Handel Arias
(Sony)
On this CD Kirchschlager sings 12 arias from three operas, Ariodante, Arianna and Giulio Cesare. In full voice she is secure enough, and the power in her larynx creates believable dramatic fury, notably in Casare’s fuming Svegliatevi nel core. But at half-voice the labour of support suggests uphill singing.
In the slow Scherza infida, sighing heavily, she uses vibratoes to sustain the semibreves. Best and worst are evident in Dopo Notte, in which she generates excitement in long elastic runs, is brightly accurate at forte but elsewhere is uncertain of pitch. The Kammerorchester Basel under Laurence Cummings blooms willy-nilly.
RICK JONES