Handel's Rinaldo with Il Groviglio

George Frideric Handel

Rinaldo 1731

Filippo Mineccia (countertenor)
Roberta Mameli (soprano)
Vivica Genaux (alto)
Marco Angioloni (tenor)
Francesca Martini (soprano)
Logan Lopez Gonzalez (countertenor)
Michele Mignone (bass)
Il Groviglio
Marco Angioloni (direction)

Glossa GCD 924802

review by Lukáš M. Vytlačil

The opera Rinaldo is one of the most important works by George Frideric Handel (1685‒1759) and rightly represents an important milestone in the composer's life. When Handel first arrived in London in late 1710, he received a commission from Aaron Hill, then director of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to compose an opera based on Torquato Tasso's ‘The Liberation of Jerusalem’. When premiered at the Queen's Theatre (now His Majesty's Theatre) on 24^th February 1711, Rinaldo was an extraordinary success, with fourteen repeat performances. This opened a new stage in Handel's life. Although he briefly returned to the Electoral Court in Hannover, his desire for a grand opera and the enormous response to its London premiere led him to ask Elector George Ludwig for another leave of absence in 1712 so that he could return to London. The monarch generously granted it to him, but on the condition that the composer return within a reasonable time. However, Handel had other plans, so he settled permanently in Great Britain and never returned to Hannover.

Although he immediately set to work on other compositions in London, Rinaldo remained in the repertoire continuously until 1714. However, it was also in this year, that the tension that remained between Handel and the Elector of Hannover came to an unpleasant conclusion when, after the death of Queen Anne, his former employer became King George I of Britain. Yet, the successful reprises of Rinaldo, as well as the premiere of the opera Amadigi, another of his dazzling successes, thrilled the monarch and brought about a gradual improvement in mutual relations. The opera did not remain unchanged during these years, and Handel adapted it to the needs of the soloists he cast. Further revised versions were performed in 1717 and 1731. A peculiar form of response to Rinaldo is ‘The Beggar's Opera’ (1728) by the poet John Gay and the composer Johann Christoph (John Christopher) Pepusch, which was a successful parody of the then gradually obsolete form of Italian opera seria. Several numbers, such as Almirena's famous aria Lascia ch'io pianga, are still a lively part of the concert programs of many solo singers.

The last version of Rinaldo from 1731 is not very well known. Handel made significant changes here compared to the original. There were transpositions of solo voices, changes in keys, changes in music (especially in the recitatives) and, especially in the last act, the addition of new music. Significant changes also affected the main characters, as the role of Rinaldo was given to an alto instead of a castrato soprano, and the role of Armida was also lowered from a soprano to an alto range. The character of the Christian magician was transposed from the original alto for a bass voice. Furthermore, new arias were included, which were originally composed for the operas Lotario (4 arias), Partenope (1 aria) and Admeto (1 aria). This illustrative list does not end the extent of the changes and it is clear that the opera has undergone a significant transformation.

This version from 1731 is captured in the recording by the ensemble Il Groviglio under the direction of tenor Marco Angioloni, which was released on the Glossa label (catalogue number GCD 924802). The main roles are played by excellent singers. Countertenor Filippo Mineccia (Rinaldo) excels in his demanding solo role, displaying both his brilliant technique and vocal range. In addition, he is able to expressively encompass the entire range of emotions that are imprinted in the music in delicate character shades. Equally versatile and high-quality performances are given by soprano Roberta Mameli, who perfectly captures the fragility of the role of Almirena, and alto Vivica Genaux, for whom I must especially highlight her exceptionally energetic portrayal of the dramatic character of Armida with absolutely precise coloraturas, executed with great facility. The performances of these three singers reveal the high quality of the music, but also the high demands that Handel placed on his singers. The performance of tenor Marco Angioloni (Goffredo), who also directed the entire musical production, is less impressive. His vocal expression is very monotonous in character and, especially in coloratura passages, suffers from a pronounced vibrato, inaccurate intonation and, in some rhythmic figures, also from delays. The performances of soprano Francesca Martini (Donna, Sirena) and countertenor Logan Lopez Gonzalez (Argante) are solid, although they remain somewhat in the shadow of the main solo characters, but they are successful partners for them. Bassist Michele Mignone (Mago Christiano, Araldo) then gives a rather weaker performance, characterized by a relatively monotonous expression with a pronounced vibrato and stiff-sounding coloraturas.

The perception of the instrumental ensemble's performance is somewhat contradictory. With the exception of occasional minor interplay flaws when performing ornaments, their performance is very reliable and excellently completes the overall impression. However, Angioloni chose a very small number of players, which includes only five violins, two violas, a cello, a double bass, two oboes and a bassoon (all of whom also double on recorders), two horns, a trumpet, a theorbo (or baroque guitar) and a harpsichord. The performances of the individual instrumentalists are very good, which is especially true of a number of arias with solo instruments or groups, but due to the number of instruments the overall timbre spectrum has been altered. The sound is mostly very chamber in character, closer to cantata productions than to an Italian opera. Such a sound would be suitable for small castle theatres, but not for Handel's London stage, which assumed a larger orchestra. The resulting imbalance causes a more pronounced proportion of wind instruments compared to the subtle strings. The instrumentalists also use the resulting space for improvised ornamentation, which, while imaginative and charming from a purely musical point of view, would in many cases be impossible in an orchestra of realistic size.

The recording of the late version of Handel's Rinaldo is therefore an interesting document that captures a little-known form of this iconic opera from 1731. However, the weakness is the imbalance in the quality of the performances of the individual soloists, as well as the chamber cast of the opera orchestra, which presents the music in a form that more or less deviates from the form with which the composer could actually have worked.

The Czech original of the text was published on polyharmonie.cz.

Links

• Disc set on the website of the publisher (Glossa Music, S.L.).
• Disc set on the website of the British retailer Presto Music.
• Score of the critical edition of the opera (Hallische Händel-Ausgabe, Bärenreiter).
• Project Gutenberg: Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso. Translated by Edward Fairfax (1560‒1635); translation first published in London, 1600.
• Händelův Rinaldo s Il Groviglio. Recenze Lukáše M. Vytlačila.
  (The Czech original of the present review.)
• Lukáš M. Vytlačil on Wikipedia.