two familiar arias by Handel (from Alcina and Giulio Cesare in Egitto), one from Haydn's Armida, and Octavia's showstopping "Disprezzata regina" from Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, the selection consists of composers rarely recorded, including Giuseppe Orlandini (two arias from Berenice, recently rediscovered), Giovanni Porta, Reinhard Keiser, Johann Hasse, Antonio Cesti, and Geminiano Giacomelli. At the same time, this disc does not strike me as standing out that much from what DiDonato has done before, certainly not to the degree that the many rapturous reviews thus far have seemed to indicate. It is a voice with many delights to offer, including pinpoint accuracy in the rapid passages, a simple, warm tone that can float at pianissimo, and also powerful zing at the top when it is at full bore -- in some ways, powered by the slightly obtrusive vibrato flutter that can mar intonation in the middle range and at softer dynamics. Worth a listen, definitely, but not a must-hear.