Search - George Frideric Handel, Joachim Carlos Martini, Elisabeth Scholl :: Handel - Athalia / E. Scholl · Schlick · Holzhausen · Reinhold · Brutscher · MacLeod · Martini

Tremendously dramatic, melodious, seamless and quite unusual

Dalua | the UK | 07/27/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Athalia was Handel's third oratorio and, like its predecessors, has as its central character a woman. Esther was the brave, gentle heroine, Deborah the inspired prophetess and leader (with Jael a tool and focus of inspiration, which the more fanatical it's hard to say) - and Athalia was the tormented tyrant.Athalia, as a devotee of the cult of Baal, seeks the suppression of her father's faith - the suffering the Jews have endured under Athalia's harsh rule is only hinted at. It is interesting to note, in the opening scene which has the Jews preparing to celebrate Shavuot, that the power of music is seen by the regime as a dangerous threat to be suppressed much as has often been the case in recent history. There are certain differences between the story as told in Handel's oratorio, which is based upon Racine's play of the same name, and the biblical accounts of the reign and fate of Athalia - but these make for a highly dramatic, compact plot driven by some of Handel's finest and most inspired music.Elisabeth Scholl is a convincing Athalia, relishing the dramatic ariosos and arias. I do think her final aria calls for more determination if not from her then from the orchestra, but that may be the fault of the live recording. Barbara Schlick's sweet soprano lends itself very well to Josabeth, who has saved the dead king's son from certain death by concealing his identity from Athalia. This boy, Joas, is sung by a soprano and might better be sung by a treble, considering one key scene is an exchange between these three characters.Stephan McLeod, who sings the role of Abner, is not as refined a bass as, say, Michael George or Alan Ewing, but is certainly capable and fulfils the needs of the role. Markus Brustcher's voice has warble rather than vibrato, which is a great pity since Mathan's "Gentle airs, melodious strains" is one of the work's most pleasant arias.Contralto Annette Reinhold sings in a truly strange manner, and were it not for the generally accented performances of the soloists, one might find it more than a little off-putting. Still, I tend to agree with Amazon.com's editorial reviewer that she is commanding, ardent, and convincingly masculine in her role, that of the High Priest (on Hogwood's recording sung by James Bowman who manages none of this, by the way).The energy and commitment of the choir shines through the choruses, and the sound is more satisfactory than on some of Naxos' live recordings. The choruses seem particularly well-integrated, dramatically speaking.Sometimes one can pick out particular highlights from an opera or oratorio, but in the case of Athalia, the highlights are really too many to mention, because the quality of the music is uniformly excellent, each scene packed with the colour of the stage. But listen, for example, to the duet between Josabeth and Joas, any of Athalia's arias (What scenes of horror around me rise", "My vengeance awakes me"), Mathan's "Gentle airs, melodious strains", Joad's "Jerusalem, thou shalt no more" . . . the list goes on. It's an oratorio easily appreciated in its entirety, each part flowing naturally and seamlessly from the other.The two reasons, for which I make no apology, that I would recommend this recording over that of Hogwood are the absences of the rather talent-less, albeit popular, 'singers' David Thomas (as Mathan) and James Bowman (as the High Priest) - but, with a certain degree of reluctance: these two baneful singers are accompanied by Kirkby (of whom I'm rarely a fan), Rolfe-Johnson (whom I think is fantastic) and Sutherland (who does a surprisingly good job of the role). I would sooner give this three-and-half stars however, as this is one of just two recordings currently available, the other of which has its problems too, I'm giving it four instead of three. It's rather sad that there have been only two recordings of this, Handel's third oratorio (which was in its day the first to be a triumphant success), because its libretto is excellent, its dramatic impact tremendous, its music thoroughly brilliant - there really isn't a less than gripping moment: it deserves far more recognition."

Wonderful!

Frank Paris | 06/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another first rate performance from the gang at Naxos. One of Handel's early Oratorios whose success would engender the likes of Messiah and Israel in Egypt. This performance has all the drama and beauty one would expect from this work, with excellent singing and original performance practice. Lines like "Blooming virgins, spotless train, tune to transport all your lays!" may bring forth a giggle from this listener, but otherwise who could complain? Informative libretto and notes."