Search - Gunther Leib, George Frederick Handel, Horst-Tanu Margraf :: Handel: Poros

The way Handel should NOT be performed

Thomas A. Mcgraw | Vermont, USA | 12/12/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is a no doubt well meaning performance done, unfortunately, in the titanic measure of one of Gustav Mahler's gigantic adagios. Having heard a more current performance (Opus 111 Recordings) done on period instruments, this rperformance becomes a dated time peice. I could barely get through the first disc. Handels' music was just not meant to be transported to the gigantic orchestral and vocal forces of the romantic era, and his magnificent inventiveness just comes off as dull and ponderous when cast in that light. Wagner may well have owed everything he eventually did on the stage to the operatic groundbreaking of "Il Caro Sassone", but it's not fair to try to make this opera seria sound like The Ring Cycle. Can you imagine what "Die Walkure" would be like if transported back in time? This recording is interesting, perhaps, as a curiosity, but if you want a truer feel for what was being presented in the 1730's, try the Opus 111 recording instead. There is also, apparently, a recently made Gottingen Festival recording of this marvelous opera on CD, but I have been unable to find out if it is available yet."